How many hours of dance instruction would it take for a person to reach proficiency at the full bronze level in six to seven dances? I realize everyone's different, but assume the person is in his twenties, in good shape, has some natural ability, and very eager to learn. I ask because the studio I'm with right now claims it takes 300-500 hours of instruction.

Thanks

a few questions:

WHICH 6 or 7 dances?

Any previous dance experience?

Have a partner? (warning - not having a partner will increase the learning time substantially)

What instructor or studio?

Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, swing, rumba, cha cha, samba

no previous dance experience

no regular partner, but I do lots of social dancing

Fred Astaire

What does "proficiency" mean and how is it measured? I'm always leery of such claims, because there are so many variables: natural ability of the student, teaching abilities of the teacher, how often and how effectively the student practices, and so on.

Whatever you do, don't pay for their estimated number of lessons in advance. In fact, I personally would never pay for more than 20 lessons in advance at a time, and that's only because I get a discount for doing so.

I guess "proficiency" means good enough to let muscle memory take over when doing the move, and not having to think about it too much.

It definitely sounds like the Normal Chain Studio selling procedure. "Since you are such a FAST learner, it will ONLY take you 300 hours of private instruction to be a Bronze dancer". In other words, you are being "SOLD".

I agree with Laura. Never pay for more than 20 lessons in advance. There is NO way to tell that you will need 300-500 hrs. in advance. That is the type of sales pressure so many people in this forum have problems with. Studios do go out of business, and teachers do move or change jobs.

My advice is that if the Studio you are with insists that you pay for lessons that far in advance, RUN!! Find a different Studio.

You're right, it's a chain. I was skeptical too when I heard this claim. I didn't purchase any where near that many lessons. I've only purchased 25 lessons at this point. That 300 lesson mark seems a bit overboard. Although, I have to say, I was never pressured to buy that many in one shot. They just said that's how many it takes.

So, if it takes less than 300, will they move you on up to Silver or will they keep you in Bronze until you've had your 300th lesson?

I don't know how proficiency is measured, but I had two years of twice-a week lessons before I moved from Bronze to Silver. That's about 200 lessons, because some were missed for vacations, or being sick, or my teacher being away. I bet if I had practiced more I could have moved up even sooner, too. I've done well in Silver-level amateur syllabus competitions, so I think that is a good measure of proficiency. Your mileage my vary, but I don't consider myself to be an exceptional dancer in any way -- I'm probably very average -- so that's why I'm relating my story, so you can get an idea of what other people have done.

The answers depends not only on the quality of the teaching and the determination of the student, but also on what is considered part of 'bronze'.

If you make a determined effort to concentrate on the core principles of bronze, it should be possible to get through it in a year of twice weekly lessons with partnered practice and social dancing as supplements. You could then pick up any particular step or sequence of interest fairly quickly by stringing together familiar principles. But if instead you spend your timr from day one learning lots and lots of steps, you could easily waste years before you really have your attention directed to the underlying principles.

Don't book many lessons in advance, and try to steer things towards looking at less material in more detail. If they won't go for this, find another place.

Thanks everyone for all the responses. This discussion board is a great resource to help beginners like me wade thru all the mystery of ballroom dance.

I'll take all of your advice in mind next time I'm in the studio.