The RSDS classes are the best deal when it comes to price hands down. We offer 2 hours of swing / week plus ballroom on mondays for
only $30 for non-students and $15 for students for the whole semester! What a deal. And the beginner swing class is
essentually the same as the 2 taft classes combined.
The Second Cup Swing classes are the best as far as quality. They are smaller then the RSDS classes so the students get a lot
of personal attention. These classes are $35 per class for students or members of Ecclesia and $50 for all other. If you want to take both classes at the same time, you can
get one of the classes half price. If you are a complete beginner, these are the classes that I would recommend the most.
The Melody club lessons, given by The Houston Swing Dance society, are not that great unless you are already an experienced
dancer. I would only recommend taking classes from them if you have completed either the Taft lessons or the RSDS beginner
lessons and have complete mastered all the stuff in that class. The Melody lessons do not focus on what I believe to be the essential
aspects of the dance and leave people with an ability to do the footwork and move in sync, but not much else. You don't
get good from these classes. Note: I say this not because the people teaching the classes are bad dancers, they are not!! I are saying this because there seems to be a lack of teaching structure.
A majority of the lessons that I have taken just haven't been well thought out, and one lesson differs greatly from another. Some good news is that it seems that steps are being taken to improve these lessons.
The other lessons that I have heard about are the SSQQ lessons. I have never taken any from them for they are on the expensive
side. I have heard a lot about them and will pass this on. From what I can tell, SSQQ focuses most on single-step east coast. The 6-count pattern with a
single step instead of the triple step. While this is good, but it leaves out a lot. You will still need to learn triple step and lindy. I think that SSQQ does offer these, but in
seperate classes. In RSDS and Taft, we combine everything into one or two classes. Also, the leads that I have danced with that learned from SSQQ lead by signals and do not have a good grasp of the lead/follow aspects of the dance.
So basically, if you are a beginner or even an intermediate dancer, this is what I would suggest: Take either the Taft or the RSDS classes.
A beginner will prob get more out of Taft while and intermediate dancer would definiate get more out of RSDS because of the other
classes that are offered. When you have mastered that stuff, then you can take lindy 2 (leads only. Follows can skip Lindy 2) and then move into lindy 3 at Melody as well as continuing with RSDS lessons (intermediate and advanced).
These are all my personal opinion based on the quality of classes that I have taken and the dancers that I know that have come out of various classes. I hope this helps.
Well first off, you can't become a good dancer unless you get out and dance!!! Period! Go to every dance you can go to. Don't be afraid to ask people to dance who are better at it then you are. This
is how you improve. That being said, I will tell you my opinion of various dances.
The Melody club dance is the weekly dance and is a great place to dance. The floor is pretty good and they have a backroom if you really need to work on something. Plus, they have airport (oops, I mean Wi-Fi)
if you need to take a break. Plus, this is a good place to find out about other dances going on. Just check out the table flyers.
The Second Cup Swing Dance is awesome, although I am biased since I help set up and man the door and such. But it is a great atmosphere and the floor in good. And what is better then coffee during dance breaks? Be sure to say hi to me as you come in!
RSDS holds semester dances which are usually special because we put so much work into them. The floor in the Grand Hall of great which makes the Harvest Moon Ball awesome. And both that and the Jazz Soiree have live music.
Lindy in the Dark is a fairly new dance which is very informal. It is on cement, so not the best floor but it is a fun dance.
