The benefits of group and private classes

Whichever style you choose, you will generally have two options when taking a dance class:

1. Group classes
2. Private classes

Group Classes
Group classes provide a great opportunity to:

• Get exposure to different types of dances. This can help you figure out which style appeals to you the most.
• Learn the basic steps of a dance. If you already know the basic steps, when you take a private class you can focus more on your technique.
• Meet new people with a similar interest in dancing. It is not uncommon to meet people that you can go out with socially to practice your new dance steps.

Group classes tend to be significantly less expensive than private classes. Which makes sense. You are paying for the dance instructor's time and expertise. You can shoulder the expense by yourself or you can share the expense with other students.

Group classes are everywhere! You can find group dance classes at social dance clubs, community rec centers, dance studios, colleges, and retirement communities.

Private Classes
Private classes give you much more individualized attention:

• You can focus more on proper technique and learn more advanced moves.
• You can focus on a particular style of dance - the style that you enjoy the most or that you feel you need the most practice in. If you know that you will only ever dance the Salsa, then you may not want to spend a lot of time learning the other styles.
• Taking extra private lessons can help you become more confident with your dancing in group classes.
• Despite popular opinion, men and women are not born knowing how to "lead" and "follow." This is one of the basic foundations of partner dancing, especially with ballroom dance. It's something that can come with experience, but it's also something that you can learn in private classes.
• If you need to dance for a special event (like a wedding dance), a private lesson can let you focus on that one specific dance. And the right teacher can even choreograph it for you.
• You will need private lessons if you want to dance competitively, either with an amateur partner or Pro-Am (Professional-Amateur competitions where students compete while partnered with professionals, often their dance instructors.)

"Private class" does not mean that you are in a private room and no one else can see you. It simply means that it's you, one-on-one, with your instructor. That means there may be another private lesson going on at the other end of the room. The cost for renting out an entire room in a dance studio would be prohibitively expensive for most people. An hour of private dance instruction can range from $40-$150, depending on the region of the country and the amount of training/experience of your instructor. Also, you will generally pay much more for someone with a "big name" in the dance world. Someone famous for winning competitions or being on Dancing with the Stars. Usually, I find that's best to take advantage of in workshops. They can frequently teach you some great things, but you get the biggest bang-for-your-buck if your studio can bring them in for a weekend workshop - rather than taking classes with them all the time. Most of what they will teach you, any other trained instructor can teach you as well.

Note: Even for a beginning dancer, training with someone that has been trained to teach is a better investment than training with someone that has only been trained to dance.

In private classes, teachers will be able to focus on your strengths and weaknesses, saving you a lot of time in erasing bad habits later. Group lessons cannot focus so sharply on any one individual - the lessons have to be geared toward the group as a whole. With private instruction, it's easier to move at your own pace and if you practice in-between your lessons, you can learn a great deal very quickly.

I feel that the best approach is to take advantage of both group and private classes. There are benefits to both, and each will help you be a better dancer.

The choice of class is always completely your decision. Don't sign up for anything until you feel comfortable with your decision. The main thing to remember is that dance is fun and it should STAY fun!