New to Dance (trying again)

[chocolate-eyes]

I tried posting this earlier, but for some reason it didn't show up.

Hello everyone,

I am brand new to dancing and I almost two weeks ago I joined my local AMI studio. Not last week but the week before last I had a free complimentary lesson and then I signed up for a discovery program which is four lessons and one party, and one group lesson. I started to take my first lesson on Monday of last week and everyone started asking me if I came to a party yet, over and over, including my instructor. I just walked in to the studio my very first time four days before on a Thursday and signed up. Parties are Wednesdays and Fridays (which is also inconvenient for me because I do have family and friends to socialize with). So I said no not yet, this is my very first lesson. Duh to the instructor. Then my second lesson was on a wednesday and that was a party day, and everyone was asking if I was coming tonight. I said no because the next day I had to pick up family at the airport, returning from India. I said I will come next week.

Long story short, I decided to discontinue my lessons because I was annoyed. Why am I constantly having a party shoved down my throat? They said I can come naytime I felt like, my choice, so why even before I start am I getting grown men acting like puppy dogs constantly asking me if I have been or are coming to a party? I only had one and a half lesson, let me take this in and learn what i came to learn for crying out loud. I just want to learn how to dance and I feel like I am getting something other than what I am bargaining for. This is very annoying. Then my instructor called me back and Are parties really that good for our abilities? I just want to take lessons, not live in the studio. I say live because it seems they want me to take so many lessons, I would practically HAVE to live in the darn studio and say no to other things. There's more to it then that why I decided to discontinue, but it would take too long to type. Keep in mind I am a 29 year-old woman, not at all looking for a "social" atmosphere club (I have my own friends), and am young, single, and attractive enough to get my own dates. I'm sorry but it seemed like everyone was trying to freakin fix me up. On top of that, I don't know ANYTHING about dance, and I came here to learn. No one is upfront or clear with me about exactly WHAT ballroom dance is.

[latingal]

Hi chocolate-eyes, welcome to DF!

Sorry to hear you had such an annoying experience right out of the gate with your dance lessons and the environment. But if you think you are really interested in learning one of the styles of dance included within "ballroom", I encourage you to stick with it and find a studio that you can be comfortable in.

I study in an "independent" studio, not one of the chains. For me, I find it to be a good place to learn to dance. Studio packages are not emphasized because most of the higher level teachers there are independent and pay a floor fee to the studio per lesson they teach. Weekend dance parties exist, but are not "pushed".

Good luck to you and I hope we see you around the boards here at DF!

[wooh]

Was it the male students pushing the parties? They might be looking for new girls that haven't figured out yet that they're crappy dancers!hehe!
Sorry that it was such a bad experience. But try another place, not all studios are pushy and annoying like that. And parties are good, they're a fun way to get practice in and gain confidence in your dancing. But I didn't go to my first party until I'd been dancing for about 3 months. Some people go right away, it's all what you're comfortable with.
But do try again with another studio, it's too much fun to give up over an initial crappy studio experience!

[International10Dancer]

Independent studio's are way better then the lot of chain studio's,

what i did was train with a bunch of professionals, that either rented space or came down to my studio.

but if you love it stick with it, and find a studio that your comfortable in

Cheers mate!

[SmoothGuy]

I've only been dancing for a year but I found that the group lessons and dance parties are a cheap way to practice. You're already paying for the them as part of your package... why not take advantage of it? The alternative to going to the group lesson and practice party would be to do more private lessons. Unless you have people who you can practice your dancing with outside the studio, the group lesson and party is the only time you're going to be able to practice with another person. It's expensive to use your private lessons as your sole practice time.

You didn't get into the details but it sounds to me like it's not the group lesson or practice party that's bothering you. Maybe I'm reading too much into what you're writing but it seems as if you feel that your studio is a big singles dating scene. I could see how you might find that uncomfortable if your primary goal is just to learn to dance and not socialize. You shouldn't have to socialize in the studio if you don't want to.

