This guide will give you an overview of the 5 most common types of dance classes and their pros and cons. The 5 types are: group dance classes, private dance lessons, semi private lessons, workshops and online dance lessons. Feel free to leave a comment at the end and let me know which of these you are taking.
Group Dance Classes
This is one of the most popular ways to start learning how to dance. Typically your would drop-in for classes or enroll in a 6-week course (Weeks vary on the studio) with 10-30 other people. Throughout the course you learn new steps, techniques and partnering.
Pros:
1. Very Inexpensive. Most group classes average to about $12-$20 per class.
2. Great for socializing. With so many people in the class, you are bound to make some friends.
Cons:
1. You have to adhere to the studio’s schedule. Meaning, you have to come to classes when they are scheduled which may not always be convenient for you.
2. The teaching tends to be general so it may not be as customized to what you need most.
3. Crowded classes may lead to very little personal attention.
Private Dance Lessons
In the Ballroom world, there are typically up to 2 students in a private lesson with 1 instructor. The lessons are highly customized to the student’s needs and goals.
Pros:
1. Because all the attention is on 1-2 individuals, the students tend to progress much faster. Your teacher will take the time to learn your strengths and weaknesses and help you improve in areas you need most.
2. You’ll get in-depth instruction; Learn technique, styling, musicality and more in great detail.
3. Lessons are scheduled at your convenience.
Cons:
1. This is the most expensive option. A private lesson can range from $60-$150/lesson on average per couple. Although, very accomplished/famous teachers can charge upwards of $300/lesson.
Semi Private Lessons
Semi private lessons are a great option for a small group of friends who have the same dancing goals and are roughly at the same level. There can be up to 3-8 people in a semi private lesson with 1 instructor.
Pros:
1. Inexpensive! Because you are sharing the lessons with 3-8 other people, you each pay for your piece of the pie only. It averages out to roughly $15-$20/person per class.
2. You get much more individual attention than in a group class (but less than in a private lesson).
3. You get in-depth instruction; learn technique, styling, musicality and more – in greater detail than with group classes.
4. Lessons are scheduled at your convenience.
Cons:
1. You are still sharing the class with other people.
2. You are responsible for the full amount of the private lesson no matter what. So if your friends don’t show up, you may have to cover their chunk.
Workshops
Characterized by one-time teaching events, workshops are meant to inspire students with new techniques, concepts and information. They are taught in a group setting and could have as many as 40-100 people in one class (depending on the instructor and space).
Pros:
1. Relatively inexpensive (but more expensive than group classes). Range between $20 – $50/person per workshop on average.
2. Great for inspiration and opening your mind to new possibilities.
Cons:
1. Crowded classes with little attention on you. Especially If it’s someone famous teaching like Karina Smirnoff from DWTS, you could end with a great amount of people in the class.
2. You don’t know what to expect. For example, the material given may be completely above your level and therefore not as useful for you.
Online Dance Lessons
Online dance classes are becoming the norm these days. Our own Passion4dancing membership allows students from anywhere in the world to subscribe to our video lessons, and learn from anywhere, at anytime.
Pros:
1. The perfect tool to review steps and learn new moves.
2. Usually free or inexpensive. Currently our membership plans are $25/month or $147/year.
3. You are able to watch the lessons at your own pace and replay them as often as you want to.
4. Watch the lessons on any device (Phone/Ipad/Computer), as long as you have internet.
Cons:
1. They lack feedback. You are responsible to understand and implement the information on your own.
2. Slow Internet connection may create lag time.
Related:
Types of Ballroom dance styles
Types of Latin dances
Written by:
Leon Turetsky
In my opinion all types of dance lessons are beneficial in one way or another.
Private, if you can afford is definitely the
way to go.
I also like group lessons because if you have same time to practice your steps when the instructor is busy with the other students.
Online is great because no one is watching you as you try to follow the lessons and you can watch them again and again , but the most important thing in my opinion is to practice and practice over and over.
I often get my daughter to make a video of my wife and practicing, so we can later watch and see what we have to do to improve.
Nice post Leon . Keep up the great work.
I take group lessons, private lessons and use your online lessons to review what I’ve learned or not understood well in the group or private classes.
It’s awesome that you can have only two students with one instructor so that you can learn better. The fewer students there are, the more personalized the lessons can be. My daughter wants to take dance classes, so I’m trying to decide what kind I should put her in. I’ll have to ask my wife what she thinks about it.
I’m taking some group lessons with relatively small groups, so I’m sort of getting the best of both worlds. Two different sets of lessons, both instructors cover a fair bit of technique, which is not all that common in group lessons. So I have a lot to be thankful for. And whatever dance styles are not covered in my classes, I find this and similar websites to be an excellent resource, and indeed I have learned at least a few moves online-only.
I would also be interested in your take on all-day workshops and two-to-three-day dance camps. because I’m toying with the idea of going to one of those one of these days.
I agree. I enrolled in group classes, some of which were small. Sometimes, others didn’t show up, so I got private lessons for the price of a group lesson.
your post is very good and I also like group lessons. thanks for sharing the information.
In this article, the writer has perfectly discussed the pros and cons of dance classes which will very helpful to those students who are thinking to join a good dance class. Thanks for sharing this informative article with us.
It’s great to learn that group dance classes are inexpensive compared to individual ones. My wife and I are wanting to put our daughter into dance classes and we were wondering what we can do to save some money. I’ll be sure to tell her that we should put our daughter into a group dance class to save some money.
I have been a bad dancer for the past 20 years of my life and I wanted to work on becoming a better dancer. I was contemplating on which type of dance lessons I should opt for. Thank you for listing out the pro’s and con’s of each dance lessons because now I can choose the most suitable one for me. I agree that a private dance lesson will help student progress faster as the attention is given to only 1-2 students. Additionally, I will also learn in-depth instructions and that will benefit me as I require a lot of help in becoming a better dancer.
Your blog is very nice. These tools are really very helpful…:-)
thanks for sharing the good post.
It’s great that you elaborated on how it’s excellent for making friends because of the large number of students in the class. My husband and I want to enroll our daughter in dancing lessons so she can socialize and enhance her talent at the same time. I’ll be sure to let her know that to save some money, we ought to enroll our kid in dance lessons.
It’s fantastic that you can study more effectively by having two students and one teacher. Lessons can be more customized the fewer students there are. I’m trying to decide what kind of dancing courses I should enroll my daughter in because she wants to take them to enhance her skills. Thanks to your essay, I’ll have to ask my spouse what he thinks about it so we can enroll our daughter in one as soon as possible.