You can dance anywhere, even if only in your heart.
Choosing an Instructor and a Style of Ballroom Dancing
Among the dance instructors of Eastern Ontario, you cannot go wrong. All teams are very capable and are appreciated by their dancers. In fact, Tom and Isabelle learned a lot of their material from other instructors in the region.
Once you choose an instructor, it is recommended that you stay with them within a particular type of dance. There are many differences between schools and instructors and a beginning student will be very confused by a change and may have to start over from scratch. Once the student has reached a comfortable level of proficiency, then migration to another instructor or school is more feasible as the student will more easily integrate the new material into their own dancing habits.
Here are some considerations when choosing a dance instructor:
Once you choose an instructor, it is recommended that you stay with them within a particular type of dance. There are many differences between schools and instructors and a beginning student will be very confused by a change and may have to start over from scratch. Once the student has reached a comfortable level of proficiency, then migration to another instructor or school is more feasible as the student will more easily integrate the new material into their own dancing habits.
Here are some considerations when choosing a dance instructor:
- The major considerations are schedule and location - what ever time and location are convenient for the student.
- The next consideration is the subject matter. Which instructor is offering the type of dance that you want when you want it?
- Another consideration is language.
- Tom and Isabelle offer lessons and coaching in French or English.
- Choose your preferred learning path. Whatever the learning path, a student will become proficient in several types of dance over a few years.
- Some instructors progress equally through several types of dance. For example, an 8 week session will spend one lesson on each of 8 types of dance at an introductory level. Then the next session will move all 8 types of dance to the next level, and so on from levels 1 through 10. So a student progresses evenly through all types of dance over a few years. This gives the advantage of being able to dance any type of music immediately, although at progressive levels of proficiency over a few years. Secondly, many dances are interrelated such as Rumba and Cha Cha, Waltz and Foxtrot, Mambo and Salsa. There is a great degree of carry over in the steps and progression can be made quickly.
- Other instructors, such as Tom and Isabelle, teach consecutively in the same type of dance for a block of several weeks. Therefore, the student will master a type of dance with repetition before attacking another type of dance, although the student has the option of taking two types of dance in the same week. Then the student rotates through all the types of dance one session at a time over a few years.
- Some instructors progress equally through several types of dance. For example, an 8 week session will spend one lesson on each of 8 types of dance at an introductory level. Then the next session will move all 8 types of dance to the next level, and so on from levels 1 through 10. So a student progresses evenly through all types of dance over a few years. This gives the advantage of being able to dance any type of music immediately, although at progressive levels of proficiency over a few years. Secondly, many dances are interrelated such as Rumba and Cha Cha, Waltz and Foxtrot, Mambo and Salsa. There is a great degree of carry over in the steps and progression can be made quickly.
- Different instructors may teach a different set of dance types:
- Tom and Isabelle teach Rumba, Mambo, Cha Cha, Tango, Bachata, Samba, Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Triple Swing, Viennese Waltz. But they do not cover Merengue, Salsa, and the other types of Swing dances.
- A major consideration is the syllabus of each instructor or dance school. Be assured that no two dance schools are identical. There are more similarities than differences, but the differences can be challenging when a beginning dancer changes instructors. Even though two instructors may teach the same style, such as Rumba, you will find differences in the set of figures, the count, and so on.
- There is no unique central definition of ballroom dancing. For starters, there are two major divisions: International Ballroom or American Standard Social Ballroom. Wikipedia presents some background on the styles of dance and this private website defines International and American Social. And then various instructors and schools made adjustments.
- Tom and Isabelle came from the world of Round Dancing where they learned a blend of International Rumba, Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango and Cha Cha. plus some Latin Samba and Bachata, and some American Mambo and Triple Swing. They later changed schools and integrated a lot of American Social Standard Ballroom.
- American Rumba counts Slow-Quick-Quick and starts with a box. Tom and Isabelle teach Latin Rumba which counts Quick-Quick-Slow and involves more hip action with a Rock-Recover-Side movement. But once you become proficient, you can integrate the figures of either style into your dance with some adjustments.
- Some instructors present Rumba, Mambo, and Cha Cha as different dances with largely different sets of figures. Tom and Isabelle teach Rumba, Mambo and Cha Cha as very similar to each other with a Rock-Recover action using mostly the same figures.
- The American Waltz includes figures to move around the room. Tom and Isabelle teach a box style of Waltz that is more compact and uses figures to move through a crowd but not around the room. Since the count and the footwork are the same, all the figures from both styles are compatible and can be blended into the same dance.
- The Foxtrot is completely different between International and American and they are not compatible. The American count is Slow-Slow-Quick-Quick and the dance moves around the room. The International count is Slow-Quick-Quick and converts most of the Waltz figures to Foxtrot.
- Whatever the source, everything is almost identical for Mambo, Triple Swing, Viennese Waltz, Samba, Bachata, and Tango.
- There is no unique central definition of ballroom dancing. For starters, there are two major divisions: International Ballroom or American Standard Social Ballroom. Wikipedia presents some background on the styles of dance and this private website defines International and American Social. And then various instructors and schools made adjustments.