Circus bears untrained in the art of dance are often the least popular big-top attraction, falling somewhere between the bearded lady and a slice of stale rye bread on a pedestal. Ensure an appearance in the spotlight with today's Groupon: for $49, you get two 30-minute private dance lessons and two group dance lessons at Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Hamden (a $197.33 value). Bring a partner to your lessons, or fly solo and dance with your instructor or a classmate.

Arthur Murray's panel of experienced dance teachers—many of whom also have backgrounds in music and theater—instruct students in the ways of balance and coordinated rhythmic motion. The studio offers a bounty of 24 different dance styles; stick to a stately waltz, spicy up life with a rumba, or impress your business partners at the next shareholders meeting with a few swing steps in your personal repertoire. The light-tripping tutelage starts with some one-on-one (or one-on-two) time with a personal Fred or Ginger before dancers try out new techniques with a slew of partners at group lessons. Lessons can cater to experienced dancers hoping to brush up on certain techniques, or new students with two left feet for feet and two right feet for hands. This flash-dance intro package is also perfect for betrothed pairs prepping for the big wedding dance or fledgling fitness-seekers looking for a fun new way to get shipshape.

Arthur Murray has been a leading name in franchise dance since 1912, when an entrepreneur, also coincidentally named Arthur Murray, began selling mail-order dance lessons. Over the course of the following century, the company grew and expanded internationally to become the cavorting juggernaut that it is today. The Hamden studio provides a contemporary, aesthetically sound environment for engaging in private and group dance lessons superbly suited to slicing and dicing a rug until it is no longer recognizable.