I am just about to start teaching first week next week. But as a young teacher (I am 22) I still want to go to dance lessons my self but my teacher has just said since I am now a teacher she can no longer teach me as it is a 'conflict of interest". Has anyone else had this problem? Do any of you still take lessons? My studio is 1 hr drive away and so far 15 is my oldest pupil. I do not see how this is a conflict of interest. I love this teacher she is amazing and I don't really want to change to someone new. Not too sure what to do??

That's probably just her personal preference. I actually take more classes since I've been hired on as a teacher than I did before I got hired on, so my SO feels pretty much the opposite way, hah...

I don't know. At the studio I grew up in the teachers took whatever adv level class they wanted to.

At one studio I am the only dance teacher, so I can kind of take my own class. The other studio the owner is the other teacher and it is too far away to join any classes (plus I have never asked to and I work somewhere else during those times).

I do take class at a different studio. It's an adult ballet class one day a week in the morning.

I am 21.

I have a younger teacher working for me, & she is also teaching dancers as old as 15-16. She wanted to take class with those same kids & asked if it was OK, but I told her that I'd rather that she not take class alongside them. There can already be issues with proper respect between older students & younger instructors, & I didn't want them to view her as a peer, which could be fostered by her taking class with them, as if she were one of them. I offered instead to pay for some classes elsewhere for her as continuing education.

Also, I had a student who transitioned from student to instructor some years back, & I advised her not to take class with her former classmates either, in an effort to help them start to see her differently, as an authority figure as opposed to a buddy. It worked--she transitioned beautifully, & we had no respect issues whatsoever!

Just a little insight into why your SO might have preferred that you not take class with your students.

Frogdogdance wrote:

I have a younger teacher working for me, & she is also teaching dancers as old as 15-16. She wanted to take class with those same kids & asked if it was OK, but I told her that I'd rather that she not take class alongside them. There can already be issues with proper respect between older students & younger instructors, & I didn't want them to view her as a peer, which could be fostered by her taking class with them, as if she were one of them. I offered instead to pay for some classes elsewhere for her as continuing education.

Also, I had a student who transitioned from student to instructor some years back, & I advised her not to take class with her former classmates either, in an effort to help them start to see her differently, as an authority figure as opposed to a buddy. It worked--she transitioned beautifully, & we had no respect issues whatsoever!

Just a little insight into why your SO might have preferred that you not take class with your students.

I agree completely. When I started teaching at the studio I trained at it was incredibly difficult to get my students (and their parents) to take me seriously as a teacher. Even after I stopped taking classes there, students and parents still didn't treat me like the other teachers. I feel like it is an image thing with a lot of people, if they know you still take class that seems to mean you don't know enough to be teaching. Some people don't understand the concept of 'continuing education'.

I completely agree. I too am a young teacher (21) and I actually continue to take a class with the students that I teach. It was probably not my smartest idea, but I couldn't give up dance cold turkey. The kids do respect me when needed, but they do see me as more of a friend than a teacher. I've even had to correct them because they started to refer to me without the 'miss' in front of my name, which had begun to spread to the younger children that I teach. While I do make it work, it is definitely a challenge. I wouldn't take the class if I were you, even if your SO said it was ok.

Our young teachers are expected to keep up their training. The old crocks like me can get away with not doing classes but only because I have bad knees, hips and feet now, that's not to say I wouldn't do classes if my body would still take it, I'd be in there like a shot if I still could.

When I was a younger teacher I still took classes, you never stop learning as a dancer or as a teacher.

Continuing education is important in any career and dance is included! All teachers at the studio I teach at are encouraged to continue dancing and take as many classes as they can. Not only does it keep you in shape but it keeps you inspired. Our SO rarely hires teachers that do not take class with us.

We would never however, take class along side any children that we are teaching. We lucky to have an advanced, adult dance program. Our SO firmly believes that you should continue dancing as long as you wish and its wonderful! Many studios say you are done once you've graduated high school and don't want the adult business. Boy are they missing out on more revenue!

This is just my personal opinion, but I disagree with teachers dancing alongside their pupils. In my opinion, it makes your students and their parents second guess your credibility as a teacher if you are still taking class with them, and it also takes some of the attention away from the students and places it on you. I dealt with the same dilemma myself, so I speak from personal experience. I think a good suggestion would be to see if you could take private lessons with the SO or instructors who you enjoy working with. You could also see if there are any pickup classes available at a nearby for technique only. A lot of instructors in my area do this at a studios in the city that charge by the class.

I think there's a difference if you're at a pre-professional ballet academy, where you'll see visiting professional dancers at the barre next to you, taking needed daily class during their summer lay-offs. Several teachers on staff took these morning classes too, to stay in shape.

Many years ago, I attended a summer intensive in Chicago at the Ruth Page School, and 80+ year old Ruth Page did take barre with us. I remember being impressed, and hoping that one day that would be me at my own dance studio.

I'm a young teacher as well (21). At my studio the teachers are stimulated to continue their own education as well so we are allowed to take classes at the studio, although not the same classes with students that we teach.

I am a young studio owner at 26- I opened the studio 4 years ago.... I brought some staff with me, hired some new staff and as the years have gone on some of the graduating seniors have now turned into staff as well.

