These aren't your mother's dance lessons, or your grandmother's for that matter.
Sure, Arthur Murray has been around since the Titanic sank, cars were cutting edge technology, and social equality seemed like a shade above the caveman days - but times have changed.
Let's do a software update, download the patch, and change our original 1912 factory settings on what ballroom dance lessons really are in today's world.
Here's a test: Take any regular, weekly, Date Night - and then hit Repeat. How exciting is that same Dinner and a Movie after 1 month, 6 months, or 6 years? Casual dining has led to casual date night results. With the hectic pace of life today, and countless digital distractions available now more than ever - is it any wonder that the, once sacred, Date Night is trending downward?
This could save the Date Night as we know it. A dance lesson brings an element of mystery, and glamour, to a normally unglamorous activity. Pairing Tango, Salsa, Bachata, or Rumba with drinks or a movie is the Date Night makeover that the couples of the world have been missing.
Note: Busy Parents are prime candidates for a well deserved Date Night. We put together a Dance Lesson Escape Plan for Busy Parents to give that sleepless community a dance reprieve.
Here's a test: Drive home from work and count how many dreary, tired, or enraged faces that you see. Then pull over to your nearest Arthur Murray Dance Studio and relish in the fact that you're part of the Top Percentile of Citizens who use Dance Therapy as the perfect elixir to all of life's stress-induced woes.
Life is going to throw some curve balls at you. It would be extremely rare to find that the solution to those problems is anti-social behavior, and limited physical activity.
It's quite the opposite.
Ballroom dancing combines the perfect amounts of physical and social activity. The result? A happy brain. Not only does this ward off the daily work stress sooner, this type of multi-channel brain activity makes Ballroom Dancing one of the best activities to combat dementia. Read more about this in the article, Ballroom Dancing and Dementia - Can Dancing Make Your Smarter?, by the Alzheimer's Project.
As the clock ticks down to zero, the feeling of getting closer to completing your imaginary jog on a treadmill has a striking similarity to moving closer to the front of the line at the DMV. It's pure dread.
Dancing, on the other hand, isn't immediately associated with exercise - which is why it works so well. The physical aspects of a treadmill and dancing are similar, but dancing wins in a landslide when it comes to fun.
Cool fact: In each of the Bay Area Arthur Murray dance studios, there are at least a half dozen students who have lost over 50 pounds. The sad news? The physical fitness aspect of dancing has caused many personal trainers, old exercise equipment, and gym memberships to disappear as quick as their waistlines.
Long ago, there were clubs with secret handshakes. These were the original "Third Places". Wikipedia this as, "the third place (or third space) is the social surroundings separate from the two usual social environments of home ("first place") and the workplace ("second place"). Examples of third places would be environments such as cafes, clubs or parks." While clubs have gradually faded, coffee shops have a foothold on the average Third Place.
Unfortunately, it's more caffeinated, and less social.
Arthur Murray is a community of supportive, dance enthusiasts. It is a safe haven for the commuting road weary, for the couples looking to reconnect, or for a mental escape from withdrawals from the home and work spaces.
There are no secret handshakes, but there are plenty of high fives. The welcoming environment has as much to do with the people, as the subject matter. Learning how to dance at Arthur Murray takes an activity that There are dance students from all career paths, and at all stages of life - and it's a refreshing upgrade to the clubs of the old days.
There used to be finishing schools. You know, where you'd learn the difference between 7 different kinds of forks, how to fold your napkin, and ways to properly escort a date to the fairgrounds, wearing a seersucker suit, holding candy apples, and walking beneath a parasol.
But where did they all go?
While finishing schools seem like something from a period TV show on the BBC, Arthur Murray has kept the finishing school light on. There are regularly scheduled formal events, and practice parties where students learn the art of asking, or accepting, dance invitations in a way much different than what you'd see at a typical bar or nightclub.
In a day and age where so much of our social skills have been drawn away to social media, Arthur Murray is a worldwide entity built to foster the social refinements of yesteryear.
The positive byproducts of dancing have as much variety as the dances themselves. Whether your goal is offline social networking, stress relief, or an upgraded date night - it's all there at Arthur Murray.
In fact, just like the dances themselves, you won't ever have to choose just one benefit. So, while you're utilizing the dance studio as a refuge from work, you may also be getting a reduction in your waist size. We know, we're sorry.
The journey begins once you contact us and take your first step into one of our studios. We even have reading material to eliminate any dancing myths that may be holding you back. All you need to do now is schedule your First Free Private Lesson, and decide what kind of positive byproducts you'd like to see as you learn social dancing.