What level group class?

[pygmalion]

Kitty brought this up in another thread, and now I'm dying to know. When you attend group classes, what level classes do you choose? The ones right at your level? The ones above? Or below? Why? Are there pros or cons, in your mind?

[DWise1]

I chose one level above me, even though I actually take from beginner up through the next higher. I take the beginner because I always need to work on the basics. Same on the class at my level, even if I've had that one before, because I need the practice. And the one(s) above my level to make me stretch (must be working, because I can touch my toes with my wrists [grin]).

PS
Sorry, forgot to name the dance(s).
I was talking mainly about Lindy.
In WCS, I just returned to intermediate classes after a 1.5 year absence and I've joined in on the advanced class.
In Salsa, I just started this month after a four year absence from beginning classes; first night the instructor asked me to join the intermediate class, which is a bit of stretch for me but I'm doing as well as some of the more experienced students.

[Sagitta]

Hmm group classes? Right now I'm only doing group classes for AT, and this is a beginner level class. I'm taking privates for salsa...that's about it as I really don't have time in the week. I would say that it also depends on the teacher. The AT teachers are giving us a ton of material to work on. Even if you are not a total beginner you can learn quite a bit. However, I know a swing teacher in the area who spends a really long time teaching everything. She is a little too slow for me. I think I might take some privates with her when I want to learn WCS...we'll see...she's good with privates.

[squirrel]

I'd take any class level in Salsa! I wanna learnnn new stuff and maybe the new teachers have something interesting to say...
For dances I don't know, I just go to beginners! :lol: :lol:

[10Dancer]

I find it very difficult to locate high level group classes in Standard and Latin. In my area, you can barely find Silver level classes let alone Gold or Open. I do have one advanced Standard class I take and it is wonderful. But, mostly I rely on my weekly private lesson for everything.

[pygmalion]

I've noticed that higher level classes are hard to find, too. Maybe because the population gets thinner at higher levels, so it's not financially feasible for teachers to give those classes. *shrug* :(

[cl5814]

A local ISTD certified and independent teacher offers bronze, silver and gold level group classes. His silver and gold level classes are very popular and he actually discontinued the bronze level classes - there are plenty of bronze level classes in the area already. My advice would be to try and find a qualified independent teacher, maybe he/she is willing to teach a higher level class in order to get some more students. Our local guy doesn't really need more students....... but it can never hurt.

[Kitty]

Other: I think what class is appropriate depends on the studio and on how the classes are taught: for example in the place that I was describing their silver/gold class is intended for newcomers.

In general, I think technique classes don't have to have a distinction - bronze or gold - there can be one class for everyone.


About high level class offerings: in that studio there are only 2 adult classes offered - thats why they have good attendance and can afford to have high level - they don't spread their forces too thin and don't open too many classes.

[pygmalion]

A local ISTD certified and independent teacher offers bronze, silver and gold level group classes. His silver and gold level classes are very popular and he actually discontinued the bronze level classes - there are plenty of bronze level classes in the area already. My advice would be to try and find a qualified independent teacher, maybe he/she is willing to teach a higher level class in order to get some more students. Our local guy doesn't really need more students....... but it can never hurt.

Yes. One ballroom instructor here offers silver level classes, but his classes are so popular that he has great attendance. And a salsa teacher here teaches beginner through advanced classes. That's about it. All the other publicly available classes are pretty basic.

[Chris Stratton]

I've noticed that higher level classes are hard to find, too. Maybe because the population gets thinner at higher levels, so it's not financially feasible for teachers to give those classes. *shrug* :(

When you notice that most people in "intermediate" classes aren't ready to grasp the technical concepts being presented, it becomes clear why advanced group classes are rare.

[cl5814]

I just returned from a dance camp in Las Vegas where they had 4 levels (beginners, intermediate 1, intermediate 2 and advanced/silver or above ) of group classes - 75 to 100 people per class. You can guess what happened. Some of the beginners - in terms of dancing months and experience - were at the intermediate level classes when they should have been in the beginners classes. How did i know ? Well, if someone next to you starts asking basic questions.. or doesn't know the basic step of that dance, it is quite evident. People are just too proud to have to say that they attended the basic class. Granted you had your favourite instructors at the camp and it is ok to attempt an intermediate class with that instructor, but accept the fact that you are a beginner and try to stick to that level.
They started the camp every day with technique classes where they had men and women separated. No level distinction. We worked on technique in basic moves.
We have a studio in the area where you have to go through all the levels of group classes - no matter how long you have been dancing. Well, maybe if you have a few private lessons with them they can place you higher but they force everybody to start with the beginners class and work their way up. I could never understand why, but after this camp, i totally agree with their approach.

[pygmalion]

This probably isn't the right thread :oops: , but what did you think of the Dancevision camp?

[cl5814]

This probably isn't the right thread :oops: , but what did you think of the Dancevision camp?

It was great working with some of the big names (ok, i guess used to be ) in the danceworld. My favourite instructors were Victor and Heather V. and Toni Redpath and Michael Mead - i mainly went for standard/smooth dancing. Toni and Michael also did a smooth show on the last evening, they "acted" and danced great together.
It is an overload of information to digest - 8 hours of classes every day for 4 days. They covered every dance in AS and IS as well as argentine tango and night club 2 step. I made notes on stuff i want to practice from every class i attended. You could also buy the DVD/video at the camp of all the classes.
The first two days my feet killed me but by the third and fourth day i was used to feet that hurt. Lots of ice and a dip in the swimming pool every day helped. ( I forgot how hot the desert gets in summer - 100 degrees during the day and still in the 90's by 6:30pm after classes ended)

We learned two routines (tango and cha-cha) in 4 hours each - 1 hour per day. This was the fun part. The routines were mostly show routines and not competition routines. Some participants at camp use the routines for their next showcase.
In general it was great to dance with a big variety of leaders and the social aspect was great too. Some teachers just taught moves and others really taught moves and technique. Some instructors were really just more into technique although it is suppose to be "learn some new moves" classes.
Unfortunately it attracted some elderly people that are not physically capable of dancing anymore. The dance camp had a waitlist of people that wanted to attend and i felt that they should have let the people who actively can dance in on the camp rather than the group of people just sitting around. This is a bit judgemental and maybe unfair but something i would try to address if i was organizing the camp. There were people from Canada and Mexico as well but the majority were from the left coast (for those outside the US - this means the west coast of USA where Las Vegas is located).
Would i go again ? yes, i think so, but hopefully i'll try to take someone from my studio or a nearby studio with ........

[dancin_feet]

Group classes for me currently are taken at the level I am working on (which at the moment is the highest level of group available, so I can't take groups in levels any higher :( ).

If I could afford to do more than one group class a week, I would be taking most groups, and probably beginners group as lead from time to time.