The Dance Primer

So you’ve found a dance style and venue you’d like to try. Good, the next steps are to go to the social dances several times, take the drop-in lessons, watch dancers, and dance. After you start to get a feel for who’s-who in the scene, start thinking about which instructors you’d like to take lessons from.

Lessons are a great way to get to know people even better, improve your confidence on the dance floor, and of course improve your dancing. Group beginner lessons are a good place to start.

There are several things to look into when deciding on a class to take:

• Day of the week,time of day, location, and cost
• Do you need a partner to sign up with? (Often you don’t for beginner classes.)
• Quality of instruction
• Personality or teaching style
• Be open minded. (The flashiest folks on the floor may not always be the best teachers.)

If you followed the advice to go social dancing first, you’ll at least have had your eye on a few dancers, or gotten to know a few friendly dancers that you trust. I find word-of-mouth can be your best bet for instructors. Ask people, “who would you recommend taking lessons from?” Ask other beginners you’ve gotten to know, ask people you feel comfortable with, ask the dancers you love to watch but haven’t gotten the courage to dance with yourself. You may start to see a trend, which should make the choice much easier on you.

*Photo by Kris Martis on Flickr.