I do feel (in my humble newbie opinion) that there is value to the group lesson and dance party in the beginning when you're just starting to learn the basics. If your studio tends to attract mainly social dancers as opposed to those who want to compete, as you dancing becomes more advanced than those around you, the value of the groups and parties is less and then you need to focus more on private lessons.

[Me]

I hate that. Socials are actually a great way to practice your dancing. You can learn from watching others dance, your lead/follow improves as you dance with other people... and you make friends! Some of those friends are like, not creepy! (It happens!)

I could write a very long post... you mentioned so many interesting things. Pick out something that you really want to know about and I can try to answer it for you. I do think it could help everybody here help you if you could describe what it is you want from dance - fun, or competition? Or, maybe you don't know! Just talk it out and many here will help you. I just know we are all hopelessly addicted to dance and hate to see somebody have a bad experience right off the bat.

My overall answer to you is this - Don't give up! Try another studio. OR, look up USA dance. Regardless, just be sure to not burn bridges with the students in the studio you left, as it is typical of dancers from different studios and clubs to mingle.

[little_mouse]

I do feel (in my humble newbie opinion) that there is value to the group lesson and dance party in the beginning when you're just starting to learn the basics.


I agree with SmoothGuy, groups & practice parties are a great way to dive in and start dancing. I'm with a chain and was talking to another student the other day, and she said she now has to give up her lessons (for a private reason) but she said she wished she would have done more groups/practice parties.

[quixotedlm]

There are several things to consider here..

Ballroom dancing (and generally, all partner dancing) is not just an activity - it's certainly a subculture of it's own, but different social mores than the rest of the world. Learning to dance is just one component, being able to feel comfortable at a dance party is another important thing here.

Many students need to see what a dance party is, and observe the culture to even realize whether they want to pursue it further or not. It's a good thing that you are constantly encouraged to go to a party. For some, it's the fear that they will be left out becuase they are 'beginners' and don't know how to dance. So more experienced dancers will constantly try to draw out beginners for an occasional dance - it's their way of saying that you are welcome and they are happy to have you around. Since this is partner dancing wherein it is somewhat uncommon for same sexes to dance with one another (although that's widely considered legit and does happen oftentimes - many DF'ers here can dance the lead and follow), it's inevitable that most of your interactions will be with men.

Being an activity with oodles of male-female interaction, the barriers to male-female interaction is siginificantly lowered in ballrooms. Many of us have trouble distinguishing normal interaction with romantic come-ons and we whine and rant about it on DF all the time - because the normal interactions that hold no romantic connotations would be considered 'intimate' by non-ballroom social standards. Which makes it a subculture of its own - and going to a party (or few) is a way to peek into this world and get a feel for it.

So to summarize...

i. People take classes to dance. Being encouraged to dance is not surprising given that premise. It's common/normal - no surprises there.
ii. men dance with women. Therefore it's logical that you'll find men encouraging you and drawing you out into the dance.
iii. Partner dancing is a subculture of its own - and you are the newbie. So the onus is upon you to learn the nuances of this new culture and adapt - or choose to not do so. The folks around you will try to invite you to join the party - because how else will you decide if it's worthwhile for you?
iv. Like in any social situation, you'll find that some men like you romantically. There is no fundamental rule that says that such behavior is banned in ballroom dancing environments. So that's a non-issue, AFAIK.


But all that said, it's still possible that your experience is genuinely a bad one in spite of my ability to spin it to look like 'normal' :) So why not try another studio? You might find it very pleasant decide to embrace it for life!!

