I’m a bad dancer. Can you help me?
I’m a bad dancer. Can you help me? Believe it or not we hear this often! Of course we can help you! We train extensively to not only teach our students footwork and technique, but to help them feel comfortable in the dancing world. We teach them proper etiquette and good practices to thrive in any dancing situation. We’re about social dancing here, so comfort and fun are our guiding principles!
What do I wear?
Once upon a time, you couldn’t enter a dance studio if you weren’t in formal wear - jackets and ties were required for men, and ladies always wore their best dresses. Now we’re a bit more relaxed. Our aim is to teach you to dance comfortably, and comfortable is how you should feel while you’re learning. We’re okay with whatever you wear, if you’re coming straight from work in business wear, or dressed up to head out to a nightclub after your lesson. We suggest you not wear rubber soled shoes because they have a bad habit of sticking to our dance floors. If you’re coming to our studios to train for a specific event it’s usually best to practice in the footwear you’ll be wearing at the event.
Do I have to dance in front of other people?
We don’t require our students to dance in public, but we do encourage it. Dancing at an Arthur Murray showcase, for example, is a fantastic opportunity not only because of the performance you give, but because of the training that leads up to it. Dancing in front of a crowd is exhilarating, and the adrenaline rush you get in every private lesson leading up to it accelerates your learning more than you can imagine!
Why do you have group classes and practice parties?
Dancing is a skill that you can’t just learn one way. Private lessons are great for learning the specifics of dance, yet even they can’t teach you everything you need to be a great social dancer. If you want to enjoy dancing in any situation you have to experiment with other people. It’s not social dancing if you only do it with your instructor or your significant other! Group classes and practice parties teach you to dance with people of varied skill levels all while still in the safe and accepting Arthur Murray atmosphere.
To learn more about private lessons, group classes and practice parties check out our “Journey” section at the top of the page.
What if I don’t have the time?
Do you have an hour and a half per week? If you do, it’s likely that you can take advantage of our full packages. You benefit more from your lessons, group classes and practice parties if you can come in more than once a week, but we work with you to create a program that best fits your schedule.
Do you teach __________?
Check out our “Dances We Teach” page for more in depth descriptions of our dances. Here’s a short list of dances we offer:
- Argentine Tango
- Bachata
- Bolero
- Cha Cha
- Cumbia
- Foxtrot
- Freestyle
- Hustle
- Jitterbug
- Mambo
- Merengue
- Peabody
- Polka
- Rumba
- Salsa
- Samba
- Swing
- Tango
- Viennese Waltz
- Waltz
- Zouk
How long will it take me to learn ________?
It’s important to understand that every dance is different, and that learning dance is a process that really never ends. Even the strongest professional dancers learn daily from advanced coaches. That said we have what we call our “Medalist System” at Arthur Murray. After a short introductory period our students will graduate into Bronze level dancing. By the time a student completes Bronze level, they should be able to dance their favorite dances from the beginning to the end of a song while performing varied and interesting steps.