Dance Lessons in NY

People often ask me why they should bother to take a dance class in New York City. Though personally, I think the answer is obvious, I've taken the time to give you at least a few good reasons to spend the little bit of money and time to get an awesome experience. Often, for the same amount of money as a movie, you can meet a great group of people, get some incredible exercise, and hone a skill that you can show off to your friends later!

1. YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE A FOOL ON THE DANCE FLOOR
Some people have rhythm, and others just don't - regardless, everyone could use at least a few New York City dance lessons to brush up on the basic coordination of their feet in time to music. How many times have you been out and seen that guy or girl just killing it on the dance floor? You know that everyone's paying attention, and with a few dance classes, that could absolutely be you! Even basic dance classes begin to train your feet to move at the right time, to teach you the patience required to wait for the right moment, and finally to look like you're having fun, rather than trying really hard to concentrate!

2. THERE'S NO OTHER GREAT WAY TO LEARN DANCE
Let's be honest, online dance lessons can only get you so far. Aside from the fact that the camera angles are rarely great, the credentials of the instructors are often questionable, and that they can't see you and give you specific feedback, the simple reality is also that very few New Yorkers have the space in their tiny apartments to be practicing dance. Dance can't be learned from a book, over the phone, or even the internet - that means if you want to get good, you have to take dance classes, dance lessons or dance courses in New York City.

3. NY DANCE IS INHERENTLY A SOCIAL THING
How often do you just go dancing by yourself? Very rarely! Dance is one of the best activities to get out into the city to meet new people and indeed to have a rather personal experience with them - it's not uncommon for people who meet in NY dance classes to end up dating or being long time friends - there's just something about shedding your inhibitions in front of someone that brings you close together! Therefore, you can use dance courses or dance lessons to facilitate an awesome social interaction that isn't nearly as awkward as meeting someone at a bar or party for the first time.

4. NY DANCE OFFERS YOU A FUN WAY TO EXERCISE
No one that I know loves running on the treadmill for exercise - it's painfully boring and repetitive. In addition to helping you meet people, hone your skills and impress the crowd, dance classes NY are just a great way to tone your muscles and get a great cardio workout! You'll never leave a great dance class without having worked up a sweat, and what better way to burn off that pizza you had for lunch than to shake it off on the dance floor!

Here, I've listed the top types of dance classes and dance lessons based on the search traffic volume for New York City.
It's not a super scientific methodology, but definitely gives you a feel for the types of dance classes that people are searching for in New York City.

5: BALLET CLASSES AND BALLROOM DANCING CLASSES IN NYC
Ballet classes and ballroom dancing classes were actually so close together in the search rankings that I decided that they both deserve to be the fifth most popular dance class. Both of these types of dance are certainly more classical, and thus very likely appeal to more artful, serious dancers. These are the NY dance classes that have been around the longest, and thus often have some of the most established communities in the dancing world. You'll find that some ballet schools have been around for many decades - a testament to how enduring this style of dance can be.

4: POLE DANCING LESSONS IN NYC
Surprisingly, pole dancing classes in New York have become so popular in recent years that they've nearly eclipsed many traditional forms of dance. As stated by many pole dancing class retailers, NY pole dancing classes are all about building self-esteem at the same time that you're getting a great workout and building a great body. Similar dance lessons include stripping classes, strip teasing classes - all those NY dance classes that allow you to privately strut your stuff while sweating out all those carbs! Those who have taken pole dancing classes often are able to perform some rather spectacular acrobatics while on those poles - definitely worth checking these classes out.

3. DANCE FITNESS CLASSES IN NEW YORK CITY
Even more recent than pole dancing classes is the new wave of New York dance fitness classes that don't quite focus on a specific style of dance, but rather focus on maximizing the aerobic workout that dancing provides. These classes are all about whipping that but into shape, using dance as a medium for creative exercise. NY dance fitness classes are become more and more popular among young professionals, and as such, more and more instructors are incorporating them into more traditional dance or fitness classes. There's nothing like an added creative element to make you want to work a little bit harder while at the gym!

2. HIP HOP DANCE CLASSES IN NYC
The ever popular NY hip hop dance class still prevails primarily because of the number of people who want to just look good when they're getting their groove on at a New York City club. These dance lessons often feature the exact same music that's popular at the time on the radio, which means that not only are you learning a new style of dance, but you're also prepping yourself for exactly the music that you'll be hearing on a Friday or Saturday night! New York's Hip Hop Dance classes are of course influenced by the New York hip hop scene, which means that the classes you find here have their own unique attitude and character.

1. SALSA CLASSES IN NEW YORK
The longtime crowd favorite is the Latin American salsa classes in New York City. There's something about holding your dance partner closely while rapidly moving about the dance floor in an elegant yet physically challenging setting that gets New Yorker blood pumping and excited! Salsa lessons in New York typically feature a slightly older crowd (as opposed to hip hop classes which often feature those in their low 20's), as the people have matured enough to want a more serious form of dance. NY Salsa Classes have it all - the style, the exercise, the skill, and most importantly, the prospect of getting very up close and personal.
HipHop
Salsa

Sadly, it's not that easy to find the dance classes that you might be looking for. There aren't many search engines for dance classes, and those that exist do little more than this lens - they just list the school and force you to go directly to its website to find out whether they offer a dance class that meets your schedule, is near your apartment and at the same time teachers the type of dance that you're hoping to learn! Still, there are a few methods that are worth trying.

As mentioned above, there's a site called CourseHorse that looks like it will soon be the best way to find dance classes in NYC!

1. FIND DANCE CLASSES IN GOOGLE
Sadly, this is just about the best way that you can stumble across dance classes - other than the site mentioned above, of course. Googling the type of dance class you want can sometimes make it easier - don't just Google 'dance lessons ny' - instead, type something more specific, like "pole dancing classes nyc". This will weed out all the children's dance schools, for example, and other styles of dance that you're not really interested in learning, and leave you with a list of New York dance schools to check out.

2. CRAIGSLIST WORKS TOO! ... sometimes!
Craigslist can often be a good place to spot cheap dance classes - some schools are savvy enough to post their classes within Craigslist and hope for results. The danger here is that you have no idea who's posting, and it's really no easier to find great classes than any other method - the classified ads for dance classes aren't organized in any cohesive way, so you're left to the same keyword search and post by post viewing that every other method offers.

3. Ask People You Know (also known as 'Word of Mouth')
Often times, you'll be surprised by how many people can put you up on the great dance classes that they've either taken or heard of. Many dance companies that put on their own shows host dance lessons as a way to give back to the community and possibly to scout talent. These programs often include arts in education outreach programs in which they partner with local public schools to offer dance courses afterschool for students - this means that if you're looking for kids dance classes, your child's school is probably the best place to start!

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