BAM Student-Run Group Class FAQ
Q: When do you offer dance classes?
Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 9:00 pm.
Q: When do dance classes start?
Usually the second full week of classes each semester.
Q: How much do classes cost?
Classes are FREE! If you decide you like them and would like to keep coming back, BAM requests a $10 membership for the semester.
Q: Do I have to register for classes?
Nope, just show up and be ready to dance.
Q: What skill levels do you have?
We have beginner and beginner-intermediate classes. If you have ballroom experience, or other dance experience, it is highly recommended that you take the International ballroom class offered through the Art and Learning Center.
Note: There are classes taught by Professional Ballroom instructors in the Art and Learning Center (located in the bottom floor of the Stamp Student Union) and there are also classes taught by advanced student dancers 3 times per week (T,W,Th) at HHP at 9:00 pm in the 2nd floor gym. This FAQ describes the Art and Learning Center Classes.
Art and Learning Center Group Class FAQ
Q: When do you offer dance classes?
A: A new 12-week class session starts every Fall and Spring semester, as well early June.
Q: When do the dance classes start?
A: Usually the second monday of the Fall and Spring semesters, or ually the first Monday in June in the summer.
Q: How much do the classes cost?
A: Currently $55 for students for a 12-week session, $65 for University affiliates, and $75 for the general public.
Q: I thought your classes were only about $10 a semester. What's going on here?
A: Those are a different set of classes and if people aren't clear which one they mean, it can cause some confusion. This FAQ is covering the classes offered through the Art and Learning Center which are more formal, structured, and taught by professional dance teachers. We have to hire them to teach for us, this is how they make their living, and naturally they need to be paid and compensated for the amount of time they're giving up to teach us. Hiring professionals isn't exactly cheap which is why these classes cost around $55 for students. But that's still a good deal -- you'll get a lot for that money. The cheaper classes that you're thinking of are really the workshops given during practice space. These are more informal, relaxed, and are taught by advanced dancers who are now or once were members of BAM. But they're amateurs and don't require payment; in fact, some dance organizations might classify them as professionals if they did accept payment for teaching. So for these classes the only fee we charge is the university required fee for using the practice space, $10 per semester for students. We'd suggest that you take both if possible because you'll see things two different ways and the more time you can spend dancing, the faster you'll learn and improve. But if money is an issue, the series of workshops are much cheaper.
Q: Can I register on-site at the first class?
A: No, in order to register for a class you have to do it with the Art Center, either online or in person, before the first day of class. Registration is required, though you may show up and check out the class before registering if you wish.
Q: What types/styles of dance classes do you offer?
A: There may be some variations in our schedule from session to session so so you'll have to check the official schedules for exact details. However, we can tell you generally what we offer. We have classes in both American style and International style ballroom dancing. We also usually offer nightclub style classes and we have added lindy hop/swing classes due to popular demand.
Q: What skill levels do you have?
A: The American and International classes normally have three to four levels -- beginner I, beginner II, intermediate, and advanced. We may not always be able to offer an advanced class in both styles, unfortunately. The nightclub classes are normally offered in two levels (beginner and intermediate) while the lindy classes usually have three levels (beginner, intermediate, and advanced).
Q: What do the terms "bronze", "silver", "gold", and "open" listed on some classes mean?
A: Essentially these terms refer to the difficulty of the figures in each level. Bronze level figures are generally the simplest ones that help you learn the basics of the dance and ballroom dancing in general. Silver level figures are a bit harder and may include more difficult techniques. Gold level figures are a bit harder than silver figures and often include "picture lines". Bronze, silver, and gold also roughly correspond to the various examinations a teacher may pass through although the teacher levels are known by other names. The bronze, silver, and gold figures taken together make up the syllabus for a dance -- all of the sort of standard figures. Figures that are not included in the syllabus are generally known as open figures. These are usually considered above the gold level in terms of difficulty, but some non-syllabus, open figures are easier to do than others.
Q: What specific dances do you teach in the classes?
A: Each style has its own set of dances. The American style classes will cover foxtrot, tango, waltz, swing, rumba, and cha cha. Some other dances may be taught as well at the teacher's discretion, and may include quickstep, samba (both actually international style dances), and/or mambo. The International style classes cover waltz, tango, Viennese waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, cha cha, samba, rumba, paso doble, and jive. If time does not allow sufficient coverage of all ten dances, then Viennese waltz and/or paso doble may be left out. The nightclub classes cover mambo, salsa, merengue, and hustle. The lindy classes cover the lindy hop style of swing. Sometimes we may abbreviate dance names, although we generally try to avoid this. Abbreviations are normally the first letter or two of the dance name, but there are a few exceptions. Here's a list of some of the most commons ones: W = Waltz, T = Tango, VW = Viennese Waltz, F = Foxtrot, Q = Quickstep, C = Cha Cha, S = Samba, R = Rumba, PD = Paso Doble, J = Jive, Sw = Swing, Ma = Mambo, Me = Merengue, H = Hustle.