[chocolate-eyes]

There is more to it then that but I don't have time right now to explain. I never said there was not any value to groups lessons and parties and I never even said that I was not going to go. I had just started the lessons and that week I had personal commitments. I was all for going to their parties, I jsut could not right then and there when I did not even begin. I said I will be there, I just started the lessons, but constantly pushing it was really creeping me out. For example, I told them on Monday the day of my first lesson I was not going to make a party this week but next, when I would have my third and fourth lessons. I went back on Wednesday for my next lesson then it's again, "are you coming to the party tonight?" I repeated no but I will maybe friday or next week. I go home one hour later my instructor CALLS me on my home phone and asks me am I coming to the party tonight. COME ON. There are other things, I'll post about it as soon as I can.

[fascination]

let me say that part of that is just business...and not exclusive to franchises...I was called to attend every single party at the last independent studio where I attended...yeah some of it is over the top...ya just learn to push back

[Penny Lane]

They are probably just trying to make you feel welcome and comfortable. You are a "newbie" to the studio and to dance it seems. When I first started, I felt out of place at the studio parties because I felt like everyone else knew each other and I was a bit of an outcast not knowing a soul in that place. But being invited by my teachers made me more inclined to attend. If they hadn't, it would have taken a lot longer to get me to the parties and I probably would not have improved my dancing as much as I have.

Also, your teacher may have many students, so he might not remember which ones say they can go to a party or not. Could be another reason why you are getting asked so frequently.

[SmoothGuy]

I remember when I first started at my studio I was extremely shy. My teacher had to nag me quite a bit before I started showing up to the dance parties and group lessons. I never got offended by the nagging and I'm pretty sure I was progressing much faster once I started showing up to them. If she wasn't on my case I would probably have waited longer before starting the groups and parties. I can see how getting asked repeated on the same day could get annoying though.

[fascination]

those are good points smooth guy

[fascination]

and welcome

[chocolate-eyes]

I am trying to post this again as it's my four hundreth time because it keeps logging me out and not posting.

Okay, let me address that no my teacher does not have ltos of students by his own admission because he is brand new. No I was not trying to be taken out of my shell so to speak because I was being pressured even before my first lesson even began by being asked if I had been to a party. How is that possible when I did not even start my lesson? No it was not students who were approaching me and asking me it was the employees of the studio, some teachers, some I don't know what else, the higher uppers. No I am no misunderstanding the whole male female thing, I am very right in my discomfort the way many of the male teachers were with me. Not my teacher, but the others. And there is a difference between nagging someone to come out of their shell and really pressuring people needlessly, and the way they were with me made me feel uncomfortable and I felt pressured. I had no qualms about going to the parties, I just was not able to the first week, but I was going to go this week, and next, the week after next and the week after that. I actually was looking forward to them but they kept at it and killed it.

I do now know why I was getting the pressure to go to the party. My instructor told me that unless I had not gone to a party, his superior could not do her demo to sell me her lesson package. He advised that if I wanted to get good really fast then I should be taking one lesson a day and perhaps buy like a 100 lessons. He said it was quite a bit of money (about 13,500 dollars) and that's why the girl needed for me to go to a party so she could use that as a case to how all kinds of benefits I was getting for that kind of money. He then told me I really should not be worried about the money at all because they have payment plans.

[chocolate-eyes]

Hello everyone,

I have tried ten times over and over again to post a reply but to no avail. I guess maybe it's too long or I spend too much time typing and then it does not let me post and I have to start all over. I really want to address this stuff and explain my side of it, but I am too tired now so I'll wait till tomorrow. Bare with me, please.

[wooh]

Hello everyone,

I have tried ten times over and over again to post a reply but to no avail. I guess maybe it's too long or I spend too much time typing and then it does not let me post and I have to start all over. I really want to address this stuff and explain my side of it, but I am too tired now so I'll wait till tomorrow. Bare with me, please.

Before you hit post, highlight your reply and copy it, so if you lose it, you can just paste it into the box the next time you try.
Welcome to the board!

