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 Najia
MarlyzA Teacher or Coach: What’s the Difference? Why All Performing Dancers Need a Dance Coach by Najia Marlyz Bay Point, Greater San Francisco Bay Area, CA What was it that the police officer said in that movie? I think he said, “Badge? I don’t need no stinkin’ badge!” Well, perhaps not, and it is certain that because you have a teacher, can dance beautifully, and get plenty of gigs too, you might think you don’t need no stinkin’ coach either…
People will not tell you the truth, you know. If they thought your dance was lacking, they feel sorry for you, and they will say something they think sounds supportive and positive. If it was a truly amazing performance, they will say something that they think sounds supportive and positive. I hope that they will always cheer and never boo your efforts. However, you cannot see yourself the way that another person can see you. Video not only adds ten pounds but also often subtracts the magic that is the essence of your dance. Aren’t you just a little bit curious how another looks at your dance and sees…what? Don’t you wonder sometimes if your dance is all that it could be? If you have begun to believe in your dance skills as outstanding in quality, or that your skills are substantially on the road to superior (though it would be embarrassing to admit that aloud to very many people), it is time!
Most performers have a great deal of untapped potential; additionally, many consider it cheating to engage a professional coach and yet, that is exactly what they would look for if this were the Olympics and they were competing for the gold. Obtaining a performance coach to enhance what it is that you are good at doing is probably your next logical step in attaining your dance goals and subsequently renewing your inspiration. It is less publicly revealing of your little faux pas and deficiencies when you can work without witnesses hearing your questions and hearing assessments of your skills and corrections of errors in technique. Therefore, you will want to work in private with an experienced dance coach who has had a full dance career in performance skills. (The better you are as a dancer, the more we can accomplish together!) Since the time I began to dance in 1968 and now, I have developed some unique insights into coaching Western dancers in the Eastern dance (and creative dance form also) and have become a recognized coach in the field of performance dancing because of the amazing and rapid improvement others see in my clients’ dancing.
I offer my clientele private sessions (one-on-one) that take place during the daytime and on alternating weekends, in a small, non-intimidating home-studio environment in Bay Point, California. (Greater San Francisco Bay Area, near Concord, Martinez.) You will need private transportation to get to my studio. I never require my coaching clients to “start over” with beginner’s lessons (even if it becomes evident to me that some of them have vast un-addressed lack of dance concepts missing from their dance technique). Consequently, I enter them into a sort of dance triage. When using term “dance triage” I mean the sort of selective treatment order one might receive in a crowded emergency room of a hospital. I take on areas of egregious neglect and need and, at the same time, build upon strengths of survival that have sustained my client’s dance thus far. If some part your dance needs a tourniquet, I will see that you understand exactly why!
However, in order to withstand the process of my triage, dancers must have a real love for moving in an extemporaneous style of composition and must have outgrown the Western need to rely on a formal choreography. (Please note that the term “choreography” means nothing more than a pre-planned written dance for skillful memorization. However, in my opinion, in recent years, it has come to imply an element of legitimacy in form and stature that is a false impression and a debilitating crutch. Therefore, I will not be creating choreography for you or helping you with anyone else’s.) I will teach you how to listen to music analytically and how to react to it as a unique dance artist.
In order to do it right, coaching takes time, and to know you well enough to access what you need will take time and repetition as well as numerous performances of all types: birthdays, recitals, festivals, etc. New paths should open for you, and one or two get-togethers can only reveal to a coach where they are—not how to reach the performer with the new information deemed necessary. Whether dance clients can enter onto those new paths securely depends on intent, dedication, and follow-though. My Scheduling:
However, I book no sessions between the Fourth of July and Labor Day in September, or from Thanksgiving through the first week of the New Year, or on national holidays—except for my regular clientele and on an urgent basis. Take care to begin coaching sessions only if you expect to stay involved for at least a year after your first two-hour session! Planning to finish what you have begun is an important part of making your dance become outstanding and professional. You need not worry about getting involved in a process that you cannot handle or enjoy. In the event that you are not satisfied after our first or second dance session together, I will schedule you for a consultation to try to identify your goals more clearly. Then, I will put you in touch with another instructor who is prepared to work with you on your goals in a style of instruction different from mine. Currently, in 2006, one two-hour coaching session costs $75, while a consultation is $45. for one hour. However, along with inflation and overhead expenses, fees may increase occasionally. (I will tell you if my fee has changed when we first make contact.) I will never obligate you to pay for blocks of lessons because I prefer to receive payment after each session. /p> Protocol requires 24-hour notice of your cancellation of a session. It is not always possible to re-schedule missed sessions. Please note that though there are a few exceptions, the full fee is due for any session missed without a formal phone or email cancellation.
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If
you move from your emotional center, (not the dancer’s center of
gravity!) you should continue your learning process by adding a
dance coach to your dance life and career, nonetheless. Even though
this may increase your dance involvement at least a couple of times
per month, one should not drop classes with a current instructor
so that social contacts in dance are not broken. These contacts
remain important in one’s dance advancement now because they will
become a part of one’s dance networking in the future. 
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