Private Dance Lessons in Seattle

Taught by Linda Townsend West Have it totally your way -- that's the advantage of private lessons. Your schedule, your amount of time, your choice of music, dances, focus and details -- from a single "basic survival" lesson to deep exploration and inquiry into a favorite dance. You can begin to dance, brush up your dancing, prepare for an event -- or get the special attention you want to work through a "sticking point" and become a better dancer. Linda has been dancing all her life and she's a certificated teacher and teaching artist. She's adept at discerning your learning style and will teach you in the way that you learn best. She's high-spirited and light-hearted, she approaches dance that way and can help you do the same. Kids and grown ups from 9 to 99 have had a great time learning to dance with her and you can, too. Just bring your expectation to have fun learning easily and well, and a pair of smooth soled shoes (or your socks). * If you're a beginning dancer, you'll receive as much basic information as you need to feel comfortable on the dance floor -- from what to expect when you walk in the door of a class or dance to what shoes work best, from how to deal with the music to how to deal with a partner -- as well as the rhythm, the steps and how to dance smoothly. * If you're a "us-ta" dancer (one who "used to" dance) and want to brush up or start over, we'll begin with what you remember (no matter how much or how little) and move on from there. Linda will help you reconstruct what you used to do to the music you know and used to dance to, or strike out in new directions -- your choice. * If you are preparing for an event like a special trip or party, or a wedding, we'll focus together on your priorities -- from learning a few simple, elegant moves for the bride and groom's first dance, to practicing the basics of several dances for a whole evening of dancing. * If you are working on a particular "sticking point", Linda will help you figure out what's not working and why, make the necessary adjustments so everything goes smoothly and comfortably, and then practice your new way of dancing to embed it in muscle memory so it begins to feel natural and right for you. * If you're an experienced dancer who approaches dancing with a "beginner's mind" and want to explore or re-explore some particular facet of your dancing, Linda can help you transform your dancing. Her broad and deep training and experience in all things dance -- from ballet, modern and jazz, to myriad styles of partner dancing, to musicality, refined and egalitarian partnering, body isolations and movement around multiple body centers, and experimentation and improvisation -- can help take you in any direction you want to go. * Whatever your reason for wanting or needing to learn about dancing in a setting that doesn't fit the usual class structure, Linda can help you get exactly what you need and want. And she'll be happy to discuss your needs before you schedule a lesson.