[SDsalsaguy]

Hello everyone,

I have tried ten times over and over again to post a reply but to no avail. I guess maybe it's too long or I spend too much time typing and then it does not let me post and I have to start all over. I really want to address this stuff and explain my side of it, but I am too tired now so I'll wait till tomorrow. Bare with me, please.
c-e, the problem is that as a new DF member your posts are screened by the software and various key words send your posts into "to be moderated" status pending moderator review. With longer posts it is almost inevitable for this to happen, but your posts will get posted (such as the one above the one I'm quoting here) once a moderator has been able to verify that everything is "kosher."

This procedure is only in effect for your the first couple of handfuls of posts made by new members (and was a necessary step to help curtail the slews of spam), after which your posts will post in real time.

Sorry if that wasn't made clear to you via a PM by one of the Mods (I'd asked that to be addressed in response to your original posting attempts), and sorry for whatever frustrations that may have caused.

...and, of course, welcome to the DF! :D

[chocolate-eyes]

Oh hey, there it is! Yeah it was made clear SD, thank you so much. See I just now got around to reading my PMs in full as I didn't before, that's why I didn't know. It's my fault really. Thank you all for the very kind and warm welcomes and wooh, thanks so much for the tip.

I also want to add I managed to find a wonderful independent studio teacher and she is heavily involved in allt eh competitions both national nad local and she may be dancing with the Today Show here really soon so I would say that my intuition has served me very well.

I talked with my instructor today and told him I was not going to continue and I get an earful of salesmanship. He said, "here we have steps....(and here I thought dancing consisted of gliding on our heads. Oh poor empty-headed me)." He said that it's not just about learning the movements, but they have lots of steps and patterns and that gives a good solid foundation and and helps prevent learning "bad habits" from her. Oh brother. I am learning that I had way too many steps that I had to memorize and I was not at all able to to dance well because I was concentrating too much on the steps. I was looking down most of the time and looked pretty awful. It just wasn't artistic the way I was being taught by him. He said that they were top notch because they had in house competitions or something, and he had the nerve to say that they were charging 65-85 dollars per lesson and we also get group lessons and parties and I am not getting any benefit at all from my new teacher because there are not those things offered. But it's not even like those things are not offered, my teacehr is involved with so many heavy duty dance activities and there are group classes and I believe we are taken out to social dance functions. Back to the old studio, they charge 135 dollars per unit, which is one lesson, one group and one party. Him telling me that they charge only 65-85 dollars for the lesson when it will cost me over 1,000 dollars just for 10 lessons whereas in my new studio it costs me 600 dollars with five whole more minutes kind of ticked me off, but I am happy that I didn't stay long.

[wooh]

and here I thought dancing consisted of gliding on our heads. Oh poor empty-headed me
:uplaugh:
Glad you found a place you're comfortable with!

[SmoothGuy]

Hey C.E. After telling us all that I can see that you were definitely right to switch studios. I hate the high pressure sales tactics to sell gazillion lesson packages and it would turn me off too. It sounds like your new studio is much better. It's good to trust your gut instinct.

[fascination]

c-e, the problem is that as a new DF member your posts are screened by the software and various key words send your posts into "to be moderated" status pending moderator review. With longer posts it is almost inevitable for this to happen, but your posts will get posted (such as the one above the one I'm quoting here) once a moderator has been able to verify that everything is "kosher."

This procedure is only in effect for your the first couple of handfuls of posts made by new members (and was a necessary step to help curtail the slews of spam), after which your posts will post in real time.

Sorry if that wasn't made clear to you via a PM by one of the Mods (I'd asked that to be addressed in response to your original posting attempts), and sorry for whatever frustrations that may have caused.

...and, of course, welcome to the DF! :Dit was;)

[fascination]

good luck at your new place...hug

[Joe]

Do NOT blow 13 grand on dance lessons. At least, not all at once and not all in the same place. ;)

[fascination]

no comment

[SDsalsaguy]

it was;)
As c-e has confirmed. ;)

(Thanks you! :kissme:)

[dæns]

no comment

facination;

were u referring to joe's preceeding comment about "blowing 13 grand..."?

if so, i'd be very interested to hear your opinion... if u don't mind.

