Dance Lessons in Columbine

For 25 years, World of Dance has taught ballroom dances including the cha-cha, waltz, salsa, and foxtrot to students whose skill levels range from recreational to competitive. The studio’s approach is simple yet effective. Students typically start with one-on-one or group lessons so they can learn techniques and basic body positions. They then apply what they’ve practiced during the studio’s regular dance parties, performing the waltz to demonstrate their graceful new moves or the tango to fulfill their latent desires to chew on roses.

Arthur Murray Dance Studios has been a leading name in social dance since 1912, when the entrepreneur began selling mail-order dance lessons. Expanding his reach, he enlisted teachers to spread his signature dance lessons on first-class steamships and skyrocketed to fame in the '30s after introducing the public to such dances as the Lambeth Walk and the Big Apple. By the 1950s, Arthur and his wife, Kathryn, were hosting their own highly popular TV show on ABC, the Arthur Murray Dance Party, which ran for 12 years. Today, Arthur Murray's team prepares students for rug cutting at special events and weekend nightclub jaunts. Clients who arrive to lessons partnerless will be paired up with certified instructors. Throughout lessons, instructors teach the foundations of two to four dances from a long list of styles that range from Latin to country-western, helping students to learn basic step patterns, timing, and the ability to lead or follow.

For the instructors at Boulder Swing Dance, their passion fuels their career. Each of them is a professional dancer, and many of them have collected awards from the Jack and Jill competition and Lindy on the Rocks. They funnel all their experience and enthusiasm into each dance lesson, always shaking to spread their passion for the art form. They start small, breaking down complex lindy hop, charleston, balboa, and swing moves into simple steps and rhythm patterns that single students and couples of all abilities can retain and perform. As their students progress, instructors incorporate more than just steps, encouraging students to break out of their shells and express their own playfulness and musicality by customizing each step. Students can also practice their new moves at bimonthly dance-practice parties, where they can boogie down and perform high-energy swivels in a judgment-free environment.

With 15 instructional DVDs and a slew of international workshops on his resume, Eric “El Cubanito” Freeman is a master of salsa dancing. But what really sets him apart is his passion. He is constantly on the go learning new techniques, whether jetting off to Cuba to master their style of salsa, taking ballet lessons to approach salsa from a different angle, or writing a thesis on why the Macarena is so popular at weddings. Throughout his busy schedule, he always manages to lead his full roster of salsa classes, which range from beginner’s steps and learning the rhythm to advanced classes which cover a new style of salsa with every new class. If clients want help with the moves of his New York, Los Angeles, Cuban Casino, or Cumbia style moves, he also leads private lessons that speed up the learning process.