Someone on Quora.com once asked me, “How long must I take ballroom dance lessons until I feel confident on the dance floor?” Whether to take ballroom or club-style dance lessons is a decision lots of people struggle with. Mainly, because they don’t know what to expect. Here’s the lowdown.

The amount of time it takes to become a confident dancer depends on a few things.

What is your definition of confident?

Are you thinking just good enough to get-by on the dance floor or do you want to be great? A get-by dancer knows enough to get around the floor with a few steps. They may feel pretty good about the steps they’re doing, but until they put in the time, they won’t be very smooth. The leading or following may sometimes be uncertain, but hey, everybody starts out this way.

On the other hand, a great social dancer knows all the popular dances and has quite a few steps at his or her disposal. Not only that, self-assured, well-trained dancers can lead or follow good dancers and those who aren’t good yet. In addition, they make their partners feel good about the dance.

In order to estimate how long it will take you to feel confident, we’d have to know exactly how confident you want to be. Therefore, the question is, do you mean get-by, great, or something in between?

In your journey to becoming more self-assured on the dance floor, what kind of lessons are you taking?

Most ballroom dance studios will recommend that you take a combination of private lessons, group classes, and dance parties. Assuming that’s the case, here are a few ways to make the best use of the time you put into becoming a confident dancer.

• If you keep your lessons close together, you’ll get more out of them. This is especially true for new dancers.
• It’s not always best to bring a partner on your dance lessons. Because sharing lessons results in cutting your instruction time in half, it’s going to take you longer to improve.
• Repetition will cut down on the amount of time it takes to become self-assured. Since it helps you improve quickly, practice is the name of the game. You may choose to practice at the studio before or after your lesson or you can practice at home.

What about your temperament and ability?

Temperament

If you’re the type of person who enthusiastically throws yourself into new experiences, you’ll probably love learning to become a confident dancer. Everybody Dance Now could be your theme song.

However, keep in mind that not everyone is comfortable about moving their body. A shy person may have to put in greater effort to get past their insecurity.

Ability

It’s important to realize that some will pick up dancing more easily than others. It’s the same with any activity, isn’t it? If you naturally have a feel for it, it’s going to go easier for you.

Here’s a Dance Safari post that you might enjoy, “Learn Ballroom Dancing? Let Me Wave My Magic Wand.”

In conclusion…

…without working with you personally, it’s impossible to tell how long it will take you to become a confident dancer. That’s a question best answered by your dance instructor. Happy dancing!