-d

[Sagitta]

From my perspective... ;-)

It is not wise to commit huge sums of money at one time for a person starting dance. In the case of CE if she had signed a contract commiting that sum of money and then had the difficulties she was describing she may be out of the money if she tried to move to another studio. Secondly, even if a person who has spent 13k tries to get the money back for lessons not taken yet as far as I know small claims court only works for small sums of money...usually less than 5K, so for 13K it would be a lot more expensive to go to court. Thirdly, ones needs may change over time.

Now the situation may be a bit different if one has had quite a bit of dance lessons under one's belt and wants to map out a plan to meet a future goal. If one is practicing only with a pro, for pro-am competition and with privates that cost 60 dollars an hour that can add up pretty fast. Still 60 an hour works out to over 200 hours!

[quixotedlm]

i second the do not blow 13 grand comment. it's too much money, and way too many privates to commit to one instructor/studio. you'll probably spend that much anyway if you get addicted to dancing, but it's better to do it knowingly at every step :)

if you are new to this, i'd even go one step further and recommend trying out comp/performance oriented ballroom vs. purely social oriented dances like salsa and/or argentine tango etc.

[Friskyphysics]

Starting out you don't know if you will enjoy the studio or Ballroom dance. Take it slow, shop around until you find a place where you feel comfortable and enjoy what's being taught.

Smaller places are great!

[jschaab]

I agree, its very risky to invest in a huge package before you have had time to become sure you aren't going anywhere. Even knowing that I'm not going anywhere I prefer to buy my lessons 5 at a time. Fairly early in my dance career I had a studio go out of business shortly after I purchased a sizable package, and while I did get all my money back, I was pretty stressed for a few weeks. I know several people who had paid by check instead of credit card were not as lucky as I was.

[chocolate-eyes]

Hey guys, thanks for allt he advice. I did not pay that much money at all though and I agree about taking it slow. That's exactly what set my intrnal alarm off because I was only on the discovery program of theirs trying to see if I like it and I want to continue on with this place or not. I was tentative and the discovery program was 400 dollars, rather inexpesive. But then they kept pushing me to know everyone and come to their party, I knew first they start me off pressuring me about the party, then it will be something bigger, and bigger and bigger, and I was stressed out. This all happened last week. I had my lesson last Wednesday at 5:15 pm and stayed till 6 pm and it took me 45 minutes to drive home. As soon as I get home, my stupid instructor calls and asks if I was coming to the party THAT night AFTER I told him six times that I could not this week but I will the week after because I had something to do Thursday morning, THAT is pressure and he is not that stupid or forgettful.

It was after that phone call I started to research on dance, googling and yahooing and that's how I came to the Dance forums here and I went through a lot of posts. I was like I am not taking any chances and I looked up other studios int he are and found my teacher, and she is really accomodating my needs at the moment. I told her I need to take it slow because I have financial as well as time issues so I can't just put all of my future in one hobby that I have not even tried yet. It's just not smart. They should have been understanding to the fact that I wanted to take this slow nad that really I am taking all this in and I have not decided yet if I liked it or not, but they started the push and I'm the kind of person that if you push me before letting me fully gel in my head about something, then that makes up my mind for me and I will stop where I started. All I did were two lessons, two days before I said I am not taking anymore chances and getting the heck out. These forums helped big time in making my decision.

[chocolate-eyes]

I forgot to add one more thing, I agree with the poster who said I should start out dancing learning the competition or pro style rather then social because then I can really learn the art form and the social will be a by-product of that. My main objective when I learn anything is to learn it well.

[quixotedlm]

I forgot to add one more thing, I agree with the poster who said I should start out dancing learning the competition or pro style rather then social because then I can really learn the art form and the social will be a by-product of that. My main objective when I learn anything is to learn it well.

