April 22, 2025 • 18 mins
What happens when a pro drop-in dance class suddenly shifts from training to something that feels more like a social experiment?
In this episode of Hey, Dancer!, I take you inside a real class I took at a major LA studio — where the last 25 minutes took a surprising turn. No mirrors. No added choreo. Just partner work, face-to-face groups, and solo runs of the same combo inside a circle.
I recorded my full reaction right there in the studio, and I’m sharing the unfiltered clip for the first time.
I had posted a short teaser of the experience on social media — and the responses came pouring in. In this episode, I’ll read and react to some of those comments: the ones that supported this format, the ones that pushed back, and the perspectives that genuinely made me pause.
Whether you’re a dancer wondering “is it just me?” or a teacher rethinking your format, this episode’s for you.
Check out my Return to Dance docuseries!
Support my Instagram — where I post daily dance inspo, insights and fun! @backtogreat
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
(upbeat music)
(00:02):
Professional dance class.
And I say professional because I just mean,
you know, you're paying for the class
and a lot of professionals are taking there at the studio.
You anticipate a certain structure to the class
and you've taken a lot of classes at said studio.
Let's just say,
and classes have a general format.
And then one day you're in a class
(00:24):
and the format is turned upside down.
But you're not sure if this is the right setting for that.
Anyway, that is what I'm talking about today
on my podcast, Hey, Dancer.
My name is Miller Daurey
and I'm a former teen dancer, professional,
who returned to the game three decades later.
(00:45):
I was gonna say three months, no, no, no, no.
I'm not 20 and a half, I'm 50, okay?
And the point is,
as I've experienced a lot in this return to dance journey,
a lot of the changes in dance
and I don't remember anything like this
back in the day happening.
And to be fair, this hasn't happened to me too often.
(01:06):
It's happened to me a few times,
but nowhere as intense as it was in this particular class
with this particular teacher.
And I'm gonna share with you the story,
actually as it happened,
this was when I was in Millennium's certificate program,
taking 12 dance classes a week
and that one of the cool perks of the program
(01:28):
was you could rent out studio space
if you were in between classes
and the studio was not being used.
I was dancing so much that I would often use
the studio time, the space by myself
to just talk to the camera,
invent and therapist a little bit.
And this was one such example.
Now this has never been seen before,
this footage did not make my return to dance
(01:48):
to the docuseries for whatever reason.
I guess I decided to take it out.
Although I did create once a 90 second reel
based off of the five or six minute actual,
not a diet tribe, not a rant,
just really just talking to the camera,
voicing my, I guess concern frustration, confusion.
(02:09):
And today you're gonna get to hear the whole thing.
It seemed to really resonate on social media.
It was, I guess, relatable to dancers,
although a lot it was not relatable too,
they were kind of just shocked by the experience.
And so I'll be reading some of those comments
and addressing those comments here today as well.
But to really get the gist of it,
I'm gonna play for you that actual moment in real time
(02:34):
and just know that I didn't have a professional mic.
And I was in a studio that was sandwiched
in between two studios where there was obviously
there was live music playing.
However, I think you can hear me just fine
and you will not need to strain.
Okay, roll the clip, Miller.
I'm not gonna give anything away in regard to the choreographer
'cause that's not the intent of any of this.
(02:56):
Okay, so it's a beginning intermediate hip-hop class
and it's a relatively new slot at the studio.
And it's the third time I've taken this class
and it had been a couple of weeks
and I love this teacher, I love the teacher's vibe,
style, energy, provides a safe environment
and it's a great class.
(03:18):
That said, I'm realizing now that there's an issue
I have with the way she formats it
and I'm just gonna share, okay?
So this is what's been going on about.
She teaches the choreography
and I've noticed in the class that
even though it's beginning intermediate
and other beginning intermediate classes
(03:38):
do bring in a lot of very strong dancers,
this class brings in some very beginning level dancers,
not everybody will.
And I don't know if he is catering to that
but he has many times said,
I'm so happy 'cause he teaches advanced classes also
and he's like, I'm just so happy to be teaching this class.
