Where can I take dance lessons in Atlanta? No, not that kind of dancing.

November 9, 2022 10:57 AM

I'm in Atlanta (north side), and am trying to find someplace that will teach me how to go out on the dance floor at a night club and do something other than shuffle awkwardly from side to side. Every "dance lesson" place I've found teaches the more formal dance styles, but I'm interested in something waaaaay more simple. Any suggestions would be much appreciated (especially by my wife, who's had to endure years of the awkward side to side shuffle).
posted by richmondparker to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (4 answers total)

Okay, this is gonna sound way out of left-field and like "whaaaaaat?", but: Maybe ask the Hotlanta Squares square dance club when their next beginner class is? Yeah, square dancing seems like "more formal" and distinctly not what you're looking for, but: square dancing is dancing for math nerds, and learning to square dance helped me get a feel for a lot of the other body motion stuff that translates to other dance forms.

(And, yeah, that's a gay square dance club, but I've danced with a lot of folks from there at various conventions, they'll welcome you anyway, and they have the much better culture and more fun flourishes than the straight square dance clubs.)

Barring that, maybe add "hip hop" to your dance studio searches? A lot of that starts to get dangerously close to exercise class, but all of that can help your sense of motion. A lot.
posted by straw at 11:19 AM on November 9, 2022

Might be a little more technical than you're seeking but your question made me think of the Steezy virtual dance studio. They teach the sort of thing backup dancers do in hip-hop music videos.
posted by crunchy potato at 11:21 AM on November 9, 2022 [2 favorites]

I agree that hip hop classes might be a good start. Dance 101 (used to be on Briarcliff but it looks like they moved down by Emory) had really friendly adult beginner classes.
posted by quadrilaterals at 11:31 AM on November 9, 2022 [3 favorites]

Good for you! There are also a lot of YouTube tutorials on dance basics to get you started if you want to practice in your home before going to a class. Some search terms are 'beginner shuffling' or 'begginer club dance'.

One thing to note is that prioperception, your sense of where your body parts are in space and in relation to each other without looking at them, can be difficult to learn if you haven't already. A lucky few people seem to acquire this naturally, for most others it's a learned skill. For some people it remains a challenge regardless. Dancing was always a struggle for me until I realized this and made allowances for my lack of ability in this area. So go easy on yourself!

Have fun :)
posted by ananci at 2:00 PM on November 9, 2022 [1 favorite]