If you’re thinking about taking ballroom dance lessons, you probably wonder if you need to bring a dance partner.  The answer is, no, you do not need to get a partner for your dance lessons.  As a matter of fact, even if you do, you’ll be encouraged to change partners from time to time to dance with other students and teachers.  Nevertheless, the issue of not having a dance partner stops many people from joining a dance studio.  Let’s look at a few reasons why it shouldn’t.

You’ll be a more confident dancer if you change partners.

Getting comfortable dancing with different people is a skill you’ll learn beginning with your earliest lessons. Ballroom dance teachers have been developing good dancers for many years. You can trust them because they know what they’re doing. After all, that’s how they make their living. With training, the best instructors teach not only steps, but, poise, balance, technique, leading, following, and, yes, how to change partners.

Picking a place for your lessons.

You can choose from chain studios such as Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire, or take your pick from the many independent studios.  For the best results, look for a school that teaches using the 3-Way System of Ballroom Dance Instruction. That is (1) private lessons, (2) group classes, and (3) dance parties.

Because there are lots of opportunities to practice with other students, The 3-Way System will make you a confident dancer.

1. Private Lessons have one teacher working with either one student or a couple with lessons customized to fit individual wants and needs. Consequently, students learn quickly and are encouraged by their progress.
2. Group Sessions consist of 1 or 2 teachers and a number of students, both singles and couples. They provide lots of repetition to make it easy to develop muscle memory. Muscle memory is what gets you moving to the music without stressing over the steps. Although the focus of most group classes is the introduction of step patterns, it’s customary for students to dance the patterns with each other to get a feel for how the steps fit together with different partners.
3. Practice Parties are where students and instructors gather for social dancing. The goal is to change partners often to get experience with various dancers.

Add some excitement to your social dancing by switching up partners occasionally.

With one partner, eventually, your dancing will become a set routine. You’ll find that it’s very repetitive and, frankly, a little boring. This is where being able to change partners makes a difference. Good ballroom dancing means excellent leading and following skills. Fortunately, these will become automatic when you practice with different dancing buddies. This is because they don’t know your routine so it’s a matter of going with the music and paying attention to your surroundings. That means, if you want to be a sought-after partner, you must dance with the good, the bad, and the in-between.

In conclusion, you’ll find your social life as a single or a couple just might improve by dancing with some of the other dance lovers you meet. So, be open-minded about it. Bring a partner, if you must, but please take the advice of your instructors, and mix it up a little. You’ll be glad you did.