I am interested if anyone else has the problem of finding a male dance teacher that is not what I call a Pro Am Scammer. I have had lessons from men teachers that don't dance Pro Am and they seem more balanced and a better teacher for guys. When a male pro starts doing lots of Pro Am, everything is for the lady. They even teach a heavier lead or some other form of man handeling the lady. Plus they get spoiled if they have ladies coming in every day for lessons for upcoming competitions. We have some good male dancer teachers in our area, but I am seeing this shift to Pro Am teaching and not good quality teaching for amateur couples or men. I have had better luck with a very high
level female teacher that doesn't do Pro Am and just coaches couples or a male teacher that just coachs individuals or couples. You would think the instruction would be the same, but for me it hasn't been. Have any of you other guys noticed this issue and try to avoid the Male Pro Am Scammers for your teacher.

I don't think it's necessary to call people 'scammers' in order to deliver the important advice to seek a teacher who has experience performing and/or coaching dancing that exhibits the qualities you wish to develop in your dancing.

I had some group lessons with a male teacher who does some pro/am and he continued being very good. Then again pro/am wasn't his major thing.

There are some male instructors who seem to be trying to surround themselves with female admirers. They seem to do pro/am and showcases to keep their female students happy and dependend on them. I would not know what such a person could teach me? How can such an insecure person help me gain confidence on the dancefloor?

A friend of mine does pro/am latin. She has difficulty getting the expression and atmosphere right. She just cant smile while people are watching her. So she asked a lady friend of ours and myself to help her practice because she thinks we have great smiles all the time.
I dont know how we would but of course we agreed.
Next time we saw her she had talked to her instructor/pro partner and told him she was going to do some practice with friends of hers. His reply was "Don't. You do not need to smile during dance competitions. And besides it is completly wrong to look at your partner during latin dances anyway."
My advice was to leave the studio...
But if that is the quality their main students get, those they are competing with, what can the rest of us expect from instructors like that.

Before anyone missunderstands me (and I think the original anonymous who started the discussion is of the same opinion)
There are great instructors who do pro/am (offhand I can think of two I know), but a good pro/am instructor is the one who does it because it is their students wish/dream. Not because it is a more secure income than beginners who might after a month realise they dont enjoy dancing enough after all.
And sadly there do seem to be a lot of instructors (and not only male ones) out there that have the wrong motivations and the wrong attitude.

Excuse me for using Pro Am scammers. What I meant was a male pro that just focuses his teaching on Pro Am ladies and him getting about 5 to 10 addicted ladies to support his practice. There is a need for this type of pro and it takes a certain type of skill to be a good Pro Am male dance teacher and dancer. Not an easy task--but I noticed a big difference in their teaching style when I started taking some lessons from them--especially when it is with one of their ladies.

I have written plenty of posative things about Pro Am dancing and do it my self. But some male pros just seem to be more focused on their ladies and getting them involved with travel and competitions. There is lots of addiction in the dance world, however it doesn't mean that a pro should take advantage of someones weakness for his finanical gain. There should be some fairness, honor and suitability in play here.

The bottom line is, there are bad instructors out there, male and female, and you have to be cautious about who you choose. It doesn't really have anything to do with pro-am (except that pro-am in the majority of the business, so you can find any variation of teaching that exists in the pro-am world).

I agree with Ellen. I've been dancing Pro/Am off and on for 10 years and I've always ended up working with teachers who had very few pro/am students, and also competed professionally and coached amateur couples. My teachers have always been deadicated to teaching dance, no matter if it's to wedding couples, kids, adults, or pro/am ladies. I've been fortuante that way -- but the truth is that in this matter we make our own luck. A good, focussed, interested, deadicated student who knows why she is dancing paired with a caring teacher who sees himself as a mentor is a good combination that will produce some nice dancing and lots of satisfaction in both teacher and student. What teacher doesn't like to teach an enthusiastic student who really listens to them, takes in the lessons be the mental or technique or whatever, and constantly grows and improves as a dancer?

If someone is having problems with a teacher, the best advice is to shop around and find another teacher. And keep sharing advice here as to what makes for a good teacher and a good student.