The fact that you think so indicates that you are just starting out, and don't understand either pro-style or social dancing aspects of partner-dancing. All the more reason to try both, and chat with those who are (primarily) involved in either.

There is a deep art form to social dancing that for some is more interesting and almost spiritual. And competition oriented dancing has its own artistic world that's nothing to be trifled about. They are different aspects of the same thing - both high art. Its useful to understand what each entails before committing to one.

ps: whoever could have imagined that juggling also had a similar situation. (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20060721/ai_n16673298) unfortuantely for them, it's not too amicable.

[chocolate-eyes]

I am not talking about partner dancing when I say social dance and that goes to show how little I know. When I mean social dance, I mean interrupting lessons to to talk to other people because I was told this is a social thing to do, and so I equated that being taught socially was being taught sloppily. I am not saying I am against partner-dancing (is that social dancing?), I WANT to dance with a partner that is why I am learning ballroom....because I want to partner dance and want to learn how and hopefully eventually get a good partner. This is why I am here on the forums, though. So I can learn about this particular artform as much as possible.

[SmoothGuy]

I think of social dance as basically learning the same dances you would as in competition, but just being held to a lower standard by the teacher. The footwork, lead, and timing doesn't have to be perfect... just "good enough" to be able to get around on a dance floor at a party because the point of social dance is just to have fun dancing.

If you ultimately plan to compete you want your dance to be as technically perfect as you can make it, no sloppiness. You'd have to really nail down all your fundamentals and make sure you don't develop any bad habits in your technique that will become difficult to fix later on. Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.

Things like salsa, bachata, meringue are usually referred to as club or street dances since they're not part of the competitive ballroom world. I'm not sure what people would classify Argentine tango as...

For the cost of my lessons... people would have to be crazy to think that I'd interrupt my lesson just to goof off with others in the studio. Everybody knows me in my studio and I do take the time to shoot the breeze with people there... but not when the meter's running. That wouldn't be called social dancing... that's just called wasting your money.

[chocolate-eyes]

That wouldn't be called social dancing... that's just called wasting your money.

LOL, thank you smoothguy. I most definately did not have a very solid tuition during my first and only two lessons so far. I learn with my new teacher tomorrow, and hopefully this will put me on the path of being a life-long dance student. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[quixotedlm]

[this is from the perspective of a non-competitive 'street style' dancer. those who routinely compete and do ballroom might have more to say, or perhaps even correct my thoughts ]
There are different taxonomies...

1. dances are broadly categorized into ballroom and street-style dances. The ballroom dances are very elegant looking dances like rumba, cha-cha, waltz, foxtrot etc. The street style dances are mostly latin based, like salsa, bachata, merengue, cha-cha etc. I'm not sure where Argentine tango fits in. Some dances are on both sides of the fence (eg, cha-cha). The major difference, as I understand it, is the origins of the dance. The ones that originated in the streets are more street style, and the ones that originated in ballrooms are ballroom dances :) Again, some defy classification, or make it contentious. All dances are taught by most studios.

2. Based on popularity.
Some dances are more popular than others, based on opportunities to dance. This changes with times, of course. Today, Salsa, Lindy, West Coast Swing and Argentinge Tango seem to be 4 families of dances that command their own dance nights. That is to say, you can find a place to dance Salsa (and very closely related dances) alone the whole night, and all dancers would just be interested in that family of dances. In many cases, dancers have a specialized focus on that family of dances, and generally very little else. For eg, I'm mostly interested in only Salsa (and I can dance cha-cha, merengue, bachata). So on nights when I go dancing, I'm only dancing salsa for 4+ hours.

The other type of dancing happens when different types of dance music is played in the same venue in one night, and you get to dance to a variety of songs - it could for eg be a mix of waltz, tango, bolero, samba, salsa, foxtrot, lindy and so on. The patrons for this type of parties are typically one having great "breadth" in varied styles, and depth of training in one or few.

