Dance SMART at The Ballroom Dance Center
Group classes resume the week of January 9, 2023!
Who is making a resolution to get in shape for 2023? Click here to go to our class calendar or here to go to the What’s Happening page for the line-up of classes. Then call The Ballroom Dance Center at 706-854-8888 to sign up for group lessons.
Features of dance instruction at The Ballroom Dance Center include the following:
Partner Movement Skills – All classes will focus on movement skills, social dance combinations and leading/following. We often hear dancers say, “I just don’t want to look stupid!” All classes will help you develop ease and comfort in social dancing. You may ask if you should focus on just one dance. We have found it often doesn’t matter which dance you do, but rather that you learn fundamental movement skills in partner dancing.
More Dance Opportunities – Additional development of your dance skills will happen at the Friday dance parties and themed balls.
Practice – Any time the Ballroom Dance Center is open, you may practice here by appointment. Dance is physical as well as social. The more you practice, the more comfortable you will become dancing, which will make you a better dancer and allow you have more fun.
Dances – Dances are a fun way to socialize, exercise, and practice what you are learning. In addition, you will have loads of fun and meet other students who share your love of dancing. This relaxed setting balances the structure of practice and lessons. You will also learn floor craft, the skill of getting around the dance floor with other dancers on it.
We have a full line-up of group classes at the Ballroom Dance Center. On Monday, Ballroom Conditioning will be offered. This class is designed to increase your mobility and strength to enhance your dancing. The class will give you greater understanding of how to use your body well and improve alignment, balance, posture, and flexibility while educating you on how to reduce injury when dancing.
Social Dance for beginner and intermediate students is being offered on Tuesday at our Evans Campus and at our Aiken Campus on Wednesday and Thursday. These fun group classes are designed for adults who want to be well-rounded social dancers.
Students will learn all the major dance styles they will hear at a party or at one of our fun dance parties. Smooth style dances include the Waltz, Tango and Foxtrot. Rhythm style dances include the Rumba, Cha-cha, and Swing. Club style dances include the Hustle, Slow Rock, Salsa, Merengue, and West Coast Swing. Students will usually learn one dance a month, rotating through all in a year, and ending with the Party Survival class to prepare for the Christmas season. No group classes are taught during the month of December.
Youth Social Dance is offered at our Evans campus on Tuesday. This group class is designed for children ages 8-12. The material will be at a level appropriate for this age group. Each month we will focus on two or three different dances, rotating through Smooth, Rhythm, and Club dances. Basic motor skills, coordination, musicality, and creative dance will be included.
Students will learn all the major dance styles. Smooth style dances include the Waltz, Tango and Foxtrot. Rhythm style dances include the Rumba, Cha-cha, and Swing. Club style dances include the Hustle, Slow Rock, Salsa, Merengue and West Coast Swing. The year will end with Party Survival in November.
Teen Social Dance is offered at our Evans campus on Wednesday and our Aiken campus on Thursday. This group class is designed for teens ages 13-18. The material will be at a level appropriate for this age group. Each month we will focus on two or three different dances, rotating through Smooth, Rhythm, and Club dances.
Students will learn all the major dance styles. Smooth style dances include the Waltz, Tango and Foxtrot. Rhythm style dances include the Rumba, Cha-cha, and Swing. Club style dances include the Hustle, Slow Rock, Salsa, Merengue and West Coast Swing. The year will end with Party Survival in November.
Shag is being offered on Thursday. This fun group class is designed for adults who want to be well-rounded social Shag dancers. All levels are welcome, but the material will be at a level appropriate for the social dance floor.
West Coast Swing group classes are being taught on Thursday as well.
Every third Friday, we will offer Salsa Rueda, a style of salsa dancing which originated in Cuba, where couples form a big circle and execute turn patterns in unison to the calls of a single leader. Think of it as Latin Square Dancing. This class will be followed by Argentine Tango, a ballroom dance based on the Tango, with slow intricate footwork. To cap off the evening, there will be a Salsa/Tango Social Hour.
Couples have the option to rotate partners or stay with each other in all our group classes. Practice and private lessons help to reinforce the material learned in groups.
