Latest / Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast / Do Dancers Need Private Lessons To Succeed?

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Do Dancers Need Private Lessons To Succeed? · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

0:07
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
0:10
SPEAKER_00: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
0:13
SPEAKER_00: This is Making the Impact a Dance Competition podcast.
0:15
SPEAKER_00: Each week we'll cover a different topic related to the world of competitive dance from the perspective of the judges behind the table.
0:24
SPEAKER_00: Competitive dancers are always looking for ways to get a leg up, no pun intended, on their training.
0:30
SPEAKER_00: And in recent years, private lessons have become a favorite way to get in more studio time.
0:34
SPEAKER_00: Today we're joined by IDA Judge Mary Marone to discuss whether private lessons are needed for today's young dancers and how to approach your weekly classes with a private lesson mindset.
0:46
SPEAKER_02: Hello, dance world, and happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
0:49
SPEAKER_02: It's Courtney Yorkees.
0:51
SPEAKER_02: I'm the host of Making the Impact, and I'm here with my co-host Leslie Mailer.
0:55
SPEAKER_00: Happy Thanksgiving, Court.
0:56
SPEAKER_02: Thank you, you too.
0:57
SPEAKER_02: I'm so thankful that we're here and recording a podcast.
1:02
SPEAKER_00: Me too.
1:03
SPEAKER_00: Right here on Thanksgiving.
1:04
SPEAKER_00: JK, it's not Thanksgiving.
1:06
SPEAKER_00: But we're coming to you on Thanksgiving via your podcast app.
1:10
SPEAKER_00: So we would just love to take this time to say we're grateful for all of you listeners, all of your support over the years.
1:16
SPEAKER_00: We couldn't do it without you, and we only do it for you.
1:19
SPEAKER_00: We're not sitting here doing this for ourselves.
1:21
SPEAKER_00: It's for you.
1:21
SPEAKER_00: So thank you for your support.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: We appreciate it.
1:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and thank you to dance.
1:26
SPEAKER_02: I'm very grateful every day that I'm still able, my body is still able to dance as I grow older and wiser, but older and more sore every time I get into the dance studio.
1:40
SPEAKER_02: My body's feeling it.
1:42
SPEAKER_02: But I am thankful that I am able to still teach choreographed dance and perform.
1:47
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, shout out to the dance world, shout out to all the dancers working hard out there, all of our teachers who are educating us, sharing the knowledge, spreading it all.
1:56
SPEAKER_02: It's great.
1:56
SPEAKER_02: I'm grateful.
1:57
unknown: Yep.
1:58
SPEAKER_00: And we hope you're all listening to us, maybe on your drive from grandma's house on Turkey Day, or while you're just laying around after the parade.
2:06
SPEAKER_00: That's probably what I'll be doing.
2:07
SPEAKER_00: So hopefully y'all are hauling having a lovely day.
2:11
SPEAKER_00: And we're super excited about today's episode because we have been uh waiting to do this episode for a while now.
2:16
SPEAKER_00: We've got an episode all about private lessons coming up.
2:19
SPEAKER_00: Yay!
2:20
SPEAKER_02: We have been waiting a while to do this one, and I'm really excited that we put this on season four because we were we had a really great episode.
2:28
SPEAKER_02: I think it was season two off the top of my head.
2:30
SPEAKER_02: It was how to take your solo to the next level.
2:32
SPEAKER_02: And that was a very popular episode.
2:34
SPEAKER_02: And I think it was popular because it was in the solo world.
2:38
SPEAKER_02: And private lessons can kind of very much be put next to a solo rehearsal or similar in the same living in the same world where it's individualized attention.
2:48
SPEAKER_02: And with all of our dance parents out there who I'm sure probably are pushing for those private lessons, uh we figured let's talk about that.
2:55
SPEAKER_02: We barely talked about that ever on the podcast.
2:58
SPEAKER_02: So we're gonna jump into that episode today.
3:01
SPEAKER_02: But before we do, we want to tell you a little bit more about our sponsors over here at Making the Impact to help make this podcast possible.
3:08
SPEAKER_00: Have you tried Apollo Shocks?
3:10
SPEAKER_00: I couldn't believe how much better my body felt the first time I wore mine, and now I'm obsessed with all of them.
3:15
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3:17
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3:23
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3:28
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3:31
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3:40
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3:43
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3:49
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3:52
SPEAKER_02: And for everybody out there, I'm sure you've heard us talk about our brand new Platinum Premium subscription, but we want to tell you a bit more about it in case you haven't signed up yet.
4:02
SPEAKER_02: If you haven't, you're missing out on exclusive bonus episodes of Making the Impact.
4:07
SPEAKER_02: Our Platinum Premium subscription is only$5 a month, or you can pay for yearly access in a one-time fee.
4:14
SPEAKER_02: And you will get access to our exclusive monthly QA live episodes where I sit down with an IDA judge and answer all of your questions live on the air.
4:24
SPEAKER_02: And if you're a Platinum Premium subscription member, you also will be able to submit questions and have those be answered with priority on those episodes each month.
4:33
SPEAKER_02: You will also receive ad-free listening of all of season four episodes, free stickers mailed to you and your dancers, a discount on making the impact merchandise, and a discounted online critique from me.
4:45
SPEAKER_02: We have some subscribers that we'd love to give a shout out to and thank them for joining our membership.
4:51
SPEAKER_02: First up is Christine, a dance parent from New York.
4:54
SPEAKER_02: What up, Christine?
4:56
SPEAKER_02: And yay, what up, New Yorker?
4:57
SPEAKER_02: And our other subscriber is Laura Burgess, a dance mom from Central Virginia Dance Academy in Richmond, Virginia.
5:05
SPEAKER_02: They said our competition director, Erin Miller, sent this over to my daughter to listen to.
5:09
SPEAKER_02: And just like you stated in your podcast as a parent, I'm listening too.
5:13
SPEAKER_02: We both really enjoy listening during our commute to the studio.
5:16
SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and love with the dance community.
5:20
SPEAKER_02: Aw, I love that.
5:21
SPEAKER_02: That's so great.
5:22
SPEAKER_02: Thanks, Laura.
5:23
SPEAKER_02: Yes, and we are so grateful for each and every listener out there listening worldwide.
5:28
SPEAKER_02: But if you want to help support our podcast and receive even more exclusive content, then join our Platinum Premium membership now for only$5 a month.
5:37
SPEAKER_02: Click the link in our show notes or visit our website at ImpactDance Adjudicators.com slash Platinum Premium.
5:44
SPEAKER_02: Okay, listeners, it's time to jump into this week's episode all about private lessons.
5:49
SPEAKER_02: Super pumped for this one.
5:51
SPEAKER_02: We have barely talked about this ever on the podcast.
5:53
SPEAKER_01: So I'm really excited to welcome a special guest IDA judge onto this episode.
5:59
SPEAKER_01: We usually have two IDA judges on each episode, but unfortunately one of our other judges had some type of technical difficulties and they couldn't make it here today.
6:07
SPEAKER_02: So sad about it.
6:09
SPEAKER_02: But we have one brand new IDA judge joining us onto the roster of the season and also onto the podcast this season.
6:17
SPEAKER_02: I'm very excited to get to know her even more.
6:20
SPEAKER_02: She is coming to us from the studio owner perspective, which I'm really excited to hear when it comes to this topic.
6:25
SPEAKER_02: Please welcome Mary Monroe to the podcast.
6:28
SPEAKER_02: Welcome, Mary.
6:29
SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much, Miss Courtney and Miss Leslie, for having and all the IDA community for having me and listening today.
6:35
SPEAKER_02: Hey, we're pumped.
6:36
SPEAKER_02: I'm so excited to get you out there this season.
6:38
SPEAKER_02: And thanks for applying for IDA and your support in what we're doing.
6:42
SPEAKER_02: And then joining us right away on the podcast.
6:44
SPEAKER_02: Right after you join the roster, here you are.
6:45
SPEAKER_02: Can't wait.
6:46
SPEAKER_03: I know.
