OK, yes, my girlfriend did indeed drag me down there using that old, old trick, the Dance Course as Christmas Present! Apparently I had at some point murmured something about quite fancying trying it out (she says).
So it was initially with much trepidation and brave-face-putting that we first turned up there.
And yes, I was won over. Completely. We did the Beginners Course, we returned for the Mid Level Course, and we're planning on doing the Advanced. And it's all been a blast. There are, inevitably, those moments at the beginning of each new course where the girlfriend glowers while you pretend that you do indeed remember perfectly the steps you learned in the last course, and that you're not trying surreptitiously to watch what the others are doing but are in fact just tying your shoelaces. (it doesn't help, by the way, because nearly all the men in the place are doing exactly the same as you, and nearly all the women are doing what your girlfriend is doing).
But enough of that. Let me tell you more about the place itself.
It is, I think, a quite well-established dance school, and has quite a good reputation. The decor has been done with great taste and subtlety - chic, very smart and yet utterly unpretentious. The teachers are all brilliant (with, I must say, one exception: also coincidentally by far the least camp one. Strange...); but the rest are highly professional, relaxed and very friendly. Through the summer they seem not to have fixed courses (I could be wrong on this) and we went instead (yes, it was my girlfriend's idea) to open Salsa classes: Great! You feel completely sexy! Who cares what you look like!
They also hire the place out for weddings and suchlike, and they have Balls and Dances pretty much every week. We attended one and it was a great night out - all very chic and everyone dressed to the hilt, and performances by some of the teachers that looked absolutely wonderful. And really not very expensive.
Also what you notice is that it is, I'm told, quite unnusual among most of the dance studios in Berlin in terms of its relaxed informality, and there's a preponderance of homosexual couples. Which I find makes for a very relaxed vibe. Also when the "men" and "women" split into two lines, they say instead the "leaders" and the "followers". And yes, a couple of times we got confused and ended with my girlfriend leading me around the floor. Until we realised. Ah well. Hardly anyone laughed.
All in all, I thoroughly recommend it, whether you're a more serious dancer or just want to do a couple of casual classes, or you fancy simply turning up to one of the balls: Go! read more