At first you know, I was like,
(03:58):
I'm not gonna teach beginning and then I realized,
you know, oh, there's so much I can learn too.
And I don't know, I just get the sense that it's like,
he thinks we're children and I'll tell you why.
So we do the choreography, this has happened each time now.
This is what he does.
He teaches the choreography
and somewhere about 25 minutes before the class is supposed
(04:18):
to end, he stops teaching the choreography.
And then we do the choreography
but no longer in front of the mirror.
So if we don't know, see here's a mirror,
if you don't know in dance class,
it would be the choreography
and you're constantly doing it in front of the mirror
and you're practicing your training,
you're getting better at it, hopefully.
(04:40):
A lot of choreographers though,
once in a while, just for a little mix up,
we'll have you turn away from the mirror
and do the choreography like to the back of the room
and now you no longer feel safe.
It's like really tricky to do that.
And I totally appreciate when a choreographer does that.
You know, a couple of times in maybe whatever class.
Well, this guy, this is what he does.
For the remaining 25 minutes of class,
(05:02):
he puts us first into two groups, group one, group two.
And I'm thinking great, group one, group two,
now we're a smaller size
and we get to do the choreography with more space to dance.
That's the whole part point of being in a group
is that now you have a smaller group of people
and you have more room to dance
(05:24):
until like really just let out, let go
and just dance, no inhibitions, whatever.
But that's not exactly what happens.
He puts us in groups and group one and group two
and now we're facing each other.
So this is one of his things,
we're facing each other doing the choreography.
So away from the mirror and facing each other.
Now I've had a couple choreographers do this also.
(05:45):
Great, a couple times, I get it, fine.
Not a couple times, you do it, I don't know, 10, 12 times,
over and over and over.
It's like six, seven, eight minutes.
I'm like, okay, and then he does this thing
where he's like, everybody find a partner.
So now we find a partner and we do the choreography
face to face with a partner
(06:07):
and then like musical chair style, kind of we switch
and we do the choreography with a different partner
and then a different partner.
So take for example, there's 15 people in the room,
15 times you're doing the choreography
with 15 different partners.
Now for me this doesn't serve me as a dancer.
Like I get the energy of it
and maybe some people find it useful.
(06:28):
I don't and now I feel myself in class, I start resisting.
I'm no longer training the choreography
and what about a dancer, for example,
who doesn't know the choreography very well.
They're supposed to do it now, facing groups,
facing other people in class the whole time
as opposed to actually training it in the mirror
and getting better and better.
Now we're just doing it like face to face.
(06:49):
It just, I don't know, and then doesn't end there.
Then he does this thing where,
and it's not a coincidence or just a flick,
he's done this every time.
Where we go in this sort of kind of circle situation
and we're all mislake standing in a circle
and then everybody has to do the choreography again,
a solo in the circle.
(07:09):
And we're all like cheering each other on.
This is the last 25 minutes of class.
Never again do we train the choreography in the mirror.
Never again do we go on in the choreography
and try to expand our muscle memory.
We're just now doing the choreography,
facing each other in groups,
facing each other face to face with 15 different dancers,
doing solos in like a group, like cheering you on.
(07:32):
And I find myself as it's progressing the time and class
and no longer trying.
Like I just don't care because I'm like,
this doesn't serve me.
I don't understand this style of teaching.
I can't think of any other beginning
intermediate teacher and I can think of quite a few
at the studio.
They run their classes like a professional class.
And the reason why it's beginning
(07:52):
intermediate classes, not because the choreography is
that much easier.
It's just taught at a slower pace and you're drilling
and you're drilling, but you're always learning.
Okay, so there you are.
I posted again a 90 second version of this
that really gave all the highlights full context.
So the comments that came in,
I'm gonna share just a few of them.
(08:13):
And I feel like the ones I chose represent different
perspectives and I respect all of them.
So this one is by I being a coal arbor.
It really helps with memory and not being distracted
if you're a pro.
You get on stage with thousands watching as you know,
you can be thrown.
When you practice distracted, it helps a lot.
(08:35):
So of course that is true, but for me,
it's not really pertinent to the conversation,
the monologue that I gave and that is because
this is dance class.
