Thread: When to start charging for advice?

I've come across this several times with dancers that aren't technically my students (i.e. haven't paid for a lesson) and aren't exactly someone I'm mentoring closely, where they ask for lots of advice and feedback.

How do some of you handle this? Do you resist giving free advice? Or do you consider this mentorship, however distant? Where are y'all drawing the line?

OR do you just say, "Hey, lets schedule a private lesson and talk about it"

When I first started seeking advice from other dancers, I'd only expect moral support for free. I'd ask for a lesson, if I wanted a critique or advice...That could just be me...

What do y'all think?

for me it depends on how much their asking and if I have time. If a friend shows me a video and asks what I think, I'll give them a little feedback if I have time. But usually they are at the level where they could and would if asked return the favor. If it is somebody who really couldn't return the favor (or I wouldn't really ask them to because of their level or style) I'd still do it, as long as I had a little time to spare and they weren't coming to me over and over again expecting it. I give free advice here online all the time.

I do hope that people who really want to learn and improve take classes from me though and there is a certain point where I think I would just say to a person you really should attend this class or schedule a private lesson. I think it is a personal judgment call though. Good luck with that.