1. The competence or skill
   expected of a professional.
2. The practicing of an
   activity, esp. a sport, by professional rather than amateur
   players.

That's all fine and dandy, but what does that mean for the unique world of dance? Dance is a different kind of animal. You won't see your lawyer on all fours tugging at your feet anytime soon, because unlike many professionals, dance instructors are always in their clients' personal space, and often have to talk about their bodies and emotions. That is where walking this fine line comes in. The following blog is about my ideas, encouragements and pitfalls for instructors AND students when it comes to maintaining professionalism. Enjoy :)

First and foremost, professionalism needs to be maintained by the student AND the instructor at all times; however, the instructor should always be the bigger person (and the PROFESSIONAL) and set the expectations and boundaries of the relationship first.  When teaching private lessons to a child or an adult, you have to immediately develop a certain level of comfort and respect working in such close quarters, and make sure that it is maintained as you spend hours upon hours upon years with one another.

The Basics (teachers and students)
BE ON TIME: Being on time means being at least 15 minutes early! Teachers, you need to set up your classroom, your music and get your lesson plan in order BEFORE class starts. Students, you need to be changed, properly warmed up and mentally ready to go!
BE PREPARED: Students, if the instructor asked you to have something ready for the class, have it done. Teachers, have a thorough lesson plan done before class and a back up activity/combination in case of the unexpected. Both teacher and student should be physically prepared with the appropriate attire, including shoes, fed and hydrated, and mentally ready to learn and have fun! Which leads me to...
BE PUT TOGETHER (aka, don't be the smelly kid): Be showered, hair out of face, jewelry off and appropriate attire. Don't show up to ballet class hung-over with sweats and a tee shirt, and don't show up to ballroom class with lipstick on your teeth and no spanks.
BE ATTENTIVE: Teachers, it is your job to be aware of your student's current physical and emotional state. Be listening and watching them the whole lesson! For that hour, they are the most important thing in the world. Students, listen and watch your instructor's every move and direction. A lot of the subtleties they want to teach you can easily be demonstrated and repeated verses a half an hour explanation.
BE KNOWLEGDABLE: Students, have an idea and/or vision of what you want to accomplish/look like. If you are unsure, be ready to talk about it with your instructor. Teachers, know your stuff! You should be able to demonstrate forwards and backwards, right and LEFT, know the history, and have additional resources on hand all the time. That IS PROFESSIONALISM!
Give 110%, 100% of the time

As we get into it (teachers and students)
Things you can talk about:
1. Family and friends
2. Work and hobbies
Things you CANNOT talk about:
1. Religion
2. Politics
3. Sexual orientation
4. Race
5. Any controversial topic or personal story that sheds a poor light
But why you ask?
Professionalism is based on trust and respect. What if you hit a hot spot with that person and their opinion of you changes in an instant. Most of the time, arguments stem from miscommunication simply because the two parties' views are slightly different. You don't want your Lock Step to suffer because one of you is a Democrat and the other is a Republican. Nor do you want to have respect lost because you "over shared" what you did last weekend. Don't hit on your instructor or student, and combined with the above, you should be okay.
When it comes to private lessons, not only can there be down time for conversation, but it is important to get to know one another on a professional level to have the most efficient. effective, and enjoyable experience.

The line has been crossed (duhn, duhn, duuuuuuhhhhhhhnnnnn!)
Woopsies happen. The line gets crossed. Don't freak out. If a question is asked or a comment or gesture gets made that makes you uncomfortable SPEAK UP. Both teachers AND students have the right to feel respected and appreciated on a lesson. If something rubs you the wrong way, don't sit on it or consult your girlfriends first, talk about it in that moment. Most of the time when the professional line is crossed, it is completely unintentional and can be squashed right away.
You don't ever really know what is going to offend a person. If you have a slight doubt whether or not to share, just keep your mouth shut. Its like the old saying "if you have to ask, the answer is probably no or not what you want to hear" :)

When it comes down to it, we can all look to our past and name our favorite teacher or favorite student without much hesitation. Why? Because we learned something from them that surpasses most of our other experiences. We felt connected to them. Because we knew them, we are better people. And if you dig a little deeper, I bet everyone one of those relationships were based on the trust and respect of teacher/student professionalism.