Dance Lessons/Dance Classes San Diego

Pattie Wells' Dancetime Center is host to some of the best dance classes and private lessons available in San Diego. If you're already a dancer, you may want to visit one of the following pages:

What dance should I learn first?

We recommend newcomers to dance start in one of these Intro/Level 1 dance courses. These classes are offered monthly.

Ballroom & Latin 1

These ballroom dance classes include the five classic Ballroom dances: Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Cha Cha and Rumba. The dance course is divided into three parts, each spanning 4-5 weeks and covering three of the five dances. This course is great for learning to dance for weddings, company parties or socially at dance venues around town including our own ballroom & latin dance parties. This is a great choice for a foundational understanding of dance in order to leapfrog into other dance genres that require a better understanding of dance fundamentals like Viennese Waltz, Bolero, Mambo, Samba, Hustle, Night Club Two Step, West Coast swing, Argentine Tango and Blues Dancing.

Visit these links to learn more about the dances: Waltz, Foxtrot, Rumba, Cha Cha, Tango

Jitterbug & Swing 1

Jitterbug is one of the easiest and most fun forms of dancing to learn! Our Jitterbug Swing Intro covers basic movements and turns that are expanded to a wide variety of patterns in subsequent courses. Jitterbug Swing is danced to big band music, rockabilly, doo-wop, neo swing, country western, blues and R&B. This a great course to prepare for West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Charleston, Balboa, Shag, Country Western Two Step, Night Club Two Step and Hustle dancing! Because swing dancing is so popular, you can usually find a place to swing dance most nights of the week in San Diego.

View our Jitterbug Swing page for more about the dance.

Salsa & Merengue 1

This dance class focuses on the basics of Salsa dancing and even includes an introduction to Merengue and/or Bachata. Salsa is one of the most popular social dances in San Diego and there are places to go dancing virtually every night of the week. This course prepares the student for continuing in Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Cha Cha, Mambo, Bolero and Samba.

Visit our Salsa Dance page for more about the dance.

Are all dances easy to learn for beginners?

Some dances are considered more challenging to start with. We recommend the courses listed above for newcomers to dance. However, if you have some dance experience or are driven to learn West Coast Swing or Argentine Tango, these courses may be for you:

Argentine Tango 1

This course series is designed for the student that wants to learn this specialized dance so that they can eventually attend a Argentine Tango Milonga (a Tango social dance event). This dance genre requires more dance fundamentals and is a more difficult dance due to the close embrace (partners use body contact in the Tango dance position) that is usually used in this dance. Techniques learned in this course prepare the student for Tango but also in many other dances since the focus is on lead and follow and there isn’t a distinct rhythm unit. This makes the dance very unique among the partner social dance genres. This course will definitely improve most of your other dance genres like American Tango, International Tango, the ballroom dances, West Coast Swing and even the Night Club dances like Hustle dancing and Night Club Two Step.

Learn more at our Argentine Tango page.

West Coast Swing 1

The West Coast Swing Intro series is divided into three parts and focuses on the basic elements that make up this "Cadillac of dances." This course requires a better understanding of dance fundamentals than the first three listed above. It is a slot dance (slot = the space between you and your partner when in a one hand hold), it used 6 and 8 count patterns generally and is danced throughout the world now. Proficiency in West Coast Swing improves most of the other dances but particularly the swing and rhythm dances like East Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Cha Cha, Hustle dance, Night Club Two Step, Balboa and Country Western Two Step.

Learn more at our West Coast Swing page.