Wife & I signed up. We're definitely beginners. Our plan worked out to about 1 or 2 private lessons a month for 6 months, along with weekly group classes which consist of maybe 10 couples. Each private/group class is 45 minutes, so not a lot of time to digest/learn what a beginner would consider intricate dance steps/moves.
When you sign-up you select the 4 dance styles you wish to learn, for example waltz, cha cha, tango, mambo etc. What that translates to is that you are taught a new dance style every 11 minutes in your private lesson! Not even close to being enough time to grasp even the basic steps for a beginner. They rush you through it and pile it on. In my case, and remember I'm a beginner with no previous experience, I typically leave feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and awkward. Not really what I was expecting, especially considering that these lessons cost about $50 each.
At the group class they pile it on even more and faster with the advantage of you feeling embarrassed in front of everyone else if you can't keep up (which I gathered is difficult even for the more experienced). Again, you leave with your head spinning from trying to digest what was being taught and frustrated that you were force fed so much in 45 minutes that you really didn't learn anything.
I don't know if this is a boiler plate curriculum from corporate, or simply this franchise's method. Either way, it doesn't work for us, and from what I observed, others either. My suggestion for Planet Ballroom Johns Creek is to slow it down, don't pile it on, and take a little more time to explain/demonstrate the moves, particularly during the group class.
My advice to those considering Planet Ballroom Johns Creek: No problem if you have some previous ballroom dance experience and are a quick learner. If you're a beginner like me, with 2 left feet, you may want to initially try personal lessons somewhere with an instructor that will take the time to teach you one dance style at a time thoroughly before moving on to the next one. read more