This is an abridged answer to the questions, “how many dance lessons do we need for our first dance?” If you want to read a more thorough answer, click here.
Every couple who comes to Ballroom Dance Chicago to prepare for their first dance wants to know how much time/energy they must dedicate to the learning process. As teachers, we find this to be one of the most difficult questions to answer.
Essentially, asking this question would be like asking a professional musician how many hours or practice it takes to be good. The answer: “as many hours as you can dedicate.”
What we’ve realized is that our students want to know the minimum hours they can dedicate to the learning process in order to be adequate during the first dance at their wedding. As educators (that’s sounds awfully serious! Don’t worry, we’re not schoolmarms), the problem we see with this type of mentality is that students are looking for a minimum commitment. In the end, what you put into the learning process is what you get out of it. Of course we understand that there is only limited time and/or money available for most students, but it’s often not the money and time that sets the limit, but rather the fear of failure, of the time and money not being worth the experience, of the result not meeting their expectations.
In the end, you determine how the process of learning your first dance goes; you decide what type of commitment works for you. Just keep in mind that you have thought a lot about the details of your wedding. This is like anything else. You can just get by or you can have a beautiful memorable dance.
If you’re not sold on the idea of a first dance, we recommend coming in for a complimentary consultation (if you have 8 or more weeks before your wedding). Please contact us for more information.
If you’re having trouble choosing a song, don’t worry; this blog post will help with that.