Decision to go pro?

[elisedance]

from the sounds of it the age divisions are quite similar, if the names differ.  Master's sounds much better than Senior I   OTOH we don't have new wave - though it would be neat to organize a demonstration...

[emeralddancer]

I like the sound of masters better than senior. Can we just start a new trend in ballroom then?

[QPO]

It has been called masters in Australia for a long time, there are Masters level one for 35+ and then there is Masters 2 for 50+

Most major comps will only allow you to be one,  smaller comps will let you go in both...

It is a trend in this country :-)

I like the sound of masters better than senior. Can we just start a new trend in ballroom then?

[emeralddancer]

But it isn't here. LOL

It has been called masters in Australia for a long time, there are Masters level one for 35+ and then there is Masters 2 for 50+

Most major comps will only allow you to be one,  smaller comps will let you go in both...

It is a trend in this country :-)

I like the sound of masters better than senior. Can we just start a new trend in ballroom then?

[Some guy]

"Masters" sounds WAY better.  If IDSF and USA Dance wants to call 35 and above folks "seniors", then they should take a queue from movie theatres and theme parks and discount the fees.   

[elisedance]

"Masters" sounds WAY better.  If IDSF and USA Dance wants to call 35 and above folks "seniors", then they should take a queue from movie theatres and theme parks and discount the fees.   

ontario has gone to Adult I, Adult II and Adult III.

So the old Senior I is now the new Adult II - which causes all sorts of confusion...

still a fee discount would be nice

[Medira]

well old-pro (who's half my age by the way) was doing OK in amateur but decided to go pro to put himself through college.  Well, to be more specific, so that I could put him through college, which is in essence what I did.

Talk about a multipl ebenefit - fabulous lessons with a charming guy, terrific dance and competition partner - and the money paid put a really decent person through college.  I'd say that that was money well spent...

I would agree!  Good for him, and for you too.

(and, depending on what happens occupationally, I'm seriously considering poking at him to see if he'd be interested in working with me...I may bug you for contact info)

I think he would be terrific for you - actually you'd be good for each other - he also needs some more advanced students....  I don't regret a cent i spent on lessons with C...

I think we may need to chat then.  Things have become interesting over the course of the last week.

[Medira]

"Masters" sounds WAY better.  If IDSF and USA Dance wants to call 35 and above folks "seniors", then they should take a queue from movie theatres and theme parks and discount the fees.   

I used to be a competitive swimmer.  In that world, we have Masters divisions as well.  Basically, Masters is for swimmers who want to compete, but dont wish to be in a push for serious national or world-level competitions.

[elisedance]

well old-pro (who's half my age by the way) was doing OK in amateur but decided to go pro to put himself through college.  Well, to be more specific, so that I could put him through college, which is in essence what I did.

Talk about a multipl ebenefit - fabulous lessons with a charming guy, terrific dance and competition partner - and the money paid put a really decent person through college.  I'd say that that was money well spent...

I would agree!  Good for him, and for you too.


(and, depending on what happens occupationally, I'm seriously considering poking at him to see if he'd be interested in working with me...I may bug you for contact info)

I think he would be terrific for you - actually you'd be good for each other - he also needs some more advanced students....  I don't regret a cent i spent on lessons with C...

I think we may need to chat then.  Things have become interesting over the course of the last week.

hey, wait a minute.... whats up... I hope its what I think it is....
you ran into a toronto millionare while skiing ? 

[elisedance]

"Masters" sounds WAY better.  If IDSF and USA Dance wants to call 35 and above folks "seniors", then they should take a queue from movie theatres and theme parks and discount the fees.   

I used to be a competitive swimmer.  In that world, we have Masters divisions as well.  Basically, Masters is for swimmers who want to compete, but dont wish to be in a push for serious national or world-level competitions.

Thats a great definition.  In dance it (and SeniorI) is (being momentarily cynical) for people who want to compete but don't have a hope in heck of being a world champion.  Of course all the couples in Adult are potential world champions.

