Avoid lousy schools

[jdavidb]

I removed the opener to this thread. The important parts are in the messages below because people asked what they wanted responses on. So, the replies that people wanted are still here. The details no one seemed to care about are gone. The most important part is that you find out what a dolly dinkle is before getting involved with one. I found another good thing to read in a document called "Choosing a studio" which is at www.dancersworkshop.com . It's an adobe document, and its link is one of the purple tabs in the left column. There's good stuff in that doc.

[admin]

I read your post. I understand about the poilce, but I don't understand about what they are doing wrong as relates to the school itself. What is a "dolly dinkle" school? Is there anything wrong with not doing competitions?

[jdavidb]

The thing about competitions is to find out if it's the only thing they do aside from a recital. Competitions are short routines not artistic performances. Competition dancers are a very small group of selected dancers from a school to begin with. So, it's very few dancers doing very short performances while the director has parents paying expenses for what amounts to a series of road trips. It's not a major fault to be doing only competitions, but it is something people should know especially if it is long-term ballet they are intending to embark upon. They need to avoid joining a long-term ballet program, spending 5 or more years there, if the organization they are involved with does not even care about actual ballet performance. Brief shows at churches do not count as artistic ballet performance. Lip service and other forms of passification or hack jobs don't count either, of course.

I'm talking about ballet program schools in this context. I know it's a different set of circumstances in ballroom, swing and latin. That's a whole different landscape.

I'll see if I can find a good explanation of dolly dinkle somewhere online. It's better if I don't define it myself. I should find something I didn't write that will describe it. I have a bunch of bookmarks on it. I just have to sift through all of it.

[jdavidb]

Here's a good conversation about dolly dinkle: http://dancers.invisionzone.com/index.p ... opic=22203 By the time you read down to Victoria Leigh's reply, she pretty much has it covered. That's followed by a lot of people talking about their experiences with dinkle type schools.

[jdavidb]

Here are two threads on how things went with a shoddy school at the end of August 2005:

Dance.net:
http://www.dance.net/read.html?postid=3984965

Ballettalk:
http://dancers.invisionzone.com/index.p ... opic=25562

[admin]

It's hard to really understand without "being there", but I hope you will be able to find a better situation for yourself where you are happy. I assume that you really love dancing, and hopefully that love will win over the negative aspects of your dancing thusfar.

[jdavidb]

Thanks David. I'm sure I can work it out. I probably would have already if the death of a friend hadn't come along a few days ago. That death is what's getting most of my attention.

Anyone who can't distinguish the difference between a criminal and a guy who just wanted dance class has got serious comprehension problems. If their ability to understand is so limited that they attempt to treat me like a criminal they can't prosecute, I am certainly not impressed. They know I have no criminal history, but I can tell they wish I did. They did go as far as to attempt to provoke me into creating a criminal history. My sister was here. She saw and heard all of it.

I believe I convinced them a few days ago that they will not be able to provoke me. I don't think they will attempt that again because their attempt on Tuesday was a humiliating failure. I was quite satisfied to watch those two drones mope away all frustrated and embarrassed that they couldn't do what their detective friend wanted them to do. I won't be suprised if they try something else.

[KayKay]

You seem knowledgeable about all of the local schools. Where would you reccomend for an adult beginner to go?

[jdavidb]

Hello Kaykay. I don't know all of the schools. I just know a few in the NW of metro Atlanta. I'm not so sure if these people want me representing them considering the turmoil, even though the turmoil isn't my fault. But I can say a few things about experiences. I guess I will just list the places I know I can trust based on experience. Instructors and directors with the kind of good and fair attitude you hope to find in dance class. And these are all adult ballet...

Year after year and all through summer too Daystar (on Due West Rd) and Academy of Ballet Arts (on Piedmont) have 1 hour a week for adults in ballet. Last time I checked, ABA's class is the only one around here that is not on Tuesday night. So, that one is a good way to have two classes.

I'd check at Dancers Workshop too because there might be a fine Saturday morning adult ballet class. I'd trust them. I've been in two shows with one of their directors now. He's real cool. Everybody from a bunch of schools around here likes him. The Dancers Workshop is the next place I'll be checking to see if the class is on. He's not the ballet teacher, but his influence is all over the place.

In Alpharetta, for adults who have progressed beyond the first year in ballet, there's a great teacher named Jackie at Dancer's Studio Backstage teaching a 1.5 hour class. That's where I wish I was at. I just can't make that long drive from Kennesaw.

Those are the good ones I know in and near Cobb County. I'm sure there are other good ones.

