Tuesday, September 07, 2010 -There are many reasons why someone might want to take dance lessons but if you live in the Scottsdale, Phoenix, Paradise Valley and/or Cave Creek area and you are thinking about starting dance classes - Read This First:
We believe that most of the world is divided into two groups: The first is the group of people who wish that they could dance better and the second - the group who just wishes that they could dance! Think about it, who honestly wouldn't choose to dance well if they could? (too many people simply either put off learning or avoid dancing altogether because of unneccessary reasons like shyness, fear and/or a false belief that it is too hard to learn.) Dancing, like learning a second language, is one of those skills that you will never regret acquiring.
What are your reasons for wanting to take Dance Classes?
Now that you are about to finally make the move to take some dance classes, you should ask yourself about your motivations for doing it. Why? The answer is that dancing, just like any other sport, takes time and effort and although it is incredibly fun, if you are confused as to why you're starting, you may not get what you want!
You may have noticed, as you look over this site, that we tend to highlight the superior aspects of our professional, competitive ballroom dance coaching team. To many of you with aspirations to simply become a solid, social dancer, this may seem like the equivalent of hiring a fire crew to put out a candle! In reality, being coached by a professional-caliber, dance coaching team means that you will learn to dance faster and more effectively than receiving lessons from an instructor who is little better than a social dancer themselves.
Bottom-Line: Before you start Dance Lessons in Scottsdale or Phoenix, strongly consider taking lessons with an instructor that is well-qualified and experienced. Also, as soon as you start, be sure to tell them what your goals are in ballroom dance.
Realize that there are different styles of Dance
Many people that have never taken formal, scottsdale dance classes before are interested in Salsa, Tango or Arizona two-step because they have heard a little buzz about these dances around town. While we certainly offer dance classes in all of these styles, you would be unwise to limit yourself to these dances only, without first exploring your options.
Ballroom dance offers a wide variety of dances in a wide range of categories. Within the realm of ballroom dance proper there are four main categories that each house 4-5 dance styles. Gainey offers ballroom dance classes at both our Scottsdale and Phoenix dance studios in all of these:
Firstly, the International styles: Latin (Cha Cha, Rumba, Jive, Paso Doble and Samba) and Standard (Waltz, Viennese Waltz, Quickstep, Tango and Foxtrot). We then have the American Styles: Smooth (Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz, Waltz and Tango) and Rhythm (Cha Cha, Rumba, Mambo, Bolero and Swing.) There are also social and club styles (e.g. Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Two-step, West Coast Swing, Hustle and more), which don't really belong to a formal category.
Bottom-Line: While Salsa and Two-step might be popular with an abundance of these in scottsdale dance lessons at a variety of schools, we strongly recommend "spreading your wings" a little in your early ballroom dance steps. Too many dancers use their limited exposure to dance to limit their choices. How important is this? Well it is a common-place event when dancers only learn salsa and spend half the evening sitting down at a latin night club, while the DJ plays cha cha, rumba, bachata or merengue. It is always an asset to be able to dance to a variety of styles of music.
