Discover the Romance! the Sizzle! the Fun! of Dancing Together!

There is a season for everything under heaven; A time to mourn, and a time to dance. Ecl 3:1, 4b

Life's a Dance- Don't Miss a Step of It!

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Kids Ballroom Swing Latin Classes Adult Ballroom Swing Latin Classes Hawaiian Spinning Poi Classes Hip Hop Classes Belly Dance Classes FAQ's Weekly Dances - Pearce Ballroom Wedding Dance Preparation Dance Descriptions Special Events NW Area Events & Comps Local Dance Scene About the Studio - Goals & Philosophy Studio Services Meet Instructor, Lora Meet Instructor, RJ Studio News- What's Happening Event Planning Services Partner Search Dancer's Healthy Tips Page Dance Publications Dance Vendors Editorial Page		RJ Dance Studio has been an established teaching studio in the Salem area since 1984. Weekly dances have been hosted by the Studio since 1991. The Studio is currently located in the beautifully renovated Pearce Ballroom, located at 317 Court Street NE, Downtown Salem. Our teachers are professional instructors. They regularly attend dance camps and their own lessons and classes to maintain and improve their teaching skills and provide the student with the best and most current dance material. The Ballroom is a no smoking and no alcohol environment, so you have a healthy, safe environment in which to dance. The 1,200 sq ft floor is a sprung, hard wood maple floor, making for a comfortable surface on which to work.
		Meet Lora Meet RJ Studio Dances	Studio Services Our Dance Philosophy Our Goals Our Classes	Dance FAQs A Real Class Critique
		Our Goals
		To offer the very best group classes for the social dancer taught by professional instructors with current, up-to-date and continuous training. Our teachers continue to attend classes and invest in taking private lessons of their own to preserve and improve the quality of their own dancing and teaching skills. A good teacher is always looking to learn and striving to improve, just like their students. To change general public opinion and media coverage that depicts Ballroom Dancing as something done only by the "old folks" and Social Dancing as something done only in the weekend "bar scene", or once a year at the annual holiday party or fund raiser. To educate the public about the healthy physical, emotional and social benefits of dancing. And finally; To heighten the public's awareness of dance as a Sport, ranging from the Social Dance levels to the Competitive Dance levels; aka, DanceSport.
		Our Classes
		Social dancing is a large umbrella under which several sub-categories of dance are covered. We teach both American Style (more social) and International Style (more competitive) depending on your needs and interests. In Swing, we offer four different styles: Basic Swing, East Coast, West Coast and Lindy. There are several other styles of Swing, depending on where you are in the Country. Although Swing dances have distinct differences, some dancers blend two or more styles together. Under the Ballroom category, we offer the most popular dances in Foxtrot, Waltz and Tango. We also offer Quickstep and Viennese Waltz, which are not as popular socially, but are a great deal of fun to do, if your floor is large enough to accommodate them. In Latin there are also many varieties of rhythms available. ChaCha, Rumba and Mamba or Salsa are the most popular, as well as Merengue and Samba. Some Club Dances are included in the social and competitive circles. But for the most part, these dances lend themselves better to the Club setting; large crowds, small floors. In addition to the Swing dances, this category includes such dances as Night Club 2-Step, Hustle, Salsa/Mambo and Argentine Tango.
		Our Dance Philosophy is Simple
		1) Quality Dance Instruction is No Accident We want you to have fun while achieving the best possible foundation on which to build and develop your dance. That is why teaching dance is not just a hobby or a part-time, 2nd job for us. We invest in our own "continued education" by seeking ongoing, professional training from current U.S. and International coaches. This ensures that our instruction is correct and up-to-date. We have over 20 years of professional teaching experience and offer you the best dance and technical material currently being taught. 2) Generally, Dancing is Natural Body Movement Dancing isn't as much about "making" it happen as it is about "letting " it happen. We teach you the mechanics of lead, follow, framing, natural body movement and how the movement of you and your partner interact. Your feet move to the beat, your body moves to the music. 3) Dancing Should be Fun - and Make Sense Anything is more fun when you're not struggling. That's why our teaching approach makes sense. We help you understand what you are doing, why you do things a certain way and what happens when you don't.

		A Real Class Evaluation - Pros & Cons from the Students
		Below is a compilation of several student evaluations of classes they have taken either with RJ or Lora or both. The comments have been grouped in like categories listing both positive and negative comments with some miscellaneous comments at the end. After compiling these comments, it becomes evident that it is impossible to please everyone; and no matter what classes or teaching formats are offered, someone is wanting it to be different.... whatever that might be.
		The instructor(s) was patient, staying on track and had a good sense of humor. We enjoyed RJs enthusiasm and Lora's explicit descriptions. Lora is excellent on technique and both she and RJ have a real caring nature toward the students.	Less humor and more encouragement.
		Excellent instructor (s). Good instructors and facility. Enjoyed the personal attention Enthusiastic and entertaining teachers. The instructor(s) took individual time with students. Teacher(s) adapted to the student's levels.	There never seemed to be enough time for personal help beyond a single question. Need more time for each class. Would be better if the series were longer, say 8/wks instead of 4/wks. Need longer sessions and/or more of them.
		Good explanations and demonstrations. Good, clear instructions and demonstrations. Classes were at a good pace for learning. Enjoyed learning new steps without music first.	More dancing with music. Just a little less talk. Class didn't move fast enough. Instructor should always have his/her own partner instead of teaching "solo". Detailed, diagrammatic handouts with each of the moves, dance steps, counts, direction of movement and the entire routine would be helpful.
		I liked changing partners. Changing partners helped me and my partner pick up the steps better and faster.	I didn't like changing partners. I didn't like dancing with someone other than my spouse. Need more single men. Need more single women.
		Good music. Great music selection for dancing.	Play more current music. Get better music.
		Classes were a good size for learning. Enjoyed learning the basic steps to the dance(s). Really learned several basic steps along with the music. Enjoyed building on previously taught material. We kept moving. It wasn't too easy or too hard.	Need smaller classes. Classes were too small. Need less steps. Need more concentration on less steps. Would like to have learned more steps. Teach more flips and less steps.
		Good price and availability.	I've really enjoyed this; so, .... where can I get free classes?
		Miscellaneous comment: Great fun. Fun, good social contact and exercise. Good camaraderie among the instructor(s) and the class participants. Relaxed format. My partner is a good dancer and is very cute to boot!

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Pearce Ballroom • 317 Court Street Downtown Salem, Oregon Tele: 503-363-3341 (Next to Great Harvest Bread • Above Roy John's Jewelry) www.rjdance@rjdance.com • e-mail: gottadance@rjdance.com Mail: PO Box 17377, Salem OR 97305 All Rights Reserved Reproduction or Redistribution Prohibited Copyright 1999 - 2007 - RJ Dance Studio