| One of the questions that I hear most frequently from | | | | movement while others need time to start feeling the |
| people inquiring about dance lessons is "How many | | | | movement. Some may be tone deaf while others can |
| lessons do I need to take to be able to dance"? The | | | | distinguish musical beats in an instant. One person may |
| short answer is a long time! Article From Normal 0 | | | | practice everyday at home and have a slower |
| false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 | | | | progress than someone who does not practice at all |
| st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ | | | | (Although most times it is the other way around). |
| table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; | | | | There are so many variables that it is impossible for |
| mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; | | | | any teacher to tell you off the bat how many lessons |
| mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; | | | | you will need to be able to dance. People have |
| mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; | | | | different bodies, talents and work ethics. In addition, |
| mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; | | | | even when you have taken many lessons and learned |
| mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; | | | | quite a few dance moves, it does not mean that when |
| font-family:"Times New Roman"; | | | | you go out dancing (be it a nightclub, party, wedding), |
| mso-ansi-language:#0400; | | | | you will automatically be able to lead or follow different |
| mso-fareast-language:#0400; | | | | people flawlessly. It takes time! It takes time to |
| mso-bidi-language:#0400;}v\:* | | | | understand how to adapt your dancing to whomever |
| {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* | | | | you are dancing with. It also takes time to not feel |
| {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* | | | | nervous when dancing in public! |
| {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape | | | | Dancing is an art as much as it is a science. Your |
| {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Normal 0 false false false | | | | dancing lessons will change according to what your |
| MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } | | | | needs are at a particular moment. For example, you |
| * Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable | | | | may have gotten to the point where you are able to |
| {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; | | | | dance 10 moves individually with clear leading and |
| mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; | | | | timing. Does that mean you now know how to dance |
| mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; | | | | and can stop? There is much more to dancing than |
| mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; | | | | knowing different moves. Maybe now you can start |
| mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; | | | | working on how to get in and out of any move at any |
| mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; | | | | time and become better at improvising. Next month, |
| font-family:"Times New Roman"; | | | | your frame starts drooping and your teacher may do |
| mso-ansi-language:#0400; | | | | a few review lessons on how to hold your frame. It is |
| mso-fareast-language:#0400; | | | | a work in progress for both the student and the |
| mso-bidi-language:#0400;} | | | | teacher - Wash, rinse, repeat! |
| One of the questions that I hear most frequently from | | | | So what I am trying to say here is that "how many |
| people inquiring about dance lessons is "How many | | | | lessons do I need?" is the wrong question to ask. The |
| lessons do I need to take to be able to dance"? The | | | | best thing you can do when you are deciding to start |
| short answer is a long time! I must admit that this is the | | | | dancing is to commit yourself to consistently take |
| only question that I, a professional dance teacher still | | | | lessons. I recommend 1-2 private lessons a week for |
| have difficulty answering because of how "naive" the | | | | at least 3 months to start. During those first 3 months |
| question itself is. You see, learning how to dance is a | | | | have an open mind and just learn, absorb, practice, feel |
| process not a destination. I get a little queasy when I | | | | and experiment the dancing world. Hopefully after that |
| hear a new student anxious to put a number on | | | | time period you will see that learning how to dance is |
| something that is so individual and not very quantifiable. | | | | not a linear path and cannot be measured. |
| Some people are born with a natural way of | | | | |
