Anyone out there with tips on the best (least expensive way) to start dancing the right way? After drinking in the contests on TV for years I've finally make a decision to jump in. I want to make it a life long venture and have no idea where to begin. Any help is appreciated!!

Well, the main point of social dance, is to go home with your face more sore than your feet ot your wallet, from smiling and laughing. A great many people are quite happy with this for their balroom experience, and the way to get out on the floor doing it is in group classes.

But real lead/follow and movement techniques require training, dedication and hard work with a private instructor/trainer.

So, it is wise to try to set your dance goals when you begin.

I am in the "private first" camp, but it is personal opinion based on my kind of goals.

It is not so much that there are group instructors who are "incomeptent", as inferred elsewhere - but that the things they must impart quickly to social students to get them moving, keep them happy and keep them coming back, very often involve expedients, including a lot of patternwork, that shortcut real training, and result in bad muscle memory which must be painfully retrained later, if one decides to really advance or compete. This whole matter is a can of worms, but having a better idea of what you want at the outset is wise.

Some of us have thrown away years of everything we ever learned about ballroom, and started over from scratch later because our goals changed or we were not mindful of them (and what they require) at the outset, and how to meet them.

We must remember that much of dance is opinion. Many people want to go down the floor with 30 patterns, with small steps and looking very pretty, and are in fact disappointed if they cannot. People like me would rather travel the whole floor with only 3 moves if necessary, with power, grace and technique, and we are willing to continually refine the very basics over & over again, forever.

Highly-accomplished ballroom is like a pyramid - you spend 90% of your time, money and work building and expanding the base. If you try to stick things on the sides, they will fall off. If you put wrong or weak stones in the base, you have to tear it all down. Social dancers don't like, or need, to get so preoccupied with this approach.

I always get compliments on my leading in social situations - but much of the time, I am actually following a woman who has learned patterns in social classes, and has little idea of what true lead/follow is - or could care less. I just smile and thank her.

I don't think that starting with private lessons is a good idea. Especially in the beginning, group lessons are the way to go (for me, and it looks like for the majority of repliers). I started dancing through a club at my college, and the classes were slow paced enough so that everyone who came regularly seemed to get it. The instructors know what they're doing and don't try to teach over their ability. This may not be true with all universities, but that is my experience. (Plus it was cheap)

Trees are people too!
¡Viva los árboles!

Well, there might be a lot of debate on this point but I disagree with Belle and the other guest who posted. If you want to find out if you are really interested in learning ballroom dance, you should start with a private instructor. More students have been discouraged and lost through massive group classes than anyone could begin to count.
Group classes are inexpensive, especially at Universities, and community centers. However, you will almost invariably find less qualified instructors here and they will be trying to teach sometimes unbelieveable numbers of students. You run the risk of learning some very bad habits (which you will have to take a lot of private lessons later to correct). Also, many people come out of big group classes feeling like they "couldn't learn" or they "couldn't get it" --- when in reality the instructor simply couldn't give them the kind of attention that they needed. The best time to take group classes is AFTER you have been dancing for some time with a private instructor and have an idea of what to expect and a good solid basis in dance.
In the long run it is very important that you find a reputable, private instructor. By doing this first you will save yourself a great deal of time, and money. I suggest that if you are budget conscious you might look for an independent studio (ie, not Arthur Murray's or Astaire's etc.). Studios usually mention that they are independent in the yellow pages ads. Independent teachers usually charge by the lesson only, with no contracts or "packages". That means little or no sales pessure on you, and it ensures that you are getting exactly what you want. Finally, put forth some effort to be aware of the qualifications of your instructor...rather like buying a car, the dance business is "buyer beware". Don't be afraid to ask studios or teachers for their credentials, and check them out with someone who would know (like the pro members of dancetalk). It is a really sad feeling to take lessons for years from someone unqualified and then find out your mistake!
One last thing...maybe some dancetalk members in your area could give you the going hourly lesson rates. Here in Kansas we're paying 50-80 an hour...but it is regional. Or someone reading this might suggest some studios to try near you... best of luck!

PS If you are strapped for cash and MUST do only group classes, try to take at an independent studio rather than a Univ. or community center...class sizes are usually much more reasonable and teachers better trained.

Besides what you have heard already, be sure to take a wide variety of dance classes.

Most community colleges offer ballet, modern (especially appropriate to latin dancing), and jazz or musical theatre, as well as alignment classes, etc.

Try different styles of partner dance in group settings. You don't know with what type or style your personality will necessarily 'hook up'!

I cannot emphasize too much how important it is to listen to music and identify with it. Your body can be thought of as an instrument that the music plays. Whatever kind of dancing you end up doing will be strongly influenced by your musical tastes.

