any famous dancers that you think are extremely over rated?

dav7802 said:
That is actual a lot compared to the average US salary (56,000) which doesn't include health or pension.
That also didn't include privates and classes at their home or teams in different cities.
Working "in front" of the camera in any entertainment business is hard. But one does it for the love not the money.
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It's not elite when you consider the elite dancer I am referring to lives in New York city. Most salsa elites also.live in more costly metro areas...and like I said, that is the highest figure I've heard. One of my directors had a well known routine they performed and they had to split$1000 per Congress between them so they were literally travelling 40 weeks a year...that's ok when you only have yourself to support but what if you have a kid?
 
vit said:
It depends on the teacher and certainly isn't true for "any private instructin". It's probably a good idea to make a list if you have very limited time and you want to take a private with certain superstar instructor on the congress which you believe can do magic and improve things on the list and make them 10x better ... which is a bit unrealistic so to say

In reality, a good teacher will ask you to show him/her some dancing and determine most obvious problems and try correcting them in some reasonable time which is usually considerably longer than people think ...

Most group classes are not that useful for learning from teacher, but more to make you more compatible with other people from the venue in all mistakes all of you are making ... :(
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Best post ever
 
mambocowboy said:
It's not elite when you consider the elite dancer I am referring to lives in New York city. Most salsa elites also.live in more costly metro areas...and like I said, that is the highest figure I've heard. One of my directors had a well known routine they performed and they had to split$1000 per Congress between them so they were literally travelling 40 weeks a year...that's ok when you only have yourself to support but what if you have a kid?
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Get a different career. People have to accept certain jobs only pay so much money and do the job for the love.

Don't get me wrong. They can charge anything they want and they will have to figure out where the line of profit starts to affect how many people show up.
For example the LA Salsa fest was charging 55.00 for performances and social dancing Saturday night only. I know a few ppl who just wanted to social dance and didn't pay that yet the dance floors were pretty full so enough people did pay.
 
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dav7802 said:
That is actual a lot compared to the average US salary (56,000) which doesn't include health or pension.
That also didn't include privates and classes at their home or teams in different cities.
Working "in front" of the camera in any entertainment business is hard. But one does it for the love not the money.
Click to expand...

while i have no idea what the top salsa instructors make, according to friends and people i know who know frankie martinez well, he has a very nice apartment and a few expensive cars, so i doubt he's hurting for money, even if he's not necessarily what you would consider "rich".
 
manzanadulce said:
while i have no idea what the top salsa instructors make, according to friends and people i know who know frankie martinez well, he has a very nice apartment and a few expensive cars, so i doubt he's hurting for money, even if he's not necessarily what you would consider "rich".
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When he was at peak popularity 15 years ago, I heard a rumor he was charging $250 an hour for a private...
 
Francisco Fiko said:
It does pay the bills... if you are at the elite level. Everything below that is an investment that may or may not pay off in the end...
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I know plenty of no name salsa instructors who did very well out of salsa for a decade or so - they were able to give up their day job, buy a nice home from their income, go on holidays abroad etc etc. Just from teaching regionally and hosting local salsa parties. When salsa stopped being fashionable a decade ago then for most of them it all fell apart however a few are still making good money. Very good money in one instance.

I don't think becoming internationally famous was of interest to any of them - unless the instructor is teaching at a lot of congresses a year then having successful regional classes is, I assume, far more remunerative than becoming famous on the scene. Plus a lot less travel, stress and scrutiny. Considering some of them (a minority to be fair) have no idea how to dance let alone teach, having people around the world studying videos of them wouldn't be beneficial.
 
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FM was not charging $250 an hour 15 year back. Neither FM nor others at his level. A rate may shoot up at a certain event. It is about supply and demand. Let's say an artist sets aside 10 hours a week for privates. If 20 people are requesting the private, the rate goes up.

I don't know what the team membership dues are now. 15 years back they were $100 per month. With 20 students that is $2000. About 4 to 6 hours per week of instructor's time. Add about 10 private a week that was another $1000. So take home was $120,000 a year. About five or six invitations to perform a year that included travel and boarding. All that money is a bonus.

A savvy professional will write off studio lease or fees, clothes, shoes travel, medical, and most expenses as business expenses in tax returns. If the lease studio is on monthly basis, they can rent it to other dance (belly dancing, flamenco, etc) instructors, yoga instructors, martial arts, floor practice etc.

Today you have larger teams and franchise model.

I think today ET, FM, Adolfo (and may be Terry) are absolute top tier. Others are a tier below them. Travel, lodging and boarding is taken care of for the headliners. The rest of artist usually oy get lodging free. The appearance fee varies depending on the tier. Over a weekend they may end up giving 5-10 privates. Fees for private at festival are usually higher.

Very few artists have a shelf life of more than 10-15 years. ET is an exception than a rule.

A decent instructor in any metro area in USA can make a good living if he/she is able to attract 20 people team (students, trainees, semi-pro and pro) and give privates. More instructors can lead to competition for students.

The very top tiers like FD, FM, ET Jr, Terry, Juan Matos, Adolfo, etc can make $150K to $200K when you include festivals, students training groups and privates at home when not traveling. Outside USA healthcare costs are extremely low. So non-USA instructors save on high medical insurance expenses.
 
The Salsa Congress dancers who are always ‘on tour’ probably live a flight attendant lifestyle. Part-time bills in America.

I got away with not having permanent (monthly) rent and a car for 10 years.
Which is the bulk of our monthly expenses.

A lot of things one may need are cheaper abroad. Health insurance, food, taxis, rent (mostly), fabrics, costume makers. Even holistic medicine such as health tonics and massage therapy ....which is good for dancers.

The costumes I don’t understand. I had the best costumes. I only ever see Salsa Congress costume with basic leotard and basic fringe. Rarely I ever see exquisite beading or even iced out with Swarovski crystals.

Dancesport costumes are to die for. If the Salsa Congress girls wore costumes like that ......they could charge higher fees.
 
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