Taking dance lessons will put you on your way to making memories on the dance floor. Learn why it’s important to practice dancing outside of the studio and some tips to create a dance studio at home.
Students at Fred Astaire Dance Studios can take group or private dance lessons at our local studios. In addition to regular lessons, our studios hold practice parties to allow students to improve their moves. To maximize your lesson, it’s important to practice ballroom dancing outside of the studio. Finding a place to dance at home can be a challenge. Here are some tips to create a dance studio at home.
Pick the Best Spot. The location of your at-home practice studio depends on the space you have available. If you do not have an empty room or garage space you can dedicate to a practice area, choose a space in your home that gets minimal foot traffic with furniture that can be easily pushed aside, like a dining room. The space needs to have enough room for you to freely do all of your spins and twirls to limit bumps and bruises.
Pay Attention to the Floor. It’s also a good rule of thumb to pick a space with wood or tile floors to offer the best traction. If you do have dedicated space in a garage, it may be worthwhile to purchase a portable dance floor. Interlocking tiles are available online you can build to suit.
Install a Mirror. All Fred Astaire Dance Studios lessons are taught in rooms with a wall of mirrors to allow you to watch as you learn. Consider installing a mirror in your at-home practice studio to help you make sure your moves meet expectations. Shop tag sales and online used furniture marketplaces to get a good deal.
Turn Up the Music. Portable speakers make it possible today to have a dance party in any room in your house. Purchase a high-quality Bluetooth speaker with a long battery life for best results.
Once you’ve set up your space, use it! If you are taking one lesson a week, Fred Astaire Dance Studios recommends practicing dancing at home for at least two hours between lessons. Make sure not to overdo the amount of time you spend practicing and be sure to stretch before you get started to prevent injury.
Living Room Dance Lessons Mix Up Nightly Routine
Following the pandemic outbreak, Fred Astaire Dance Studios created an Online Lesson Platform® designed to help students continue dancing at home when local studios were shuttered. The platform has evolved to include hundreds of dance tutorials, and students can schedule live-streaming lessons to your new, at-home practice studio or living room. Our virtual lessons are led by one of our world-renowned International Dance Council members as well as our current Open Fred Astaire Dance Studios Champions. Participants work on technique, styling, or existing choreography. Our Online Lesson Platform is ideal for couples who want to spice up their nightly routine without leaving the comfort of their home.
Don’t Worry — Mistakes Happen
Practice helps avoid making mistakes on the dance floor. If you do fumble your moves when you are dancing, don’t lose heart. Mistakes happen, and even the most highly trained dancers struggle on occasion. Check out some of these bloopers of dancers on the competitive stage.
German dancers Simone Segatori and Annette Sudol got tripped up performing the quickstep at a dance competition, but they quickly got right back up and continued dancing. Commentators speculated a problem with the installation of the dance floor may have caused the mishap.
Practice doesn’t always make perfect. Take a look at this montage of some epic ballroom dance competition fails.
Feel free to smile at this compilation of lighthearted moments at a Dancesport competition set to “I’m On Top of the World” by Imagine Dragons.
Schedule Your First Lesson at FADS
If you are ready to have fun and do the work to learn how to ballroom dance, your local Fred Astaire Dance Studios has a variety of dance lessons to help people at all ages and stages of their ballroom dancing journey. Click here to find your local Fred Astaire Dance Studios location and schedule a lesson today.