6:48
SPEAKER_02: Well, if you wouldn't mind telling the world a little bit more about you.
6:51
SPEAKER_03: Okay, so I've been dancing since I could walk.
6:54
SPEAKER_03: I was literally born right into my mother's dance studio.
6:58
SPEAKER_03: Uh danced my entire life, grew up there.
7:00
SPEAKER_03: I think she had me in every class, every genre, uh, every audition.
7:04
SPEAKER_03: And when I wasn't dancing, I was modeling.
7:06
SPEAKER_03: So I did a lot of modeling, especially in the dance industry end of it.
7:10
SPEAKER_03: So when I decided I was gonna go to college, I was double majoring.
7:14
SPEAKER_03: I had an education degree I was working on, I had a psychology degree I was working on at the same time.
7:19
SPEAKER_03: In my senior year, I'm finishing up student teaching, I'm finishing up my thesis, and I said, you know what, I should open up a dance studio at the same time.
7:26
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
7:27
SPEAKER_03: I don't know what I was thinking.
7:28
SPEAKER_03: I was 20.
7:29
SPEAKER_03: So I finished my degrees, I opened up a studio.
7:31
SPEAKER_03: Uh 21 years later, the studio is still going, it's thriving, it's growing.
7:36
SPEAKER_03: I was obviously a competitive dancer my entire life.
7:39
SPEAKER_03: Uh, I've done professional work, I've done shows, I've done, you know, the commercial recording end of it, obviously print work modeling.
7:46
SPEAKER_03: But above all of that, when I became a choreographer and a teacher, that outweighed everything.
7:53
SPEAKER_03: To watch a dancer grow, and you get them, you get them when they're two, you get them sometimes switching studios later on in life.
8:00
SPEAKER_03: It time does not matter.
8:02
SPEAKER_03: You feel like you've had them their entire life and you've watched them grow.
8:05
SPEAKER_03: Watching them on stage, watching them achieve, watching them go into the industry.
8:09
SPEAKER_03: They're on the court, they're on the field.
8:10
SPEAKER_03: I have them in dance companies, teams, on stage, on screen.
8:13
SPEAKER_03: It's amazing.
8:15
SPEAKER_03: I feel like there's little piece pieces of me everywhere.
8:18
SPEAKER_03: And now I travel a lot up and down the East Coast and I choreograph for dance teams, high school, high school teams, plays, other dance studios.
8:26
SPEAKER_03: I like to get out there and you know, adjudicate at competitions.
8:29
SPEAKER_03: But I think where I am right now in my career in the dance industry, my whole life has been wrapped around this dance industry, as well as all the changes that it's been through over all of the years.
8:41
SPEAKER_03: And I feel like I absolutely cannot wait to give more knowledge um to all the future generations.
8:48
SPEAKER_03: And also, I think being a studio owner and I also became a mom 16 years ago, which completely changed my entire perspective on how I taught and ran the dance studio because there's that parent perspective that I can also, you know, uh involve myself in as well as the dance teachers and the dancer side of it.
9:04
SPEAKER_03: You know, whenever I talk to a parent, I say, I'm a parent, I'm a dancer, and I'm a teacher.
9:08
SPEAKER_03: So um, I'm just really excited to to get all the knowledge, knowledge out to everybody.
9:13
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
9:14
SPEAKER_02: That's what we do on this podcast.
9:16
SPEAKER_02: We just spill all the knowledge to the dance world.
9:19
SPEAKER_02: So I'm excited for you to do that here today.
9:21
SPEAKER_02: Yay! Let's jump on into this chat about privates, y'all.
9:26
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
9:26
SPEAKER_00: Well, I think one of the things it's just like a little funny aside, but I was on a on a dance teacher or a dance parent chat, I think, at some point years ago, and somebody posted a little anecdote about a a dance mom not realizing that when we say, Oh, do you have your you have your private today?
9:43
SPEAKER_00: Like she thought private parts.
9:45
SPEAKER_00: Oh.
9:45
SPEAKER_00: Whereas in the dance community, we just say privates.
9:47
SPEAKER_00: Like it is private today.
9:48
SPEAKER_00: We're doing private lessons.
9:49
SPEAKER_00: We're doing we don't say lessons a lot of the time.
9:52
SPEAKER_00: I know.
9:53
SPEAKER_00: But so I just thought that was kind of funny to mention because yes, we're talking about lessons, private lessons.
9:58
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, hilarious.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: But so I guess my question is I don't know.
10:03
SPEAKER_00: I didn't grow up having a private lesson in dance.
10:07
SPEAKER_00: Did y'all?
10:08
SPEAKER_02: No.
10:08
SPEAKER_00: No, that's it seems to be a new trend that's happening.
10:12
SPEAKER_00: And I do sort of wonder, you know, I'm not a parent, Mary.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: You're I think you're the only parent in here.
10:16
SPEAKER_00: I'm wondering, did you see a shift?
10:19
SPEAKER_00: When did you see it?
10:20
SPEAKER_00: People start desiring that as an addition to their kids' training.
10:24
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, did you notice it happened quickly?
10:27
SPEAKER_00: Is there a point in time that you noticed it happened, or is it just something that sort of organically started?
10:31
SPEAKER_00: Is this right?
10:32
SPEAKER_00: You're asking, I'm sorry.
10:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like as a as a parent and as a dance studio owner.
10:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
10:37
SPEAKER_03: You know, when I first started the dance studio, I was young, I was learning right along with everybody.
10:42
SPEAKER_03: And you think there's a formula for them.
10:45
SPEAKER_03: There's a way they have to run, a way you have to schedule them, a way you have to price them.
10:49
SPEAKER_03: And like you said, in a dance studio, you know, right now I'm in a great uh facility.
10:54
SPEAKER_03: I have five dance rooms.
10:56
SPEAKER_03: But when there's only one or two, in order to take an entire dance room and dedicate that to private lessons, financially, you're losing out on lessons.
11:04
SPEAKER_03: You know, when we could have a whole group.
11:06
SPEAKER_03: So I think as I developed and I had more space, I realized that they're individualized and they can be offered to everybody recreational competitive.
11:14
SPEAKER_03: But what really changed me is I had a parent one time say, My daughter didn't make a competition solo.
11:20
SPEAKER_03: She didn't make the competition team.
11:21
SPEAKER_03: How is she ever going to be ready if she doesn't have more one-on-one instruction and she doesn't get that opportunity to ever get up to that level?
11:28
SPEAKER_03: So I feel like that's the more, the more the competition world and it's been uh, you know, commercialized on TV with all the dance TV shows and whatnot, dance has kind of blown up over the past so many years.
11:40
SPEAKER_03: Everybody wants to get in there and get that advantage.
11:43
SPEAKER_03: And they think if they don't get that private one-on-one instruction, they're missing out on something.
11:48
SPEAKER_04: Right.
11:48
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that that's how I, you know, I've seen it develop over the years.
11:52
SPEAKER_02: That's a very interesting point that I didn't I didn't even really think of the cost of doing a private, the cost to rent that space.
12:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
12:02
SPEAKER_02: For you as the studio owner, that it's I'd rather have 30 kids in that room than just one.
12:08
SPEAKER_02: So, like, how do I price this to make it beneficial for me as a business?
12:12
SPEAKER_03: And time-wise, you'll have a parent say, you know, 430 to 5 is great for me or 5 to 530.
12:17
SPEAKER_03: That's a time everybody's great.
12:18
SPEAKER_03: Right?
12:18
SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
12:19
SPEAKER_03: So that doesn't work, you know.
12:21
SPEAKER_03: So do you want that private at nine o'clock at night?
12:23
SPEAKER_03: Probably not.
12:24
SPEAKER_03: Do you want it at 3:30 after school?
12:26
SPEAKER_03: You don't want to give up your Saturday sometimes.
12:28
SPEAKER_03: Right.
12:28
SPEAKER_03: So it and you you can't say to a a a parent um financially, I can't pull this teacher because you're also paying that instructor.
12:35
SPEAKER_03: Right.
12:36
SPEAKER_03: And you can't you can't cover her fee and or him his fee and have money left over for the dance studio.
