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A couple of weeks ago, I got the news that no student wants to hear. PJ has decided to leave our Famous Franchise for other opportunities. She is staying on through our next Showcase in a couple of weeks so we will get one more opportunity to dance together. After that …….
It seems like yesterday but it has been six years since I had my first lesson with her. Time really does fly. And having a consistent teacher for that length of time has really allowed me to grow as a dancer. Well not just having the same teacher but having a teacher you can really connect with. Makes all the difference in the world.
And it has shown in the last couple of Showcases we’ve done. They’ve been really solid. And a lot of fun.
Now the obvious question is what do I do going forward. I’m certainly no stranger to instructor changes but I also know that the transitions take time. It takes me time to get comfortable with someone else because everyone dances differently and everyone teaches slightly differently even if there is a relatively standard method at the Famous Franchise. And you have to see if your personality meshes with your instructor because it’s a problem if they don’t.
Its compounded by the fact that we’ve been so solid because that won’t be the case no matter who I ended up with. That is especially true since the other instructors aren’t at the same level that PJ was so they’d also be on a learning curve. I do know that FF can get people up to speed relatively quickly but it is an unavoidable fact that it is going to be awkward for some length of time.
And do I really want to go through that again? To be honest, I know I’d be comparing things to how it felt dancing with PJ and it isn’t going to be like that for quite some time.
Its not an easy decision. I still enjoy this and there are a lot of benefits to dancing. On the other hand, because I’ve not been as involved in studio things (group classes and parties), I don’t know many of the other students anymore. I really haven’t spent much time talking to any of the instructors I might be working with so walking away wouldn’t be as difficult as it would have been when I was more active in things.
Right now I’d say its about 50/50. There are arguments on both sides but neither option stands out to me.
