Policies
Cancellation Policy
We appreciate at least 24-hour notice if you need to cancel a lesson, to give us the chance to offer that time to another student.
Liability & Service Agreement
We require all students to acknowledge a liability and service agreement before your first lesson with us.
Media Policy
Students are permitted to take short videos of themselves during their private lessons as a way of note-taking, if they wish to do so. Students may take videos or photographs of instructors or other students during classes or lessons only with the explicit consent of the person(s) being filmed or photographed; we do not generally make time in our group classes for a filmed summary. When we take part in socials or parties that occur in public places, we and others may wish to take photographs and share those photographs on social media.
Minor Policy
We are happy to offer lessons to anyone 12 or older. If the student is between the ages of 12 and 17, a parent or guardian must be present in the studio during the lesson. This parent or guardian may participate in the lesson, if they so choose.
Student & Instructor Expectations
Learning to partner dance is a full-body experience. Instructors offer hands-on instruction, which means they will demonstrate the proper frame and foot positions and will at times help to place students there. Even if you are taking lessons as a couple, there are times when your instructor may wish to try out a step with one or the other of you, in order to show you the proper feel of the movement or to help diagnose a problem.
Instructors will always come in contact with students with the utmost respect, and we expect our students to treat our instructors with the same.
Mastering any physical skill takes practice and repetition. Students should not expect to be experts at any particular dance after just one lesson, and will retain the most from their lessons with regular practice. We encourage you to exercise your dance skills, whether that be at regularly scheduled lessons with us, or at other ballroom events in the vibrant Pittsburgh ballroom community.
As a student on a private lesson, you will have your instructor's full attention, and we hope your instructor will have yours. However, we teach our private lessons in a shared space, which means there may be other instructors teaching other students on the same floor during your lesson block.
You can expect that you will be able to practice to music for a portion of your lesson, but there may be times when the music is in use by another instructor or couple. We will do our best to accommodate your music preferences, however we are unable to play any songs that would not be appropriate for a general audience in the studio.
If you require complete control of the environment in which you are taught, please reach out to us. We may be able to instruct you at a location of your choosing.
We will do everything in our power to provide a safe environment for instruction, and we expect students to do the same. If you fall ill, please contact us, and we will do our best to reschedule your lesson.
If you have any health or mobility concerns, please let your instructor know ahead of time so they are able to prepare a lesson that will accommodate your needs.