It's a professional adult drop-in dance class.
And it's not the same as rehearsing for a show,
a performance, whatever.
(08:55):
It is, it's like you're working on choreo
for the first time and only time.
And I don't know.
I mean, I fully respect when teachers
have you turned away from the mirror a couple of times.
It's a fantastic tool.
It's a great trick for spatial awareness
for getting the, you know, the choreography really
set in your head.
My lord, it can really turn you upside down
(09:16):
and be so tricky.
It's so crazy how much harder it is
to do the choreo away from the mirror.
I love it.
Yeah, a couple of times.
And if it's for a performance and actually will show,
well then yeah, you better do that
all the freaking time.
It's a matter of fact, like maybe rehearsing
in front of the mirror, like in the early stages,
but mostly do the rehearsal away from the mirror.
But this is dance class.
(09:38):
Very different ball game.
Okay, this comment is from underscore,
vi underscore, veu underscore.
I actually love the way this class sounded.
I'm a hip-hop dancer and I think learning to dance together
and feel together is the root of hip-hop.
And certainly what a beginning intermediate teacher
should focus on cultivating.
You dance differently when you try to connect.
(09:59):
Then when you try to get the moves perfect in a mirror.
In hip-hop, there is no perfect.
There's only you and your people.
Well, I get that.
I love that.
I think it's true.
And I'm all about connecting.
I just don't know if this particular scenario environment
that they're speaking of is actually right
(10:21):
for a professional, drop in expensive dance class.
It's interesting how they said you dance differently
when you try to connect.
You know, and in my opinion, I wasn't connecting with anybody.
I made this very clear.
I thought a lot of the people were really struggling
with the choreography.
How am I connecting with anybody?
(10:42):
I want, if I'm gonna dance with somebody
and do choreography face to face,
I wanna be inspired by them.
I want them to make me better.
You know, it's like when you play tennis
against somebody who is better than you,
then you become better.
Well, as I mentioned, a lot of the people in the class
were really, really struggling.
It wasn't serving them, doing this choreo
in this particular way.
(11:02):
And when I'm dancing face to face with that person
who's really struggling, how am I connecting?
We're all just like thinking of the moves.
And then it just becomes like, who cares about the choreo?
This is about just like Grooveon.
But I'm not there to not care about the choreo.
I am there to get better at choreo,
at memorizing choreo, at looking myself in the mirror
and self-correcting.
(11:24):
Do you know?
So Susan Belantoni_ said,
how to charge for a 90-minute class,
but actually only work for 45.
A lot of people left comments along this line.
I think the next one I had is kind of similar.
Sounds like, oh, this is by Irina F86.
Sounds like the teacher ran out of choreography.
(11:44):
And it was just wasting time till the end of the lesson.
I'm not sure I entirely disagree.
I don't think the teacher was lazy.
I just think that, well, here's the thing.
As I said in the clip earlier,
because the teacher mentioned, this is a beginning class.
And in the beginning, they didn't really want to do the class.
And then they realized, oh, I can learn from this too.
(12:07):
And I feel like that sort of set up this example
that they were gonna just find ways to make a different and fun.
And maybe just kind of kill the time.
Don Marie Ferrarra said, this would be a no from me.
It seems like an exercise for the beginning of a workshop series,
not a class, especially when classes are so expensive.
(12:32):
Yeah, I agree.
It felt like a workshop thing.
Like camp, pink lemonade underscore.
Was it a hip-hop class?
If so, I'd say that's more of helping the room become
a lot more comfortable in a more social dance environment.
Hip-hop wasn't created in a mirror for a stage.
It was for dancing and communicating with others
(12:53):
and in resistance to what was happening in the world
against black and brown people.
So dancing and communicating with the people in the room
is to help make it more realistic culturally.
However, the teacher should explain that
and provide more depth to why these activities are happening.
And helpful so that students aren't left wondering
what the point is.
(13:14):
I love this comment.
It gives history, it gives an understanding of maybe why.
And this is a fair comment because at least Monique,
I know who this person is.
She's a major working dancer.
So, obviously she has a lot of experience under her belt
so she knows where she's coming from.
