Levels of Dancers on Workshops

[Andy McGregor]

This is getting a bit rambly but I will just end by saying I did not book a place on a dips leans and seducers workshop after emailing the teacher asking what she expected the standard to be. Whilst she did not really give a definitive yes/no I made the decision that I wasn't ready for it at that point and I strongly feel that if people pay £30 or whatever for a workshop there is a responsibility on those attending to ensure they are not a long way from the standard needed. Others (based on my experience at some workshops and anecdotally) clearly don't feel the same responsibility and it is these people that in a roundabout way have given rise to this thread.I've recently had a fair bit of experience of this. I'm running a weekend of workshops ranging from one I'm calling 'Improvers' which is suitable for people who've been dancing for a few weeks to 'Advanced' with N&N. I've had quite a number of people ask me if they're good enought for the Advanced course, and others simply book onto the course - what do I say to them if they're not good enough?

[Trousers]

You're not good enough!

[Trousers]

And that wasn't sarcasm

sarcasm would have just directed you to roll on the floor going "YOU want to do THIS"???

[Minnie M]

You're not good enough!
:yeah: followed by your signature :whistle:

[Trousers]

You should have it made into a stamp
then you can just stamp their application forms.

GoodEnuff. STAMP. . . . NotGoodEnuff. .STAMP . . . . GoodEnuff. .STAMP . . . . . NotGoodEnuff. .STAMP . . . . . . WotsYourNumberYouGetInFree. . STAMP. . . .

[Trousers]

We could take these stamps further and give them to ASIF's Dance Police and if they see FloorFoolery taking place they could just dash in Stamp in hand and splat DANGER on the offenders forehead

Then the ladies will know - oooh sexism sorry guys

[ducasi]

If they ask you, I expect they want an honest answer.

If you want to be diplomatic, and positive, you could say something like "I think this other workshop [ ... ] would be more appropriate for you at the moment."

I've been on a couple of workshops that I thought were maybe a bit over my level, and both times before-hand I asked the organisers or teachers if they thought I could do it – more than once in fact.

I was concerned that I'd slow down the more advanced dancers, and take the teachers away from the more "deserving" students. ("Deserving" because they were at a workshop appropriate to their level, compared with me who wasn't.)

The replies I got I think can be summarised down to that I was capable of gaining something from each workshop and that I shouldn't worry about it.

Sure enough, in both workshops I learnt a lot and while some of the content was too advanced for me, I don't think I ended up holding back other folks very much. (When it was clearly beyond me, I'd sit out and watch. Otherwise I'd make my best attempt and usually manage to some degree.)

I have also experienced being at workshops where I was, relatively-speaking, "advanced" compared to some of the other people who were there. And while the teacher had to spend a little more time with other people, I still felt I got the attention I required and I had more time to practice while the teacher was busy. So I came away happy.

[Ghost]

Just to clarify, when would you be saying they're not good enough? If you recognise their name and feel that they're not up to standard then a gentle polite letter / phone call / email, depending on your personal preference, with refund would be my advice. If you know them that well, then a suggestion as to when they might be good enough and a recommendation of which workshops would also seem helpful. Also it doesn't have to be phrased as their fault.

eg "Thank you for applying for N&N's advanced class on *** The advanced class is aimed at Ceroc dancers of a very high level of skill. Unfortunately at the moment I feel that you wouldn't benefit from this workshop and would instead find the complexity of the techniques frustrating. Having seen you dance at *** I'm impressed with the progress that you're making, especially at *** and would suggest that you instead try Workshop X (maybe with a £1 discount?). Your business is important to me and I hope that you will continue to enjoy Cerocing.

Best regards"

If on the other hand you mean what do you say on the day if they're not up to standard then I'd suggest the following

On the booking form have some sort of definition as to what "Advanced" means. I've seen definitions along the lines of having been to X number of or Y number of classes. Obviously it's a fairly nebulous term. I suspect you have to add something to the form to cover yourself in the event that someone books on who feels they are advanced but you don't (eg for reasons of safety, unfair to the other participants etc). Maybe part refund in the form of a credit to another one of your workshops and they can watch the class and practice off to the side.

Is it possible to run the N&N consecutively with another simpler workshop so you could offer that they either sit and watch or take part in the other workshop? I realise potentially It's going to mess with your boy/girl ratio and class sizes.

Obviously I'm not sure about the actual economics of the situation.

I suspect if people thought they might end up just watching then quite a few would either
a) Be happy with that (I would, especially if during the break N&N gave me a little one-to-one coaching. I could see this being far preferable to suffering through a class I just couldn't do. I've heard quite a few people complaining after normal Ceroc classes that the Intermediate moves were too hard and they went and sat down. To me the answer would be to either go join in with the beginners refresher class and brush up on your technique, or head out into the corridor and practice the moves you want to)
b) Ring up and ask you if they were good enough.

Hope this helps,
Christopher