So you’ve signed up for ballroom dance lessons, congrats! Hopefully, you’re going to love it, but perhaps you have no idea what to expect on your first private ballroom dance lesson, and that may make you a bit nervous.
I’ve taught at a few different studios over my dancing career and most studios follow the same formula.
I’m going to walk you through what I do in the first lesson to help you feel more comfortable. For a list of things, you should know before you ever walk in the studio read this.
Meet the receptionist or person at the front desk
When you walk into a dance studio for the first time they usually have someone at the front desk to greet you, just in case any unwilling husbands decide to make a run for it!
If possible, try to be a few minutes early because they will have some paperwork for you to fill out.
(Now during Covid-19, my studio is checking temps and going through the now-standard checklist of symptoms, also face masks are required for everyone, gloves and hand sanitizer is available)
This form usually asks for your name, address, email, and the best number to reach you at. It’s also going to ask you which dances you’d like to learn, why you want to learn, and maybe a few other questions including how did you hear about us.
Meet your teacher
Depending on the size of the school you go to, you may have already met your teacher when you came in. But for most schools, once you’ve finished the paperwork and it’s time for your lesson, that’s when you meet your teacher.
I always start with a studio tour, that way you know where everything is and you can be a bit more comfortable in the studio. I’m also going to ask you why you want to dance and what music you like.
Knowing what music you like can help me pick the dances I think you may like. After the tour, we will sit down and double-check your paperwork, go over any questions you might have and it’s time to hit the dance floor.
Learn The Elements / Pre-Basic / Building Blocks
Once we are on the dance floor I start off with a few basic building blocks that you’ll use to learn the dances.
Examples of this are walking steps, side steps, stepping in place, rock steps, and triple steps. These are the building blocks you’ll use to start putting the patterns together.
Think of it like this: learning to dance is like learning to write your name, the first step is learning how to draw a straight line.
These are the moves that your teacher will use to build the patterns for the dances that you will learn.
Try a Couple of Dances
Based on our conversation during the tour and going over your paperwork I will have chosen a few dances for you to try.
I know some of you are shaking your head right now saying I only want to learn one dance at a time. Or I only want to learn one dance, usually, it’s salsa, sometimes swing.
I’m usually going to show you at least two dances, one fast and one slow.
Let me explain why, I once was out dancing at a country-western bar (read here for why country-western bars are a great place to practice dancing) and I was dancing with this guy, it was so much fun to meet someone who could dance that we just kept dancing together. Swing, chacha, hustle it was awesome.
Then a slow song came, and hey boy howdy was I disappointed when he offered to dance the 8th-grade shuffle with me. ( That’s what he called it, I called it the why bother dance).
I still danced with him, but here’s the takeaway guys, women want to dance to the fast music so you can spin them, but the slow dance is when you really get to woo her.
Ask any girl at the salsa club if a man that can bachata is sexy, and she’ll most likely say yes. Get her attention with the fast dance, keep it with the slow. When it comes to learning the steps your teacher will break down each pattern and guide you through how to do them.
Introduce you to others
It’s always nice to know other people when you walk into a studio, and other students are some of the best benefits of dancing. They often can tell you about the other dance opportunities in your area or offer advice and support.
I’ve seen many lifelong friendships and partnerships develop in the studio.
Sit down and recap the lesson
At the end of our lesson, we will usually sit down and review the lesson. What did we learn, what dances did you like, or not. Then, depending on how you came to the studio, you’ll either schedule your next private lesson, a group class, or a practice party. At this point, you may talk about enrolling in a dance program.
Different schools have different offers, so check with your local schools for pricing. I’ll also answer any questions you may have.
That’s pretty much what to expect on your first private ballroom lesson, check out some of other articles to answer more of your questions!