12:43
SPEAKER_03: It it does become quite a struggle when you financially look at the aspect of it, the financial end of it.
12:48
SPEAKER_00: Great point.
12:49
SPEAKER_00: Well, and it's that it's sort of like you said, the culture of instant gratification and you know, even even thinking about like just kids in general and how parents, uh parents these days want the best and more and better for their kids.
13:03
SPEAKER_00: And what that turns into is private SAT prep, private driving lessons, private that it's all just this focused individualized attention on your child and what they can do.
13:14
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, they need either something more specialized or catered towards their learning need.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: And I think, you know, to an extent, I think that's a really good thing because not everybody learns the same.
13:23
SPEAKER_00: And like you can be a kid that's really distracted in a class full of 20 kids where you're like, I just, I just need somebody to focus on me for a second because I really don't understand the way she's talking about it, you know, or whatever.
13:34
SPEAKER_04: Right.
13:35
SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, I'm also like, man, the world doesn't give you a private lesson.
13:38
SPEAKER_00: I know.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: The world is a group project, you know?
13:41
SPEAKER_00: So I have many thoughts.
13:43
SPEAKER_00: Um, but those are I really like those two perspectives.
13:46
SPEAKER_00: And Courtney, you were gonna say something.
13:48
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, I was I was just going to say that kind of kind of along the same thing that you were saying, you know, everybody does learn differently.
13:55
SPEAKER_02: And there's only one teacher and two thigh balls on that teacher to watch 30 kids in a classroom or 15 kids in a classroom doing their progressions across the floor.
14:04
SPEAKER_02: And you're not going to be able to get every correction out for every single dancer to really like analyze how can we make their pirouettes better or how can we get their jumps higher, or how can we do these things, you know?
14:15
SPEAKER_02: You might, you know, get a correction a handful of times in one class, and then it's the dancer's job to really apply that immediately.
14:23
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's the hard part about group classes is that if the dancer doesn't have that mentality of I'm going to take these corrections and I'm going to apply it, and I'm also going to listen to the other corrections that other dancers are getting and apply that to me and check myself in the mirror and make sure I'm not doing that.
14:40
SPEAKER_02: And oh, they said that dancer's back leg was bent is mine, and I check it in the mirror and I lengthen mine.
14:45
SPEAKER_02: Like, if the dancers aren't approaching class like that in a group setting, then they're not going to progress.
14:49
SPEAKER_02: And then mom and dad's gonna get mad that, like, well, why aren't you at the level of Sally over here?
14:54
SPEAKER_02: And then they see, well, Sally's taking privates.
14:56
SPEAKER_02: Maybe that's why she's better.
14:57
SPEAKER_02: Or maybe she has a better work ethic in in class and applies things and self-corrects.
15:02
SPEAKER_02: So I think that, you know, kind of like what you were saying, Kayla, with the featured parts.
15:06
SPEAKER_02: If someone's getting featured parts and then mom goes, Oh, well, why is that dance dancer getting featured parts?
15:12
SPEAKER_02: Well, because she has three solos and she takes extra private lessons every week.
15:15
SPEAKER_02: Well, I guess I have to do that if I want my dancer to be at that.
15:18
SPEAKER_02: And it's like, yes and no.
15:19
SPEAKER_02: I mean, like, I think that you can kind of get a gauge onto what where your dancer's weaknesses are and like what you want to focus on, or if you're dead set in being a ballet dancer and you want to go above and beyond and take ballet private, great.
15:33
SPEAKER_02: But let's jump into this question.
15:35
SPEAKER_02: Do we think that private lessons are essential?
15:38
SPEAKER_02: Do you think that private lessons are a necessity in a dancer's training growing up?
15:44
SPEAKER_02: Thoughts on that?
15:45
SPEAKER_00: No, I don't think they're essential because you're looking at three adult professional dancers, former professional dancers, people that have been in the industry for, you know, 20 odd years, and none of us had private lessons.
15:58
SPEAKER_00: So no, I don't, I don't really think that they're necessary.
16:01
SPEAKER_00: I do think that they might, I think they might end up as kind of a crutch for some kids who don't, like you were talking about earlier, Courtney, the kids who don't have that internal work ethic to act as if their full class is a private.
16:17
SPEAKER_00: I feel like the sort of surface level correction of that is, well, let's just take a private lesson.
16:22
SPEAKER_00: That way she'll have to work harder.
16:23
SPEAKER_00: But I don't even know if that's true.
16:25
SPEAKER_00: Like work ethic comes from within.
16:28
SPEAKER_00: And even if we're at a rehearsal, you know, or not even a rehearsal, a a private lesson with a teacher, that's still not you yourself going home saying to yourself, you know what, I want to stretch today.
16:39
SPEAKER_00: I want to work on my pirouettes for 30 minutes at home in my dance studio basement.
16:44
SPEAKER_00: You know, I do I do think it can turn into a little bit of a crutch for some of the kids who don't have that, you know, just internalized work ethic.
16:51
SPEAKER_03: So on the, okay, so I completely agree because dancers use that as they practice for the week.
16:58
SPEAKER_03: They didn't have to put any time in at home because they're gonna have their private lesson and you're gonna go over and fix everything and you're gonna practice with them.
17:04
SPEAKER_03: So I do have dancers who will have a weekly private lesson.
17:08
SPEAKER_03: So in order to make sure that that's not happening, I'll say you have homework just like you would in school.
17:13
SPEAKER_03: You're you learn from muscle memory.
17:16
SPEAKER_03: So if your private's on Tuesday, I want a video sent to me by Friday of what we worked on.
17:20
SPEAKER_03: I want you to practice.
17:21
SPEAKER_03: Um, sometimes I'll send back a little judges video.
17:24
SPEAKER_03: I'll do like my voice over it and give them corrections.
17:26
SPEAKER_03: When I see them again on Tuesday, um, I can say what were three corrections I gave you.
17:30
SPEAKER_03: At least I know they practiced at one time because they gave me the video.
17:34
SPEAKER_03: Private lessons, are they necessary?
17:36
SPEAKER_03: It's so individualized because I have dancers who want that extra skill.
17:41
SPEAKER_03: They're trying to get to that next level of maybe a turn, a jump, an aerial, you know, either in the tumbling class, but they're working out that hand strings and they want that aerial, you know, whatever.
17:51
SPEAKER_03: But then there's also the case where you have dancers in class who are already struggling, and I appreciate that they'll reach out and be like, can she come in for a few private lessons?
17:58
SPEAKER_03: Letting you know that they they intend on working hard in that class.
18:00
SPEAKER_03: They just need a little extra one-on-one.
18:02
SPEAKER_03: So there's all different, different ways of looking at a private lesson.
18:07
SPEAKER_03: But is it necessary that you have one every single week in addition to all of these other classes?
18:12
SPEAKER_03: No, because I have dancers that are absolutely outstanding and I beg them every year.
18:17
SPEAKER_03: Why haven't you done a solo?
18:19
SPEAKER_03: I don't know, I just don't want to, but they're outstanding.
18:22
SPEAKER_03: So they are taking every single class to their absolute fullest that they can without that private lesson.
18:28
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
18:28
SPEAKER_02: I think what you just touched on with the solo aspect, I think that's a really great segue into like a whole nother discussion just about like solos are privates, essentially.
18:38
SPEAKER_02: Kind of.
18:39
SPEAKER_02: I mean, in a in a weird way, they are.
18:41
SPEAKER_02: And like when we started off this conversation, we're we're only barely into it, but Leslie, you were like, Did y'all have privates growing up?
18:48
SPEAKER_02: And I was sitting here and I'm like, I don't think I ever had a private lesson, but I had solos since I was 10.
18:54
SPEAKER_02: Right.
18:55
SPEAKER_00: Right, right, right.
18:56
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't geared towards here's let's do a class in 30 minutes, right?
18:59
SPEAKER_00: Or let's work on pirouettes for 30 minutes because it was let's work on your choreography for 30 minutes.
19:04
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's something that's important to think about.
