|
 Ask Rhee Gold
Dance educators seek advice about teaching
issues
Q:
Hello Rhee,
At a competition this weekend another studio performed an
original tumbling number of ours. We believe they taped it at
a previous competition that both schools attended. I’ve never
had this happen before. I suppose it is the nicest form of
flattery, but we feel a bit violated. I don’t know the
owner/director and my guess is she was counting on not running
into us again. I’ve heard that all choreography, once
performed, is copyrighted. I don’t want to put the energy into
suing anybody when I need my time to inspire my students and
run a business. I just wondered if this happens often and what
most people do in this situation. Thanks!
—Sandra
A:
Dear Sandra,
Although I don’t think this practice is rampant in our field,
I have heard about it from other teachers and, as part of the
competition world, I have seen it. Sometimes it is a concept,
not choreography, that is taken. I understand that you feel
violated and I know it’s hard to ignore a circumstance like
this. But as crazy as it may sound, I would do nothing. People
who rip off your choreography, concept, or idea look so bad in
the eyes of everyone who knows what they’ve done (other
schools and your students and their parents) that you don’t
have to say or do a thing. The people who matter know that it
was your creation; let them do the talking. Don’t let it
sidetrack you from always staying one step ahead of
yourself—and from those who steal your ideas.
Use this circumstance as your motivation to always stay ahead
of the competition. Obviously you’re capable of conceiving
good work; otherwise your competitors wouldn’t be interested
in re-creating it. Consider yourself a trendsetter and give
yourself a pat on the back! All the best to you. —Rhee
Q:
Dear Rhee,
I’ve owned my school for 28 years and for the first time I
feel insecure about myself. It started several months ago when
I let a teacher go because she was always late, her language
and attitude were not appropriate, and she lacked the skills
needed to be a good role model for my students. I replaced her
with someone who is not only a wonderful teacher but a perfect
role model. I love her and so do her students and their
parents.
My problems started a couple of weeks after I let the teacher
go. She contacted the students she had taught (and some that
she didn’t) to explain that I fired her because I was jealous
of her. She told them (and their parents) that I am a horrible
teacher who has to hire others to teach because I don’t know
what I’m doing. She then added that she is opening her own
school and offered them tremendous discounts if they made the
switch to her school.
From the day I started my school until I brought this teacher
in, I taught every class myself. Can you imagine how happy I
was to have someone who could handle some of my classes after
all those years? I considered her a blessing; jealousy never
crossed my mind.
All the kids and parents who have spoken with me about this
are loyal to me, and most seem to be offended by the calls and
want me to know what’s going on out of respect. One of the
moms told me that she blasted the teacher by saying that she
thought the call was unethical and that she wouldn’t go to her
school even if it were free.
This kind of support is humbling, yet I can’t get the negative
thoughts out of my head. Lying in bed at night I wonder if
I’ll lose students who are seeking the tremendous discount
that I can’t afford to offer. Are there students or parents
who received a call from my former employee who are thinking
of leaving my school? Should I fight back by telling people
why I fired her? (That’s not my style.) Those are just a
couple of the questions that are making me feel insecure.
Worse yet, I am wondering if I’m old-fashioned, questioning
whether this young and with-the-times woman, who doesn’t yet
realize the responsibility a teacher has to the children she
works with, will somehow put me out of business. I’m flipping
out right now and I’ve never felt this way, ever. It’s a scary
place to be in. What’s your take on this?
—Corinna
A:
Hi Corinna,
OK, take a deep breath. You are going to be just fine. I
answer questions from dance teachers all the time; take it
from me, you are way more levelheaded than you give yourself
credit for. Your ethics and respect for the profession come
through loud and clear in your words, and you don’t even know
it. It’s very refreshing.
Be grateful that this is the first time you’ve come to this
place of insecurity. In our profession, and in life in
general, some people live in this state all the time. It can
feel traumatic, but it just might lead you to a new place
where you’ll feel more confident than ever.
Think about it—you let this teacher go because you were
protecting your students and because she didn’t live up to
your standards. There is no one who could fault you for
that—in fact, it’s your responsibility to behave as you did.
What impresses me even more is the fact that your students and
their parents are so loyal to you. Their support means that
you’ve been doing good things for the children and for dance.
Let it be gratifying to you that they respect you so much. You
replaced this teacher with someone you and your kids love and
respect. You’re a pro who knows what to do to make things
right.
Don’t lose one more minute of sleep over this. You haven’t
even lost a student yet! The phone calls that this teacher
made have clearly worked against her. Her actions are a good
indication of her ethics and the type of atmosphere she’ll
create at her new school, which isn’t going to help her one
bit. Add to that the fact that you’ve been at this for 28
years and she’s a novice who will make a lot of mistakes to
learn what you already know—in my opinion, you’re way ahead of
the game.
Tonight when you’re lying in bed, replace those negative
thoughts with feeling thankful that you’ve been able to do
what you love for 28 years. Think about the hundreds of
children you’ve influenced in a positive way. Mix that up with
fresh ideas that will help you to continue to give the dance
world the best you have to offer, and you’ll have what it
takes to let this situation go. Maybe you’ll eventually see
that this situation has allowed you to acknowledge all the
good things you’ve accomplished with your school. Funny how
life works sometimes, isn’t it? Enjoy life! —Rhee
Q:
Dear Rhee,
I have a question regarding teachers whose children take dance
class in the studio where they work. I have a wonderful boss
who allows my two children, ages 9 and 4, to dance for free.
She does provide me with a financial statement from time to
time to remind me what their monthly fees would be. The
9-year-old also competes, but only on a novice level. My boss
has said that in the future, when my children are in the
school’s regular competition group, she will charge me the
usual fees because it would be too much of a loss for her to
bear. I do pay about $25 per month into an account for
costumes and competition fees.
I don’t want my boss to think I’m using her. I just wonder
what the norm is, and where it draws a line, if it does. If
you have some insight on this, I would greatly appreciate it.
—TJ
A:
Hello TJ,
My policy would be to offer a class scholarship that might
include other in-school activities like summer programs,
camps, and master classes. The guideline would be that if I
have to lay out funds for a product or service, I would pass
those expenses on to my employee. Some examples would be
competition entry fees, conventions, costumes, choreography
created by a teacher whom I had to pay, and so on. If I were
doing the choreography myself, I might not charge you, but
that’s not always the policy.
In short, it’s normal to offer employees’ children training
scholarships, but any other expenses are usually passed on to
the teacher/parent. Hope this helps! —Rhee
Send your questions and comments to
Dance Studio Life, P.O. Box 2150, Norton, MA 02766 or
gold5678@aol.com.
Coming in the August issue of Dance Studio Life:
• Find out how to avoid
the seven most common dance-school marketing mistakes, and
gain some marketing ideas from the “big guys” at
company-affiliated schools.
• Get inside American
Ballet Theatre principal dancer Ethan Stiefel’s head as he
talks about his role as mentor at Stiefel and Students. Then
check out “Common Ground” for an up-close-and-personal
interview with this major force in ballet.
• Transform relationships
with students’ parents from a headache to a pleasure with some
guidance about positive parenting.
• Navigate the landscape
of injury to learn how you can be an important part of injury
prevention and recovery for your students.
• Enjoy reading about the
eight reasons Diane Gudat loves to teach.
• Learn some foolproof
techniques for teaching preschoolers to do cartwheels.
• And much, much more!
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