What are private lessons?
Private Dance Lessons are the most
personalized and flexible form of instruction. They move at
your specific pace, and focus on your particular strengths and
weaknesses. They are, unfortunately, only available on a very
limited basis. If these are really the only option and our
schedules just cannot be aligned then I'd be happy to refer you
to a pair of local, talented teachers that I trust to teach you
properly.
How long are
the lessons? Private Lessons are 50 min. long.
How many
lessons will be necessary? After
evaluating your first lesson, we'll be happy to recommend the number
of lessons we think you'll need to achieve your goal. We know
life is busy, too, and understand that you may not be able to take
as many lessons as we recommend. We absolutely do not require
any long-term commitments from you, and are happy to teach you even
1 or 2 lessons if that will help you feel more at ease for an
upcoming event.
Rates - The price is the
same for a single, a couple, or two couples. For more than two
couples please see the "private-group" rates.
1 lesson at a time - $70
4 lesson block - $240
What to Wear -
CLOTHING: We
suggest wearing comfortable clothing in layers that you can discard
as you heat up from the physical activity. We do not have a
dress code except "smell nice", and you'll see students in
everything from yoga pants to jeans to suits. We do recommend
staying away from sleeveless shirts to avoid the dewy underarm
factor, but it's not a rule.
"Smell
nice" means please use deodorant, don't smoke right before
class, and chew gum or a breath mint. It also means stay
away from loads of powerful cologne or perfume. Thank you
from your instructors and fellow students!
SHOES to
start with: Avoid wearing
flip-flops, clogs, or slides that may slip off your feet.
Please bring shoes with non-marking soles to change into once you're
here. Dirt and water can
quickly make a mess of the dance floor when you wear shoes straight
from the street.
You don't have to start out with official dance shoes. Dry and clean
shoes from your closet are fine to begin with. Running shoes,
dress shoes, or strapped on casual shoes are good beginning choices.
DANCE SHOES: Just like any
sport or activity, dancing does have specialty equipment. The most distinctive feature
of this style of dance shoe is the suede-sole. This element
allows them to glide smoothly across the dance floor and spin easily
and quickly. It also provides the traction necessary to stop on command
which is also very important.
Alas, there
are no good retail shops in town. We order our dance shoes
through catalogs, and represent a line called Very Fine Dance
Shoes. The cost is only $65 for our students. For men
the choice is really about color. There are a handful of
styles, but they pretty much all look the same. Does he
want matte black, patent, brown, or two-tone? Their
Latin-heeled shoes have very little support and we do not
recommend them, so it'll be a basic 1" heel for the guys' shoes.
For women there are a LOT of options. I recommend that
your first pair be a basic black sandal which can be worn with
skirts or pants. Heel sizes range from 1" to 3".
Most of mine are 2.5" which really isn't as tall as it sounds.
Choose a shoe with solid strapping, and I generally favor those
with a quick-release buckle. A few excellent styles
include:
S1002
(not a quick buckle, but SO cute & secure!),
5011
(very stable),
1617.
The ladies' open-toe shoes run true to sandal size.
Avoid mesh & glitter. The former tears and the latter
sheds on everything. Those with narrow toe openings can be
binding on average width feet, but probably a good choice for
those with narrow feet. Exchanges are permitted as long as
the shoes don't leave the studio and are not worn on anything
but carpet. You will have to pay the extra shipping,
however, so it's smart to choose wisely in the first place.
If you need a special order narrow or wide size (except men's
basic black wide) then you'll have to order them off the web.
WEDDING
SHOES: Consider making your wedding shoes actual dance
shoes. They're relatively comfortable, the price is
comparable, and you'll be better able to "perform" that fabulous
first dance. The only caveat is to have a pair of wedding
flip-flops available to wear outdoors, or boots if you're
talking about a winter wedding. These are some excellent
wedding styles:
1659 White Satin,
1662b White Satin (I have &
LOVE these!),
5008 White Leather,
S92332 White Satin & Silver Trim.
Dance shoes
require some particular care. They should never be worn outside as the suede-soles will absorb water,
oil, and other nasty gunk instantly. Most dancers carry their
shoes with them in a discreet black bag. You'll get over the dorkiness
of this once you discover what a difference this proper piece of equipment makes in your dancing!
They also need maintenance
on their soles every once in awhile. When they start to look
shiny and feel slick it's time to use an angled wire brush to rough
them back up. You should always stroke the soles in one
direction, roughly enough to raise the leather grain, and watch out
for your hand as you stroke! Any of our regular dancers would
be happy to give you a
tutorial in this skill.
Private-groups
-
Private-group lessons are a flat fee of $100 for up to 30 people.
They are essentially a group class that you put together on your
own, choosing from a variety of possible days and times (but not
weekends.) These
lessons are a lot of fun for families, bridal parties, groups of
co-workers, or any other group that wants to learn together.
Private-groups allow you choose what dance (or dances) you want to
learn and to start at any time of the month. The groups must
have equal numbers of leaders and followers, usually guys and gals,
but we also welcome same-sex groups as well as
bachelorette groups who want to learn Salsa. Caveat:
Teens & older only, please. The attention span required to
learn this style of dance is extremely rare amongst pre-teen
children.