19:06
SPEAKER_02: And we've had guests on our podcast and even in some of our studio spotlights who have said, like, we give every dancer a solo because that's more individualized time for them to be with the teacher in the studio one-on-one.
19:17
SPEAKER_02: So why would we say no to that?
19:18
SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, wow, what an interesting perspective.
19:21
SPEAKER_02: Where like when I was growing up, we had over a hundred dancers and my competition team.
19:25
SPEAKER_02: Not everybody could have a solo.
19:26
SPEAKER_02: And there are many studios now who have the same amount of dancers who have a hundred, you know, there's a hundred solos they're registering or more, because everyone has two.
19:34
SPEAKER_02: So I it was a privilege, an opportunity to get selected for a solo.
19:39
SPEAKER_02: Like you had potential, there was something special there.
19:42
SPEAKER_02: We see something more in you, and you've worked hard to earn this.
19:46
SPEAKER_02: It wasn't just handed out like candy.
19:47
SPEAKER_02: And while I see the benefit in having those moments of one-on-one attention with a choreographer, I also think that I don't know, I have so many thoughts on like giving dancers skills that they're not ready to do.
19:59
SPEAKER_02: So I think like the pressure of a solo and to be competitive is well, if you want to have a solo and you want to compete against this person, then you have to be able to do this.
20:07
SPEAKER_02: And if you can't do this, then you're not gonna get the score that you want.
20:10
SPEAKER_02: But we're gonna put this in your solo because it's gonna push you to get this skill.
20:14
SPEAKER_02: And I don't know how I feel about that.
20:16
SPEAKER_02: I have mixed feelings because I think that the dancers should be learning those skills in class.
20:20
SPEAKER_02: Once they're learned, taught properly, and perfected, that's when they go into the solo choreography.
20:25
SPEAKER_02: Not using the solo rehearsal as like a way to trial out new skills because they're never really learning them properly.
20:33
SPEAKER_02: They're being put into choreography that's saying you needed to be able to do this, do it.
20:37
SPEAKER_02: And it hasn't been taught yet.
20:38
SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
20:39
SPEAKER_02: I just went on a rant.
20:41
SPEAKER_02: A lot of a lot of thoughts.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Courtney, I definitely agree that it's probably not the best choice to just give these new, you know, fancy, difficult steps and tricks to somebody, you know, in a 30-minute increment once a week.
20:59
SPEAKER_00: Like it needs to, you know, if you're learning how to do a leg catch turn, if you're learning how to do, you know, something that's more difficult than your entire class is learning, you know, in class, like I kind of agree.
21:10
SPEAKER_00: I would, I would want everybody, you know, you're in a particular class for a particular reason, right?
21:15
SPEAKER_00: You're in there because the level of your peers, you're all pretty much on the same level.
21:20
SPEAKER_00: And that's where the skills need to be taught and need to be learned.
21:23
SPEAKER_00: But I will say that I do understand the value of putting something challenging into your solo that you do work on a little bit more, you know, often in your private lesson.
21:34
SPEAKER_00: But my sort of rule of thumb is it doesn't hit the stage unless it's ready.
21:39
SPEAKER_00: If you've worked on this dance and you've worked on this leg catch turn for seven months, and now it's, you know, February, and you're still you still can't catch that leg every time.
21:49
SPEAKER_00: Your hamstrings are still not stretching, you still don't have the balance, you still don't have the core strength.
21:54
SPEAKER_00: It's coming out.
21:55
SPEAKER_00: And that doesn't mean that like your solo time was wasted or your private lesson.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: And time was wasted.
22:01
SPEAKER_00: It just means that you're not, maybe class time is also not being better like used properly.
22:07
SPEAKER_00: And this, the private lesson isn't necessarily what's going to get you to that point.
22:13
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's it's not a a private lesson isn't going to fix everything, right?
22:18
SPEAKER_00: Even a weekly private lesson.
22:19
SPEAKER_00: It's just not going to do it unless you have these skills and the core strength and all these other technical elements of your actual dancing consistent.
22:28
SPEAKER_00: And that's just kind of the way it is.
22:30
SPEAKER_00: There's no um, there's no quick fix.
22:33
SPEAKER_02: I think it just depends on like what it is.
22:35
SPEAKER_02: And like, because I mean, I I guess I'm looking at it in the perspective of as a judge, I watch things that should not be on stage.
22:41
SPEAKER_02: Like dance, like skills that dancers I can base based on how they walk out on stage and how they articulate through their feet.
22:48
SPEAKER_02: I can tell that you're not ready for what you're about to do.
22:51
SPEAKER_02: And that is what concerns me is that mentality of choreography saying, well, they're never gonna be able to do it if they don't try.
22:58
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I know they're not there technically yet, so we're gonna put in their solo and they're gonna fight for it.
23:02
SPEAKER_02: And like, yes, but also that should we should have figured that out three months ago and it should have been removed from the solo three months ago.
23:09
SPEAKER_02: Like we tried it for a little bit, didn't work, uh, gotta cut it because it it's just not ready for stage yet.
23:15
SPEAKER_02: And that's something that like we'll continue to explore in class, or we continue to explore in an actual private lesson where I'm going to teach you how to do that skill properly and not just expect it from you.
23:24
SPEAKER_03: Right.
23:25
SPEAKER_03: Because I see what you're saying, because on top of it, you don't need anybody getting injured.
23:28
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
23:28
SPEAKER_03: You know, so there's that aspect.
23:30
SPEAKER_03: There's the other aspect that solos should be earned.
23:32
SPEAKER_03: And yes, they are a private lesson.
23:34
SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
23:35
SPEAKER_03: They absolutely are.
23:36
SPEAKER_03: It's one-on-one, it's individualized.
23:38
SPEAKER_03: Even the choreography, if you're learning that that routine that takes you, you learn it in a week, maybe you're learning it over a few months.
23:44
SPEAKER_03: However, you teach your solos, it's still individualized.
23:47
SPEAKER_03: It's still going to push the dancer.
23:49
SPEAKER_03: You're tweaking things, you're adjusting things based on them.
23:51
SPEAKER_03: For me, once we're kind of done with competition season, we've done all the judges' revisions, we've we've fit in, and there's time left.
23:58
SPEAKER_03: Maybe we don't have nationals, maybe we have a span until nationals.
24:02
SPEAKER_03: I will then go in and kind of switch gears and treat it more like a private lesson and say, look, we have four or five weeks until we have to perform again.
24:09
SPEAKER_03: Let's let's work on those turns that you want at the beginning of the year.
24:12
SPEAKER_03: Let's break those down a little bit more.
24:13
SPEAKER_03: Or let's work on that wing tap step you want on the left.
24:16
SPEAKER_03: You could do it on the right.
24:17
SPEAKER_03: You know, like I'll I'll stop and I'll break things down.
24:20
SPEAKER_03: Also, communication is really, really important with any private lesson.
24:23
SPEAKER_03: What is your goal?
24:24
SPEAKER_03: What is your strengths, not just what are your weaknesses?
24:26
SPEAKER_03: Because you know what they are.
24:28
SPEAKER_03: You know, what are your strengths already?
24:29
SPEAKER_03: You know, really communicate, communicate with other teachers that have them in the studio.
24:33
SPEAKER_03: And and I always say to a dancer, if if I don't teach them a lot specifically, what have your judges' corruptions been?
24:39
SPEAKER_03: You know, because if they're repeating, well, for the past three years, it's been I don't stretch my, you know, from my ankle.
24:44
SPEAKER_03: Okay, well, we have to figure that out.
24:46
SPEAKER_03: But uh, and then on the first thing you talked about was sometimes it'll replace something.
24:51
SPEAKER_03: Well, I have a jazz solo, I'm trying to get everything jazz related, I'm learning jazz in this solo.
24:56
SPEAKER_03: You're not learning the art of jazz in the solo.
24:58
SPEAKER_03: You're learning jazz choreography specific to your routine.
25:01
SPEAKER_03: That's what your jazz class is for.