Q: You mentioned American and International styles -- what's the difference?
A: Well, that sort of depends on what aspect of the styles you're comparing. There will be some difference in the figures/steps/moves you will learn in each style, but you will learn some of the same figures in both classes (sometimes with different names). There are some technique differences, too, but a lot of what you learn in one style will carry over to the other. People tend to view American style as more of a social dance style and International style as more of a competitive style, but you can compete in American style and there are plenty of people who dance International style socially, so it's nice to know both. As far as our classes go, there's a little more emphasis on technique in the international style classes. Don't get us wrong, you'll learn plenty of technique in the American style classes, too. Our classes do have a little of that social/competitive difference in them though, so you see a little more social stuff in the American style classes and a little more technical and competitive stuff in the International style classes.
Q: So which style should I take, American or International?
Most collegiate social dances in the DC area are danced primarily in the International style. Consequently, BAM members interested in both social dancing and competition usually choose to learn the International style dances. American style is more prevalent in some areas of the USA, but not much outside of the USA. We usually advise new students to start with International style, and learn American style as they progress.
Q: On the levels, can I skip lower level classes and go straight to a higher level class?
A: As a general rule, we don't recommend it, but it's kind of up to the instructor of the particular class. If you have some dance experience already, you may be able to skip a lower level class if the teacher says it's OK. But the classes are intended to build on each other and higher level classes assume that you've already learned material from the lower level classes. It's usually better not to skip levels, but if you have a reason for wanting to do so talk with the teacher and see what he/she says.
Q: Do I need to have a dance partner to take the classes?
A: No, you are never required to have a partner to take our dance classes. Everyone is welcome to take any class he/she desires, with or without a partner. If you already have a partner, feel free to invite him/her to take the class with you. If you don't have a partner, don't worry about it. Lots of people come by themselves and they still get to dance in class because there are other people without partners and the teachers ask the students to change partners regularly.
Q: Do I have to change partners in class? I'd prefer to dance only with my partner.
A: There are some very good reasons that the teachers ask students to change partners regularly during the class. For one, the classes almost never have exactly the same number of men and women in them. If you never changed partners, some people would get left with nobody to dance with for an entire class. It's difficult to learn if you don't get a chance to try things out with a partner. There's a more important reason though -- to learn and improve your leading and following skills. Every person is a little bit different, some people lead more strongly than others and some people require lighter leads than others and/or react more quickly to the same leads. The only way to really learn good leading and following skills is to dance with a lot of different people so you can actually feel the difference. Changing partners during class is a great way to get some practice. The other thing is that if you only dance with your partner all the time, you'll start compensating for his/her little mistakes and he/she will do the same for you. This means that the two of you could be doing things wrong and you'd never know it because you've gotten so used to compensating for each other that it feels fine. Bad habits like that are much harder to break than to avoid and changing partners in class helps you avoid overcompensating for your partner's weaknesses. However, if you think you have a good reason for staying with your partner all the time, talk things over with the teacher. The final decision is really up to the instructor, but as a general rule you'll help yourself as well as others if you do change partners during class.
Q: Do I need any special shoes and/or clothes for the classes?
A: No, you don't need any special equipment for ballroom dancing. You can wear any clothes that are comfortable and allow a free range of movement. It's about the same for shoes, but note that you do want to wear shoes that won't stick to the floor. You need to have some slip on the floor so that you can turn and swivel, so rubber soled shoes like sneakers aren't a good idea. For the women, you'll probably prefer a closed toe shoe at least when you're beginning to provide your toes with a little protection in case you get stepped on (accidents happen). If you have or decide to purchase special dance shoes, feel free to wear them. If not, decent street shoes or even socks will work just fine.
Q: Where can I find the current schedule of classes?
A: The current schedule is available from the Art Center's web page. The schedule is also sent by e-mail to BAM's mailing list once we have the final schedule for each session. If you are not on the BAM mailing list, you should join (see our contact information page for details); not just for the dance class schedules, but because by joining you'll learn about everything going on with the club, social dances, competitions, workshops, etc.
Q: When will you have the dance class schedule for the next session available?
A: As a general rule, we do not know the official schedule for the next session until the current one is over. When the schedule is finalized by the Art Center it will be posted on their web site and some announcement should be made to the BAM mailing list that it is available. Usually this means that the fall schedule won't be known until the end of August, the spring schedule won't be known until the end of January, and the summer schedule won't be known until late May or early June.
We also receive some questions that are more appropriately answered by the Art Center. They handle a lot of the administrative work and so they have some information that we at BAM do not have. Here are some of the questions that fall into this category.
Q: Can I register after the first class has passed?
A: Yes.
Q: Is the class I want to take full yet?
A: We try not to have class size limits, but sometimes we have to because the size of the room we get for some class may not permit a very large number of students. Since the Art Center handles the registration, they are the ones that keep track of how many people are registered for each class. If the class you want to take does have a limit, contact the Art Center to see if there are spaces available.