How Many Ballroom Dance Lessons Do I Need?

One of the questions that I hear most frequently from people inquiring about ballroom dance lessons is: “How many lessons do I need to be able to know how to ballroom dance?” This question is really impossible to answer without knowing what your specific goals are for dancing and for taking a ballroom dance class. Maybe you want to be able to dance continuously from one move to the next move or to be better at improvising on the ballroom dancing floor. Maybe you want to improve your posture, your hold with your partner, your style… For me to really answer the question of “How many lessons do I need to be able to know how to ballroom dance?” I would want to make an assessment of the person’s:

1. Innate potential,
2. Trained abilities, and
3. Desired goal.

1. Innate potential varies from person to person. We all have different bodies, abilities and work ethics that come into play. Some people need more time to begin to distinguish musical beats in a ballroom dancing class. Some people will practice everyday at home and still have slower progress than someone who doesn’t practice at all but who has innate potential.
2. Trained ability depends on your experience with dancing, athletics, physical coordination and the musical arts. Again, this will vary from learner to learner. It takes people different amounts of time to learn how to ballroom dance depending on their past training.
3. The desired goal of the beginner may be to simply learn how to ballroom dance. From the very first lesson in a ballroom dance class at Chicago Dance, you will be dancing. Some people aim to commit the basic steps to memory—muscle memory and normal memory—and sync up their steps with the music. This goal could be met in as little as two or three lessons by someone who already has physical coordination and an understanding of music.

But have you completely learned how to ballroom dance when you can do 10 moves while dancing on time to the music in a ballroom dancing class? I think there’s something more to dancing beyond performing 10 moves with a clear connection to your partner. Dance is an art, a science and a sport. Learning to dance is more of a process than a destination. “How many ballroom dance class lessons do I need?” is really the wrong question to ask. “What do I want to accomplish with dancing?” is a better question to start with. Share the answer to that question with your dancing coach. The best way to begin is to commit to consistently take ballroom dancing classes for a specific period of time. This period should be determined from your goals and your current abilities. Periodically reassesses your goals and your progress, to make sure you are getting what you want out of dancing. As you learn more about ballroom dancing, your enjoyment in it will grow, and your goals and desires will change. Dancers who love ballroom dancing will always want to improve. What are your thoughts? What is your goal in taking ballroom dance classes? Share with us in the comments below!