Pro-Am Pro & Distance

[dancinginthemoonlight]

Just curious...but how many pro-am am competitors dance with a pro-am pro who is not in their city? And how far are you willing to drive (or fly even!) to be with a good pro? Is that important?

I only ask because my former partner (am) used to drive 2 hours (one way) 3-4 nights a week to dance and take lessons with his pro when he did pro-am. I remember one point in which he was considering doing pro-am with a lady who was on the other side of the country and he would only get to take lessons with her/practice once a month or every few months. Is this something that happens often?

I guess on one hand, it shouldn't appear that strange as I know some pros who often bring their teachers to them or go to their teachers as they are not usually in the same area or country as them. But I was just curious to see what everyone else thought!

[elisedance]

Depends on whats available locally and how badly you want to win I think!  Say what they will but judging at the higher levels of pro-am is NOT pro-independent.  Look, you are a judge and the pro in couple A is an ex world champion and couple B is an ex state champion.  Are you going to mark the world champion down?  It can happen I guess but ...

[ttd]

I have been in a long-distance pro-am partnership for about a year and a half. Presently we're about 2 hours away from each other. There's nobody I am willing to do pro-am with in my town. I also know people who drive over 5  hours to work with their teachers.

I guess once you move out of major population hubs, the distances expand and you just have to do what it takes.

[dancinginthemoonlight]

That is a really good point ttd. Can I ask why you chose that pro specifically as opposed to the others in your town? Was it because of their titles or because they were well known as "the best" or something more personal as in it's easier to learn from them or you dance better with them, etc. I know there is a similar thread on this, so you don't have to go into a lot of detail, I was just curious as to what keeps you going back to that pro or keeps you from picking a new pro even if they are farther away than your current one.

[dancinginthemoonlight]

Depends on whats available locally and how badly you want to win I think!  Say what they will but judging at the higher levels of pro-am is NOT pro-independent.  Look, you are a judge and the pro in couple A is an ex world champion and couple B is an ex state champion.  Are you going to mark the world champion down?  It can happen I guess but ...

If that is the case, I want Riccardo to be my pro!  (yes, in-between the times he's competing with Yulia  )

Geez, can you even imagine how much THAT would cost! Yikes! 

[elisedance]

Depends on whats available locally and how badly you want to win I think!  Say what they will but judging at the higher levels of pro-am is NOT pro-independent.  Look, you are a judge and the pro in couple A is an ex world champion and couple B is an ex state champion.  Are you going to mark the world champion down?  It can happen I guess but ...

If that is the case, I want Riccardo to be my pro!  (yes, in-between the times he's competing with Yulia  )

Geez, can you even imagine how much THAT would cost! Yikes! 

Thats a different question for sure.  Some pros are astronomically expensive - because there's a woman that will pay.  Others keep their costs down to  build a large stable of ams and yet others lower their costs for top level ams so that they can show well at big comps.  So if you dance like Yulia, once Riccardo retires he may cut you a deal...

[elisedance]

My last pro-am partner is the current Canadian champion Anton Lebedev.  He was always very reasonable with respect to costs - a real pro in my eyes

[dancinginthemoonlight]

So if you dance like Yulia, once Riccardo retires he may cut you a deal...

That's one of my goals actually:

1. dance like Yulia

and then:

2. dance better than Yulia

lol    though I haven't actually decided how that would look yet because she's pretty near perfect.

[elisedance]

So if you dance like Yulia, once Riccardo retires he may cut you a deal...

That's one of my goals actually:

1. dance like Yulia

and then:

2. dance better than Yulia

lol    though I haven't actually decided how that would look yet because she's pretty near perfect.

We patiently await the revelation

[ttd]

I have been in a long-distance pro-am partnership for about a year and a half. Presently we're about 2 hours away from each other. There's nobody I am willing to do pro-am with in my town. I also know people who drive over 5  hours to work with their teachers.

I guess once you move out of major population hubs, the distances expand and you just have to do what it takes.

When I started dancing with my pro, he was local and the most experienced. The pro I was with previously was much less so. But then he decided to move to have access to better training for himself. He suggested a long-distance arrangement to his competitive ladies, that he would come back every few weeks and we would squeeze all lessons we would normally take in those few days (basically all 8-12 hours I would take in a month were squeezed into one long weekend). I chose to go with it. My other choices were my first (local, but still less experienced) pro, another local pro whose stronger styles were rhythm and latin (and who largely ignored me unless it seemed that I was up for grabs as a prospective pro-am student, and I felt mildly insulted by that), and a few more experienced people 2 hours away. But after a year and a half my pro moved closer, to a large city two hours away, and we've been commuting to each other ever since. He has a few more students in our town, so he usually gets a full day when he comes down here.

[dancinginthemoonlight]

Thank you for your post, ttd. That was very insightful! I can't imagine taking 8-12 hours of lessons in only a weekend, I think my brain would hurt from all of the information!