Once you start ballroom dance lessons, there’s a good chance that it’ll get under your skin. Why not, who could blame you? In addition to benefits like better posture, improved social life, weight loss, and fitness gains, there’s stress relief and fun. Indeed, you absolutely can’t go wrong taking up this life-changing hobby. Of course, you’re going to want to practice your ballroom dancing. For this reason, a small dance studio in your home is the perfect answer.

Imagine having a spot where you can review your dance steps, check your posture, or work on hip action.  Not to mention stretching, Yoga, and meditation. Above all, it’ll be your own little place to rejuvenate your spirit. Of equal importance, you won’t need much to get it going.

Here are the essentials to create a place to practice your ballroom dancing.

Space. Something between 6’X6’ – 8’X12′ would be nice.

Sounds tiny, but a smaller area will be more like the actual amount of room you have on a typical social dance floor. Strangely enough, it’ll be good practice for you.

You’ll need a dance floor for a small dance studio in your home.

Unless you already have a wood or laminate floor, you’ll want to install flooring that is designed for ballroom dancing. Avoid dance injuries by ensuring adequate cushioning under your dance floor. Under no circumstances should you dance on carpet or concrete.

Here’s a guide to picking out a floor to practice ballroom dancing.

Mirrors are a must.

It wouldn’t be a dance studio without mirrors. There are a number of different types to choose from. To be sure, the type of mirror you purchase will depend on your vision and your budget. In any case, it can be glass, mirrored acrylic, mirror tiles, or mylar sheets.

Watch a mirror installation video here.

Gonna need Bluetooth speakers and/or headset for music.

Obviously.

Furthermore, if you really want to splurge you could look into a few more items.

A wall-mounted television to watch videos or online lessons.

You’ll love that you’re able to visually review material when you like and as many times as you like. You can also cue up some of your favorite ballroom dance performances to watch when you need inspiration.

What about Zumba or other online workouts. This idea of having a small dance studio in your home is brilliant.

A Ballet Barre for stretching before you practice ballroom dancing.

In addition to limbering up before you dance, a ballet barre is great for anyone in the house who needs to be encouraged to warm up their muscles before a workout.

Consider a subscription to https://ballroombeats.com/.

It’s inexpensive, starting at $9.99 per month. The beauty of it is that all the music is broken down by dance. Simply pick a dance and you’ll be presented with many songs in that style. In fact, lots of ballroom dance studios use Ballroom Beats for students and teachers to practice their ballroom dancing. You can access it on PC, Mac, Android or IOS phones/tablets.

Check out a sample of how Ballroom Beats works using the link above.

In short, take your passion for dance seriously and spend as much or as little money as you want to gift yourself a small dance studio in your home. It’ll mean so much for your dancing and your motivation. For a brief description of some of the most popular social dances, please read this Dance Safari post, “Examples of Social Dances for the Well-Rounded Dancer“.