25:03
SPEAKER_03: You know, and I have parents all the time go, Well, she made the junior jazz team and she made her jazz duo and her jazz solo.
25:09
SPEAKER_03: She shouldn't have to take, you know, jazz tech or jazz group or jar jazz large group.
25:12
SPEAKER_03: And I always say, that's where she's breaking down jazz technique.
25:16
SPEAKER_03: That's where she's learning correct, you know, jazz pirouette preparation.
25:19
SPEAKER_03: That's where she's learning um various styles of jazz or performing or all of it.
25:24
SPEAKER_03: That's where she's learning it.
25:24
SPEAKER_03: Because when she comes into that solo and I, you know, spit out this choreography, she can go, I've never learned that.
25:29
SPEAKER_03: I don't take jazz classes.
25:30
SPEAKER_04: Right.
25:31
SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
25:31
SPEAKER_03: You know, you can't replace it.
25:33
SPEAKER_03: You know, sometimes the parent thinks they're kind of saving money, and I understand, understand the physical, the financial end of it.
25:38
SPEAKER_03: Every single lesson that us teachers put out there, there's a formula and a reason.
25:43
SPEAKER_03: It's like an equation why they all work together for an ending result.
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27:20
SPEAKER_00: Where I think that's that's something that I think a lot of non-dance parents or parents who were not dancers themselves and are new to this, like I I guess I would probably think the same thing.
27:31
SPEAKER_00: Like, why wouldn't it count as, well, she's in this jazz rehearsal, why does she have to take another class?
27:36
SPEAKER_00: Well, because it's a different, the whole thing is completely different.
27:39
SPEAKER_00: You're learning the skills in one and you're applying the skills in the other.
27:42
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
27:43
SPEAKER_00: And so my thing with the private lessons, though, as we were discussing it, is that when I wanted to get better, which I did between eighth and ninth grade, I decided I want to get better.
27:51
SPEAKER_00: I need to take more class.
27:53
SPEAKER_00: My my my first thought wasn't let me take a private lesson.
27:56
SPEAKER_00: It was let me take more class.
27:58
SPEAKER_00: You know, like and I don't I think the that mindset has completely changed, and there's less, you know, the group effort and like learning in a group is not a thing kids gravitate towards anymore, maybe because everybody's like, I want to take a private, not I want to take class.
28:12
SPEAKER_00: And I wanted to take more class for whatever reason, maybe just because privates weren't available at the time.
28:17
SPEAKER_00: But I'm wondering growing up, I don't think.
28:19
SPEAKER_00: It just wasn't, and maybe it was at some studios, you know.
28:22
SPEAKER_00: I I could we could all be the outliers, but um I know I guess I want to know I want to know from y'all a couple things.
28:32
SPEAKER_00: And like maybe this is just rapid fire, like, give us the answer because I think there's a lot of different answers to you and your experience and your teaching.
28:39
SPEAKER_00: How long is an adequate private lesson?
28:41
SPEAKER_02: Length of a private.
28:43
SPEAKER_02: Um, I mean, I've seen them done 30 minutes up to an hour.
28:49
SPEAKER_02: I personally feel like maybe 45 is a nice balance because I know me personally, I don't feel like there's a a ton that I can really get done in 30 minutes, like in general.
29:00
SPEAKER_02: I just feel like that goes by in a blink of an eye when you're in the room with the dancer and you sit down with a game plan and figure out, all right, what are we gonna work on today?
29:09
SPEAKER_02: By the time you get into the groove of things, like did also did the dancer come warmed up?
29:14
SPEAKER_02: Or are they coming from another class?
29:16
SPEAKER_02: Like that, you know, especially in that private situation, I think that they should be coming in warm because the time is precious and you only have an X amount of time with this one-on-one instruction.
29:25
SPEAKER_02: Uh, so you don't have to focus on warming up.
29:28
SPEAKER_02: But, you know, you could spend 30 minutes just working on, you know, the proper positioning of a leg extension or the proper execution of a preparation before you head into your side leap.
29:40
SPEAKER_02: Like you could really drill that right side and left side equally for 30 minutes and work on one thing.
29:45
SPEAKER_02: So I think it depends on what how much you want to get done each each private lesson and how like individualized you want certain skills analyzed.
29:54
SPEAKER_02: If you're like, okay, I want to achieve more than one thing in the private, then I think 45 minutes feels a little bit better.
30:01
SPEAKER_02: And I'm okay with an hour private too.
30:03
SPEAKER_02: Like I think you can achieve so much in an hour, but I think what we most often see at studios is usually around 30-minute private lessons, probably because of that's the amount of dancers that want private.
30:15
SPEAKER_02: So to be able to squeeze in everybody, we can only really give you 30 minutes.
30:19
SPEAKER_03: So, so mine range, it all depends on the dancer, their attention span.
30:24
SPEAKER_03: Are they coming in and that's their first class of the entire day?
30:26
SPEAKER_03: Are they coming in warm up from something else?
30:29
SPEAKER_03: It's also one in one-on-one.
30:30
SPEAKER_03: So you're not dividing your attention with anybody, so you are able to get more, you know, curriculum done in a shorter span of time when you are not dividing yourself going across the floor and you know, stopping with each dancer individually.
30:42
SPEAKER_03: But there's also how many are needed.
30:44
SPEAKER_03: Is this something that you do every single week?
30:47
SPEAKER_03: Some studios will do like in every other.
30:49
SPEAKER_03: That gets very confusing for me, especially when there's holidays and snow days and sick days, and then you're like, Is it my week on?
30:55
SPEAKER_03: Is it my week off?
30:56
SPEAKER_03: And some parents, and I understand it's it's expensive.
30:58
SPEAKER_03: I do, I get that part of it.
31:00
SPEAKER_03: So when you say I think we should do it every, every you know, week for our 10-month season, they're like, How much is this gonna cost me?
31:07
SPEAKER_03: So again, I always say, I know you think they're gonna come in for this private lesson and we have this magic potion.
31:11
SPEAKER_03: Right.
31:12
SPEAKER_03: And they're you're gonna bury us for an hour in order to be like, so do they get the turns?
31:16
SPEAKER_03: Yes, we gave them the potion, you know?
31:19
SPEAKER_03: So right, we we gave it to them.
31:21
SPEAKER_03: And I always say it's muscle memory.
31:25
SPEAKER_03: These moves are learned by doing them correctly over and over again.
31:28
SPEAKER_03: And if you can't dedicate an every week for, you know, for 10 months, which I get that, can you do six weeks?
31:33
SPEAKER_03: Can you give me six weeks in a row where you can come in at the end of six weeks?
31:38
SPEAKER_03: Let's discuss it, go back to your regular classes, take what you've learned, let's come back and do another grouping of them.
31:44
SPEAKER_03: And that's in that situation.
31:45
SPEAKER_03: So I feel like every dancer, you have to communicate and find out what is the goal of this lesson.
31:51
SPEAKER_03: I also have a whole recreational side of my dance studio, you know, and those kids want to be able to take private lessons too, and they have misconceptions that it's just for competition dancers, and it's not because how do you ever get to that level?
32:01
SPEAKER_03: If maybe you didn't have a little bit of one-on-one instruction, but you know, the length of it, it depends to me, like 30 minutes minimum, 45 might be good.
32:11
SPEAKER_03: An hour sometimes is too late.
32:13
SPEAKER_03: Where are they placed throughout the day?
32:14
SPEAKER_03: And how many are they trying to do at one time?
32:17
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I feel like studio space has to be an issue when it comes to private lessons.
32:21
SPEAKER_02: It'd be the amount of children at the studio, and then, you know, 51 private lessons, there's not enough space or time in the day to also have your regular classes penciled in.
32:33
SPEAKER_02: Like it then becomes very selective as to who gets privates and who doesn't, or is there a type of rotation schedule that we can do, or maybe you do do six-week block sessions because that opens up the door to another dancer that can now have the next six-week block.
32:46
SPEAKER_02: And everyone gets a private at some point if that's what they really want, but we don't have the time to do our privates every week for these dancers as much as we want to, unless you're homeschooled and you have time.
