Training at multiple studios

Hi Guys!
So this is kind of exciting for me, I can't even remember when I wrote my last blogpost, it has been so long! So for my first post back, I decided to talk about a topic that is very important to me, as I feel like many people struggle with it. I certainly have!

Last year in March, I auditioned for a fulltime ballet training program and you can't even believe how lost I felt! I didn't know half the steps they were asking for and just couldn't keep up because I just didn't know what I was doing! The reason for that was, that I just wasn't used to variety in class, at my studio we were given a set of combos at the beginning of the semester and kept working on those for the rest of the year. Of course, this works your technique and muscle memory very well but doesn't teach you to remember combinations quickly.
So at the beginning of the new semester, I decided taking one class a week with a different teacher, who had been recommended to me. She completely changed the way I was dancing, fixed my alignment and a bunch of other problems I didn't know I had. Since she is an experienced dancer and has been in the industry for over 30 years, she also gave me valuable advice for auditions, which went a lot better this year. Even though I didn't get into the school, I knew all the steps and what they were looking for and was able to keep up in class. Most importantly, I didn't feel like I was the worst dancer in the room.
Long story short, I liked training with that teacher so much that I eventually ended up taking class with her 4-5 times a week.
Another reason for me to pick up on classes at a different studio is that my school was only offering one ballet and one pointe class a week and I really wanted to focus on ballet, so that wasn't enough for me.
Those were my main reasons for going to a second studio but I also talked to a lot of people who said they went to a new studio additionally to pick up on other styles of dance or because they felt like they didn't get as many opportunities at their old studio.

Starting training in a new place can be a touchy subject, it certainly was for me just because I didn't know if I should tell my teachers or not. Now, I'm not a very sharing person to begin with and I guess it really depends on your relationship with your teacher but I decided against telling them as I suspected my teachers would not be happy.  Eventually it surfaced that I was training at another studio and I was right about their reaction.
I've heard of so many different experiences, some teachers really love it that the student is taking the initiative to get better outside of what the studio has to offer but unfortuanately there are also plenty of teachers who get very possessive over their students and 'punish' them for not being loyal to their studio.
Generally I think teachers should not get angry with students for taking up more classes. I talked to a lot of people about it and they all agreed a student should not be punished for taking more classes than the studio can offer.
As far as contradicting corrections go, there is no real advice I can give on that. Just because you are getting cotradicting corrections doesn't mean one of them is wrong, as there are many different approaches on certain technical things, so keep that in mind. I know it can be slightly confusing but still try to apply the corrections as well as you can and try to get as much out of a ballet class as you can.
In the end, you are working for yourself, to achieve your goals, not your teachers, so keep that in mind.
For me, training at 2 studios at the same time has broadened my horrizons and helped my technique immensely. I know that and I don't care about what others have to say about that because the comments I got feel very personal and impartial but when I look in the mirror, I see a completely new dancer. Of course I'm not perfect and I never claimed to be but I have gained a lot of understanding for ballet technique this year and have become more aware of placement.
Everybody I talked to about this topic absolutely agrees that different teachers notice different things, so you just get a larger variety of corrections, which often helps improving so much faster.
This year, my developpés have improved so much, as has my entire turning technique because I have been getting so many valuable corrections for improving that by my new teacher. Also, as strange as it sounds, I have finally learned to appreciate a simple tendu, as I have learned that there is so much to it and always room for improvement, even if it's only a tendu and supposed to be about the easiest step in ballet. As my tendus improved, so has my petit allegro because I have completely changed the way I use my feet and was forced to do a larger variety of steps a lot more often than before.
Before this year, I  couldn't do petit allegro at all, now I can at least get through it.
I don't want to talk down or criticize my old studio, I have always loved going to class there. I had my ups and downs, and there were things I enjoyed more than others. For instance, I always loved working on technique while show rehearsals have never been the most fun for me but ultimately, this led to performing expirience, which I am very grateful for and will certainly miss a lot, even though running dances over and over again can be quite boring, it is worth it in the end.
Still, sometimes a change in perpective and a fresh view on your technique is exactly what you need to improve and I'm glad I got to have that. Every teacher has their unique way of correcting and watches out for different things, so another teacher will probably give you other things to work on. That can be very helpful, especially when you feel like you're not improving as fast as you'd like to. For me, the key to turning were my shoulders, which were holding me back. Just because my teachers weren't correcting me on that, doesn't mean they are bad, it just means they want to work on something else first but I was frustrated because I really wanted to improve my turns.
 The point is: more corrections mean you can improve faster but one person can't watch for everything, so a second teacher might help you improve faster.
All in all, training at two studios has helped my technique a lot but ultimately I have decided to leave my old studio for a couple of personal reasons as well as scheduling problems.

If you have any questions about this topic, feel free to send me an email or dm me on instagram. Also leave me request to what to post next!

Have a good day,
Laulie


https://instagram.com/laulie.dancer