Topic of the Quarter
Dance Lessons
by Jim Watson, Mid-Ohio Boogie Club
This is an on-going feature for our ABA newsletter. I hope it will generate interest in sharing what we have learned in running our own club, so others may benefit. I am open to both topic suggestions and feedback on any topic within the newsletter.
The theme chosen for this quarter’s newletter was “Your club’s philosophy about dance lessons and how the lessons are handled.”. Some suggested ideas of what to discuss included:
 | when does your club hold dance lessons, |
| do the lessons have a strict format or lesson plan; or are the lessons more spur of the moment, |
| does the club pay for the instructors, |
| does the club pay or use club members as instructors or does the club use professional instructors, |
| do members and non-members pay for the instruction, |
| does your club set limits as to the number of people that can attend lessons, and |
| does your club have large workshops. |
I did a quick look around on the various ABA member club web site and discovered that most clubs seem to have dance lessons just prior to their regular dance. This is also true for my home club, the Mid–Ohio Boogie Club.
The schedule and fees I found on the web sites for these lessons vary from club to club. For eample:
| Atlanta Swing Dancers Club has a “Dance Improvement Program” which teaches beginner lessons in a series. One focus of this program is to insure that beginner dancers get to dance with accomplished dancers. They do this by having 2 or 3 “Practice Assistants” in each beginner class. Moreover, they rotate partners throughout the lesson so everyone gets to meet their fellow students. The lesson fee is $10 for club members and $15 for non-club members. |
| Buckeye Bop Club provides dance lessons from 7 to 8 pm before the regular dancing. They use both club members and bring in instructors fron local studios. Their lessons rotate between East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing, Shag, Cha Cha and Detroit (slot) Hustle every two to three months. The fee for the dance covers the cost of the lesson. |
| Cincinnati Bop Club usually hold their lessons on the first three (3) Tuesdays of the month at 7 pm just prior to their regular dancing. They have a $3 cover charge for non-member. Members are free. |
| Chicago’s Windy City Jitterbug Club — See the article CWCJC’s Dance Lessons |
| Choo Choo Shag Club offers free Shag dance lessons each week on their club night. |
| Derby City Bop Association has two (2) different schedules, with the beginner level lessons offered in a separate room every Tuesday night of every month from 6:30 pm to as late as 8 pm while the intermediate level dance lessons, are offered every Tuesday night every other month in four week sessions fro 7 pm to 7:30 pm. All the lesson are free to everyone. |
| Little Rock Bop Club — See the article Little Rock’s Dance Lessons |
| Mid-Ohio Boogie Club has a one hour lesson prior to each dance from 7 till 8 PM. Club members teach East Coast Swing (Triple Step), West Coast Swing, Carolina Shag, and Slot (Detroit) Hustle. The first half hour is used to go over the basic steps so if someone has never danced before they can get started immediately. The second half hour usually is more advanced and knowledge of the basic steps. The fee for the dance covers the cost of the lesson. |
| Memphis Boogie Bunch has tried the dance lessons two (2) times and it did not work for them. They used Carrie and Ronnie Griffin as their dance instructors. Carrie and Ronnie were allowed to charge what they wanted to. They then split the money with the club. At the present time, the club is not having dance lessons. |
| Memphis Bop Club — See the article Memphis Bop’s Dance Lessons |
| Music City Bop Club provides free dance lessons for its members and changes $5 for non-members (1st two lessons can be applied to membership) The dance lessons are held 1 hour before each dance. |
| South Side Imperial Dance Club offers free lessons at all of its Sunday dances. The club offers 3 levels of lessons during 3 different time slots. The lessons are taught in a separate room from the dance hall. No charge was indicated. |
| Steel City Boogie Club offers complimentary dance lessons before each regular dance from 8 to 9 pm. Typically, an informal poll is taken of those present to find out what they want to learn so lessons can be tailored accordingly. Depending on the needs and requests of their guests, there may be just one main lesson or there may be several mini-lessons going on simultaneously. The fee for the dance covers the cost of the lesson. |
| St. Louis Imperial Dance Club offers a free dance lesson at 7:30 pm before each club dance. Additionally, they hold workshops on Saturday mornings at from 10 am to 12 noon. |
| West County Swing Dance Club conducts 4 levels of swing dance classes simultaneously every Tuesday night; Basic I, Basic II, Intermediate, and Advanced. Its not unusual to have 150-165 students per night. The club requires membership in order to take the lessons. |
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