32:57
SPEAKER_02: Like, I think that's probably the other reason why I never did privates was because I was in technique class all day, like every day.
33:05
SPEAKER_02: There was no time for a private.
33:06
SPEAKER_02: Like I went to the studio, got my dad picked me up at school, drove me 40 minutes to the studio, and I was there till nine every day.
33:13
SPEAKER_02: So, like, when is there time for a private?
33:15
SPEAKER_02: Unless I wanted to, like you kind of mentioned earlier, come in the weekend or come.
33:19
SPEAKER_02: I think like one of our studio spotlight, um, I can't, and I can't remember who it was, but they were like, our entire Sunday is booked solid out of eight studio spaces with private lessons on Sunday.
33:30
SPEAKER_02: Like, I think it was expressions.
33:31
SPEAKER_02: It might have, yeah, it might have been expressions.
33:33
SPEAKER_02: And like, I mean, that's all great.
33:35
SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, income for them and the dancers are dedicated, and that's how they want to spend their Sunday, and like income for the teachers.
33:41
SPEAKER_02: Like, I mean, there's benefits to it, but also like that's wild.
33:45
SPEAKER_02: That's a lot.
33:46
SPEAKER_02: Like, that's a whole business in itself.
33:48
SPEAKER_00: Well, how do you rest?
33:49
SPEAKER_00: I mean, kids, kids need rest just like everybody else.
33:52
SPEAKER_00: And I mean, honestly, kids are busier than I am.
33:54
SPEAKER_00: You know how Pilates, what you can do a duet sometimes and take a Pilates class with just two people and it's a little cheaper.
33:59
SPEAKER_00: Is that do you guys do that at all with your privates?
34:02
SPEAKER_00: Is that an option?
34:03
SPEAKER_02: Oh, that's interesting.
34:04
SPEAKER_02: I never really thought of doing like pairs for a private.
34:08
SPEAKER_02: And I think I actually thinking back, I have been asked to do that just because when I've been in studios, it's been like a limited time, and maybe the dancers want to work on the same type of things.
34:19
SPEAKER_02: I think that that's what would be the most important thing in like a double private, or I guess a semi-private is what you'd call it, would be that like both dancers want to work on the same skills and they're okay with that because I think it would be too hard to work on two separate things where like maybe half the class we can do what Susie wants to do, and then half the other class we can do what Sally wants to do.
34:39
SPEAKER_02: I think that's the and like obviously they're not sitting while they're participating with each side, and we're covering those bases.
34:47
SPEAKER_02: But I mean, I think it could work.
34:50
SPEAKER_02: I also think it depends.
34:51
SPEAKER_02: Like, are the level are the dancers at the same level?
34:54
SPEAKER_02: Are they siblings?
34:55
SPEAKER_02: Are they just gonna fight the whole time?
34:56
SPEAKER_02: Are they actually focused?
34:57
SPEAKER_02: Are they just gonna be distracted because they have a friend in the room with them?
35:01
SPEAKER_02: Or is it going to actually be like successful and we can actually get some stuff done?
35:06
SPEAKER_02: I mean, are they even more motivated?
35:08
SPEAKER_02: Are they in is it a good thing that they have somebody to be, you know, comfortable with in the room and also support and guide off of and learn from?
35:16
SPEAKER_02: See, like the teacher could actually use each other as a turn a learning tool and say, Oh, well, look how Susie did that leap.
35:22
SPEAKER_02: Okay, Sally, make sure that you do it the exact same way as Susie did it.
35:25
SPEAKER_02: She had a really beautiful stretch front leg, like whatever it is.
35:28
SPEAKER_02: I think it could be a valuable thing because I'm sure a lot of the teachers that are teaching these privates are not demonstrating it.
35:35
SPEAKER_02: So it could be a way to actually almost have a way to show each other this is what it's supposed to look like, or this is what we both can work on, or look at how you're both doing it like this and use each other as a tool.
35:45
SPEAKER_03: So there's a few different ways to look at it.
35:47
SPEAKER_03: Again, a parent's gonna want to save money and divide that fee in half.
35:51
SPEAKER_03: And again, you have to explain, they may be at different levels, you know, or she might be awesome at tap, but he's amazing at lyrical, and you have them coming for a contemporary, you know, private lesson.
36:01
SPEAKER_03: So there's there's that part of it.
36:03
SPEAKER_03: If I have a duo that's already working together, there they've been a duo for a while, or they have a duo this season and they want to come in and work with a gymnastics coach because they want Ariel's, you know what I mean?
36:12
SPEAKER_03: It's better, or they're working on a partner piece.
36:14
SPEAKER_03: That's great to have them come in together.
36:16
SPEAKER_03: If there's a group, if there's two dancers that have been trying out for a duo the past few years, and the parent is like, you know, why don't they ever make that?
36:22
SPEAKER_03: Is there any way they can come in for a little private so they can work on being a team together?
36:27
SPEAKER_03: That's great.
36:27
SPEAKER_03: However, make sure that both of these parents are on board because a lot of times the dancers have these great ideas.
36:35
SPEAKER_03: They address the teacher, you're you think this is a go, and you go to say, I want to schedule their duo private lesson.
36:40
SPEAKER_03: And one parent goes, I don't want that.
36:43
SPEAKER_03: I didn't want her to dance with her or whatever.
36:45
SPEAKER_03: So just make sure that parents are on board if you are gonna do it.
36:50
SPEAKER_03: But it has to be a unique situation because it's very rare that you have two dancers that are exactly sharing the same brain that you're getting a lot of work done in that private lesson.
36:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and it it really occurred to me when I was thinking about the Pilates duets, is that, you know, like that's a price point thing, 100%.
37:07
SPEAKER_00: Like nobody, I'm not gonna say to Courtney, like, hey, do you want to save some money on Pilates duets?
37:13
SPEAKER_00: But like, I know you really need to work on this and I really need to work on this.
37:17
SPEAKER_00: Like, that's not how it goes in the adult Pilates world.
37:19
SPEAKER_00: Like, we are truly doing this to save money.
37:21
SPEAKER_00: Whereas with a duet private dance lesson, I think it's it's more about the skills that the dancers are learning.
37:28
SPEAKER_00: Whereas like in the Pilates world, it's really, I need to get this work out for cheaper.
37:32
SPEAKER_00: But in thinking about the dance privates with two kids, I can definitely see how it could be really challenging, especially if you have two kids, not necessarily without the same level of dance skills, but even without the same personalities of how they're used to being corrected and how they're used to reacting and ingesting the information that they're being given.
37:53
SPEAKER_00: Because I can definitely see if you've got two kids that are, you know, one of them is a little shyer, one of them is a little bit more outgoing and like more receptive to corrections, that it could probably be a little bit of a disaster for the kid who doesn't feel that confident in general in the room.
38:09
SPEAKER_00: You know, like a private lesson, I think should be private because it's a safe space.
38:14
SPEAKER_00: Like as a teacher, you're learning how these kids learn and you're trying to do your best by them and their learning experience to be able to do what they need.
38:23
SPEAKER_00: And if you've got two kids in there who need wildly different things, including technique and including, you know, the skills that they're working on, then I think I don't know.
38:33
SPEAKER_00: I yes, you're saving money, but I don't know that you're really getting much of a benefit if the kids aren't really well matched, not only skill-wise, but personality-wise.
38:43
SPEAKER_00: I have another question because I think this is a really important thing to talk if we're if you're a dance parent listening.
38:50
SPEAKER_00: This is a really honest.
38:52
SPEAKER_00: How do you know that a child is ready for a private lesson?
38:55
SPEAKER_00: And how do you know who is not ready for a private lesson?
38:58
SPEAKER_00: Because if you're not ready, it's not it's no benefit at all to anybody.
39:03
SPEAKER_02: So I feel like that a dancer who is ready for a private lesson is someone who is super focused in class, who has the drive, who is eager to learn, who wants to really conquer that uh goal that they have, that they want to achieve that skill that they're working so hard on.
39:25
SPEAKER_02: And that me as a teacher, if I'm teaching them regularly, I can see that they just need that little bit of extra help, and that I know that they're going to apply that within the private.