And I'm sure all the other ones do.
I just happen to know who Monique is.
(13:36):
And I appreciate seeing it from different sides.
And again, like a bit of that culture and that history.
Yes, I agree the teacher should have provided more depth.
If it is true that it's about the social dance environment,
why doesn't this teacher do that in his advanced classes?
Why does no other teacher at this studio
(13:56):
and no other beginning or intermediate hip hop teacher
do this at any classes I've ever been to?
Unless maybe a foundation class, like just basics or foundation.
This is a $22 class.
It is a drop-in class and I keep saying this word,
but it is true, professional.
And also I think because of the expectation in that
(14:19):
nobody else does this,
and I would be an expert in this area, in this one time and place
because I was taking 12 classes a week.
I mean, that's the definition of an expert at one studio, right?
For months and months, I would know.
And I had a lot to compare it to.
And if nobody else is doing this,
except for again, the rare exception,
(14:41):
which I do appreciate and like, I mentioned where the teacher
would have us turn away from the mirror a couple of times.
I think this is a good place to interject as I'm editing this,
so this is editor Miller here,
that I have taken a plethora of street style classes
at this particular studio that are more niche, I guess you might say,
like locking or popping or house.
(15:02):
And there have been moments in those particular classes
where the teacher will have us pair off with somebody
and you'll work on some foundational elements.
It is never, ever more than five minutes, ever.
And it is not working on Corio, again,
it's kind of like some basics.
Do you know what I'm saying?
So that I get.
But I'm talking 25 minutes.
(15:24):
Let's do the math here.
If the warm-up and this teacher gave a decent warm-up,
it was about maybe 10 minutes, okay?
It's an hour class, that's important to note.
So we got 10 minutes, and then I mentioned for 25 minutes,
this is what the teacher had us doing these exercises.
That's 35 minutes.
That leaves us 25 minutes to actually learn choreography.
Less than half of the class, I don't find this practice conducive
(15:47):
to a drop-in class in a major city, you know, like LA for dance,
especially when classes operate 99% of the time a certain way.
It should be written, you know, in the studio's app.
You know, this is a beginning intermediate class,
but the teacher is going to focus on hip-hop foundations
from the perspective of a social dance environment.
(16:08):
He's going to give you a cipher experience.
And then maybe I can make the decision, oh,
I'm not going to spend my money for that.
Oh, that sounds great to me.
I would love to try that.
And again, I fully respect this comment,
and she's right, hip-hop was not created in a mirror for a stage.
But this is dance class, and a dance class has a mirror.
There is hip-hop, you know, on the streets
(16:29):
in the cultural environment, and there's also hip-hop
as it has been translated for an actual choreographic experience
for dance class, for rehearsal, for stage, for performing.
So that might be the root of hip-hop,
but I don't know that it is relevant for a class experience.
I see the different sides here.
(16:49):
And again, I can just say what works for me,
and what this guy did did not work for me.
The last comment I will mention is by Alena Esther Eight.
Classes have gotten dumbed down for adults,
especially since some have shortened it to one hour.
It bugs me when they don't give adults serious classes,
so, so, so annoying.
And classes have gotten so expensive,
(17:10):
so this would irritate me even more.
Yeah, I mean, it's true, the money aspect is real.
You know, you're spending $22 for a freaking dance class.
And I mean, at the time, by the way,
I was in this program, and it was well over $1,000 a month
to take, you know, basically unlimited classes.
And if you broke it down and you took enough classes,
(17:31):
each class be game, you know, basically like a really competitive
good price, but still the bulk of it,
like that was for me a massive investment.
And I just learned also from me the more I took from this teacher,
I realized, oh, this teacher just isn't right for me.
And you just have to find what is right for you.
And for a lot of people, this might be great
(17:51):
and for a lot of people, like it may not be great,
and that's okay.
And there you have it, those are my thoughts
on this particular topic and, you know, it's just another
random dance class experience.
Maybe it's because I am someone who disappeared
from the art form, from class, from the industry
for so freaking long that every experience
(18:12):
that just kind of is standalone is extra shocking to me
because it was something I didn't experience back
in the day in classes.
