Changing teachers

[taheya]

Hello everybody, has anyone been in the situation where they feel they have outgrown their teacher? Ever reached the point where you feel like there is nothing more to learn from your present teacher and you know that if you want to go further you have to move on?
I started with a new teacher not so long ago but am still friends with my old teacher and feel sad sometimes that i had to leave. It is very hard when you feel loyalty to someone but are so keen to advance that you need to move on to another teacher. Anyone else go through this?

 

[Gabi]

This is how you end up taking a lot of classes :lol: .

Actually I'm no where near feeling like I've outgrown either of mine but I do like to do drop ins with different people. I see nothing wrong with alternating a few months/sessions either.

 

[Yasmine Bint Al Nubia]

Hi Everyone, I too have thought about changing teachers even though I love my current teacher and boss. Reasons for changing: Eclipsed much of the repertoire she currently uses and preferences for exploring other styles of dance on a deeper level.
However I haven't actively sought out other teachers in this area for the following reasons:
My teacher believes in exposing her students to other teachers frequently in the form of mini seminars at the school. As a result these teachers become our teachers too. Shakira, Aegela, Dahmia, Snakes Rising etc. She also posts flyers and seminars from other teachers in the area and across the nation.
The other teachers in this area, often change locations of their classes about every 6 mos or so. So there isn't any consistency. How do i know this? We get their former students.
Most of these teachers are more concerned with their own careers than developing solid dance curriculum.
As a result, we have a lot of performing opportunities that these teachers look down on.
My daughter is also part of the junior dance troupe for the last 4 yrs. If I leave, there won't be any opportunity for her to dance.
Finally, I realize my relationship with my teacher has grown beyond what she can teach me(dance wise) and I treasure our friendship like a precious jewel.
Yasmine

 

[Gabi]

.......My teacher believes in exposing her students to other teachers frequently in the form of mini seminars at the school.

My first and foremost does that too and I love her for it.

It seems that sometimes even if teachers are teaching almost exactly the same thing they express it differently and you have those lovely EUREKA moments.

I think dancing different styles is helpful for learning also, but that would probably vary from person to person. I do best flooding myself from all directions and swimming to the top (hopefully).

 

[taheya]

My problem with my old teacher was that she never encouraged students to take workshops with other people. Also, she never hosted other teachers either, which was very disappointing. Im good friends with her and i personally travel around and do workshops with other teachers so i did not rely on that but to my dance colleagues in the class that was all they knew and in the end i felt i needed to move on.

 

[Fire Lily]

Changing teachers reply

Hell yeah! But I moved on from my first teacher for two reasons.

1, I'd grown beyond her. I wasn't getting anything from her anymore and I wasn't being challanged. Even at a high level advanced class.

2, We had 'Issues' that involved her being threatened by myself and other highly advanced students surpassing her.

And I am not being self absorbd here, or self promoting myself. She's had her day. And i'm not the only one with that opinion.

So I moved on. Three times. I'm still learning new moves, and couldn't be happier

Fire Lily

 

[Suheir]

I'm still with the teacher I started off with 7 years ago (apart from a hiatus of a year or so when she stopped teaching in my area) but I doubt very much I'll outgrow her as she's been travelling abroad for years to take workshops with master teachers, such as Yousry Sharif's intensives in New York and Beata and Horacio Cifuentes's professional-level week-longs in Berlin.

She, however, did find herself in the situation of not learning anything more from her teacher which is why she started travelling abroad to attend workshops. I like to try other teachers' drop in classes to see what the standard of teaching is like and it's often not very impressive. Also, it's interesting to observe teachers who attend the same workshops that I do, especially when they're unable to do basic movements yet make outrageous claims about themselves in their publicity!

I take as many workshops as I can, both in the UK and abroad, as I don't want to be a clone of my teacher and I'm interested in learning as much as I can.

Some of the long-standing teachers in the UK have not attended any workshops for years and so are the equivalent of the elderly Dr who's still prescribing exactly the same drugs as when they qualified, rather than paying attention to medical advances!

 

[Aisha Azar]

New teacher

Dear Taheya,
I think that each and every serious student gets to the point where they want to know what else is out there. It is healthy to eventually feel that you have soaked up just about everything you can from one instructor. Whether or not you have reached the limits of the instructor's actual knowledge has nothing to do with it. You may be too saturated with her/his teaching style to be able to absorb anything more for the moment.
Learning dance is just like learning anything else. What reasonable person would expect any student, no matter what the subject, to learn exclusively with them? If they do, it is ego and in security talking and has nothing to do with the furthering of the student's education.
Best wishes and do not feel even a teeny bit guility about moving on. In the final analysis, good teachers do not require loyalty to themselves from the students; only loyatly to the precepts of dance.
Regards,
A'isha

 

[taheya]

Thanks Aisha, what you are saying makes perfect sense. I think i find it hard because i feel that she has given me opportunities to perform etc and i still am in her troupe so sort of feel obliged to her. I was even thinking of going back to her classes because of this even though i dont feel like i am getting any more from them.

 

[sstacy123]

I don't have quite the same problem but because of scheduling conflicts I'm unable to move up in my teacher's next class...so I have to go to another teacher...I really hate it but what can I do?

 

[Lydia]

changing teachers

Hell yeah! But I moved on from my first teacher for two reasons.

1, I'd grown beyond her. I wasn't getting anything from her anymore and I wasn't being challanged. Even at a high level advanced class.

2, We had 'Issues' that involved her being threatened by myself and other highly advanced students surpassing her.

And I am not being self absorbd here, or self promoting myself. She's had her day. And i'm not the only one with that opinion.

So I moved on. Three times. I'm still learning new moves, and couldn't be happier

Fire Lily

Hi Lily......i understand what you are saying.....but i hope that your teacher is not reading this one....,,she had her day,,it must be hurtfull to her beside there are than still new students that want to learn from her i am sure? to move on is great but try to be a bit more kind about your previous teacher after all she is one of those that tought you.....have a great day lydia

 

[Fire Lily]

Hi Lydia

Hi Lydia.
I realize my statement may be offensive to some people, and I apologize if I have. But I know her. And trust me, she ain’t on this forum. She doesn’t encourage her students to go to other teachers, she openly bad mouths them without thought. And she doesn’t take workshops.
I left her because she told me I was violent and vicious. A statement that couldn’t be further from the truth.
And if I remember, I didn’t mention who it was for that reason.
She also claims that one woman, one of my good friends, was a cult leader because she talked to people in a friendly manner to welcome them. Go figure

 

[Lydia]

changing teachers

Hi Lily...I dont know you ,neither your teacher so i realy dont know how and what the situation is,and i am sorry that you have a yakky experiance in your clas like that, i just hope that my students wil never talk that way about me and i read something like that about myself....But i hope that you are more happy now and have a great time dancing because that is what it is all about...take care and have a great day Lydia

 

[Aisha Azar]

Teacher, etc.

I don't have quite the same problem but because of scheduling conflicts I'm unable to move up in my teacher's next class...so I have to go to another teacher...I really hate it but what can I do?

Dear Stacy,
I have several students who can not make my regular classes and they instead opt for private or semi-private classes with me. Is this a possiblity for you and the teacher you want to advance with?
Regards,
A'isha

 

[sstacy123]

Dear Stacy,
I have several students who can not make my regular classes and they instead opt for private or semi-private classes with me. Is this a possiblity for you and the teacher you want to advance with?
Regards,
A'isha

I'm not sure, I was never aware of her giving private lessons but I was on the instructor list on this website just recently and saw it had listed that she did private lessons. She never mentioned it. It maybe something I should check into although I don't know how much that would run if I could afford it.