Questions? (or, Am I Stupid or What?)

I get the last laugh. Many people think I'm the dumbest person in a class, and some people treat me like I have a big red "S" on my forehead, like a tattoo that screams "stupid!" All because I ask more questions than the others. I want clarity because it pays back dramatically over time and often I pass my "smarter" peers in a few months.

If I practice an exercise or motion incorrectly for a couple of weeks or months, I have to go back and unlearn that motion, then learn the correct motion, and often that takes much more time than getting it right from the start. Gaining clarity by asking questions is worth having a few others think I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer. After a few months, my growth offsets any short-term negative impression they may have.

I'm often humbled greatly in classes. I've been in salsa classes where the combination didn't work for me that day, and I had to see it in a second or third class before I got it. In some cases my initial learning is actually slower than many others. Unless something is slow enough, I can get confused. If I let my ego get in the way, it's discouraging because "all the other kids get it" and I don't initially.

I want excellence, and I know if the fundamentals aren't clear to me, it will require relearning later, so I ask now, rather than practice the wrong thing because I'm missing something. I want the details if practical, so I "know that I know." I can then build on those fundamentals and go beyond the initial lesson, so ultimately I'm much further ahead, even if the start up is slower.

Once I get the proper motion at a slower tempo, I can refine it and within a few days or weeks, accelerate the movement. The only time I minimize questions is when I knowingly attend a class way over my head.

For example, I'm a beginning jazz dance student so I take beginning classes and ask tons of questions. I also take a fairly advanced class because I take privates from the instructor. It's way over my head but I know that if you surround yourself with people at a higher level, you grow faster. When I attend my instructor's class, I simply stand in the back and take in as much as possible, knowing I'll miss some things and at points I'm simply an observer, and/or I'm investing in future growth.

Exercises or movements that are easy for most of the class may be impossible for me with my current experience (or lack thereof), so I save those questions for my privates, where he can break it down to my level.

(Side note: Try taking a jazz dance class in your mid forties, having NEVER attended a jazz class in your life. It’s extremely humbling and allows me to relate to new dancers in my beginning classes. When someone struggles with a move in my class, I know exactly how they feel!)

When I'm teaching, and there is someone like me who asks questions, I might have to say, "That's an excellent question; let's deal with that after class, and anybody else who wants clarity on that issue is free to join us." Let the instructor handle it if you ask questions that are outside the scope for the class in general. Nine out of ten times, though, the question you have is the same one that six others are thinking but are afraid to ask.

The rule is: Be bold and ask! Your dancing will improve much faster than those who pretend to "get it" when something is unclear.

Most people over estimate how much they can do in a short period of time
and under estimate how much they can accomplish over a longer time frame.
-Anonymous