Dance teacher hunting

Because I am still waiting to hear back from that semi-lucrative job offer in SoCal, I showed up today to Ekaterina’s lesson by myself, without deciding who I should pick as my dance partner. Former professional champions charge an arm and a leg (at least in my Montreal based value system) for a lesson and I am not sure I can sustain private lessons with the Mitchenkos for long, nor should I have spent the lesson going through all the Rumba and ChaCha gold level routines. I did end up achieving my goal of learning about the teacher. The bigger problem that’s left, in my point of view, would be scheduling any lesson time with either of them after 5PM, if the partner I  pick is to work the normal 9 to 5.

Commute in and out of town to the studio took 1 hour each way, so maybe if I can find a teacher of similar qualifications in the biggest ballroom in Canada (near where I live) would be more suitable to my situation. But if past experience is any indicator, that’s just wishful thinking; the Mitchenkos had Luda’s stamp of recommendation.

So, Ekaterina is the second Blackpool level latin pro I’ve had the chance to dance with,(i.e. had a private lesson with just me and the teacher. I usually only get to do this when hunting around for teachers alone) I’ve begun to notice a certain feel that’s consistent with people of that caliber. That and the fact that the smiles surfaced automatically when the dancers stopped thinking about the steps and just dance on instinct.

I used to have to think about smiling in my routines, so I have always wondered, whether or not that is true contentment or just a habit after years of practice.