much as the solution to gridlock on the roads is to not have everyone trying to drive at the same hour, the solution to gridlock on the floor is to not have everyone trying to dance the same song. with dances beginners won't do the advanced couples get a chance - but they should get to do some waltzes and foxtrots, not only get a chance to dance when the floor clears for a quickstep or viennese.

ok everyone, I am an AM instructor, yes we have manuals, yes we have dvd's, but exactly how the hell did you come to all of this info? just for your information, each instructor gets trained personally by the designated trainer. we teach a very high standard of technique. If your teacher didnt, thats the teachers fault, not the whole studio. Get your facts straight before you start throwing big words around...

I used to teach for an AM studio and what I can tell you is that the majority of the instructors are great people. While it is true that some steps are learned by video and manuals, any good studio will bring in professionals to work with their instructors. There are also opportunities through out the year for instructors to attend dance camps. I assure you that most instructors are well trained and completely sincere when they compliment you. It is a retail sales industry and overhead is high..franchise fees, rent, salaries, ect. Be a good consumer ask lots of questions. How long have been teaching, where did you have your instruction ect. Don't sign contracts if your questions aren't answered, and don't be afraid to ask for your own personalized contract. Not everyone wants to learn the entire bronze syllabus. The people at AM know that and want to make money.A good studio owner will work with you.

I went to their free lesson and was disappointed to see that my teacher was overweight! I really couldn't understand that. Since I wasn't sure I wanted to sign up right there and then, I said I would have to get back to them and the teacher raised his voice and seemed aggressive, asking why I wouldn't just sign up now and what would change between today and tomorrow. So I took that as a red flag and said I would let them know later but never came back. And now I'm so glad I didn't.

"I went to their free lesson and was disappointed to see that my teacher was overweight! "

Er.. Yeah... that would be bad...?

eewwwwwww....like overweight is like......sooooow gross. Gag me with a spoon. There's like no way an overweight person could be a great teacher.

Taking lessons at FADs, we have had a lot of teachers over the 5 years. Some have been a bit overwieght, a few extremely short and one very tall. We have not found their physical attributes to be a problem. One lady who has done an awesome job getting ballroom dancing going in one of the cities, near were we live is very much overweight. But she does an excellent job teaching and is appreciated by her students.

Hey boleros2aerosmith,
Is your studio in NJ? cause I go an AM that coincidently has 4 studios in Union and Morris county. Just curious.

Bolero, the "unlimited" group classes that you mentioned that are available to the students are misleading. First of all, the AM studios in So CAl do not offer group classes in each dance at each level on a regular basis. So, say you're an advance student in a dance that is not popular with a lot of students, you'd have to depend on your private lessons to learn anything about that dance. (Additionally, dance parties won't do you much good either because others don't know how to due that dance). At my studio the only group classes they have on a regular/weekly basis are beginners swing and beginners salsa. This sucks because one of the dances on my program is salsa and I'm too advance for beg. salsa. (And off course they'll tell you it never hurst to take a lower level class to brush up on your technigue, etc.) They have the salsa class in my level once a month. Some other dances, like the tango and waltz, are offered even less frequent than this. Secondly, they will only allow you to take classes in your level; taking a class higher than your level is usually frowned upon. So, the free unlimited classes that you're upselling is not that much of a plus at all. Bolero, you're either an instructor or a franchisee aren't you. You seem to leave out a lot of caveats about their program.

Ellen, even if you have all the time in the world AM doesn't pay off with the group classes because of the selection of dances, levels, and frequency at which they're offered. They won't let you take classes in dances that are not on your program or on your level.