Best Ballroom Studio in Reno for Adult Dance Classes? 

Okay, let's not go there and make me say the best ballroom studio in Reno or Sparks is the one I teach out of.  I have no financial stake in the Ballroom of Reno but will tell you when I moved here to Reno I taught out of Starlite Ballroom and Never Enough Ballroom.  I wanted to rent space at Arthur Murray Reno, because I had heard nice things about the owners, but they would not rent to me because they are a franchise and won't allow independent pros to teach there. 😔 

But let me tell you why I feel and believe with my entire being that The Ballroom of Reno (TBOR) is a place you should check out.  Then I will give you a link at the bottom of the page to their YouTube channel for all the free lessons they have online for you to use to fill in the gaps between your private or group classes, deal?

Charity: The Ballroom of Reno

They are a 501(c)3 non-profit charity that is disguised as a ballroom dance studio in Reno.  Does that make them a better studio than others? No, but it does show you they are more interested in growing our dance community by reaching out and making dance affordable to everyone instead of business as usual where some places try to get as much money out of their students as possible.  

The Ballroom has all independent teachers

When I was a new instructor I started as a staff teacher and the staff teachers starting out get paid shit.  Most of the money paid for the lesson goes to the studio.  However, that money also is supposed to pay for teacher training, insurance, rent, lights, etc.  I have been in the Ballroom world for a very long time, teaching and dancing in Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Reno for well over 30 years and I have seen a lot and for some reason, students liked to talk to me about how they felt when they were at other studios.  

Over the years, I have had many dancers come to my group classes from other studios and tell me they were upset because the franchise studio or the independent studio, where they were taking lessons, would not let them switch teachers or they were told they could only move up to the next level if they bought this small $5000 dance class lesson package.  WTF? You mean you could not just take the next level of classes when you were ready, you had to buy more lessons?  Yep, that is why lots of students left those studios and came to me.  Was it because I an independent instructor or that I was pro that was competing as a Ballroom DanceSport finalist on the dance circuit?  Maybe, but I feel it was that the dancers actually think I know my stuff and they will get to progress as their abilities increase, not because they have a checkbook.

Honestly, I have fired students before and only teach people I like and are willing to grow.  My students become my friends, which by the way was a big no-no when I was a staff teacher.  There are a lot of great pros out there that get it and do exactly the same thing.  It is one of the several reasons we leave being staff at a studio. 

To be very clear I am not saying ALL or even MOST studios do crap like that but if I told you every story I heard you would never believe me.  I was in an independent studio renting space when I first moved to Reno and during one of my lessons I actually saw the owner take a student into the office, within a few minutes I heard what sounded like a hand slamming down on the desk and my student and I both heard, "It doesn't matter that you just bought lessons, if you were serious about your dancing you would buy more."  I stopped renting from that studio within that week because I did not want to be associated with them...ever! 

So, why am I telling you any of this?  Because I want to educate people that want to learn to dance.  When you are starting and walking into a studio, you are nervous enough to start with and you want to trust and believe what you are being told.  You are the client, you should always shop around and watch the teachers and other dancers and see if that is what you are looking for and have your bullshit radar on. 

The studio typically assigns a teacher to you and sometimes you will get the highest level teacher (often the owner) then they get you having fun, buy a block of lessons and then hand you over to a newer level teacher...wait what?... Yeah, when they do that it sucks.  In L.A. I saw that at several studios.  You should be able to change teachers if you want to, not because they want you to.  

Special Deals that are Worth Taking

As a new teacher in Los Angeles, I would answer the phones and tell people about our beginner packages for $39 for two private lessons and after they hung up the owner would say, "Don't worry they will call back because no one has the value we do." Sure enough, she was correct.  They always called back and stayed because the great dance instruction and prices were the best.  I love studio owners that say, " You can't underprice yourself you have to keep the price high so they think it is worth it."  I say that is a bunch of bullocks!  You should not have to go broke learning how to dance and dance should not be just for the well-off.

There are some studios that do a free 30 minute or even 60-minute private lesson and spend most of that time talking and selling instead of teaching.  I am sure some do a free lesson to get you started and it is an actual lesson and not focused on anything but teaching you, either way, it's free you might as well give it a shot, and if it's mostly a sales pitch walk your dance shoes out the door. 

So, when I started supporting TBOR (the Ballroom of Reno) I convinced them to use the same $39 intro package that we offered in the '90s!  Can you see the value of that beginner special now?  The Ballroom is so awesome they do not even charge the independent instructors' floor rent to teach the  $39 two private lesson beginner special.  So all the money for it goes to the teacher, so the professional can make a living as well.  That in my opinion says they care more about the teacher and the students than they do about how much money someone will spend.  

