The final word on LEARNING TO DANCE

[much2learn]

Ok, I've been on this board a year now and have yet to post anything life-changing. Hopefully this will make up for it.

One of the greatest challenges I have faced in life is learning to dance. I've lived a pretty full life, traveled to lots of interesting places, worked with some fascinating people, and generally just led the kind of life that makes for great conversation. But I never could figure out how to dance, and going to a club by myself never seemed like much of an option.

Someone on this forum posted months ago about Arthur Murray dance studios. It was a passing mention, not even the main subject of the post. But I followed up and checked it out, and let me tell you those people can teach you to dance. It's not cheap by any means, but they teach all kinds of dancing from ballroom to salsa to merengue to country-western to swing.

Anyway, get on the web and do a search for Arthur Murray. They are franchised and located in most major cities in the US (and some abroad). You can usually score a free introductory lesson, so check them out. I've picked up lots of good advice on this forum, but that post which mentioned AM really was gold to me personally.

Check them out!! You've got nothing to lose. I've gone from being a complete imbecile on the dance floor to holding my own with some of the hottest Latin women I've ever known.






PS Please note I am not in any way associated with Arthur Murray studios except as a customer!!!!

 

[Nightwing]

Theres a ballroom dance place near my house that charges about $30 a month. I've been thinking about going to one of those places--do they help out in teaching you to dance??

 

[much2learn]

Nightwing,

I couldn't say for certain. I'd say give them the benefit of the doubt. You'd probably learn something if you don't already know anything about dancing. After all, you could try them out for a month and risk losing nothing but $30 plus your time.

The great thing about AM Franchises is that you have private lessons, one-on-one with a certified instructor that has been through a number of qualifications to receive that "certification". My guess is the $30 at the studio you speak of will get you group lessons but no individual one-on-one lessons. AM also offers group classes as well, but they are included in with the fees for the private lessons. And they teach all kinds of dance, not just ballroom. It's really cool. The one-on-one lessons make a huge difference.

 

[Exodus]

?

How much are you paying for it ? and how long did it take for you to get to that "wooing latin chicks" level ?

Thanks.

 

[much2learn]

Re: ?

Originally posted by Exodus
How much are you paying for it ? and how long did it take for you to get to that "wooing latin chicks" level ?

Thanks.

The price you pay might vary based on geographic locale, I'm not sure. I pay about $90 per private lesson. That might seem pricey, but remember with that $90 comes all kinds of group classes as well. The private lessons are like your meat and potatoes, the group classes are like vitamin supplements.

You can take as many or as few private lessons per month as you like. Or even every other month. And so long as you are an enrolled student, there is no limit on the number of group classes you can take -- even if you are only taking one private lesson per month. Usually there are around 20 people per group class, and afterwards you can stick around and usually someone is there who is willing to help you get a little one-on-one extra practice. Plus the moral support from both the students and the teachers is incredible, at least where I live.

As far as "wooing latin chicks", I'm not sure I'm yet at the level I can woo them with my dancing........ but on a recent trip to a Latin country south of the border, I had the opportunity to spend some time at a dance club with a couple of hot girls. (I would NEVER have done this before I started taking lessons.) These girls speak no English and I speak no Spanish, and they went through a fair amount of effort to communicate they thought I was a good dancer, something no one else has ever said (because I never gave them a good reason to say it). At the time of my trip I had been taking lessons for about 2 months, typically a couple of lessons per week, with much of my time concentrating on latin dances since I knew I was going on this trip.

Honestly I think this is one of the best investments I have ever made. But remember to really get good you'll need patience and you'll need to put the time into it. Arthur Murray Studios has a website, check it out. I think the main site even has a coupon for a free lesson. So check it out, go by a local studio, you really don't have anything to lose on a free lesson.

 

[Mukester]

Honestly I think this is one of the best investments I have ever made. But remember to really get good you'll need patience and you'll need to put the time into it.

-Great stuff lad! I've made the commitment to learn salsa (still a bit crap)and it already pays!

 

[Oxide]

I appreciate you posting this, but you shouldnt come off as "i must post something good, cause ive been here for over a year." I know what it feels like, i used to think that way myself.
When you have good understanding of something, post. If you dont, dont try to pull **** out of your ass just to post something long.

Dancing lessons? I'm not sure what kind of dances you guys are being tought, but i used to take some classes in school, and it was fun. But most of the stuff i've learned was at clubs and school dances. (breakdancing too )

 

[Jester]

I started taking ballroom/swing/latin group dances lessons with my girlfriend back around january(we're both 17). Right now we're taking private swing lessons and damn we're getting good.

Group lessons at the place we used to go to were 40 bucks a month(per person and group lessons arent anywhere as good as private lessons), private lessons at our new place are 20 bucks an hour(20 per person).

get lessons, its a DJ essential.