In the movies, it's easy for an action star to fix all of his problems with a confident, slow motion stroll, and a huge explosion in the background  (By the way, he doesn't look back for added cool points).

In reality, our goals are slightly different.  We want to find the root of the problem to avoid turning it into something... "combustable". 

A well-timed conversation would make for a horrible action movie climax, but it could be the key to saving you, or someone you know, from ending your dance lessons too soon, or all together.

5 Reasons Why People Stop Taking Dance Lessons

1. Stuck

There are four stages you go through as a dance student, called the Curve of Learning.  One of them is absolutely lethal:  The Awkward Use Stage.

Taken from the article, "Dance Progress Explained", many students talk themselves out of a great hobby because things feel too awkward, for too long. The awkward stage is not permanent, and the staff at your local Arthur Murray can help you get unstuck from the clutches of awkward.

Bottom Line: Think about it like this - If you avoided high school when it got awkward... we'd all be dropouts.  Awkwardness in dancing occurs when you are uploading new information to your muscle memory. It is a stage of the process, and it means you are learning.

What You Can Do:

1. Let your teacher know how you are feeling
2. Let them pinpoint a strategy for reducing the ill effects.

2. Human Behavior

Yes, it's true.  Your dance teacher is a human.  Sometimes, we have the right situation, but the wrong delivery.  Other times, teachers can get caught up in the moment, get excited, and get ahead of themselves. Whether it is a moment of questionable decision making, or an absolute customer service blunder...

This is normal, and, with communication, temporary.

Bottom Line: Teachers all want their students to be successful. This can come across in a variety of ways that, in some cases, can rub people the wrong way. 

What You Can Do:   To avoid this becoming a bigger problem than it has to be, the best thing you can do is to communicate with the management.  The managers at your local Arthur Murray are the coaches of the team.  Their job is to act as a guide for both the dance student and the dance teacher. Share how you are feeling, and they'll make the strategic adjustments so you can focus on what's important to you.

"When communication goes down, speculation goes up."   -Chris Lynam

3. Didn't Meet Expectations

Sometimes the formula goes like this:

• Have an event
• Decide to take dance lessons
• Event arrives
• Dancing does not happen the way you wanted it to go

Bottom Line:  This happens.  It is disappointing to miss a dance opportunity, or feel any dance-related regret. The most imporatant thing to remember, is that these are "Dance Problems".  Your Dance Problems are such an upgrade over:

• Relationship problems
• Family problems
• Work problems
• Health problems

In fact, many people seek out dancing as a means of overcoming bigger, life problems. Dance Problems are good problems. It means that you are stretching your comfort zone as a dancer.

Solution:  Dance problems left unattended can derail the best people.  The goal is to communicate the problem to someone who can help:  Your teacher, The Management, A consultant, or Franchisee.  They can put the problem into perspective and give it a priority.  Often times, they can help you see the silver lining of that "problem" and turn it into a much more productive strategy for the future. 

[Read more about preparing for dance events]

4. Too Much Money

Of all the reasons why people stop taking dance lessons, this is the easiest one to pick.  Think of money as one of the Usual Suspects that gets brought into a police lineup anytime there's a crime.  

Dance lessons, like many hobbies, can be expensive.  But in the words of Claudia Marshall, former director of training for Arthur Murray International, put it:

"Five dollars can be 'too expensive' if you don't see the value in the product."                                              - Claudia Marshall

Bottom Line: Dance lessons become too expensive when...

1. You don't see a Return on your investment
2. You feel your dance goals have not been met.
3. You have found something else that meets your needs.

Solution:  Your Arthur Murray dance program is designed to deliver a return on your investment on, and off, the dance floor.  This, however, is dependent on how you approach the learning process, and how open you are to instruction.  If you aren't feeling progress, or a return on your investment, notify your teacher, or management to clarify goals and expectations.

[Read More About Dance Progress]

5. Opinions of Others

Sometimes people show you that they love and care about you by cheering for you, and the decisions you make. Other times, people show you that they love and care about you by worrying, playing devil's advocate, and questioning your decisions.  This includes your choice to take dance lessons.

Bottom Line:  Even people you love may persuade you to stop dancing.

Solution: If you share anything about your dancing with friends or loved ones - share the whole story.  Non-dancers may never see all the breakthroughs, notice the progress, or see any value in you taking dance lessons because they don't know you as a "Dancer".  In some cases, their only comparison is someone dancing on TV.  [Here's a helpful article below]

Final Thought

You have already quit. 

In fact, your teacher, managers, studio owner, and even Arthur Murray, the man himself, all quit.  You see, every great dancer decides, at some point, to quit the status quo.  They choose to end the part of their timeline that does not include dancing.  Just like you.

Doing that took courage. 

For some, unfortunately, their dance program has become status quo.  The vehicle that forged new and exciting territory has lost some momentum. This can happen to anyone, in any hobby, occupation, or relationship.

Saving it will also take courage.

Our suggestion = communication.  If it works, your dancing gets unstuck, you get a more efficient dynamic in the studio, and, at the very least, you can air it out.  It may be difficult, but it's a momentary setback that will prevent decades of regret. 

After all, the story you're in has too many great dramatic elements to be cut short by a simple explosion. 

The first step back may take courage, but your story is worth it.

Your first step back, is our first step to creating a better experience for you.

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