Dance school
Dance school
A dance school is a mostly commercially operated facility that serves to teach individual dance students, dance couples or groups dances, movements and dance figures as well as skills related to dancing. Priorities are usually the ballroom dancing as well as individual special dances like Discofox , Salsa , etc., while as a leisure activity dance sports clubs rather the area dancesport cover.
Learning systems in dance schools
In addition to the classical “dance course”, there are a number of other systems for learning to dance. The variety is great, as each dance school tries to find the right system, depending on size, staff, customer structure, customer frequency and market penetration.
Dance classes
Dance courses in the real sense consist of a pre-defined number of teaching units of a certain duration. The course starts on the same date for all participants and has mostly homogeneous groups in which the participants are of a similar level. Usually a dance course is booked and paid for in advance.
Dance courses are usually also offered in hierarchical systems. The course levels build on each other; For example, to take part in a level 3 dance course, attendance at levels 1 and 2 is a prerequisite.
Colloquially, “dance course” is generally used for attending a lesson in a dance school, even if the learning system does not correspond to this pattern.
Advantages and disadvantages
A dance course has clearly defined start and end dates and (mostly) previously determined and published course content. Budget control is made easier because it is a "cash transaction" and, for example, EUR 160 is paid for 8 units. Since a dance course has a fixed date per week, a certain date must be kept free for a few weeks. Large dance schools also offer many parallel courses, so that you can freely choose the course attendance per week. Several courses per week are possible in many dance schools. An individual learning pace is sometimes made more difficult, because at the end of the course you continue with the next higher level, regardless of whether the dance student has (subjectively and objectively) mastered the program of the last course. Furthermore, the dance course may also contain dances that the dance student does not like.
Club system
Here, the teaching units are usually completed, a hierarchy is mostly limited to a single dance or topic. For example, each dance is offered in different levels for beginners and advanced. The dance students choose the units that are suitable or interesting for them from a timetable. In contrast to the dance course and the rolling system, here the customer - often on the basis of a monthly or seasonal plan published in advance - makes the selection which dances and movements he would like to learn. Payment is usually made in the form of a monthly flat rate (“flat rate” or “subscription”) or with prepaid cards (for example, 10-card cards).
Advantages and disadvantages
The dance students can set their own priorities and freely design the timetable. Further dance lessons can be flexibly adapted to your own calendar and the dance student determines his own learning pace.
Depending on the specific system, the lessons are often one-sided, as usually only one dance is taught per hour. The size of the groups is usually not predictable and can vary widely. An independent choice of dances and levels can overwhelm the dance student.
Rolling systems
Some dance schools offer a mixed form of course and club system in the form of rolling systems. Here the learning content is put together in blocks (for example “Latino dances” or “wedding dances”). For a certain time these dances are the focus of the lesson, when changing to the next block it is often possible to start the course as a beginner. Since the courses are ongoing, it is usually up to the dance student to decide when to move on to the next level. Payment is made in the form of a monthly flat rate (“flat rate” or “subscription”).
Advantages and disadvantages
The dance students have a very high degree of flexibility, as they can usually decide freely within a week which of the dates offered for their level they would like to attend. Dance students find entry opportunities relatively often and regularly. The pace of learning is very individual because the dance students decide for themselves when to move on to the next level. Since the participants often decide spontaneously which appointments to keep, the size of the group cannot be foreseen. The thematic block may also contain dances that the dance student does not like.
deals
Beginner dance courses
In order to take part in the dance lessons for beginners, no previous knowledge is required - related to the dances to be expected in the curriculum . The teachers therefore assume that the dance students have no experience in this dance at the time the dance course begins. Depending on the learning system , entry is sometimes possible every lesson, which can be equally challenging for dance teachers and dance students.
In the area of ballroom dancing, most dance schools start with dances from the world dance program .
Dance courses for advanced learners
If a dance student already has previous knowledge, either by taking classes for beginners or having acquired his knowledge in another way, he can take part in advanced classes. Within the learning systems of dance schools, the content of the preceding lower level is usually assumed.
In ballroom dancing, the ADTV or BDT dance schools very often have the following classification of the German dance badge , also known as medal courses :
- bronze
- silver
- gold
- Gold star
- Super gold star
The frequently found representation that the content of the courses in ADTV or BDT dance schools would be identical or would be prescribed by the association does not apply. Each dance school selects from the large fund of dances and figures those that best suit the dance school and the clientele. For most dance schools it is important to clearly distinguish it from tournament dance, which is why they consciously organize their program in such a way that several hours of weekly "training" as in tournament dance is not necessary.
Dancing for amateur dancers
Dance students who regularly take dance lessons and want to consolidate and develop their knowledge often attend ongoing classes. The names for this are z. B. dance group or hobby club.
Private lessons
Dance students who either have little time, special requirements or the desire for more privacy book private lessons. Here the dance student pays a fixed amount for a certain period of time (usually 45 or 60 minutes), for which a dance teacher is exclusively available to him.
Workshops
Many dance schools also offer all levels in the form of workshops. Here, several hours are usually held in a day or courses that usually take place over several weeks, e.g. B. summarized on a weekend.
Singles dance classes
In some dance schools it is also possible to register without a dance partner. There are different offers, in which either a dance partner is provided with whom you dance as a couple during the entire dance course, or pure singles dance courses take place in which everyone has registered without a partner and the partners are changed more often.
Events
In addition to dance lessons, many dance schools also offer exercise opportunities outside of course times with regular dance parties. The offer is often rounded off by seasonal events (carnival, dance in May, Halloween etc.), theme parties (70s, Bad Taste, cocktail party, black & white etc.) and gala, graduation or premiere balls.
Seminars
In addition to the core business of dance lessons, many dance schools also offer seminars on a wide variety of topics:
- Etiquette
- Table manners
- rhetoric
Types of dance schools
Classical dance schools
The largest group in Germany and Austria is made up of dance schools, in which you can learn a selection of culturally or regionally significant dances.
Most traditional dance schools in Germany are run by members of the General German Dance Teachers Association (ADTV) and therefore design their courses on the basis of the world dance program , which was completely revised in 2012. About 800 dance schools are currently organized in ADTV. In addition, many dance schools are organized in the BDT , but there are also a number of independent dance schools.
Owners of German dance schools have come together in the Entrepreneurs Association DTIV . A framework agreement agreed with GEMA is particularly relevant here.
In Austria, most dance schools are affiliated with the VTÖ , in Switzerland with the Swissdance association .
Special dance schools
There are a large number of dance schools that devote themselves exclusively to one (rarely two) dance form such as B. ballet , hip-hop , salsa , Argentine tango , tap dance , flamenco , Capoeira , Samba , Swing or Gogodance . Boogie Woogie , Rock'n'Roll and Linedance are mostly taught in clubs in Germany, i.e. non-commercially.
Here, too, there are dance courses and workshops in the teaching offer, which due to the specialization on the one hand can be less diversified, but on the other hand can also be more competent and intensive. Often the course offer is supplemented with content that is thematically closely related to the specialty, for example percussion in salsa dance.
See also
- Dance teacher
- Elmayer dance school , Vienna
- Kummer dance school , Graz
- Dance school at the Deutsches Theater , Munich
- Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts
- World dance program
