help with dance class for my parents..

[peter]

Hi everyone

As a present, my sister and I would like to enroll our parents in a dance class.

We have two reasons for this idea. First we would like our parents to move more, since they sit/travel, etc. a lot. We've tried to "send" them to the gym....but since they were not having so much fun, it didn't work out in the long run. The second reason is, that we can really imagine them having a lot of fun moving to the music.

They're 63 years old, and more traditionally-minded people and generally speaking, not into fancy modern stuff. Music wise, my father loves the beatles, beach boys, rolling stones, abba, Simon and Garfunkel, etc... I think my mother likes more or less the same.

Our goal would be to find something, where they can move (and learn new moves) to the music they enjoy and have fun with it. And something where they can go to once a week, for the rest of their lives.

Since I don't have any experience with dance schools/classes, etc. I wanted to ask whether you have any tipps, what sort of course would be suitable for my parents.

Hope, I'll get them movin'

Thanks for any advice,
Peter

 

[GGinrhinestones]

I'd recommend a gift certificate to a local ballroom studio. Ideally, a few private lessons and a group class so they can get their feet wet and see what they enjoy. Most studios offer some kind of intro package that includes a good mix of both. If you can identify a city or region where you are located, there may even be people on DF who can recommend a specific studio.

And welcome to DF!

 

[Sagitta]

Welcome to df! What experience have you had of dance and do you have any dance friends? Do your parents have any friends who dance. Finding out more about your local scene would be helpful in determining where to get lessons for your parents. I would say "where" can be just as important as "what dance lessons" for your parents.

 

[pygmalion]

I'm also with GG on this one. A gift certificate for a studio intro package looks like a good place to start.

 

[peter]

Thank you all for your helpful answers!

@GGinrhineStones
Some private lessons to begin with sounds like a good idea.
Sorry for sounding stupid: I suppose a "Ballroom studio" is a place that offers different dance styles. Or is ballroom in itself a specific type of dance?
Since my parents live in Germany, I don't think you could help me out with a specific studio...

@Sagitta

I would say "where" can be just as important as "what dance lessons" for your parents.

Yes, you are right. It's important to me to find a studio that appeals to them. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who dances in the region ,m where my parents live

@pygmalion, thank you also for your tip!



Is it important, that I enroll them in one specific type of dance? "Swing" comes to my mind.

Or are your suggestions aiming at a course that includes various dance styles?

Thank you again!

 

[Steve Pastor]

OpenDoor? Where are you? Let me see if I can summon him!
He lives in Hamburg.

 

[GGinrhinestones]

@GGinrhineStones
Some private lessons to begin with sounds like a good idea.
Sorry for sounding stupid: I suppose a "Ballroom studio" is a place that offers different dance styles. Or is ballroom in itself a specific type of dance?
Since my parents live in Germany, I don't think you could help me out with a specific studio...

You might be surprised - as Steve noted, we have members all over the world, including some very active ones in Germany.

As for your other questions...yes, a ballroom studio offers different dance styles. In Germany, I would assume it would offer, among other things, the basic international ballroom dances of waltz, tango, foxtrot, Viennese waltz and quickstep, and the basic latin dances of cha cha cha, rumba, jive (a form of swing), samba, and paso doble, probably among a bunch of others. "Ballroom" is a collective term for really anything partner-based, though it can be used in other contexts to mean different things.

Is it important, that I enroll them in one specific type of dance? "Swing" comes to my mind.

Or are your suggestions aiming at a course that includes various dance styles?

My suggestion of an intro package (which I wouldn't be a bit surprised to have available in Germany as well in some form) would give them an introduction to a couple of different dances in a private and group format. You could also do just privates. A good teacher will ask what they want to learn, or show them a few different dances to see what strikes their fancy. Many dancers go in wanting to learn one thing and end up falling in love with something completely different - or, alternatively, falling in love with everything!

 

[opendoor]

Here I am and on the way pm-ing , or what is called right now after the change?

 

[Steve Pastor]

Any ideas for how Ptere can get his parents started dancing? How is the beginner scene in Germany? Lots of studios? chains? independent teachers teaching...where? Honky Tonks, etc

 

[opendoor]

Lots of studios? chains? independent teachers...

Almost every little town as got a dance school (organized in the dance teacher´s organization for international standard and latin) or a dance chapter at a sports club offering BR, hustle or boogie woogie. Country and folk dances (more in the sense of traditional folk dances) are found in rural areas. Specialized associations maintain these traditions. Hustle, we call it disco-fox or swing-fox takes the role of c2s over here. It is taught at dance schools as well, if at all. Boogie woogie is the european word for non-acrobatic rock-n-roll, and jive resembles your ECS. Specialized studios for swing (Lindy, WCS, old styles) are a quite young phenomenon and are limited rather to towns with colleges or universities. Studios for argentine tango are also more likely found in towns. The salsa scene is much bigger than the tango scene. Recently we´ve also got a balfolk scene. To some extent balfolk and traditional folk dance may share the same dances, but not the same dancers.

 

[pygmalion]

This is why I like DF.

 

[danceronice]

Was going to say, they're in Germany? Where's opendoor? You'll have more options than you know what to do with, most likely.

 

[mjnemeth]

You might take them to an open public dance first . Here in the US many Studio
have dance open to the public that include a lesson. Also there a local organization
that do the same. As Im 64, two type of dancing I think that they to might particularly relate to are swing and hustle/discofox. Also Argentine tango.