You are growing.
Like it or not, believe it or not, you are making progress. Just like that pair of pants that started rising above your ankles, or those nostalgic marks on the closet door - you are moving up in the world.
It's time to trick out your dance program.
Even if your dance journey started out as "The family sedan", this article is going to cover ways to enhance your program, modify the engine, and turn you into a street legal dancing hot rod.
Why You Should Read This
The funny thing about dance progress is that sometimes you're the last one to notice it. So when your teacher or the studio Supervisor recommends new additions or activities to your program, it's easy to feel unqualified, or out of sorts.
This article is designed to shed some light on the subject, and to better understand the link between your dance progress and your dance program. Oh, and why your teacher probably isn't as crazy as you think for making suggestions along the way.
Early on, learning to dance is a leap of faith to most people. Since no one is born dancing, most students begin their Dance Journey not knowing the difference between a Samba or a Merengue, and that's just fine.
The first version of your program will reflect that.
It's no different than your first time trying sushi, your first time at a bar, or your first visit to a theme park - it's normal for your first program to start off a little more conservative.
Then, something interesting happens. Somewhere in the first 10-15 lessons, the lights will turn on, dances that you thought you'd hate are suddenly interesting, and the narrow opinion you had on your dance potential just got a lot broader.
Typical Addition: Adding Minor Dances, or dances that may not have seemed attainable early on - like Tango.
There will come a point when it'll be time to graduate from one level to the next. Signs of this upcoming metamorphosis will be Progress Checks by the studio Supervisor, an ability to dance certain patterns while talking, smiling, or breathing, and a recommendation to participate in the Medalist Ball.
Do not be alarmed.
Although you will be moving up a level and making adjustments in your program, that new level will always be built from the foundation you've started up until that point.
Typical Addition: Adding the next level to the current program
A dance routine is rarely something you'll actively seek out as a new student, but this will typically change once you've seen both the practical, and performance benefits to learning in that fashion.
Typical Addition: Adding a routine in the style of your choice
If Latin dancing were the right side of your body, and ballroom dancing were the left - do you have one side that is far stronger than the other?
This may be the sign that you are looking for.
Notice the question was not, "which side do you like the most?". This is about stabilizing the fundamentals on both sides. Not only will this make you a more versatile dancer, but the skills from one side "of your dance body" will help improve the other side.
There can be some planned or unplanned items on your calendar. Whether that is a vacation, an upcoming wedding, or a dance competition in your future - you may want to make program adjustments to fit the dance venues in your future.
Typical Addition: New dances to fit the environment, like Argentine Tango, Hustle, or West Coast Swing, or competition sequence, style, and technique training to equip you to look your best at a larger dance event.
Your dancing is improving.
In fact, if you think about it, the program that you first started with was based more on recommendations than experience.
But now you have experience.
Anything that you choose to add to your plan, with experience under your belt, makes it a first hand, educated decision. It's like you took a hot rod for a spin, and now you're ready to start building your own.
It may not seem like a big deal, but that means that you are now planning your dancing... as a dancer, and not as someone who is just considering dance lessons.
It's going to be a fun ride.
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