In reality the answer to this questions is….it depends…..
With our beginners I class we will have you dancing in 45 minutes or the end of your first class. Remember its free! Here is video taken at the end of one of our beginners cass while a few in the class have been to a few classes but for others this is their first class.
Firstly, you need to understand your goals and what you mean by learn to dance? For the majority of our students they just want to beable to enjoy a social dance at one of the regular events. For others that that might be to perform or compete. Make sure you let us know so we can support you in your goals.
Our beginners I level class is designed to develop your skill and confidence in our fundamental basics in a strucutred way. After 2 to 4 weeks you will be invited to stay longer for our beginners II level class were we begin to expand your repertoire of foundational moves, techniques, understanding of lead and follow and various combinations. How long you stay at this level is dependent on numerous factors inlcuding what is being covered in the next level.
A key thing to acknowledge is that extra practices and regualr class attendance you will be ready to move sooner. Private lessons can also help you fast track if you have an area that you want to focus on.
There are many factors that influence your ability to learn
a) your fatigue levels that day – our classes are after a full day of living, this can influence you ability to engage cognitively with the class.
b) any previous experience you have had with dance or martial arts – you will be more able to modify your weight transfer and quicker ability to create new neurological pathways.
c) your willingness to surrender to the experience – learning requires us to make mistakes but sometimes we mentally get so caught up listening to our negative internal monolouge we do not create the space. Our advice is plan to laugh it off and try agin.
d) your ability to connect with the music, find a rhthym, and enjoy the language challenge – we use alot of spanish in the class and the lyrics of the music are in spanish. Its important to recognise the culture that the dance came from and this helps us understand the dance bettter.
There is no rush, and no judgement from us if you are taking a longer time to learn. We encourage all our dancers to come to the earlier levels to practice basic rhythms and assist and encourage new dancers in their learning. If you need to miss a class that’s ok, we work with your pace and schedule.
Learning to dance is through repetition and careful scafolding (fancy teacher speak for building on existing knowledge). We all have preferences for how we like to learn and connect wtih material – by seeing, by hearing or by doing – we try to combine visual, verbal and physical while teaching to ensure we connect with new material.
Learning to dance is a journey, there is always something else to learn. I’m still on that journey and coninue to wok on and develop my skills as a dancer and a teacher. It can be exciting and at times fustrating, but one thing you learn is over coming a challenge just takes time and persistance.
Come join me and have some fun as we learn together.
Salsa ¡Agua! 