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| - Do you know the difference between the Shim Sham and the Mess Around? How about the Fish Tail or the Suzy Q? If you have no idea what I'm talking about but are curious, Bee's Knees Dance is a good place to start.
I've been taking lessons on and off for a couple of months and I've certainly caught the dancing bug. The school primarily teaches Lindy Hop but they also teach Charleston, Balboa and Blues aka Rock 'n Roll. I've tried a few dance styles and these classes are good to take to expand your repertoire.
I've studied under a few teachers at Bee's Knees and each have their own teaching style. You'll find that you'll have a favourite and stick with them as you progress through the levels.
As you may have read, they can accommodate small-to-large class size. A Tuesday night at 7pm may be crowded with 30 people, whereas the Monday night class at 8pm is full with 10 people. It changes on a monthly basis.
The classes definitely focus on the social aspects of dancing. If you're looking to dance with the same partner, perhaps a smaller or private class might be more suitable.
Otherwise, you don't need to bring a partner; just bring a friend who wants to dance. By rotating partners, everyone get a chance to dance with each other, but you also learn how differently people dance. It kind of mimics what happens when you attend social dances outside of class: you dance with different people and it also leaves the opportunity open for improvisation.
If you plan on taking lessons, another tip to do is to attend the social dances. There's a weekly one at Dovercourt House, and others at Alley Catz and the Reservoir Lounge. By dancing outside of the class environment, you will benefit from your practice, meet people in the scene, and you'll get to show off those Suzy Q's you would have learnt, too!
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