Ive been attending class for a few months now.How good is one supposed to be?My instructor says that i catch on quick and am a good follower.Even so,he seems to be a very smooth talker and sometimes i get the feeling that he wants me to believe that im better than i really am .Ive been encouraged to attend groups but i am too shy.How are they usually run?What if no one dances with me?-i would be totally humiliated.I have just started the bronze level,but while looking through my program i noticed 4 other bronze levels too.Is this a never ending gimmick to sell lessons?Ireally want to learn.Any advice?Thanks?Also,are there any live ballroom chat anywhere?

Excellent questions! I'll try to answer the ones I have ideas about.

Group classes are a great way to improve your dancing, especially since you're still at the beginning stages of learning how to dance. I was very shy about starting group classes, too, and it was over seven months before I was willing to do it. It was a shock for me but it was excellent training because it really made me start to understand how I had to dance so as to be able to dance with any of the leaders in the class or any people I would encounter social dancing -- not just dancing with my teacher and being used to only one person.

Classes may work differently in different studios, so it's a good idea to go watch one to see what you think. I'll answer your questions about how classes work based on my own experiences.

The studio I take lessons at "balances" the classes so that there are never more than two extra leaders or two extra followers. The teachers have everyone rotate partners about every 5 or 10 minutes, so no one is left alone for very long and no one is left with the same person for very long.

Ballroom doesn't really need never-ending gimmicks to sell lessons, because dance itself is a never ending quest for personal development, improvement, and and achievement. That said, some studios do use such sales tactics. However, not knowing how your studio works, I can't say anything about what is really going on there. It could be that they've divided the bronze syllabus into four parts to make it easier to learn (biting off smaller chunks, as it were).

As a guy who's been dancing for about six months, I'll weigh in on this. I started taking group classes along with my private instruction from the very beginning. There usually is one or two more women then men in each class, however, with frequent partner rotations, you will dance with someone. I would definitely recommend you give them a try. I've learned so many steps and techniques in those classes. I don't think I would have half the skill I have now without them. I can't speak for followers as to the importance of dancing with differnt partners. However, for leaders, dancing with different partners is the only way you're going to learn how to lead.

As for the differnt bronze levels, my studio does the same thing. It gives you a step system in which each level is attainable in a relativtely short period of time. An entire bronze curriculum in all the dances is going to be like 120-150 steps. Although most of these are made up of similar elements, that's still a lot to learn. Think of it as being something like the belt system in martial arts.

To answer the question about how group classes are run: at all studios where I've taken classes, the lesson begins by lining the women on one side of the room and the men on the other, facing one another. The teacher demonstrates the man's steps and the men practice; the same for the ladies. Then, usually, the teacher tells the class to partner up with the person standing across from him/her to practice the steps together. You just walk forward and meet up with someone. After a little practice, you move down the line to the next partner and so on. There's no asking anyone to dance or waiting to be asked. If the numbers are uneven, everyone will be without a partner at some point and then you just practice your own step until the next partner switch. But you should ask your instructor how the classes are run to be sure. I did take a class once at a community center that was geared mostly to couples and there was no rotation of partners. (I know this seems like a lot of detail, but I'm shy and I know it helps to have all the details beforehand!)

Just to show a contrasting view, I started with group beginner lessons (of the line the men up on one side and women on the other variety) and was initially a bit apprehensive about taking private lessons.