Frequently Asked Questions

Come anyway! Everyone has to start somewhere and I promise if you stick at it for a month your brain pathways will start to connect and you will surprise yourself at how much faster you start to pick up the patterns. Our class members are very friendly and forgiving — most of them have been EXACTLY in the position you are when they first started. A can-do attitude and willingness to make mistakes and have a laugh about them goes a long way!

Yes! We have heaps of people who help out and dance as leads so come along and don't worry about not having a partner — it is honestly not a problem.

No! You are more than welcome to stay off to the side of our circle and stick together for the whole class. I would however like to mention that we are super lucky to have a lot of experienced dancers generally come to help out — and changing partners means you will actually get to experience the feeling of dancing FASTER by getting taken for a spin around the floor by these guys! It will help you grow in confidence and be a better dance partner in the long run.

No! You can choose to learn either part — no problem, regardless of your gender.

All ages! I am a big believer in involving our youth within our community so you will often find teenagers attending on a Tuesday as well — don't worry, they are very well behaved I promise!

EVERYTHING! I love music and it is such a big part of why I love dancing. I am always listening out for a new track to use in class and like to use a mix of both modern and old music to keep the classes fun and engaging.

I do film footage of the night and post it to my social media — I don't post names and if you let me know that you DON'T want to be on these reels I will make sure I leave you off them. Letting me put videos up does allow you to see how much you progress over time, and also gives other people courage to come along and give it a go! (So thank you to all those of you who put up with me doing it haha.)

I will often offer to do a video at the end of class and anyone who wants it just records it on their phone — then you have a record of the steps to practice throughout the week!

We are super lucky to run the classes out of the beautiful Moutere Hills Community Centre. We have a large floor so you can really get your dance steps moving and even recently got mirrors — extra helpful during Technique class. The address is 1539 Moutere Highway, Upper Moutere.

Payment is by cash or bank deposit. Contact me for my bank details — please just put your name as a reference. Life is pretty expensive right now so most classes I keep super affordable at $10. I specifically don't do term fees so you can take a night off if you are sick or away on some exciting tropical holiday without feeling bad about it!

Anything you feel comfortable in! I would recommend shoes that are not too slippery and not too sticky. We also have a shoe library that you are welcome to borrow from. Clothes-wise — some people like to wear dresses or skirts, some people like to wear fitness gear. I often wear black pants and a black top (exciting I know) so again, anything you feel comfortable in.

You can go super cheap and look on Temu or AliExpress, or if you are looking for better quality and fast arrival times I would highly recommend www.dance2go.co.nz — anything with a heel 2 inch and under for ladies beginner shoes is probably fine. Ladies, also make sure to add heel caps to your order if you have smaller heels — these protect the floor from being scraped. Dance2go tells you at the bottom of the shoe description which heel protector fits the shoe you're buying, which is really helpful.

Ahhh where do I start — basically it's a chance to put your new moves to good use and hit the dance floor! Competitions are very friendly and fun and there is a category called "recreational" which is designed SPECIFICALLY for beginners. It doesn't matter how little or long you have been dancing.

Competitions normally involve you choosing events (most have one or two dances) and then getting out there and dancing for 1 minute in your chosen dance style. It's truly not about the result — it's about the fun of hanging out with a great crew of people and cheering each other on. Also, by participating you really support our youth who love to dance and ensure local events keep coming back!

The first step is to become registered with NZRDI (NZ Recreational Dance body) — this gives you a registration number so you can enter competitions. Go to nzrdi.knack.com, sign up and follow the instructions to create an account. Once you have a portal, click "Add a Recreational Dancer to my account" and fill in the form. The registration fee is approximately $15/year. You're then ready to enter a competition!

Single means one person out of the partnership is being marked (or both marked separately), but there are still two people dancing together. You're being judged on your own dance ability, not as a couple.

Solo means you are dancing by yourself without a partner on the dancefloor. There will be other solo dancers on the floor, but none with a partner.

I use Spotify for my tracks. Here are some suggestions at different speeds to help you practice:

Dance	Slower / Practice	Normal Speed
Cha Cha	Havana – Camila Cabello · Say What You Want – Texas	Cantaloop – Us3 · Big Noise Cha Cha – DJ Maksy
Rumba	Parallel Line – Keith Urban · You Are My Sunshine – Music Travel Love	No Matter What – Boyzone · I'm Not The Only One – Francis Greg
Jive	Man I Need – Olivia Dean · Rhythm Inside – Calum Scott	Bad Bad Leroy Brown – Ross Mitchell · Lucky Lips – Ruth Brown
Samba	So Easy (To Fall In Love) – Olivia Dean · Hot Oil No Sweat – Brent Lewis	Party – Johny M · Sapphire – Ed Sheeran
Paso Doble	Espana Cani – Banda De Musica Ntra. Sra.	Espana Cani 2013 – DJ DLVG · Spanish Gypsy Dance – Tony Evans
Waltz	If I Were A Painting – Tanz Orchester Klaus Hallen · Dive – Rosie Whittle & DJ Maksy	Come Away With Me – Norah Jones · Take It To The Limit – Eagles
Tango	Queremos Paz – Gotan Project · Habanera – Great Tango Artists	Tangodeur – Intended Immigration · Tango Passion – Vio Friedmann
Foxtrot	More – The Dancelife Orchestra · Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Torsten Goods	Fly Me To The Moon – Johny M · Midnight Champagne Foxtrot – Johny M · Haven't Met You Yet – Michael Bublé
Quickstep	Mack The Knife – Bobby Darin · Good To Go – Lönis & Daphne Willis	Quick Party – Johny M · Cheek To Cheek – Tony Evans and His Orchestra