You may know this already, but hobbies like ballroom dancing aren't just about learning moves.
Whether you are a student, a professional, or a celebrity contestant on Dancing with the Stars - every ballroom dancer will go through tests designed to build enough confidence necessary to use what you are learning. In anything, from ballroom dancing to basket weaving, there will always be challenges to keep your skills developing and your hobby interesting.
We narrowed it down to three.
Of the tests you will face, this one has a dual personality. As a non-dancer, this test will seem like the final showdown, the big bad guy, the dragon guarding the treasure.
As a dancer, in hindsight, you will realize that this test was far easier than you thought. It's a classic example of the how when the lights are off, even the most innocent things can look creepy in the dark. This dragon is not dangerous, and once you move past it, you realize it's actually a puppy.
All of which doesn't necessarily make for a catchy marketing slogan, "Take a dance lesson, it's really a puppy when you thought it was a dragon". Instead, we find that "Walk in, dance out" has a better ring to it.
All dragons and puppies aside, this is the first big hurdle in your dance journey. It starts the adventure, and ends the mystery surrounding your dance potential.
This may begin as a Practice Party, and turn into something bigger like a District Showcase, or Dance-O-Rama, but dancing in front of other dancers is one of the pivotal parts to developing your confidence.
Please note: This does not need to be a competition, and this may not seem to be relevant to your practical dance goals, but here's the thinking behind it.
Think of this like a Public Speaking class in high school or college. The big picture is to develop confidence in the activity of speaking in front of people, not necessarily to become the next Tony Robbins.
You build confidence by challenging your confidence, in expertly measured steps. In a speech class, the method for developing that confidence is to practice speaking in front of your peers in your class by reciting poems, famous speeches, or reciting song lyrics. For dancing, it's taking dance material that is memorized, or spontaneous, and to take it public.
The best part? Just like that speech class, you're in an environment that is supportive because everyone is working on their version to a common objective.
We refer to this as "your most important audience". Your inner circle is typically an audience of non-dancers. While they may not have the dance information to spot the nuances of your dance technique, they can spot something even more important: Your personal growth.
You inner circle are the keepers of your pre-dancing life. That "before picture", and all of the events and feelings that went into your decision to start dancing, is etched clearly in their minds.
They will be the audience that wants to see you dance to see how happy the hobby has made you. Like someone who has lost weight, those closest will notice the external changes, but will immediately pick up on the internal ones.
People start taking dance lessons for a variety of reasons - whether it's for stress relief, fulfilling a longtime goal, or just to do something that makes you smile more, but your confidence, and these simple tests are what make you capable of sharing that.
Your goals may be the first and last thing on your mind, but someone, at some point, will want to see why you're standing taller, why you're losing all that weight, or how you seem to have removed a burden you had been carrying.
And we want to do everything we can to prepare you for that.
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Are you ready to begin your dance journey? Tired of apologizing for the way you dance, avoiding invitations, or just want to find a hobby that can take stress away while adding more fun and enjoyment? We would love to show you how easy it is to learn. Take a free private lesson, and we will have you dancing within the first five minutes of your appointment.