We Know that You will Love Learning Ballroom Dance.

Learning to dance is very much like learning a new language and as such there are a variety of methods and techniques that instructors use to teach. Our method is systematic and based upon several learning strategies employed in the fields of language, dance and sport. Many dance instructors use the a "cookie cutter" approach to dance instruction, which really doesn't bring out the best in most dancers. Just like learning a new language, the best strategy to stimulate learning is immersion. That is immersing the learner in a task, which is, at first, beyond their capabilities. A second successful step in teaching a complex skill, like dancing, is self-awareness, especially the ability to measure your own performance against your objective in real-time - the ability to recognize errors. The third important component is the ability to embrace errors. As a matter of fact, the recognition of error is a vital step in stimulating the areas of the brain that sequence behaviors, thought and motor skills like dance.

Here is a brief overview of our system:

Step 1: Connect the brain-to-the-body

We typically expose the dancer to new movement patterns and challenges that are just beyond their present capabilities. This aids in activating the "learning areas" of the brain as well as making the dancer more aware of their own body. We have found this technique to work outstandingly in breaking through learning blocks and we thus use it to help dancers push through more challenging techniques. For new dancers, this is excellent for creating a "sense of their own body". We often encounter humorous moments when new dancers are suddently surprised to look down and see their hips moving in a way that they never believed they could before!

Step 2: Connect the body to Rhythm

The next step is creating a built-in sense of rhythm, wherein a dancer senses rhythm more as an extra sense rather than a logical concept. We also want our dancers to develop a sense of independence, enhancing their ability to freely interpret the music. This comes in handy for new dancers who are trying to hit local dance floors for the first time. Instead of simply performing set moves, they are more inclined to access, sub-conscious movement patterns as they "feel the music" rather than thinking about it.

Step 3: Enhance the function of the body

Once the above two connections are formed, the next step involves conditioning the body for dance. We frequently find our dancers saying that they lose 15, 20 or even 3 pounds simply doing nothing more than dancing. Yes, dancing is a demanding sport. As you dance consistenly, you will notice that your abdominals, back, leg and back muscles will literally re-shape. The more you dance, the more your body will transform. Besides, the vain benefits, however, there are some neccessary demands for dance that we build in this phase: flexibility, muscle tone, cardiovascular fitness and balance. By improving the dancers capacity in each of these areas makes for a better dancer but also allows the dancer more options in terms of their performance.

Step 4: Challenge capacity - Master the techniques

In this phase we focus on disciplined technique. With control, balance, understanding and baseline fitness in place, we go about pushing the dancers limits in pure tecnique - this is the stage where good dancers become excellent. This is also the stage where dancers are often the most surprised at their own abilities. By following a solid sequence in training and offering the dancer well-focused coaching, they will find more advanced techniques easier to master.

As our dancers progress, they will typically flow through the above cycle again and again as they create new boundaries on their dance abilities. The process is focused but absolutely fun. We are confident in our teaching techniques and totally committed to consistently creating great, confident dancers. As a matter of fact, we are excited when dance students that have taken lessons at other studios, visit us for the first time. It is very common for new students to notice instantaneous jumps in their dancing skills and enjoyment. We are especially proud when our new dancers, who first visited us to learn only one dance or visited us to dance for a wedding, actually enjoy it so much that they stay on to become competitive, amateur, ballroom dancers.

When you're ready to experience the difference in our technique. When you're ready to have great fun while learning fast. When you're ready to become a great ballroom dancer. Please call us at (602) 390-3044 (Please ask for Hilary Gainey) - we would love to see you on our dance floor.