I was just wondering how hard it is to get started ballroom dancing. In the past, I did ballet for 7 years and have been on my schools dance team for 3 and I'm still have a few years left in high school. I'm ready for something new and I just wanted to know how difficult would it be for someone with 10 years experience in dance to be able to jump into the ballroom scene? and how long do you think it would take for me to be able to compete?
~Phyllis~

the biggest challenge will be accepting that some things work very, very differently than in ballet - in some cases, you have to do the exact opposite of what your training to date insists is proper.

to compete? a month or two for the entry level divisions

Please figure the opposite part . Thanks.
ylchen

From what I've seen, cross dancing is a definite plus. You have dedicated 7 years and you sound very physically active. Realizing that ballroom is different, but you will be great!! Just be patient, persistent and dedicated and you will have a blast!!

Angela Gunderson
www.instant-dance-kit.com

I had ballet training before starting ballroom and it definitely helps, but not as much as you might think. Ballet helps your posture, turns, balance, grace, and musicality. However, you need to find a good male partner to progress quickly. Expect to spend a small fortune on lessons and lots of time practicing. Ballroom is very expensive compared to ballet. For example, economical technique classes are hard to find. Whereas, with ballet you couldn't begin to do it without all the classes in technique.

The problem with ballroom is there are so many types of dances with different ryhthms, beats, and characteristics. Dancing to all the different types of music can be very disorienting. It just takes time to learn and absorb it all. If you are lucky and get a really good teacher you will really progress with about 3 privates per week and you doing some solo thinking and practice. It also depends on how many dances you want to learn. Start collecting dvds on the dances you want to do. Dance dvd's are a lot better than they were a few years back and you can actually learn lots from them. Especially patterns and the technique exercises.

You could compete very soon at a beginner level and just stick with simple stuff. Competition is not all about winning, don't get drawn into that--it's about setting goals and working on your dancing for others to see.

I danced ballet, tap, jazz, modern for 11 years before dancing ballroom. Don't get discouraged by prices- you can start w/group lessons. If you decide to get serious, you will have to like Anon said invest more time and money. Your background will help you have an ear for music, posture, poise, and to learn patterns. Aside from that you will have to fix many habits. i.e. energy is down into the floor not up, keep a strong core- no swayback, one type of music can have many rhythms, etc. Just enter ballroom with an open mind, stay focused, don't get overwhelmed, and be ready to push things that have been ingrained in you from ballet training to the side.

Don't be discouraged by the prices of lessons, but don't be naive either. You can certainly start in group classes, but if you want to compete, you will need private lessons. You may want to check out the prices and be sure it will be doable when you get to the point of wanting private lessons.

There are two ways to compete: amateur and pro/am. Amateur is a couple who are both students/non-pros. Pro/am is competing with your instructor as a partner. Competing as an amateur is much less expensive, but of course it depends on finding an appropriate partner. (If you stay on this board, you might run across a lot of debate about which is better to do, amateur or pro/am. Ignore it. They both have advantages and disadvantages and each person needs to decide what's right for them.)

You may have another option. Check with any colleges near you. Ballroom is becoming increasingly popular at colleges and lots of them have teams that provide training and a pool of possible partners. Some college ballroom teams/clubs accept people who aren't students at the college. Also, when it comes time for you to think about gong to college, you might want to check out which of your possible colleges have teams or clubs.

Good luck! If you decide to go for ballroom, I expect you'll love it!