Dancing has advantages. Big. Meaningful. Measurable ones. Which means that anything influencing you to stop dancing is better off overcome. And the most effective way to maintain your dance relationship is to be aware of the common hang-ups and how to dance through them.
- First Train Out of Awkwardville!
On the dance Curve of Learning, there are four stages you will go through. One of them is called The Awkward Use Stage and it can make us all question who we are, why we’re here and when for the love will it end?
Many students talk themselves out of dance because things feel too awkward for too long. But if we all avoided middle school when it got awkward, we’d all be 7th-grade dropouts. The good news: this awkward stage is not permanent and the staff at Arthur Murray Royal Oak can help you outgrow it. Awkwardness in dancing usually happens when you’re uploading new information to your muscle memory. It is all a stage of the process and it’s a good indication that you’re learning.
Solve it: Tell your teacher how you feel, talk through the awkwardness while you’re dancing, and let your teacher pinpoint a strategy to dance through it
- Teacher Warm-Up
Students work closely with their dance instructors, and sometimes it takes a minute to get on the same page, develop trust, and get inspired.
Solve it: Obviously Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Royal Oak takes enormous care to hire the dance instructors that connect with students, but if you are not feeling the coaching style of your instructor, shoot a note to management and we’ll all figure out the best route to keep you dancing.
- The Big Event Build-Up
What if the big event – the whole reason you started taking dance lessons in the first place – doesn’t go off perfectly?! Like:
Have an event
Decide to take dance lessons
Event arrives
Dancing isn’t as perfect as you had envisioned
You know what we say? “YAY, YOU!” You COULD have resorted to the middle-school shuffle, rocking to and fro in a less-than-impressive fashion, but NO. Not YOU. YOU stretched your comfort zone and that’s awesome. And people loved it – don’t think they didn’t.
Solve it: If you still have time before a big event, front load your dance classes as much as possible. If you’re feeling disappointment following your event, definitely communicate the problem to someone who can help: Your instructor or your dance studio manager. They can help take action and work with you to strategize for the future.
- Money, money, money
Dance lessons, like many hobbies, feel expensive only when you don’t see the value in the product. For instance,
- You don’t see a return on your investment
- You feel your dance goals haven’t been met
- You’ve found something else to meet your needs
Solve it: If at any point, you feel like you’re not seeing a return on your investment or your dance goals have not been met, reach out to your instructor or a studio manager to clarify your goals and expectations and design a plan for satisfaction. If you’ve found something else that meets your needs, take a look at this article about the benefits of dance for the body and mind and find the role that dance could still play in your life.
- Her Opinion, His Opinion
Everyone values the opinions of their friends and family, so what if they feel like dance isn’t the right outlet for you?
Solve it: No one can argue with the measurable impact that dance has on the mind and body. It’s factual. Share the emotional and physical benefits of dance you’ve experienced with your loved ones, and also those experienced by others, and compare them with other workouts, stress relievers, ways to reach your goals, etc.