39:36
SPEAKER_02: I can tell how their work ethic is in the room, in the group setting.
39:40
SPEAKER_02: And sometimes I can tell based on how dancers are acting in class that they a private would benefit them, that they do need that individualized attention to help take them to that next level.
39:52
SPEAKER_02: And just based on how they're, you know, self-correcting themselves and like things I've talked about earlier.
39:58
SPEAKER_02: Then there's dancers who, in a regular group setting, are just goofing off, bouncing off the walls, never focused, never paying attention to the teacher, doing the opposite of what they're supposed to, and then mom signs them up for a private.
40:12
SPEAKER_02: I don't think that that's the right fit because this private isn't going to fix all of those problems that this kid is not working on in the classroom.
40:21
SPEAKER_02: And I think maybe, you know, we've talked about like if a dancer has like the correct approach in the room, maybe there's too much distractions and maybe they're a better learner one-on-one.
40:32
SPEAKER_02: And that could very well be true.
40:34
SPEAKER_02: But at the same time, the dancer needs to want to be there.
40:37
SPEAKER_02: The dancer needs to want this.
40:38
SPEAKER_02: And a lot of times I think that uh there are very I don't want to say stage moms, but I definitely think that there are moms that want want this more than the kid.
40:50
SPEAKER_02: And that's not gonna work well in the private.
40:53
SPEAKER_02: And yeah, you obviously the teacher's going to be able to get some stuff done, but like you have to want to be there.
41:00
SPEAKER_02: I think that's the most important thing.
41:02
SPEAKER_02: And if the dancer just isn't focused and mom or dad thinks that, okay, well, if we give them private instruction, that maybe they'll focus more, like, yes, but are they actually ready?
41:12
SPEAKER_02: Do they really want to do this?
41:14
SPEAKER_02: And like, how old are they?
41:15
SPEAKER_02: I think that age comes into play, and like, do we really need private lessons for six-year-olds?
41:20
SPEAKER_02: I don't think so.
41:22
SPEAKER_02: Like, I think like privates should be happening maybe like eight and over, I would say, is what personally I would recommend.
41:30
SPEAKER_02: I don't I don't necessarily think six-year-olds need to be in one-on-one instruction for dance, but that's just me.
41:35
SPEAKER_02: I'm curious to hear what Mary has to say.
41:38
SPEAKER_03: So I I really like this question.
41:39
SPEAKER_03: I think attention span is big and it's not necessarily just younger dancers because everybody has an attention span.
41:45
SPEAKER_03: It's long or short.
41:46
SPEAKER_03: So if you don't specifically teach them it, right, if you don't specifically teach them in class, maybe reach out to their teacher who does have them primarily and say, you know, there, I know you have her for an hour and a half or him for an hour.
41:57
SPEAKER_03: Are they working hard the whole hour?
41:58
SPEAKER_03: And you're like, well, after about the 30-minute mark, I have to really try.
42:02
SPEAKER_03: I have I struggle to keep them on task.
42:04
SPEAKER_03: But when I was thinking about this question earlier, and I did make some notes, I particularly underlined my answer to this one because a dancer who is not ready is someone who needs this private lesson to catch up because they've missed so much regular class, because they have not practiced, or because they cannot pay attention in their regular classes.
42:25
SPEAKER_03: Truth.
42:25
SPEAKER_03: So that is a dancer who is not ready for a private lesson.
42:29
SPEAKER_03: Do not use it for those reasons.
42:32
SPEAKER_02: Couldn't couldn't be more correct on that.
42:34
SPEAKER_02: I definitely think that is very, very true.
42:37
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I will be like a little devil's advocatey where the training at that other studio for that age and level was on par for ballet, it was on par for jazz, but tap, this child did not get any good tap training, but needs to go in that class of kids who are at a higher level of tap.
42:53
SPEAKER_02: That age, yeah.
42:54
SPEAKER_00: Let's take a month of private lessons to catch you up on your flap heels, to make sure you know what a buffalo is.
42:59
SPEAKER_00: Like that's when that kid can benefit from a private.
43:02
SPEAKER_00: But I definitely agree with you on the like, if you didn't pay attention for a month or you miss class because you were on vacation, that's not a private lesson.
43:09
SPEAKER_00: That's that's yeah, I don't know, take a video because it's just that's not like the reason.
43:14
SPEAKER_00: Right.
43:15
SPEAKER_00: To a friend.
43:16
SPEAKER_02: I definitely agree with that point, Leslie.
43:19
SPEAKER_02: I think that scenario that you just brought up is very different than like if you if it was like your dancer that you've been, you know, sculpting from the round up and no.
43:27
SPEAKER_02: Whereas like this person has come from a whole completely different training program.
43:31
SPEAKER_02: Obviously, they're not gonna be exactly where they need to be when they come into this studio space.
43:36
SPEAKER_02: So, like, you know, learning the ins and outs of how these teachers, you know, work in in the studio and their technique abilities and things like that to catch them up absolutely makes sense.
43:45
SPEAKER_02: Something that I want to bring up that just randomly was happening today uh on a forum.
43:50
SPEAKER_02: I'm I happen to be in a competitive dance mom Facebook group.
43:54
SPEAKER_02: Sorry about it, I'm not a dance mom.
43:56
SPEAKER_02: But I'm in there mainly just to kind of like randomly contribute.
44:00
SPEAKER_02: I don't know how they I don't know how I slipped through the cracks.
44:02
SPEAKER_02: They approved me, so I'm in there.
44:04
SPEAKER_02: But I think some of the parents know me because they listen to the podcast, so they know that like what I'm saying is valuable information and try to like spin it from the judge's perspective.
44:12
SPEAKER_02: And I mainly just advertise the podcast in there anyway, so yay for that.
44:15
SPEAKER_02: But today somebody posted a question in the group saying, My dancer is I need my dancer to get their triple pirouette.
44:23
SPEAKER_02: There's they're in a group dance and they're the only one that isn't able to get their triple pirouette.
44:27
SPEAKER_02: And they can only they can do a solid double, but they don't have their triple yet.
44:30
SPEAKER_02: And their teacher keeps getting on them that they need to get the triple or they're gonna remove it and turn it into a double for the whole group.
44:35
SPEAKER_02: So this dancer is feeling like overwhelmed, and I'm letting my team down and I can't get my double.
44:40
SPEAKER_02: And like through the comments, everyone's like, well, how much are they training?
44:44
SPEAKER_02: And how old are they?
44:44
SPEAKER_02: And what level dancer are they at?
44:46
SPEAKER_02: And how many classes and all of these things?
44:48
SPEAKER_02: And come to find out, the dancer is only taking like two hours of technique classes and two hours of ballet classes, and they're dancing at the intermediate level, and they're eight years old.
44:57
SPEAKER_02: So, which I'm like, okay, first of all, let I'm just gonna let you know that I don't expect an eight-year-old to have a triple pirouette.
45:03
SPEAKER_02: So there's that.
45:04
SPEAKER_02: And it's not a whole group of them anyway.
45:06
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
45:07
SPEAKER_02: So I'm like, if your studio thinks that eight-year-olds should have triple pirouettes at the amount of hours that you're training, then I don't, I I'm confused.
45:17
SPEAKER_02: And on top of it, she this person also said that the studio does not offer private lessons because their their conflict was we want to make sure that my dancer can get this and we want to have that triple.
45:28
SPEAKER_02: So we want to do a private, but we don't, they don't offer it.
45:31
SPEAKER_02: And I I just I found that very interesting because I think that's a perfect scenario of like maybe this dancer needs that individual attention and they want to do this for their team and they don't have a solo that this is for their group, but the studio's not even giving them the tools to succeed where they're not even focusing on turns in class.
45:46
SPEAKER_02: They're not, she's not learning how to do it.
45:49
SPEAKER_02: Where's the teaching aspect being applied?
45:51
SPEAKER_02: Because I think that's what's the most important thing is right now we see so many studios just drilling choreography and taking over technique time for choreography drilling and thinking about the competition aspect instead of the actual skills and the technique and the foundation that you mentioned, Mary, like in jazz class.