It just makes an impact.
It makes this imprint on me.
And then I got to share it.
I got to share it with you.
So let me know your thoughts on this.
Would you love a class like this?
(18:33):
Is it not your vibe?
Shoot me a DM on Instagram, add back to great,
or leave a comment down below if you're watching
on YouTube or Spotify.
Rate, follow, subscribe.
It goes a long way.
And I just appreciate you.
I appreciate you.
Dancer, dance family.
Okay, until next time.
(upbeat music)
(00:02):
Professional dance class.
And I say professional because I just mean,
you know, you're paying for the class
and a lot of professionals are taking there at the studio.
You anticipate a certain structure to the class
and you've taken a lot of classes at said studio.
Let's just say,
and classes have a general format.
And then one day you're in a class
(00:24):
and the format is turned upside down.
But you're not sure if this is the right setting for that.
Anyway, that is what I'm talking about today
on my podcast, Hey, Dancer.
My name is Miller Daurey
and I'm a former teen dancer, professional,
who returned to the game three decades later.
(00:45):
I was gonna say three months, no, no, no, no.
I'm not 20 and a half, I'm 50, okay?
And the point is,
as I've experienced a lot in this return to dance journey,
a lot of the changes in dance
and I don't remember anything like this
back in the day happening.
And to be fair, this hasn't happened to me too often.
(01:06):
It's happened to me a few times,
but nowhere as intense as it was in this particular class
with this particular teacher.
And I'm gonna share with you the story,
actually as it happened,
this was when I was in Millennium's certificate program,
taking 12 dance classes a week
and that one of the cool perks of the program
(01:28):
was you could rent out studio space
if you were in between classes
and the studio was not being used.
I was dancing so much that I would often use
the studio time, the space by myself
to just talk to the camera,
invent and therapist a little bit.
And this was one such example.
Now this has never been seen before,
this footage did not make my return to dance
(01:48):
to the docuseries for whatever reason.
I guess I decided to take it out.
Although I did create once a 90 second reel
based off of the five or six minute actual,
not a diet tribe, not a rant,
just really just talking to the camera,
voicing my, I guess concern frustration, confusion.
(02:09):
And today you're gonna get to hear the whole thing.
It seemed to really resonate on social media.
It was, I guess, relatable to dancers,
although a lot it was not relatable too,
they were kind of just shocked by the experience.
And so I'll be reading some of those comments
and addressing those comments here today as well.
But to really get the gist of it,
I'm gonna play for you that actual moment in real time
(02:34):
and just know that I didn't have a professional mic.
And I was in a studio that was sandwiched
in between two studios where there was obviously
there was live music playing.
However, I think you can hear me just fine
and you will not need to strain.
Okay, roll the clip, Miller.
I'm not gonna give anything away in regard to the choreographer
'cause that's not the intent of any of this.
(02:56):
Okay, so it's a beginning intermediate hip-hop class
and it's a relatively new slot at the studio.
And it's the third time I've taken this class
and it had been a couple of weeks
and I love this teacher, I love the teacher's vibe,
style, energy, provides a safe environment
and it's a great class.
(03:18):
That said, I'm realizing now that there's an issue
I have with the way she formats it
and I'm just gonna share, okay?
So this is what's been going on about.
She teaches the choreography
and I've noticed in the class that
even though it's beginning intermediate
and other beginning intermediate classes
(03:38):
do bring in a lot of very strong dancers,
this class brings in some very beginning level dancers,
not everybody will.
And I don't know if he is catering to that
but he has many times said,
I'm so happy 'cause he teaches advanced classes also
and he's like, I'm just so happy to be teaching this class.
At first you know, I was like,
(03:58):
I'm not gonna teach beginning and then I realized,
you know, oh, there's so much I can learn too.
And I don't know, I just get the sense that it's like,
he thinks we're children and I'll tell you why.
So we do the choreography, this has happened each time now.
This is what he does.
He teaches the choreography
and somewhere about 25 minutes before the class is supposed
(04:18):
to end, he stops teaching the choreography.
And then we do the choreography
but no longer in front of the mirror.
