When folks want to learn how to dance in most cases they don’t really understand what it’s going to take. These people either believe that they have to be naturally great straight away, or that group courses are adequate or even that dancing doesn’t require much time. In the following paragraphs I will walk you through the myths of learning to dance.
Myth #1. You either have it or you do not
Myth number one is you need to be born with some remarkable natural ability to dance, that if you can not immediately pick it up, you are forever hopeless. In fact, the only things that matter tend to be hard work and dedication. Learning to dance is really much less ambiguous as people think. On your Ballroom dancing classes, your teacher will break down the different dancing principles such as foot positions, timing of music along with other techniques. You will find that the teaching is really quite black and white, a step by step process that demands no natural ability. In fact, the naturally talented ones may have it worse. They want to learn to dance quickly and easily, that whenever confronted with a challenge, they grow to be frustrated and discouraged. Their progress slows down because they are not accustomed to investing in the work. They are, of course, experiencing the normal learning process. The only real sure way to consistently progress is through hard work along with dedication. So forget about how talented you are or are not and instead practice, practice, practice.
Myth #2. Group classes are adequate
Myth number two is that you can be really good from just taking group classes. As a specialist dancing teacher, I am here to tell you that group classes alone will not take you far. This is because you aren’t getting enough individual attention and critique. Individual attention is essential in the learning to dance process for developing the correct habits and removing the wrong ones. Your group classes could be level specific, the instruction could be very informative and detailed, and still your progress is minimal. Having you and also an x number of other students in the same class diminishes the time your teacher can allocate to correct any mistakes that you may have. The majority of the class time is used on general material for the entire group with a few minutes for individual corrections. If you really want to learn to dance well, you should strongly consider doing individual dance lessons to supplement your groups for consistent improvement.
Myth #3. All We need is 1 month to Learn how to dance
I am sorry to inform you that you simply can’t really learn to dance properly in 1 month. Can you learn to play an instrument in 1 month? Or discover ways to speak a new language? Absolutely not! Dancing works exactly the same. Besides dance steps and patterns, there are many technique elements to understand for example: posture, footwork, lead and follow techniques, music/timing, character and much more. With the information, it takes time for the body to develop muscle memory. One month is going to expose you to a few basic dance steps and concepts however it is not enough to make you a good dancer. People who have a set time period for learning to dance are naive and do not fully understand the learning process. The best thing you can do when you choose to learn to dance is to take Ballroom dance lessons consistently. To start, I propose 1-2 private lessons per week for at least 3 months. During those first Three months have an open mind and simply learn, absorb, practice, feel and experiment the dancing world. Hopefully after that you will see that learning how to dance is a process that cannot be calculated with time.
Leon Turetsky is a professional Latin & Ballroom dance instructor. Check out Best dance videos to learn dancing. Learn to dance with his site: Learn to dance online.