Dance coach/partner?

Question

I really want to start competing in latin and ballroom dance competitions. People have told me I have potential. I am an amateur (5'5, 128lbs) and am in need of finding a good coach and partner. I'm not totally sure about how to go about this or where to start looking. Any Ideas?

I live in Anchorage, Alaska but am willing to relocate.

The studios in Alaska aren't serious studios. I know I'd have to relocate.

Thanks! :)

Answer 1

Unfortunatelly, I don't know of any dance studios in Alaska. I know that the best places to dance are New York and San Francisco Bay Area and Utah. But in general if you are a beginner - the best place to look for a dance partner is your group dance class. You can find someone who's compatible and has the same goals as you do.

You might want to contact USA Dance with this question. http://usabda.org/home/our_chapters/find_a_chapter/index.cfm They are very good resource. (Unfortunatelly, there is no Alaska chapter, I just looked, but you still can ask them. I know NorCal chapter is friendly, you can ask them :-))

Also, look for dance studios near you listed by ZIP code: http://www.ballroomdancers.com/Directory/ Find a private studio and clearly state your goals to the teacher. I see two studios listed there, I'd go to Academie de Danse Anchorage first, and not to the Fred Astire studio because usually Fred Astire is not competition-oriented, and their marketing scheme is more that annoying. Ideally, you need a coach who is currently competing or had been competing in the not-so-distant past. Somebody who had never competed before as a professional of had competed 50 years ago won't teach you competitive technique.

You can do partner search on http://www.dancepartner.com/ and http://www.ballroomdancers.com/ and also create your own profile but I usually recommend those websites to people with at least a little bit of dancing experience - they need to know what are they looking for, and also how to tell if the guy wants to dance, or he's just looking for a hookup.

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Well, if you think you will be relocating I'd say start with visits. I don't know how are you going to support yourself financially, but if you need a job I'd say start looking for a job and also start visiting places like New York, New Jersey, San Francisco, Salt Lake City. Latin is stronger on the East Coast. Watch some competitions and find out where the competitors are from. If you see a lot of couples in the Championhsip final from the same area - do a little research, is there a good studio? Who do they take lessons with? Or, if you are watching professional championships, just find out where the finalist are from and what are their rankings. Once you are in the right area, it is not hard to schedule a lesson with a coach that you like to learn from. The only exception is those who are involved with Dancing with the Stars and such - they became difficult to schedule with because they travel to LA all the time. Once you've decided what instructor do you want to try to take lessons with, you can send them an e-mail through http://www.ndca.org/

Answer 2

When I want to look for anything I search it on Google...they have everything! I would just type in where you are and put coach or trainer in your area.....it should work. Good luck!