University of Alberta Dance Club

I feel kinda bad adding this organization just to give it a poor review. The University of Alberta Dance Club is technically just a student club, but they seem to attract many people from outside the student community, and you do not have to be a student to join. They offer lessons in ballroom dancing, and each set of lessons covers many different styles of dance, usually only spending one or two classes on any one style.
As far as pricing goes, it’s super cheap to join as an undergrad. A membership (mandatory) costs $ 15 a year and lessons are as cheap as $ 25/​term. But watch it, as soon as you graduate, they practically want to rob you! Memberships for alumni/​non-​students (for the year) are a whopping $ 65! You might think, for an entire semester, that this isn’t too bad (compared to other dance studios), but trust me, the quality of instruction you’ll get just isn’t worth it.
It’s not that the instructors are particularly bad. Most of them are students, and a couple friends of mine basically became instructors or teaching assistants after taking UADC lessons for a few years. These aren’t necessarily professionally trained dancers, but they can dance well enough to teach beginner lessons.
My major complaint has to do with the class sizes. Since it’s so cheap for undergrads to join, you can imagine that lots do! Being packed into a room with 100 other students (or some ridiculously high number, I didn’t actually count), trying to see over everyone to watch the instructor/​TAs, it’s just bloody frustrating! Not to mention that the chance of getting one-​on-​one instruction is pretty much zilch. It’s also difficult to learn any one dance style adequately without taking subsequent sets of lessons, as they don’t spend that much time on each one.
The UADC holds a few dance events throughout the year, including two upscale dinner/​dances at the Shaw Conference Centre, Top Hats and Tails, and Winter Waltz. After being to dance events from other organizations, I just don’t think these dances are worth it. If, like me, you don’t appreciate mass-​produced, kept-​warm-​for-​too-​long-​before-​serving, you-don’t-really-get-a-choice-in-what-you’re-eating meals (sorry vegetarians, vegans, celiac folks, lactose intolerant folks, and anyone who is a picky eater!), the ticket for the dance will cost you $ 20. $ 20 for a DJed dance??? If they had live music, I would say it’s worth it. The price aside, it’s very hard to get to know people at these dances… if you don’t come with a group of friends, totally forget it! Between the price, the tiled floors (no tap shoes!!), the inexperienced DJs, and the lack of effort instructors put in to making newbies feel welcome, it’s just a waste of money.
Another thing. This isn’t the club’s fault, but an inevitable fact is that a lot of people, guys especially, join the club to snag a significant other. As a girl, this means many awkward moments of being hit on or sometimes even treated inappropriately by other students. Not the club’s fault, but it does impact your experience.
In general, I just wasn’t impressed with the UADC. I think if you want something informal and fun to do it might be your thing (or if you’re a girl and want to find a boyfriend…), but if you’re actually interested in learning how to dance, good luck. I’ve seen some people do it, but in my experience, spending the extra 10 or 20 bucks to go to a real dance studio is sooo absolutely worth it.