So if we don't know, see here's a mirror,
if you don't know in dance class,
it would be the choreography
and you're constantly doing it in front of the mirror
and you're practicing your training,
you're getting better at it, hopefully.
(04:40):
A lot of choreographers though,
once in a while, just for a little mix up,
we'll have you turn away from the mirror
and do the choreography like to the back of the room
and now you no longer feel safe.
It's like really tricky to do that.
And I totally appreciate when a choreographer does that.
You know, a couple of times in maybe whatever class.
Well, this guy, this is what he does.
For the remaining 25 minutes of class,
(05:02):
he puts us first into two groups, group one, group two.
And I'm thinking great, group one, group two,
now we're a smaller size
and we get to do the choreography with more space to dance.
That's the whole part point of being in a group
is that now you have a smaller group of people
and you have more room to dance
(05:24):
until like really just let out, let go
and just dance, no inhibitions, whatever.
But that's not exactly what happens.
He puts us in groups and group one and group two
and now we're facing each other.
So this is one of his things,
we're facing each other doing the choreography.
So away from the mirror and facing each other.
Now I've had a couple choreographers do this also.
(05:45):
Great, a couple times, I get it, fine.
Not a couple times, you do it, I don't know, 10, 12 times,
over and over and over.
It's like six, seven, eight minutes.
I'm like, okay, and then he does this thing
where he's like, everybody find a partner.
So now we find a partner and we do the choreography
face to face with a partner
(06:07):
and then like musical chair style, kind of we switch
and we do the choreography with a different partner
and then a different partner.
So take for example, there's 15 people in the room,
15 times you're doing the choreography
with 15 different partners.
Now for me this doesn't serve me as a dancer.
Like I get the energy of it
and maybe some people find it useful.
(06:28):
I don't and now I feel myself in class, I start resisting.
I'm no longer training the choreography
and what about a dancer, for example,
who doesn't know the choreography very well.
They're supposed to do it now, facing groups,
facing other people in class the whole time
as opposed to actually training it in the mirror
and getting better and better.
Now we're just doing it like face to face.
(06:49):
It just, I don't know, and then doesn't end there.
Then he does this thing where,
and it's not a coincidence or just a flick,
he's done this every time.
Where we go in this sort of kind of circle situation
and we're all mislake standing in a circle
and then everybody has to do the choreography again,
a solo in the circle.
(07:09):
And we're all like cheering each other on.
This is the last 25 minutes of class.
Never again do we train the choreography in the mirror.
Never again do we go on in the choreography
and try to expand our muscle memory.
We're just now doing the choreography,
facing each other in groups,
facing each other face to face with 15 different dancers,
doing solos in like a group, like cheering you on.
(07:32):
And I find myself as it's progressing the time and class
and no longer trying.
Like I just don't care because I'm like,
this doesn't serve me.
I don't understand this style of teaching.
I can't think of any other beginning
intermediate teacher and I can think of quite a few
at the studio.
They run their classes like a professional class.
And the reason why it's beginning
(07:52):
intermediate classes, not because the choreography is
that much easier.
It's just taught at a slower pace and you're drilling
and you're drilling, but you're always learning.
Okay, so there you are.
I posted again a 90 second version of this
that really gave all the highlights full context.
So the comments that came in,
I'm gonna share just a few of them.
(08:13):
And I feel like the ones I chose represent different
perspectives and I respect all of them.
So this one is by I being a coal arbor.
It really helps with memory and not being distracted
if you're a pro.
You get on stage with thousands watching as you know,
you can be thrown.
When you practice distracted, it helps a lot.
(08:35):
So of course that is true, but for me,
it's not really pertinent to the conversation,
the monologue that I gave and that is because
this is dance class.
It's a professional adult drop-in dance class.
And it's not the same as rehearsing for a show,
a performance, whatever.
(08:55):
It is, it's like you're working on choreo
for the first time and only time.
And I don't know.
I mean, I fully respect when teachers
have you turned away from the mirror a couple of times.
It's a fantastic tool.
It's a great trick for spatial awareness
for getting the, you know, the choreography really
set in your head.
My lord, it can really turn you upside down
(09:16):
and be so tricky.