I am constantly taking classes and encourage all of my staff to do the same. My newest instructor, 21 still dances with senior company classes and teaches beginner classes. I think it is very important to have a significant age difference between students and their teacher in order to foster that respect. I would never have this new teacher teaching senior classes (unless I needed a sub last minute) so I see no problem with her still dancing/competing with the older students at the studio-- I just make sure to have her teach younger classes.

To Frogdogdance: That is very nice of you to offer to pay for your teachers' dance classes elsewhere! I imagine some other SOs would be concerned about potentially losing clients to competitive studios in that way though.

I am a young teacher (22), but I started teaching beginning level classes when I was 17. When I first started, I was teaching mostly the 3-6 year olds. I was still a member of the senior production company but since the age gap was so large and there was no chance of any class overlap, my SO encouraged (in fact, I think she REQUIRED) me to continue taking classes. However, sometimes I would sub for beginning jazz classes for teen/high school students, and I never felt any breach of respect or had any difficulty controlling the class. I believe it was due to the fact that in my former studio, dancers get respect for their skill and dance proficiency regardless of age.

We also had a TA program going, where students in the more advanced levels could assist teachers in level 1 or 2 classes, as long as they were taking level 3 or higher in that same style AND ballet. Sometimes there would be a 12-year-old TA for the 6-10 age range. Because this program was in place, respect for teachers and teaching students was NEVER a problem.

The studio I teach at now only offers classes to age 18 with the majority of students under 15 even, so I take my classes at various adult studio and pay for my own classes. Some places in LA offer teacher rates!

I try to take a ballet barre as often as I can. There is another teacher at my studio who I greatly respect as a ballet instructor and enjoy taking her advanced ballet class barre. I stay out of the way, in the corner, leaving the good spots for the kids. I leave when barre is over. I think it is important for continuing my own training, plus it is good motivation for the kids, in my opinion. They see that I 'still got it'

I definitely agree with having a large age-gap between younger instructors and their students. We, too, have a student-teaching program, where dancers age 15+ who have been through our assistant program may intern, or co-teach alongside one of our senior staff. They only get to do this with beginner & beginner/intermediate classes, though, because of the age/respect issue. We've never had a problem with proper respect for them, & we do insist that they be called "Miss Whoever" when wearing their teacher hat!

I encourage my instructors to get continuing ed in any way they can & wish, & it's in their contract that I will chip in for the cost of it, though the amount varies on a case-by-case basis. I consider it an investment in my studio, since my instructors are what I'm marketing. Most of them are content to surf YouTube for choreography inspiration, new moves, & tips on execution, but I also buy instructional videos for them & have encouraged them to get certified with Dance Masters, which has wonderful opportunities for them to keep growing. We're fortunate to live in an area that's full of quality dance studios as well as having 2 full-time pro ballet companies each with an academy attached that offers terrific adult classes on a drop-in basis, & my instructors do take advantage of these. I also bring in guest instructors on a monthly basis to teach master classes in all sorts of dance & dance-related subjects, & my teachers are welcome to join any of these classes for free. I don't worry about losing clients to other studios because we are very unique in many ways, one of which being our Christian affiliation, so our clients tend to be very loyal, & my instructors too. No insecurities there, thankfully! I also encourage my advanced students to take classes elsewhere, because gaining all possible experience is invaluable not just for instructors, but for the dancers themselves, too. No worries about defections--it does happen occasionally, but usually it's folks who weren't happy & would cause trouble if they stayed, so I'm OK with that. The vast majority know where home is!

My only issue with continuing ed within our own studio is with young teachers taking class alongside our advanced dancers, & purely because of the respect issue. There are so many other options for my teachers to continue their training that it hasn't been an issue, except that one time.

Interesting discussion!

As a young teacher, I do continue to take classes but elsewhere. I have found adult classes which are typically affordable and work them into my schedule. I fit in with the classmates better than say a studio with a younger crowd. Plus, it can be more fun.

As a teacher, I used to continue to take classes on the outside, and where I was teaching. We never found it a conflict but did she say why?

Ah, wait... I have come back to this post a couple of times trying to put my finger on exactly what is going on. Finally, I think I've got it. You are not teaching at the studio where you have been studying. To your teacher, whom I will guess is the SO, it is a "conflict of interest " because of that. I see that she is an hour away from where you are teaching now, so to me that wouldn't be a problem, but maybe it is in your area. I had to let a student go one time - I wasn't the SO, but it was at her direction - because she had started teaching nearby. My SO felt that this student/teacher would be taking the lesson plans and class structure from the classes in which she was the student to the classes she taught. Also, in this case, the student in question was hired by a YMCA so the classes were about half the price of those at a private studio.

In another example, a former student at this same studio was hired by our parks department to teach. Frankly, we were embarrassed. She was in no way qualified to be a teacher. My SO did not want anyone to associate this teacher with her studio.

Finally, perhaps your teacher feels as though you need to grow and part of that process would be exploring other teachers and teaching styles. I know that has nothing to do with a conflict of interest, but maybe it was her way pushing you out of the nest.

Keep up your studies - always! I have been teaching for over 35 years and still take class as often as I can. Good luck with your new teaching position, and with finding a good second home where you yourself can study.