Finally, nothing can take the place of practice or experience.

I definitely recommend some group classes at a good dance studio that has professional instructors if possible. The reason is you get to come early and stay a little late and watch the professions or real good amateurs practice and
teach. I don't mean to speak ill of YMCAs and College ballroom clubs. Quite often those group classes are taught by excellent teaches and are very good. I only mean to say that you will in general see much better dancers at a studio. If you have any talent, you most likely will quickly
surpass the others in your group class and may get bored or lose interest. When I was starting I found the dance studio to be very motivating.

Think of it like learning to play golf. Sure you can go to the local driving range and hit your practice balls along with all the other learners, but wouldn't it be better if you could go to a range where better people than you practiced? One
can learn a lot by watching.

Having jumped through silver and danced in some Pro-Am opens, I can tell you that technique, form and posture are much more important then you may believe. Steps are relatively easy to learn. You can tack on one or two a week in a snap, and it won't take long until you can dance a two
minute song at a dance party and never do the same two steps in sequence. However, if you learn the steps incorrectly, then even the Pros won't be able to follow you and you'll look terrible.

Private lessons are a necessity. You should ask for a syllabus and keep track of the steps you learn. Without a game plan, goal or target, you may just wander through the dance world. Mentally go through the steps during the week to get your brain thinking about the steps. You can really speed up your advance if you practice the simple
exercises at home like your posture, your lowering and compression, moving your torso, cuban motion etc. DON'T just go to your private lesson and then work on the form if you didn't practice at all on your own since last time you were there. You should do your homework between lessons!

Good Luck

I'd have to agree with LovelyIsabella. Start with private lessons. Most studios, at least around here, seem to offer a free introductory private lesson; it shouldn't cost anything to at least get some sort of feel for what it's like.

The first time I tried to start learning how to dance, I enrolled in a group class and didn't feel like I was getting it at all. That and a severe imbalance in the male/female ratio in the class (group classes around here almost always have too many men, and in the class in question several women dropped out after the first session) was enough to put me off the whole idea.

When I got the itch to try again, I went to one of the beginner nights at my local studio and was lucky enough to be snared into a free private lesson by one of the teachers. That made all the difference -- I felt like I learned twice as much in that initial one-hour lesson as in the four hours of group class. That was just under a year and a half ago and I've been hooked ever since.

That said, I've since observed that some people learn a lot better than others in a group class or workshop. Unfortunately for my budget I've found that group classes -- and I've since taken them at a few studios, so I'm pretty sure it's me -- just aren't all that effective for me in general. The only time group class material has really stuck for me is when I've gone over it with my teacher afterwards, and at that point I may as well have had the teacher show it to me to begin with. Other people can see a pattern once or twice and immediately do it themselves. (I envy those people.)

But even if you're great at picking up patterns, I also think that people who start off with lots of group classes tend to pick up some bad habits that are tough to shed later on. Especially their leading and following technique. In most group classes both partners know exactly what the pattern or sequence is supposed to be and there's no need to lead or follow it well. Some instructors try to emphasize lead and follow in their group classes, but without actually dancing with the students there's not much they can do at the beginning level.

In my opinion (speaking as a purely social dancer, I should say) learning the fundamentals of leading and following is astronomically more important than learning patterns, and it's the biggest reason to take private lessons right from the get-go as a beginner. I've been complimented for my clear lead more times than I can count, but only a few times for dancing a wide variety of patterns. On the flipside, as a leader I'd far rather dance with a good follower who doesn't know many patterns than with someone who knows lots of patterns but gives me nothing to work with.

Hi. Well, the way I started (and my budget is limited)...is by going to GROUP lessons-to see if you are really enjoying yourself and want to take PRIVATE lessons. Then, i'm sure any dance studio you go to will have a list of "packages".

Another inexpensive source of lessons may be at a local university. Often there will be a student group that offers large group lessons relatively cheap. Group lessons are good to start with until you know the basic steps and can dance the basics in good time to the music. When you can do that, then it becomes more helpful to get private instruction at a studio.

Some people find videos to be a good way to get basic steps down too.

Warning -- if you like music and like to move, you may become addicted!!!

--Belle

Ideally everyone needs a little of both. Private and group instruction. My suggestion is, and the advantage of private first as a teacher can get to what you want to do a lot faster than waiting for your dance to show up on the class rotation. Many times I have people who have finished the college groups who then come to private instruction and we spend often the first ten hours just undoing habits that were misinterpreted from the group lesson. Unless The teachers has time to be in everyones arms and feel their leads and follows. And can know eaech students learning pateern and habit the instruction is not complete. I have great respect for the group teachers who are able to communicate not only the joy of dance to groups of people but when they can add some technique I take my hat off to them. 0

jo