How long do people usually stay in the different stages of dancing classes?

Question

I currently go to this dance studio which has dancing classes grouped like this for Latin:
Beginners 1 (8 weeks, 1 hour per week)
Beginners 2 (8 weeks, 1 hour per week)
Intermediate (8 weeks, 1 hour per week)
Advanced (5 months, 1 hour per week)
This is for non-repeated content. I have noticed many people go to two different levels at the same time, and some stay in one level for much longer than the "program".

My question is, how long do people usually stay in the different stages before they move onto the next?

Snowflake: My goal is to be able to dance Paso Doble (which is only taught in the Advanced class) and also to be able to compete if somehow I can get a partner. I go to 1~2 hours of class per week, and practice roughly 1 hour per week. I know it's not much, but I have a busy life with other things. In the dance studio I go to, they teach Samba, Rumba, Cha cha and Jive for Latin. I'm in the Intermediate class now and am learning things such as Spinning in and Out, Alabama, Check, Ronde and many other moves I don't know the name of.

Answer 1

Depends on what your goals are, also depends on how much time you put in it. Also depends on the particular program - there are no standards. "Beginner" or "Advanced" can mean very different things for different schools. What are those in your case? What do they teach in each class, how Beginner1 is different from Beginner2, and what makes Advanced advanced?

Let's assume we're talking about ISTD syllabus when indicating levels. There are 4 levels: Pre-Bronse, Bronse, Silver and Gold. There are steps and certain technical details associated with each level. Pre-Bronse and Bronse are often not separated and referred to as Bronse.
Competitive dancers tend to not learn the entire syllabus cause they don't need too many steps, they rather spend more time on a few steps of their choise to develop proper technique and move on to the next level. Technique is the foundation for future progress. They chose classes to attend based on that goal. It may be attending 2 levels at the same time, it may be attending only selected sessions. Whatever steps they didn't learn - they pick them up later very easily.
Social dancers find it interesting to learn more steps. They take the whole series, sometimes they take it twice if they forgot something.
The rule of thumb is - if you feel you're bored in your current level - time to move up, you're wasting your time. If you move up and discover yourself out of place, at the very bottom of the class, dragging the whole class down - maybe it's better to go back to your old class.

The tendency for dedicated competitive dancers in my area is to get to a decent Pre-Champ in 4-5 years. (Amateur not Pro/Am). Pre-champ is 2 levels above Gold, and we got 3 levels of syllabus. So it gives you on average 1 year per competitive level. Usually it is not as even - Bronse might take you over a year, silver + gold taking 1 year all together. Novice (next level up from Gold, Open choreography allowed) is a bit of a hurdle for many, so Novice tends to take 2 years. After that, competition gets much steeper, and then it all depends on your talent and your resources.

If you are able to take Advanced in your first year of dancing - you might need a stronger studio or a private instructor.

Answer 2

Many professional dancers take extra classes, but also take the "basic" classes to perfect their dancing. It will also depend on your partner. Plus, some people are "afraid" of the other classes and feel more comfortable with what they know.

Answer 3

it all depends on the age of the dancer, how fast they catch on, how good the teacher is, what type of dance it is. also sometimes you can do two different levels if you are bored with one level but still need it. the extra training is good for you to.

Answer 4

20 weeks