46:06
SPEAKER_02: We learn the skills and jazz to put into the choreography, and that's getting lost.
46:11
SPEAKER_02: And I think that was a perfect example of it getting lost where it's just like, you should be able to do this.
46:15
SPEAKER_02: And it's like, have you even taught them how to do that or just expecting magic, the magic potion of boom, here's your triple pirouette, everybody?
46:24
SPEAKER_02: And you're eight years old.
46:25
SPEAKER_02: Like, I don't know.
46:25
SPEAKER_02: It just it made me really sad for for this dancer because I don't want them to feel like that they're letting their team down because they couldn't do with their triple.
46:33
SPEAKER_02: Like, that's sad.
46:34
SPEAKER_00: And Mary, you hold your you have your own studio.
46:37
SPEAKER_00: So are you teaching a lot of privates?
46:38
SPEAKER_00: Do you have a bunch of teachers that do privates as well?
46:40
SPEAKER_03: You know, I do.
46:41
SPEAKER_03: There's uh we have just about 13 of us on our staff, and I do have to say there's a handful that that they're strong in everything, but then there are I do have the tumbling coach, the acro coach, the ballet instructors, the stretching instructors, the you know, the primarily hip hop, that I have breakdance, you know.
46:58
SPEAKER_03: So you have your definitely your specialized areas, but the the most important thing is to communicate within each other to make sure that every dancer is getting trained fully to their potential, making sure that you are always aware of how everybody learns, uh what their goals are, you know, you know, that kind of thing.
47:15
SPEAKER_03: But if I could give a tip to any uh studios out there that are thinking there's no way we can fit private lessons in, our teachers are completely swamped, um, there's just no extra time.
47:26
SPEAKER_03: I don't know how everybody's studios run, but we always have an assistant in class.
47:30
SPEAKER_03: We always have a class assistant.
47:31
SPEAKER_03: Now, this wouldn't necessarily work for like very advanced dancers, but if you have dancers in a particular group or class and you have that senior assistant who's in class with them every week, there's no reason why they can't run their private lesson.
47:44
SPEAKER_03: They're in class with them, they know the dancers, they know the curriculum, they know the routine, they know the struggles.
47:50
SPEAKER_03: There's no reason why they can't come and meet with them and work on that routine, you know, in that specific instance.
47:56
SPEAKER_03: So sometimes financially, when you're trying to figure it out, that might be a good option.
48:01
SPEAKER_03: Um, and it's a little less intimidating sometimes if a dancer wants a private lesson and I walk into the room, right?
48:06
SPEAKER_03: You know, they're like, Oh, I didn't know it was gonna be you.
48:10
SPEAKER_03: And some dance, yeah, and some dancers are like, oh, I only want her, you know, and some are like, oh no.
48:17
SPEAKER_03: So it might be a little less intimidating as well.
48:19
SPEAKER_03: You know, they can relate a little bit differently.
48:21
SPEAKER_03: So just a suggestion if they're having a hard time thinking, how are they ever gonna fit this into their weekly schedule?
48:26
SPEAKER_03: That's an option for a little bit like intermediate beginner level dancer who's looking for that.
48:31
SPEAKER_02: Okay, totally love it.
48:32
SPEAKER_02: Love those tips.
48:33
SPEAKER_02: That's great, especially from the studio owner side of things.
48:36
SPEAKER_02: So, yeah, y'all.
48:38
SPEAKER_02: This was a great discussion.
48:40
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
48:40
SPEAKER_02: I'm real I really love where this went.
48:42
SPEAKER_02: I really love all the advice that you both shared from different perspectives.
48:47
SPEAKER_02: And I hope that all of our listeners out there, we have a lot of dance mom listeners.
48:51
SPEAKER_02: Maybe it opened your eyes a little bit to this whole privates, the privates world.
48:59
SPEAKER_02: Um, and it I really am so glad we did this episode.
49:03
SPEAKER_02: It was definitely a much needed one for sure because y'all love those privates out there, everybody.
49:08
SPEAKER_02: I know you do.
49:09
SPEAKER_02: We see them all the time at studios and filling up those schedules.
49:12
SPEAKER_02: And I hope that you, all of you dancers who are listening, approach your private lesson with 110% the next time you step foot in that studio and make the most of every single class that you take.
49:23
SPEAKER_02: I would like to send a huge thank you to our special guest, IDA judge, Mary, for flying solo today and making it work.
49:31
SPEAKER_02: And you were such a fabulous guest.
49:33
SPEAKER_02: You have such great advice to share with the dance world.
49:37
SPEAKER_02: And I am so excited after having you on this podcast to now have you on the IDA roster as a brand new judge.
49:43
SPEAKER_02: It's really, really great, and you are fantastic.
49:46
SPEAKER_02: So, Mary, if you would like to lead us out on this episode and share any final thoughts that you have in regards to private lessons.
49:55
SPEAKER_03: So, a private lesson is a dance lesson, and you should be taking every single dance lesson to its absolute fullest.
50:02
SPEAKER_03: And like we said earlier, if I'm getting a correction, it could be your correction as well.
50:06
SPEAKER_03: Because they didn't say your name specifically doesn't mean that it was not yours.
50:09
SPEAKER_03: So, no matter what your lesson is, you always have a teacher.
50:12
SPEAKER_03: You know, you can take whatever you want from that.
50:14
SPEAKER_03: So private lessons are great, they're individualized, but team groups, large groups, small groups are awesome because you also have all your peers there to push you, and it's still a dance lesson.
50:23
SPEAKER_03: You're still being educated in dance.
50:24
SPEAKER_03: Parents, if you never see your dancer come home with a dance step, you never hear music playing, the music you hear in the dance studio, if you never hear it at home, something's wrong.
50:33
SPEAKER_03: You dancers need to not only be dancing at the dance studio, but they should be dancing at home.
50:38
SPEAKER_03: It's just like homework at school.
50:39
SPEAKER_03: If you don't put the work in at home, there's no, there's no consistency there.
50:44
SPEAKER_03: So a private lesson is a dance lesson that has to be taken seriously, and dancers are accountable for their dance training.
50:50
SPEAKER_03: What you put in is what you get out, and if you're not challenged, there's never any change.
50:55
SPEAKER_01: We hope you enjoyed this week's episode all about private lessons.
50:59
SPEAKER_01: Be sure to follow our special guest, IVA Judge, on social media.
51:03
SPEAKER_01: You can find Mary at Mary Monroe 5678.
51:08
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51:16
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51:22
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51:31
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51:38
SPEAKER_01: Be sure to check out IDA affiliated competition Star Talent.
51:42
SPEAKER_01: Star Talent will be celebrating their 17th season in 2023.
51:46
SPEAKER_02: They are thrilled to continue to work with Impact Dance Adjudicators by having IDA judges on all of their judging panels.
51:52
SPEAKER_02: Star Talent holds events in Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
51:59
SPEAKER_02: And their national finals will take place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, June 14th through 18th.
52:05
SPEAKER_02: Their competition was created to provide a positive dance environment for both recreational and competitive dancers.
52:10
SPEAKER_02: StarTalent believes that competition is about becoming the best dancer that you can be in performance and attitude.
52:16
SPEAKER_02: Awards are presented by category and divisions, and high score awards are separated by three levels.
52:22
SPEAKER_02: StarTalent also offers cash awards, scholarships, and title opportunities.
52:26
SPEAKER_02: To learn more about Star Talent and to register for an upcoming event in their 2023 season, visit their website now at StarTalent Productions.com.
52:36
SPEAKER_00: Season four of Making the Impact is underway with some interesting and intriguing topics.
52:40
SPEAKER_00: Coming up next, we've got College Dance Team Prep, our Levels 2.0 conversation, and our second studio spotlight episode.
52:48
SPEAKER_02: We would like to send love to all of the dance families around the world and hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
52:54
SPEAKER_02: We'll see you next week.
52:55
SPEAKER_02: Until then, keep dancing.