It's so crazy how much harder it is
to do the choreo away from the mirror.
I love it.
Yeah, a couple of times.
And if it's for a performance and actually will show,
well then yeah, you better do that
all the freaking time.
It's a matter of fact, like maybe rehearsing
in front of the mirror, like in the early stages,
but mostly do the rehearsal away from the mirror.
But this is dance class.
(09:38):
Very different ball game.
Okay, this comment is from underscore,
vi underscore, veu underscore.
I actually love the way this class sounded.
I'm a hip-hop dancer and I think learning to dance together
and feel together is the root of hip-hop.
And certainly what a beginning intermediate teacher
should focus on cultivating.
You dance differently when you try to connect.
(09:59):
Then when you try to get the moves perfect in a mirror.
In hip-hop, there is no perfect.
There's only you and your people.
Well, I get that.
I love that.
I think it's true.
And I'm all about connecting.
I just don't know if this particular scenario environment
that they're speaking of is actually right
(10:21):
for a professional, drop in expensive dance class.
It's interesting how they said you dance differently
when you try to connect.
You know, and in my opinion, I wasn't connecting with anybody.
I made this very clear.
I thought a lot of the people were really struggling
with the choreography.
How am I connecting with anybody?
(10:42):
I want, if I'm gonna dance with somebody
and do choreography face to face,
I wanna be inspired by them.
I want them to make me better.
You know, it's like when you play tennis
against somebody who is better than you,
then you become better.
Well, as I mentioned, a lot of the people in the class
were really, really struggling.
It wasn't serving them, doing this choreo
in this particular way.
(11:02):
And when I'm dancing face to face with that person
who's really struggling, how am I connecting?
We're all just like thinking of the moves.
And then it just becomes like, who cares about the choreo?
This is about just like Grooveon.
But I'm not there to not care about the choreo.
I am there to get better at choreo,
at memorizing choreo, at looking myself in the mirror
and self-correcting.
(11:24):
Do you know?
So Susan Belantoni_ said,
how to charge for a 90-minute class,
but actually only work for 45.
A lot of people left comments along this line.
I think the next one I had is kind of similar.
Sounds like, oh, this is by Irina F86.
Sounds like the teacher ran out of choreography.
(11:44):
And it was just wasting time till the end of the lesson.
I'm not sure I entirely disagree.
I don't think the teacher was lazy.
I just think that, well, here's the thing.
As I said in the clip earlier,
because the teacher mentioned, this is a beginning class.
And in the beginning, they didn't really want to do the class.
And then they realized, oh, I can learn from this too.
(12:07):
And I feel like that sort of set up this example
that they were gonna just find ways to make a different and fun.
And maybe just kind of kill the time.
Don Marie Ferrarra said, this would be a no from me.
It seems like an exercise for the beginning of a workshop series,
not a class, especially when classes are so expensive.
(12:32):
Yeah, I agree.
It felt like a workshop thing.
Like camp, pink lemonade underscore.
Was it a hip-hop class?
If so, I'd say that's more of helping the room become
a lot more comfortable in a more social dance environment.
Hip-hop wasn't created in a mirror for a stage.
It was for dancing and communicating with others
(12:53):
and in resistance to what was happening in the world
against black and brown people.
So dancing and communicating with the people in the room
is to help make it more realistic culturally.
However, the teacher should explain that
and provide more depth to why these activities are happening.
And helpful so that students aren't left wondering
what the point is.
(13:14):
I love this comment.
It gives history, it gives an understanding of maybe why.
And this is a fair comment because at least Monique,
I know who this person is.
She's a major working dancer.
So, obviously she has a lot of experience under her belt
so she knows where she's coming from.
And I'm sure all the other ones do.
I just happen to know who Monique is.
(13:36):
And I appreciate seeing it from different sides.
And again, like a bit of that culture and that history.
Yes, I agree the teacher should have provided more depth.
If it is true that it's about the social dance environment,
why doesn't this teacher do that in his advanced classes?
Why does no other teacher at this studio
(13:56):
and no other beginning or intermediate hip hop teacher
do this at any classes I've ever been to?
