Salsa lessons in Boston (for the non-dancer)

[PoseidonHurri]

Hello everyone...glad to see there's such a good forum for dance out there.

I'll keep the intro as brief as possible:

I'm 18, a student, and I *gasp* have no dance experience at all . For the past few months my girlfriend has been begging me to dance with her, but I've just now gotten up the balls to take a shot at lessons. Her birthday is in August, so I want to surprise her with lessons. With school and work, we really arent having any fun in our life, especially to be so young. I believe this may be the perfect opportunity.

I have e-mailed 4 or so studios/instructors about dates and such so far, but have only received two replies. I've checked out bostonsalsa.com, and havetodance.com and I'm beginning to get overwhelmed by all of the studios!

I was wondering if anyone has any advice about down-to-earth/non-intimidating studios or places to learn in the north shore/boston area. I'm definitely willing to commute. I'm assuming they will all be a tad bit intimidating at first, so if you have any advice about setting this up, I'd be grateful for that as well.

For clarity: I'm open to any beginner-friendly style. I have e-mailed inquiries to Aprilon2, Johnny and Kelly (on1) @ BCCA, Dancecaliente(.com), Jamnastics, and maybe one or two others. I have gotten responses back from both April, and Kelly. Unfortunately, we'll miss out on the Summer session with Kelly...but she listed a few options, which included taking a few private lessons to catch up, and then join the group.

Sorry for the length of this mess, and thanks for any advice.

-Jared

 

[Josh]

First off, congratulations on choosing such a great gift for your girlfriend. So many women out there (no doubt) wish their boyfriends/husbands would do the same! I've tried to get several couples whose relationship seems a bit dull to take dance lessons to spice things up, because it's such a great way to spend quality time together doing something that is upbuilding.

I'm not from Boston, and I don't know any good places there to recommend. However, I would recommend visiting the studios and seeing what the atmosphere is like, what the instructors are like, and so on. Do your homework, and your dance classes will no doubt be enjoyable! Ideally you'll want smaller class sizes. At my dance studio I've always been in classes with about 10 or fewer couples. This makes it easier to learn and get a bit more attention if necessary, which is good. Some class sizes I see now are with upwards of 30-35 people, which makes learning really difficult, and I can often see the students confused as a result.

About classes themselves--I don't know if you mentioned what type of classes you were going to take, but I would definitely recommend starting out with group classes instead of privates. If you take privates initially you will truly spend (much) more money up front and although you will learn more, it will only be a bit more as beginners really need practice (practice practice etc.) and to spend time dancing more than anything else, which money will not help with. After several months take some privates to go back and really smooth out the core of what you know. Also, group classes are so much fun! Privates classes are (for me) serious time, really ironing things out. Group classes are great because there's more camaraderie among your fellow students, more celebration when you get things right, and more support for when you don't get things right. You learn better how to dance with other people, and it's just an all-around great first step to take.

Hope these suggestions help! I know your girl will love doing it!

 

[alemana]

my recommendation is, try to find a good studio but don't kill yourself over the choice. many of us start somewhere, then eventually go somewhere else, then eventually somewhere else. just go with the place that feels comfortable and friendly and is convenient to you logistically.... you can always change later.

that said, there are lots of bostonians on here and i'm sure they'll provide very specific recommendations

 

[PoseidonHurri]

Hey guys...

Thanks for the great advice. I havent narrowed it down to one yet, but I'm pretty close to deciding between two. One instructor said the average class size is 30 or so for beginners, and I'm still waiting for a reply on the others. I guess the next step will be to walk in and see how everything works, how the atmosphere is, etc.

If anyone has any other advice, or recommendations, I'm still open.

Thanks again,

Jared.

 

[pygmalion]

Hi PoseidonHurri. Welcome.

I'm not from Boston, either, but quite a few people here are, so I'm going to give this thread an occasional bump so you can get some more feedback. 8)


I also agree with what alemana said. You have the important parts covered -- a great gift idea for your girlfriend and the commitment to get started. You even have a wide variety of places you can start. You can always change studios if you find a better fit later. Congrats, and good luck.