Frequently Asked Questions
01
Dress code?
Whatever is comfortable for you. It is really a personal choice. We work under a very relax environment.
02
What shoes do I need to wear?
As beginners, we normally recommend gents to wear leather shoes and ladies, some low heel sandals or court shoes. Try to avoid trainers or loose sandals if possible as they restrict movement. As one improves, one can look into purchasing some dance shoes.
03
Who do I dance with if I turn up alone?
We will try our best to accommodate any singles and match them with an available partner. But due to the tendency of more single ladies wanted to dance, it is normal practice to have ladies dancing with ladies with one dancing the gent's steps. If you felt slightly unease, bring a friend! It is better to learn with a constant partner that you know well.
04
What if I can't make it every week?
Nowadays, we understand most people have a very hectic lifestyle. Although good learning requires consistency, we do try our best to make sure you don't fall behind. If you can't make a certain night in one week, we do have other similar classes that run side of side with it that you can go to. If you really worried that you will struggle, it's always a good idea to have a private lesson just to steady your nerves again and bring you back up to speed.
05
At what age can children start?
Every child is different. We normally wouldn't advice any parent to start their children before 4 because they tends to have a short attention span. The only exception will be if they are coming with an older sibling or they themselves are keen to learn.
06
Can parents stay and watch?
Due to the size of the halls we teach in, it is very hard to accommodate everybody in the room. It will really be at our discretion on how many parents we allow to stay in the room especially with the current climate regarding child welfare. In any circumstances, we would only allow one parent per family to attend and will only be by invitation only. Please be understanding, and if for some reason your request is declined, it is mainly because we already got too many adults in the room.
07
Why this school?
Of course we are really biased on the fact that Dance with Music is the best ballroom dance school in Shropshire, but to give you some good guidelines on how to choose the right school, here are some pointers:
1) Make sure the teacher that is teaching you is qualified with one of the Dance Teachers' Organisations in this country. Don't take it on face value, do check with the organisation that the teacher is currently registered with them and also qualified to teach ballroom and latin american dancing. Different types of dance require very different kinds of knowledge, so don't be fooled!
2) Make sure the teacher that is teaching you is the qualified one and not some helper that only learn to dance a year or two ago.
3) Make sure the teacher can dance. Although teachers can teach people to be better than themselves, they need to set a benchmark on what you are trying to be better than. If the teacher can only talk the talk, and not dance the dance, it doesn't bold well on what you are going to learn.
4) Make sure the school or teacher is here to stay. Due to the popularity of the TV show "Strictly Come Dancing", there are suddenly many one-off dance courses sprang out all around the country with many people claiming they can teach ballroom dancing. Be very aware! Don't just go to learn steps. Ballroom dancing is much more than this, learn to dance, have fun, meet people and enjoy this lifelong skill!