IDance

The first thing that got my attention about iDance was that it was in English… There are a lot of salsa lessons around Stockholm but to my knowledge they are all in Swedish unless you ask if they will do it in English on a class by class basis. Not that it’s impossible to figure out what’s going on in the context of dancing, but it does add an added layer of processing if it’s not your native language (and you’re not very good to begin with [at Salsa OR Swedish]). But the thing that sold me was absolutely Andreas’ personality and teaching style. I first took a lesson during one of the free drop-​in weeks for bachata which happens a few times during the year and really enjoyed the class. It was A) fun! B) funny! (different words Swedes ;). Andreas has an awesome teaching style that really takes the stress out of dancing and makes it easy to laugh at yourself, which is essential if you are like me and hate being bad at things. He’s also a pretty funny guy leading the class.
The other great thing about this school is how many different locations it is taught in! North Stockholm, Central Stockholm, Söder — there are classes everywhere, and at all sorts of hours!
They also seem to remember what it’s like to be a beginner. The most defeating part for me with other schools has been taking a lesson and then trying to practice in the socials with the regulars. Of course some people are helpful and most are understanding but it’s not necessarily the best situation to learn when you’re starting and for me it stopped being fun at that point. iDance has come up with the idea of holding practice sessions for the students in the beginners courses with slow tempo songs and cheap entrance. Awesome idea. Pretty clear they really want you to have the opportunity to succeed.
It’s a big group of people, so if you’re expecting individual attention that’s not really how this style of teaching works. It’s all about follow the leader and figuring things out with your classmates. I’m not in any position to judge the technical aspects of his teaching style or whether what I’m learning follows this or that style of Salsa.
Every time I go to the weekly class I smile and laugh and so does everyone else. That’s 5 stars in my book.
Recommended!