3. Taxonomy based on 'intent'

Some learn to compete and perform. These are typically in the context of 'ballroom' dances, and you learn a variety of dances, and train to contest. The competitions are performances in themselves, so the performance aspect is implied. The skills can be used to simply dance with friends and have fun also. These dancers can typically thrive in a party which playes a variety of music. If you choose this path, pretty dresses and shoes galore are in your future ;)

Some others learn to dance purely socially sans performance and competition. (thus the name, 'social dancing'). Typically, such folks are also focussed on 'depth' in one style, and few aspects of dancing. For eg, I can dance salsa at an intermediate level, but it does not automatically imply great control over body movements and "looking good" to an audience etc. It just means that the personal connection between two dancers will feel good, and the mechanics of leading will be adept and pleasing, and the dance will feel in sync with the music, and will be mostly ad-libbed. Because 'street style' dances are principallly dancing to music that is always a surprise, the dancers learn to focus on improvisation skills and thrive upon their conneciton with partners and the music. I suspect that this happens at an advanced level in ballroom dancing as well, but not very early on - because they are focussed on syallabus based choreography and not a purely improvisational experience (and this is a comment I make with trepidation - because my observation could be completely off the mark).

another big difference between dancing purely socially and competitively is the need to have a partner. competitive dancers pair up with a partner as am/am (with a friend) or pro/am (with an instructor/coach) etc. social dancers just go to a dance venue and ask anyone to dance... ;)

I can probably write more (and make it contentious), but there - that's the overall picture for how to categorize your options :)

[SmoothGuy]

My studio has a policy that if a student ever feels that they're not getting their money's worth during a class then the lesson is free of charge. I've never asked for it ever since I've always felt that my teacher is always giving it her all. There's been a couple times where there's been interruptions or delays during the lesson beyond our control, or when my teacher felt she was off her game and I've had either half or the entire class lesson apologetically comp'd without me having to say a thing. That's customer satisfaction.

[fascination]

facination;

were u referring to joe's preceeding comment about "blowing 13 grand..."?

if so, i'd be very interested to hear your opinion... if u don't mind.

-d
my opinion on blowing 13K?...I think if you have 13K of disposable income, you research who the best pro in your area is and you decide what you want to dance, and you decide that half of your awake hours will be devoted to it, and you go for it...but I would not be quick to do that in an atmosphere that was about packages and levels.....I would do that with someone who was brave enough to make me have month after month of demoralizing misery and who was willing to listen to me whine and pout and sulk....and I would have to know that beyond anything else in life besides my family, I love dance the most and have to do it...otherwise, as I have said elsewhere, there are cheaper ways to be miserable and achy and broke, and have to bolster your own confidence...and and and...and there are certainly cheaper ways to have fun....so, IMO...you should only do it if you MUST...and IMO, you should take the time to make a very wise investment...and um, 13K goes fast...beyond that...I wouldn't have it any other way

[fascination]

As c-e has confirmed. ;)

(Thanks you! :kissme:)

kisses back...yes, I have now actually read her post and noted that...it was early and I had quite the day

[chocolate-eyes]

Wonderful information, thank you everyone. I just had my very first lesson with my new teacher today. It was terrific and now I get why I am dancing the steps I do. Before I was really confused, but she showed me the steps along with the movement. What I liked how she taught me was that she taught me the real and true technique but at the same time, she started to talk to me while we were dancing because she said she wants me to also be able to dance with anyone which is important socially. She said she knew one girl who said she could not dance with anyone except in competition, so I decided that is NOT what I want lol. I think I will participate in competitions, but lord I want to be able to go out and do this for fun. I would do competitions for fun and to improve, but I definately want to be able dance socially. Now I jsut need to look into any ballroom clubs in my area. It would be so fun to go dancing with friends.