How do you determine the size of room you need for ballroom? How do you know if the venue you are considering will be large enough to allow the couples present to dance?

Is there a formula of square footage per couple?

How long is a piece of string ?...

Theres no definitve answer.. it depends largely on the number of people participating... I have seen "studios? " in London, ( way back )where one couple would be crowded !!..they were for priv. lessons only .

Nearly All my past studios were chosen for multiple task teaching ( with staff, in most cases ) I have two Prof. friends here, that teach in a downstairs room of their house ( Intern. style ) and its only about 15x12 ft

Ideally, of course, we would like a minimum of 25ft wide and 30/40 feet long. I currently use two locations.. one is about 20 ft wide and 25 long..other.. 30 wide and 45 long.

Also, the style you intend to teach, may have a bearing on "size " .
In addition, if practice sessions are to be added, then larger floors are more suitable .

I'm not a teacher. I simply am trying to understand how to recognize if a space is a good one for dancing or if it will be too small to allow the couples a fair chance of being able to dance without having to curtail their dancing due to over-crowding.

Bigger the better is obvious, but that isn't always possible so I thought I would ask here and see if there were some way to figure needed space.

Kaiara. I did see written the minumum size for a ballroom allowed for the International Style. I've skimmed through the rules but can't see any reference to it. Maybe somebody else might know. For general use it should be possible starting at the beginning of side one to do a Feather Step without going across a centre line with some space to spare.. A Reverse Turn, a Three step, and the whole of a Natural Turn with room to spare before starting into side two. That would still be considered rather on the small
side and could accomodate about only six couples

My experience is mostly American smooth, but I do want to understand the space needed for International as I do want to learn that style as well.

So I'm guessing that 25 by 40 (feet) would be acceptable for a dance floor or is this too narrow or too short?

I'm attempting to get my brain around dimensions for minimums and then something more ideal.

Another question: are corners essential or could a ballroom space be round?

I think that 25' x 40' is a bit small in both directions: although it does depend on how many couples are likely to be on the floor at once.

Foxtrot is the problem: it needs a lot of room. I regularly dance on a floor that is no bigger, and have concluded that there is not a lot else that will fit across the short ends except a feather and change of direction, or something equally compact - rather limiting.

30' x 50' would be much more flexible. The usual shape is rectangular, the sides having the ratio of between 2:1 and 3:1 (usually). I do dance on a large octagonal floor (Stratford Civic Hall in England, if anyone else knows it), but that is much bigger. You can choose whether to dance as though the LOD was endless, curving gently to the left, or has regular 'corners' but of less than a quarter turn. Beginners find it very disconcerting, but such a shape won't work on a small scale, in my view.

It is an easy calculation really - you calculate square feet per couple yourself depending on experience.

Assuming it is not possible to actually measure dance floors directly draw a line somewhere, step out and measure 5 or 10 paces away. Work out the average length of your pace.

When you visit a venue, pace the length & breadth of the dance floor. Calculate the square feet or whatever.

This is the more subjective bit. Count the couples actually dancing and decide if there are too many or too few. How many is maximum ? With regular venues this is easy because we get actual experience of "easy" or "hard" sessions.

Divide the square feet by number of couples.

I have done this with 6 regular venues doing the Ballroom & Latin 10 dances and surprisingly arrive at the almost the same figure of 34 square feet per couple. I dance at intermediate level and have quite a long stride. I prefer a more "empty" floor.

Regards
Brian

I don't disagree with your method: but it does break down for very small numbers. A 'personal' dance floor could not have an area of 34 sq ft and be any use for anything.

If you want to test the minimum size that works for you, dance a Feather Step, Reverse Turn, Three Step and Natural Turn. Note where you are, and add a yard. Nothing shorter is going to be any good, is it?

This is proving to be a fascinating discussion to read. I appreciate all the input.

My husband had great-grandparents who were wealthy and so their house dedicated an entire floor to dance. In his opinion it was ideal and about 40 by 60.

Being a person of considerably lesser means, this will not happen but I hope, by learning what is best, I will be able to come up with a compromise between what I want and what I can afford.

That, and if I want to do dancing, It will help to know if the place I am considering for a party will work well or not.

This question is a great one to muse over while on the dance floor. I have to agree in spirit with Telemark's responses. You need enough length on the long sides of any floor to complete figures that require at least 6 to 7 measures of music, and then have room remaining to make certain you don't steer your partner into a wall. When dancing at the silver level and above, you can cover alot of floor space in little time. I am an intermediate student of American Smooth, and I have been questioning my teacher as to what figures to commence when I find myself in tight situations such as at the end of run down one wall or another. It's a great way to exlpore your knowledge of the syllabus and to improve your floorcraft.