[Medira]

well old-pro (who's half my age by the way) was doing OK in amateur but decided to go pro to put himself through college.  Well, to be more specific, so that I could put him through college, which is in essence what I did.

Talk about a multipl ebenefit - fabulous lessons with a charming guy, terrific dance and competition partner - and the money paid put a really decent person through college.  I'd say that that was money well spent...

I would agree!  Good for him, and for you too.


(and, depending on what happens occupationally, I'm seriously considering poking at him to see if he'd be interested in working with me...I may bug you for contact info)

I think he would be terrific for you - actually you'd be good for each other - he also needs some more advanced students....  I don't regret a cent i spent on lessons with C...

I think we may need to chat then.  Things have become interesting over the course of the last week.

hey, wait a minute.... whats up... I hope its what I think it is....
you ran into a toronto millionare while skiing ? 

Actually, a LI investment banker, but that is neither here nor there

I will have to fill you in when I have a bit more time to type

[Ginger]

Comparing this forum to... others... the tone towards "unpapered" dance instructors is refreshingly, relievingly more positive than I'd anticipated.

On "Senior" and "Adult"... we're at the age group where we're (okay *I* ahem) in our thirties, and we're lumped in with the collegiate age of 18-35 were we to compete. Not a great incentive to be hammered like that. Although, we DID give them younguns what fer the one time we started barking at their heels. Hmm.

I wouldn't mind going pro if "going pro" didn't imply that we were on the same level as your actual pro competitors at a respectably-sized ballroom comp. I can't imagine myself and my secondary boy or another student on the same pro-am floor as Shalene or Anna or Krisa Pilzak and that adorable little Harry Potter/Spider-Man fellow she dances with (PS- she should have stayed red- redder's always better!).

To the average local layperson, "Pro" conjures up Karina and Maksim images. They don't realize that the term "pro" is a label, not a level.  I personally am SO not ready to think about being pro, and I'm really glad the "amateurs can teach for money" thing went through and we can come out of the closet now, though.

I also can't say that in certain company though, because I know that there are a lot of snotty people out there who'd look down their noses at 'dance mongrels' who are 'untitled, uncertified, unlicenced" and so forth.

From personal experience with some people though... being a professional competitor doesn't necessarily mean anything- you can still suck whether or not you have a number on your back. A number just means you bought floorspace to do it.

[elisedance]

yup, but thats the never ending issue for an art that is trying to be a sport.  Because there are no absolutes that can be measured (compare fencing, throwing the discus etc etc) there is no way to really judge ballroom in order to decide who is truly better by impartial means.  To make matters worse fashions change so what was terrific one day is only average the next.  While such standards are OK at the lower levels of ballroom (bronze, silver, say) they break down at higher ones.

This means there is no way to legislate who could be a top anything - or who should be 'allowed' to go pro.  So, if you say you are a pro - you're a pro!

[ZPomeroy]

This means there is no way to legislate who could be a top anything - or who should be 'allowed' to go pro.  So, if you say you are a pro - you're a pro!

This is a good point, i think it soley relies on whether a dancer sees himself/herself at a professional level for them to be classified as a 'Pro', have a look around at your studio, you can generally see the teachers who refer to themselves, and should be referred to as 'Pro'

Zac

[Ginger]

I'm adding to say that there isn't a need for "real" (certified, etc.) instructors here so much as there's a need for friendly peers who can introduce basic figures to people who just want to take them out to clubs, weddings, street music festivals, etc. and someone that can take them a little higher than that if they're more studious. If there were competitors, people wanting to pro/am, etc en masse around here, then there'd be more of a demand issue. If it were, then we'd look into a different approach, maybe. "Real pros" would actually intimidate and discourage the locals from wanting to dance- we've seen it happen. They just feel overwhelmed and frustrated, and give up. We don't want that, so we've taken bits and pieces from here and there, and have our own methods that hopefully will keep people interested in dancing longer than a couple months.