Private Lessons
For dancers with special interests or a desire to learn more slowly or more quickly than in group classes, private lessons are a great option.
Virtual Private Lessons via Zoom
The Ballroom Dance Center is open for in-person lessons. However, if you would like the convenience of on-line private lessons from your laptop, tablet, or phone, Zoom lessons are an available option. Our teaching staff and students have found these lessons very helpful in achieving certain dance goals.
The Zoom technology is simple, very much like Face Time or Skype. Call the studio at 706-854-8888, if you would like to take advantage of this innovative learning format from the comfort of home.
A NOTE ABOUT PARTNERS
We are delighted you will be learning to dance at The Ballroom Dance Center. Please note that we rotate partners for maximum learning and social practice, but dancers who wish to stay together may do so. Simply let your teacher know you do not wish to change partners.
CANCELLATION POLICY
Updated July 3, 2019
Your lesson and well-being are very important to us. Although we do understand that emergencies occur, our private lessons are highly sought after and booked in advance. If you need to cancel a lesson, please do so no later than 8:00 p.m. the day before your lesson. Monday lessons must be cancelled by 8:00 p.m. Friday. This will allow another student to take advantage of the opened up lesson block.
If you call The Ballroom Dance Center to cancel a lesson and get no answer, please leave a voicemail so that we have a timestamp of your call.
All group and private lessons must be paid for before taking your lesson.
DANCE DESCRIPTIONS
American Ballroom (Smooth)
- Waltz – Elegant, smooth dance in 3/4 time from Austria
- Foxtrot – Only American ballroom dance; big band or jazzy music
- Tango – Argentine origin; dramatic, staccato dance; strong drum roll
- Viennese Waltz – Faster version of the slow waltz
American Style Rhythm
- Rumba – Romantic Latin dance from Cuba
- Swing – East Coast Swing; upbeat with triple steps; big band and pop music, huge in 30s and 40s
- Cha-Cha – Slow Cuban Mambo with characteristic triple step
- Mambo – Fast Cuban Latin dance; precursor of Salsa, breaking on the “2” beat
- Bolero – Slow, romantic Latin dance with sweeping movement
Other Popular Dances
- West Coast Swing – This special dance style originated on the West Coast where dancers adapted swing into a slot to fit better on the screen and on crowded dance floors. This extremely popular style is danced to many types of music, including pop, classic swing, blues, dance beat and, more recently, to slower contemporary lyrical style music. At West Coast Swing events you will see social dancers, competitors and judges on the dance floors until the wee hours of the morning. Also popular are the competitive Jack and Jill events where dancers are paired randomly with partners where you learn to adapt and have a great dance with that person.
- Argentine Tango – An interpretive, improvisational social dance, it allows the dancers to develop a deep connection between themselves, the music and the environment in which they are dancing.
- Carolina Shag – Southern style of swing danced to bluesy, pop and beach music
- Salsa – Popular “first cousin” of Cuban Mambo; smoother, jazzier music, breaking on the “1” beat
- Salsa Rueda – Salsa “square dancing;” trade partners in a circle.
- Hustle – Originally a 70s disco dance, it is popular dance with fast, club style movement. It is danced in a slot to a strong beat.
- Samba – A lively, rhythmical dance developed in Brazil during the 19th century, it is considered the dance of celebration and joy at Carnival celebrations in Rio.
- Merengue – Originating in the Dominican Republic, it is an easy and fun dance to learn, making it a popular social dance.
- Bachata – Originating in the Dominican Republic, Bachata is a fun, energetic Latin dance that is gaining popularity across the country.
International Style Standard and Latin
- Quickstep – A fun, light and fast ballroom dance that incorporates very quick steps with alternating slower steps
- Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot and Tango
- Paso Doble – A lively, theatrical, dance modeled after the drama of the Spanish bullfight
- Jive – A lively, uninhibited variation of the Jitterbug with many of the basic patterns similar to those of East Coast Swing
- Cha-Cha, Rumba and Samba
Please note, other Standard and Latin dances are described above under American style dances.