Unless maybe a foundation class, like just basics or foundation.
This is a $22 class.
It is a drop-in class and I keep saying this word,
but it is true, professional.
And also I think because of the expectation in that
(14:19):
nobody else does this,
and I would be an expert in this area, in this one time and place
because I was taking 12 classes a week.
I mean, that's the definition of an expert at one studio, right?
For months and months, I would know.
And I had a lot to compare it to.
And if nobody else is doing this,
except for again, the rare exception,
(14:41):
which I do appreciate and like, I mentioned where the teacher
would have us turn away from the mirror a couple of times.
I think this is a good place to interject as I'm editing this,
so this is editor Miller here,
that I have taken a plethora of street style classes
at this particular studio that are more niche, I guess you might say,
like locking or popping or house.
(15:02):
And there have been moments in those particular classes
where the teacher will have us pair off with somebody
and you'll work on some foundational elements.
It is never, ever more than five minutes, ever.
And it is not working on Corio, again,
it's kind of like some basics.
Do you know what I'm saying?
So that I get.
But I'm talking 25 minutes.
(15:24):
Let's do the math here.
If the warm-up and this teacher gave a decent warm-up,
it was about maybe 10 minutes, okay?
It's an hour class, that's important to note.
So we got 10 minutes, and then I mentioned for 25 minutes,
this is what the teacher had us doing these exercises.
That's 35 minutes.
That leaves us 25 minutes to actually learn choreography.
Less than half of the class, I don't find this practice conducive
(15:47):
to a drop-in class in a major city, you know, like LA for dance,
especially when classes operate 99% of the time a certain way.
It should be written, you know, in the studio's app.
You know, this is a beginning intermediate class,
but the teacher is going to focus on hip-hop foundations
from the perspective of a social dance environment.
(16:08):
He's going to give you a cipher experience.
And then maybe I can make the decision, oh,
I'm not going to spend my money for that.
Oh, that sounds great to me.
I would love to try that.
And again, I fully respect this comment,
and she's right, hip-hop was not created in a mirror for a stage.
But this is dance class, and a dance class has a mirror.
There is hip-hop, you know, on the streets
(16:29):
in the cultural environment, and there's also hip-hop
as it has been translated for an actual choreographic experience
for dance class, for rehearsal, for stage, for performing.
So that might be the root of hip-hop,
but I don't know that it is relevant for a class experience.
I see the different sides here.
(16:49):
And again, I can just say what works for me,
and what this guy did did not work for me.
The last comment I will mention is by Alena Esther Eight.
Classes have gotten dumbed down for adults,
especially since some have shortened it to one hour.
It bugs me when they don't give adults serious classes,
so, so, so annoying.
And classes have gotten so expensive,
(17:10):
so this would irritate me even more.
Yeah, I mean, it's true, the money aspect is real.
You know, you're spending $22 for a freaking dance class.
And I mean, at the time, by the way,
I was in this program, and it was well over $1,000 a month
to take, you know, basically unlimited classes.
And if you broke it down and you took enough classes,
(17:31):
each class be game, you know, basically like a really competitive
good price, but still the bulk of it,
like that was for me a massive investment.
And I just learned also from me the more I took from this teacher,
I realized, oh, this teacher just isn't right for me.
And you just have to find what is right for you.
And for a lot of people, this might be great
(17:51):
and for a lot of people, like it may not be great,
and that's okay.
And there you have it, those are my thoughts
on this particular topic and, you know, it's just another
random dance class experience.
Maybe it's because I am someone who disappeared
from the art form, from class, from the industry
for so freaking long that every experience
(18:12):
that just kind of is standalone is extra shocking to me
because it was something I didn't experience back
in the day in classes.
It just makes an impact.
It makes this imprint on me.
And then I got to share it.
I got to share it with you.
So let me know your thoughts on this.
Would you love a class like this?
(18:33):
Is it not your vibe?
Shoot me a DM on Instagram, add back to great,
or leave a comment down below if you're watching
on YouTube or Spotify.
Rate, follow, subscribe.
It goes a long way.
And I just appreciate you.
I appreciate you.
Dancer, dance family.
Okay, until next time.
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