dance class frustrations. thoughts? ideas?

[singingshowgirl]

Posted: 6/21/09 at 9:31pm

So I'm a soon-to-be senior BFA musical theater major, but I live in the NYC area and I am home for the summer. Because I don't want to lose the technique and strength that I have, I am making a big deal to continue dance classes this summer. I have been going to Broadway Dance Center, as I have clearly outgrown my high school dance studio. I have taken at BDC on other breaks and have had this problem, but it's getting even more frustrating.

I find the classes really frustrating for a couple of reasons. The main one is that I find I have no idea what to expect with classes as far as the difficulty. They have levels listed, but some classes have the "regulars" so a beginner class becomes an advanced class. Yesterday I took an Advanced Beginner class where almost everyone in the class was a "regular" and the combination was the same combination from the day before. As a result, it was mostly just reviewed as opposed to taught. I basically got nothing out of it. It was reviewed even faster than any dance audition I have been to (and I've been to enough to have a sense how quickly a combination is typically taught). I realize that part of my problem is that I am not a "regular" in any class. I am kind of just going whenever I can and I don't have a routine of exact classes I am taking, but that said, I shouldn't feel I need to take a hundred classes with one teacher just to get a sense of their choreography and such. It is so frustrating. Some intermediate classes I have taken have been insanely easy and some beginner classes have been IMPOSSIBLE.

Now, I don't feel that way about classes there. Some teachers and classes I have taken there have been wonderful and the teacher shows their warm-up and stuff (because I don't care how good a dancer you are, you obviously can't learn a warm-up if you don't know what it is!). But I also feel that the classes don't always have a growth because the turn-out can vary. I also took a tap class yesterday that I had taken the week before too. That class also did the same combination from the week before, so I felt like I didn't get nearly as much out of the class as I did the week before.

In addition, the classes are all so crowded. I realize that's partly on the weekends that it's REALLY bad, but I find that it's impossible to turn or anything when there are so many people and a couple of the rooms aren't even that big. I know that they are going to allow as many people into the classes as is physically possible, but sometimes it's unbearable.

I have not ever taken at Steps. Does anyone find these problems to be less of an issue there?

What I really would like is a dance studio the way it was in high school, where I would sign up and pay for a class and there was essentially a "session" from September-June so it would be the same people each week so there could be growth. Because a beginner in September is obviously different from a beginner in June. Do any of these places exist for adults who are aspiring to be at a professional level in NYC? I feel like I would have heard of some studio if it existed, but I am asking just in case.

I worry because I am planning on moving to NYC a year from now and these dance classes will be the source of my dancing unless I get lucky and cast in a dancing show immediately upon graduation haha.

Have other people experienced similar frustrations? Suggestions? Anything? Thanks for listening to me vent!
Updated On: 6/21/09 at 09:31 PM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 6/21/09 at 9:48pm

I've been going to BDC for about a year now. Being from NJ, I go when I can. I've learned which teachers to continue to take and which ones not to. Some are more hands on and will offer individual instructions, while others just "teach". If a certain teacher I like is going to be out for a while, I don't go.

Also, I've only done this once, if you feel like a class was way too difficult or way too easy, you can go to the front desk and get a credit for another class. Try finding a few teachers you like and continue to take their class. They'll get to know you better and start to give you more individual instructions. I've also learned to not pay attention to the class difficulty. Example: I've found the Intermediate-Advanced tap to be easier than the Advanced-Beginner tap.

Hope this helps.

[CSonBroadway]

Posted: 6/21/09 at 10:22pm

Maybe you could try Joffrey or NJ Ballet (if it is an easy commute for you)