Take a Dance Class – Learn to Waltz!

There are lots of ways to learn to dance – but one of the best is to find a local dance class. Wellington or London or New York city – any town of more than a few thousand people will probably host some form of dance class!

But what type of class are you looking for? Well your basic choices, after you decide which style of dance you want to learn,  is whether you want a private class or a group class. Both have their advantages – if you are solo – a group class is a great way to meet new people and you will get a quick “feel” for the style of dance you have chosen. However if you are more serious about learning or already have a partner you want to dance with you might be better off with a private lesson.

As you get more advanced private lessons are generally more cost-effective – although they cost more at an hourly rate – you will learn a great deal more than in a group class. Also your bad habits will be far more quickly picked up and corrected.

Particularly if you are learning to waltz for a wedding its really a good idea to chose a private lesson – that way you can dance to “your” piece of music. In fact if you  haven’t made a choice of which piece of music you want to dance to yet the teacher will help you. Most people these days don’t actually dance a waltz as their first dance – waltz has 3 / 4 timing and most modern music is 2/4 or 4/4 timing – which is a foxtrot or even a rhumba timing.

The most important thing when choosing a dance studio is to chose an instructor that you are comfortable with – honestly dancing is supposed to be fun – if you are not having it fun then really its the instructors fault. I’ve danced for years in a number of  Wellington dance studios – and laughter is one of the common factors in them all!