Some people like to be in charge of their learning.  If that’s you, then teaching yourself to dance by taking online ballroom dance lessons is perfect for you.

Let’s look at the Pros first.

It’s convenient.

The number one reason to take online ballroom dance lessons is that it’s convenient.  The biggest benefit, above all, is that you’ll be learning at your own pace in the comfort of your home.

Online dance lessons make it easy to review.  

If you’re unsure of something, simply go back to what you want to review and take a second look…or 3rd, 4th, or 5th look.  In fact, feel free to check it out as many times as you like.  As a result, learning to ballroom dance will be less frustrating and more fun.

When it comes to instructors, you have lots of choices.

Go ahead and Google “learn to ballroom dance” to check out a few courses.    You’re sure to find a pace and teaching style that suits you.

Access to online instruction makes it easy to practice.  

Even if you’re taking dance lessons with a private instructor, you’ll need to practice between lessons.  With that in mind, isn’t it nice to be able to go online and refresh your memory whenever you like?  

Access your instruction on any device.  

You’ll be able to take your online dance lessons with you and view them on any device.  

The price is right!  

Almost all videos are free for you to use as often as you like.  However, some will charge a monthly or yearly membership fee for more advanced instruction.

What are the lessons like?

Online dance lessons are usually taught like group classes.  Sometimes there will be two instructors, a male, and a female.  Other times it’s taught by one instructor.

Either way, the men line up on one side with the ladies on the other side facing them.  The teacher or teachers will instruct from the center, first showing the man’s part, then the lady’s part. 

What’s next?

• Demonstrating the step so you know what it looks like.
• Teaching the man’s foot positions, followed by timing, and dance position.
• Showing the ladies their foot positions, timing, and dance position.
• Introducing partnership skills (leading and following).

Please check out this Dance Safari post for more information on “Learning Ballroom Dancing in Group Classes“.

What are the Cons of online dance lessons?

We all have different abilities when it comes to learning to dance.  Above all, online lessons are designed to offer general instruction meant to be of some value to many different types of learners.

Clearly, the biggest problem is that there’s no instruction geared to you as an individual.  Consequently, personalized instruction is not available in an online course.

Here are 2 Online Courses that use different teaching methods.

Check them out and see what style of teaching appeals to you.

Passion4Dancing.com offers basics in a number of dances for free.  In addition to that, they suggest a monthly or yearly membership. This is ideal for students who are interested in unlimited access to more advanced steps and techniques.

These videos have two professionals doing the teaching.  They are Leon Turetsky and Kim Le, owners of Leon’s Dance Center in Boston.

The lessons are very detailed and easy to follow.  Therefore, if you’re serious about becoming a good social dancer, they’ll be a valuable tool to help you reach your goal.

DanceClass.com offers a variety of dance styles such as Ballet, Modern, Hip-Hop, and Belly Dance.  For social dance lessons, scroll down and click on Ballroom.

The ballroom instructor is Brian Fortuna, “a former pro dancer on both Dancing With The Stars (in the USA) and Strictly Come Dancing (in the UK),” who declares, “it’s safe to say that I absolutely LOVE teaching people how to dance.”  

Please note that Brian uses the group class format to instruct.

Brian calls his series Partner Dance With Brian’s Beginners and says he’ll cover a few basics in a 30-60 minute online class.  In addition, higher-level instruction is available on 2 DVD’s he offers on his website.  Due to his easy-going style, it’s a fun class for everyone!

Learning to dance using online videos is a cost-effective and convenient way to get moving on the dance floor.  Why don’t you give it a try?