Dancing is one of the most expressive, liberating, fun, and creative activities we could ever wish to take part in. Whether we’re out at a bar with our friends on a Friday night, taking salsa classes in a dance studio in town, or dancing at a wedding, there are so many perks associated with dancing that it would be impossible to list them all.

When it comes to dancing however, especially at a social event, some of the biggest obstacles that dancing newbies struggle to overcome, are concerns over their ability. Basically, they’re worried they’re not good enough to dance in public.

One of the best things about dance is the fact that it’s for everybody. Regardless of your ability, providing you let loose and have fun, you’re doing it. Now, you may not win a ballroom dance trophy, but so what? As long as you have fun, that’s all that matters.

With that said, if you do have social events coming up, such as weddings or parties, it’s never too late to improve. Here’s a rough look at how long it takes to learn to dance.

Getting Started

To begin with, before we can start providing a rough timeline for you to aim for, we need to cover the basics. For those new to dancing, dance classes, or dance lessons, getting started is a little more hands-on than a lot of people realise.

Here are a few tips to help you out:

Decide on a Dance Style

Before you start looking for an instructor/class to join, one of the first things you need to do is decide upon a dance style.

It’s all well and good saying you want to learn how to dance, but as there are so many styles of dance out there, unless you have a specific form of dance in mind, you won’t know where to begin.

If you’re attending a classy and elegant wedding for example, slow, romantic, and methodical styles of ballroom dancing would work well. If you’re attending an informal birthday party or celebration, more expressive and relaxed styles of dance such as hip hop, street dancing, and breakdancing would be better.

Find a Teacher/Instructor/School

Once you know what style of dance you’re looking to learn, the next step is to look for a dance school/dance classes, or a dance instructor to help get you started.

If you wish to learn the salsa for example, you could search specifically for salsa classes and/or instructors in your area. Ask for recommendations, make multiple enquiries, speak to others, read reviews, and follow your gut. Eventually, you’ll find an instructor/school/class that seems to tick all the right boxes, and you can then go from there.

Learn the Basics

After finding somebody to teach you, you will then need to learn the basics. How long this takes will depend upon a variety of factors, but regardless, before you can progress you need to get these down to a fine art. This will all be taught to you by your teacher/instructor.

You’ll learn movements and exercises designed to improve your mobility, your coordination, your flexibility, your footwork, your rhythm, and your fitness. As you develop these skills, they will get progressively more testing as time goes by, which will help you to hone your skills and become a better dancer.

Learning the basics isn’t just about learning to dance, it’s about learning what not to do. You’ll learn about common mistakes dance beginners often make, and you’ll learn how to avoid making them yourself. You’ll also be shown how to dance safely so as to avoid injury.

How Long Does It Take to Learn to Dance for Social Events

Of course, when it comes to learning how to dance, there is no one answer for how long it takes, largely because there are so many different factors and variables at play.

To begin with, the amount of tuition you have will determine roughly how long it takes to improve. If you take, say, one dance class every month, it will take you much longer to learn to dance than it would if you were taking one or two classes per week.

Another factor is the style of dance you wish to learn. A basic jazz or commercial style for example, will take around 3 months to progress past the basics. A more hands on and technical style of dance, such as ballet for example, will take much longer. Ballet can take around 6 – 12 months in fact, so as you can see, that’s quite the difference.

Regardless, if you are looking to learn to dance for a social event, we recommend regular classes, and allowing at minimum, 3 months. The most important thing, however, is to have fun.