I am not saying all independent instructors are better than staff teachers, cuz they ain't always.  Try out, teachers! You don't marry the person that you just went on a date with that night.  You date them a bit and see who they really are.  Well, that is the same when finding a teacher.  The honeymoon phase is always wonderful in any relationship but you need to watch for any red flags.  If teachers are pushing you to do pro/am competitions and only doing routines with you instead of really teaching you to dance, I call that a red flag.  The Dancing with the Stars celebrity competitors may be able to do a routine but I bet they can't go social dancing.

Competitions are fun and great but can be pricy. When you are new it's fun and you get excited so want to do them, but my advice is to learn to dance for a year before you spend the money on dancing in the competition with your instructor.  That will make the experience so much more meaningful.   That is just my opinion but studios make a lot of money on going to competitions and that is okay.  Dancers buy more lessons, there often is a mark up on the fees to the event and some even charge a choreography fee (I think that is insane) so you think I would push people to compete, but I don't think making as much money as quickly as I can is actually good for the student.  It is a long-term relationship there is no rush, competitions will always be there.  So, I probably just pissed off a few studio owners and even students that do pro/am competitions but I feel it is important as a consumer you know what to expect at some places.  

Just to keep the record straight, I do dance in pro/am with my students and I would often take 10 students at a time and dance hundreds of dances and all levels in a weekend with them.  It was a blast, I would be exhausted, but I loved doing it and my students had fun.  I even took students that had only been dancing for a few months to dance in the newcomer division, but the difference is I did not push them or try to convince them to go.  I am very upfront about the cost of what I get paid and what the ballroom competition gets paid and I even divide the cost with all the students so it is less expensive for them the more people that go, plus the more that go the more fun it is.  Nothing should ever be hidden costs.  If you are being asked to do a competition and they won't show you the actual costs (which you can easily get from the event directly if you have them mail you the package unless it is a franchise studio exclusive event) then that is a big ass red flag.  

Wow, I am going into a rant, aren't I?  I just give a shit that people not get taken advantage of when learning to dance.  It should never feel like you are buying a used car.  😎

What was my point?

What is the best ballroom dance studio in Reno for adult dance classes?  You have to decide.  So go check them out, take a couple lessons from different teachers and find your dance home.  If you only want to take group classes first, that is actually very smart.  I have a student that told me she took group classes at the studio and would hang around to watch the teachers teach for a year and when she was ready to take private lessons she knew the teacher she wanted to learn from. ( yeah it was me 😁)

I hope you find your dance home and your favorite teacher that is right for you.  I train ballroom and west coast swing instructors and if you want to know who I trust to teach you correctly in Reno then message me.  It will depend on the type of dancing you want to do and the style you want to dance.  I won't just recommend just any teacher, I will recommend who I feel would give you the best lessons and dance the style correctly.  I rarely take a student on if they are not in my group classes because I want to know you and you should know what type of a teacher I am.  Cause I am a bit of a dork.

Take Away Points

• Shop around dance studios
• Watch the teachers teach
• Take a group or private lesson with them
• If a free lesson turns into a sales pitch for most of it...RUN
• Talk to students
• Ask if your pro performs or competes
• If you buy lessons find out what the refund policy is and get in writing
• If your first teacher hands you off to another teacher after you bought a package that is a ballroom studio trick
• If they have free beginner group classes take them! 
• If you feel at home and love your instructor, enjoy and learn to dance!

I adore all of you and want to be here for you.  If you have questions about getting started please contact me.  I recommend taking all the free group classes The Ballroom of Reno offers.  Find the teacher you enjoy and when you are ready for private lessons check out the Beginner Intro Special that the TBOR offers.  

Cheers,

J

Jeffrey has taught all over the United States but makes his home at The Ballroom of Reno School of Dance.  He can teach anywhere but The Ballroom of Reno is a non-profit that touches the community through free group classes and other outreach dance programs, the 7000 square feet of the dance floor, combined with the wonderful people and no sales pressure attitude makes it the best ballroom dance studio in Reno Nv.  Every week Jeffrey has a free beginner West Coast Swing class open to the public.  Be sure to go to The Ballroom of Reno website for the class schedule.

The dances the pros teach at The Ballroom of Reno school of dance are Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Argentine Tango, Bolero, Rumba, Cha-Cha, East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing, Samba, Salsa, Mambo, Merengue, Viennese Waltz, night Club two-step, Country two-step Salsa on two, Bachata dance, Cumbia dance, Bolero, your first Wedding Dance, and many other social partner dances, club dances so you can go ballroom dancing or club dancing in Reno and Sparks NV!

The Ballroom of Reno YouTube there are lots of lesson videos for you to help learn from.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc90uXjVRZTzOvOhDGef0sA