How important is finding a great dance studio? How much of a difference does it make? What should you pay attention to when you join a dance class? Many people who are interested in joining dance classes have doubts about which dance studio to go to.

In this article, you will find which are the most important things to consider when you choose the dance studio.

1. Teachers

One of the most important key points in choosing dance classes is the teacher. If you are a parent, choose a teacher who is skilled and instructed to teach dancing to children. Apart from technique and choreography, they should support teaching with patience and respect. 

Ask for references about the quality of their teaching, check their experience, read their curriculum, find about the studios they’ve previously taught at, whether they are up-to-date with the dance industry and if they are known…

Also, probably about 95% of the advanced dancers choose a dance studio for the teachers. I personally moved dance studios for the teacher. It was out of the question not doing that. Give yourself time to find a dance teacher who has a teaching style suitable for you and a personality compatible with yours. An exceptional teacher of dance feels a great joy to teach his art.

2. Dance Studio Proximity

Depending on your dance level and expectations – if you are doing it as a hobby or you want to turn it into something professional – the teaching staff might be the top priority while for others, the closeness to home or the workplace. I first started dancing because it was convenient, we had dance classes at the school so I didn’t have to make an effort.

If you’re a parent, the dance classes should be in a safe area accessible to you, so that you can drop off your children without too much fuss. On top of that, can your children attend all dance classes without conflict with school hours or other commitments?

How much time does it take to get there? If you’re an adult dance beginner you could make excuses and run the risk of missing classes, and finally, end up abandoning them. If you are a very busy person, with many work or family responsibilities … you will value the proximity factor more.

On the other hand, if you are a professional you might even relocate for the teacher. Professionals compromise distance without flinching for the quality of the teaching.

Anyway, as a personal observation, the closer the dance studio is, the more you run late… Who would’ve known 

3. Dance Studio Working Hours

Most of the year dance club classes take place in the second part of the day, at about 6, 7 or 8 o’clock in the evening and extend in the summertime. It’s not a general rule, but usually, dance clubs are open 5 days a week, and some 7 days a week.

When you’re an adult it depends on how many dances you have. If you are training for 5 dance styles it means that you have 2 dance classes and if you are training for 10 styles it means that you have 4 dance classes.

4. Class Pairings

What should you pay attention to when you join a dance class? If your child is a beginner you should know that in group classes you learn the basic moves, you dance more freely, you focus more on technique and there is less focus on couple dancing.

Most pairings are randomly made to demonstrate some steps. Also, in an adult beginner’s case, the pairing is also ad hoc or you can bring your wife/husband/a friend to learn together.

As a professional dancer, you choose a partner based on height, body structure, personality etc. and you work as a couple. You will make exercises by switching partners but 90% of the time you’ll work with your partner. During private dance classes, you will learn choreography. You work on that with your teacher, it’s an ongoing process and the choreography is made to highlight the qualities of that pair.

5. Fee

There are schools that charge a monthly fixed fee which varies from country to country and dance club to dance club – mostly from 22 euro to 44 euro. However, if you take social dance classes you are able to pay a daily fee.

Besides that monthly fee, professional dancers also pay annual fees to the federation. For classes with your dance trainer or with international teachers, you can pay for from 11 euro to 300 euro per hour. A dance class can last from 45 minutes to 2h. Generally, you can’t have more than 4 private classes/week because you can’t consolidate the knowledge you received. For 4 classes you have to be full-time rehearsing in the dance studio.

6. Facilities

In order for students to really take advantage of a dance class, the classroom must meet a set of requirements both technical and ambiental.

• The floor

Never enroll in dance classes that do not have a proper dance floor. Stay away from cement or tile floors! Your equilibrium suffers if the floors aren’t good quality. I had a dance studio whose wood floor was so damaged that our shoes got stuck in it, that was a blast!

The floor of the dance studio is extremely important and has to offer the quality for safe and confident performances to avoid injuries and accidents. The floor should have sufficient flexibility, so they absorb the impact correctly and your knees don’t hurt.

If you are going to competitions you probably know that the dance studio’s floor should be as similar as possible to the competition floor. You need to get used to the type of floor or else it could become a major disadvantage.

• The mirrors

Mirrors – you will see us searching for a good place in the dance studio where we can see ourselves in the mirror. It’s not a matter of vanity, we want to face the mirror when we are demonstrating steps, we want to see what the audience sees and we want immediate visual feedback to that we can correct ourselves immediately.

Also, this could be a great tool for teachers to monitor more students at the same time. Look for mirrors that do not offer a distorted image of the body.

• A low noise level

This is mandatory because the absence of noise increases concentration and therefore favors learning. In addition to demanding physical conditions known by most, dance also requires speed of reaction and sensory memory. The dancer has to concentrate, and shouldn’t be bothered by the construction site next door.

• Other facilities to keep an eye out for: 

-a good quality sound equipment;

-good lighting;

-cloakroom;

-showers because we sweat a lot;

-air conditioning (a safe working temperature for a dance studio is 18° to 24° C);

-a suitable dance surface dimension. Keep in mind that for practicing the standard dances you need a larger space.

To learn to dance it is necessary to have a clear, clean space and a good environment, with great facilities. There, the dancers can disconnect from the world.

And you … have you found your ideal dance class school yet?

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