Hey there! Well I have been dancing almost my entire life, Jazz, Ballet, Lyric, and some Character. I recently though became interested in Ballroom after watching some on TV. It looks really exciting and fun.

As most of you guys seem pretty experienced, I was thinking you could tell me what it's like. What kinds are best for a beginner to take lessons for? Which dances are the most fun? How much time is required? Just anything you have to say about the art would be great, I just really want to more about what its like.

Thanks guys.
Love,
Alli

Hi Alli! Welcome!

As for what dances are the most fun, it really depends on you and what you want to do with it. Do you want to learn the things that people do in dance parties at clubs, like salsa, west coast swing, and lindy hop? Or are you thinking about eventually getting into competitions? It helps to know what you might be shooting for when you get started dancing, as some classes and teachers (and studios) are geared more toward social dancing while others are geared more toward competitors.

Which dances are the most fun? That really depends on you. Some people love salsa so much that that's the only kind of partner dancing they do. Others are really into the west coast swing scene. The only way to know for sure is to try. I started out knowing I wanted to compete, and tried all four competitive styles and settled on Standard Ballroom (waltz, tango, viennese waltz, foxtrot, and quickstep, like you used to see on PBS).

How much time is required for what? If you're learning to social dance, then a weekly group class or two and lots of time spent social dancing at studio parties and clubs is the way to go. This could mean anywhere from two hours to a gazillion -- I know some people who go social dancing several nights a week for hours at a time. Same thing with competitors: a lesson and/or group class plus practice time can equal anything from a few hours to loads and loads of time. As you can imagine from your time in other dance disciplines, the more time you put into it the more you will get out of it.

Thanks! I was thinking competition would be fun, but I thought I'd check out the social scene as well. Thanks again for all the info. I was wondering, I thought Samba looked fun, is that a good kind of ballroom to take?

Samba is loads of fun. There are two major kinds: the kind that is taught for dancing in ballrooms (socially or competitively) and Brazilian samba, which is is a solo dance, often done in big crazy cool fun samba parades. I've studied both, they're really fun. If you've been watching "Dancing with the Stars" the Samba Queen was dressed in feathers etc. like the people wear in parades.

Generally when you learn to ballroom dance for social or for competitive purposes, they teach you a bunch of dances, not just one. Except, for some reason, for Salsa, West Coast Swing, and Argentine Tango. For some reason in each of those dance communities, people tend to focus on just one dance.

Anyway, people getting started social dancing usually learn the basic forms of the waltz, foxtrot, swing (east coast and/or west coast), salsa, rumba, cha cha, and tango. If you learn enough to follow all of these, you can go to social dancing parties and almost never miss a dance because you don't know it.

In competitive ballroom, there are four main divisions, and each division has its own set of dance:

Standard (also called Modern, also called International Standard, also confusingly sometimes called Ballroom): Waltz/Tango/Viennese Waltz/Foxtrot/Quickstep. This is the style dancing where the couple stays in the traditional dance position at all times, and was most commonly seen on PBS's "Championship Ballroom Dancing" in the past.

Latin (also called Latin-American): Cha Cha/Samba/Rumba/Paso Doble/Jive. You've seen Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, and Jive on "Dancing with the Stars." The stars were all on a "crash course," so you aren't going to learn the more complex moves like multiple spins and those crazy dips and poses at first, but you can eventually work up to them.

Smooth (also called American Ballroom, or confusingly enough just plain Ballroom): Waltz/Tango/Foxtrot/Viennese Waltz. This is the "Fred & Ginger" style of dancing, where the dancers may dance side by side, or holding one hand, or do underarm turns and spins, or drops and dips. The Waltzes that everyone did the first week on "Dancing with the Stars" were Smooth style. Again, the stars learned a lot of complex stuff very quickly -- most social dancers don't do any of that and it takes a while to prefect it for competition -- but you can work up to it as you build your fundamentals.

Rhythm (weirdly sometimes also called American Latin, but not often): Cha Cha/Rumba/Swing/Bolero/Mambo. To most observers this is a lot like Latin, just with different dances. You'll find a lot of people like to social dance to these dances, and they are also danced competitively.

So, if Samba is calling to you, and you want to partner dance, check around to see if there are any beginner's social dancing classes or beginner's Latin dancing classes. Much of the time beginnners start with Cha Cha and Rumba, and then add Samba, then Jive, and then Paso Doble.

A word of advice when looking for a dance school: it pays to shop around. You need to find the school that is a good fit for you -- teachers who move along at a pace that is right for you, a pricing and sales structure that you agree with (prices and attitudes toward selling you things do differ from place to place), quality of teachers, and so on. A good way to start is to look for studios in your area and check out either their beginner's series or their "introductory special" if they have one. You've got a bit of an advantage in that you've danced a lot already so you'll be able to tell better than a complete newbie if a teacher is awful or not -- unfortunately there are some not so great ones out there.

Good luck and enjoy!!!

Dear Laura,
So well written! Love you to bits.

hey, i hear ya, i am just a puzzled and exited about this as you are. i want to know if i can learn and become good without a professional teacher. I mean, i am only 14. i don't think i could find a partner, and teach us both alone with out help. or, is it possible?

im not quite sure what you are asking, but ill do my best! ;)
you really need a professional teacher, and preferably one that competes. As far as a partner goes...you can use the partner search on this site! if you are just starting out then you need to find a newbie just like you. i think the best thing at least for now is to just dance with your teacher. im 15 and i just dance with my teacher...PLUS its more individual time one-on-one to really perfect what you are learning.
good luck and let us know how it goes!