Two schools I wish I had never gotten involved with are Prima Ballet and Georgia Ballet. Georgia Ballet was fine before Iris passed away in August 2003. Pre-September 2003 is the larger part of my time there. It only took to November 14, 2003 to deteriorate to a school I would no longer tolerate. I experienced and analyzed various pitfalls at Georgia Ballet first-hand after August 2003 to where I can confidently recommend avoiding that school.

[KayKay]

Thanks for the information. I'll look into Daystar, ABA as well as the Dancer's workshop. Best of luck to you.

[jdavidb]

Those two were the main ones I mentioned because I have been to classes there plus their adult ballet classes usually survive. You know, enrollment/attendance often pushes adult ballet off the schedule regardless of how good it could have been. That's the only reason there's no Cobb Dance Academy mentioned. They would have a fine adult ballet class with a great instructor, but no students are around to attend at this time.

Two reasons I like the ABA director for more than just being a great director: She came out & operated the clutch & shifter while I pushed off my car when the battery had drained itself. It was just me stranded there because I had bought tickets to one of their shows on an off day when she was there alone. Another reason is: she was at Iris Hensley's memorial in 2003.

[MartialDanceMan]

jdavidb - I'm sorry for what happened to you, but please do not bad mouth a school for taking action for the safety of their stundents and the entire school. Maybe you should take a break from everything for awhile before returning to dance and deal with your personal issues. The director noticed things, like your verbal harrassment toward other stundents, and inappropriate behavior toward younger female stundents. Both of which raised saved issues for the school. Your attempts to push your previous troubled history onto the director also made her feel alittle uncomfortable. Your nasty treatening emails written after the fact, only confinced her even more that she did the right thing. Schools with young children and teens in them can not have older adults students who act inappropriatly and who harrass others. I hope you can find a way to deal with your problems and hope everything will work out for you.

[jdavidb]

Nothing in that Martialdanceman message ever even came close to happening. The accusations in the message from Martialdanceman appear to be regurgitation of a director's imagination going paranoid to the point of delusional, if it was her who claimed any of that happened. The writing of those accusations is an example of the kind of unethical and dishonest behavior by a school director I have been speaking against all along.

I believe that men who are new to dance should not be treated like freaks, and men like me with proven experience and history of productive, ethical and congenial conduct should certainly not be treated like that.

People like them seem to expect people to regard them them as better than everyone else. You know the type. They were a bit shocked when someone like me didn't accept dishonesty, didn't accept unfair and uncalled for mistreatment, and had the guts to tell others what they did. They seem appauled by my audacity to actually stand up to them. Appauled to the point they'll make absurd accusations which have already been proven false and also send their police buddies to my house attempting to provoke me into having court/legal trouble.

If someone wants to harass people or do inappropriate things to young women or make threats, they do not have to join a dance class and pay $45 to $65 per month per class in order to do it. Offensive people don't have to be involved in dance at all if that's the kind of stuff they do. Offensive people will have an easier time committing their offenses in a mall, a night club, a restaurant, a grocery store or just a public sidewalk.

It is ridiculous it is to treat anyone like they did me over a dance class. To treat me like that is equal to treating anyone like that.

All throughout every school, rehearsal or performance I have ever attended, I displayed the conduct that serves as undeniable confirmation that I am among the most absolute of dance-motivated attendees.

The longer version of my reply where I addressed each piece of Martialdanceman's message is stored here: http://www.dance.net/read.html?postid=3984965

[jdavidb]

This thread is getting a lot of views. Looks like no one's asking me anything else, so I guess I covered it. If not, go ahead & say whatever is on your mind. I'll respond.

It's hard to tell just by looking at directors and detectives that they have no tolerance for people who don't at least pretend to regard them as almighty. There's no way of knowing how extreme they will react if you demonstrate to such "bullies" that you are not the inferior pushover that they require you to be. Ego problems and mental problems like that in the director positions of schools means the problem will always exist until such schools just go out of business or until those people retire. I'm glad the good directors and teachers outnumber these sorts of people.

No dance school should ever attempt to humiliate a student. That is as bad as a dance school can possibly be. When their hatred goes so far over the edge that they resort to sending their friends to your house attempting to intimidate and/or provoke you, that is when it has gone way beyond as bad as it gets.

Don't put yourself or your kids within range of such people. Don't go to a school that is just some director's personal ego stroking establishment... especially not one where her husband also expects you to be a spineless, gullible coward and coddle his ego too. Go to a real dance school where they treat dance students like dance students... dance students who are people.

I thought I'd have to finally move to Tennessee & get re-established there among family, but I've found plenty to stay involved with.

There are the bad ones and the good ones. The good ones are way too good to be missing out on.