Who are these people?
Every traveling consultant who visits the studio has different skill sets, backgrounds and specialties, but they do have a couple things in common. They all have been teaching in Arthur Murray studios for years and have been working with students of all experience and ability levels. Arthur Murray has one of the most rigorous certification processes of any ballroom organization, which means that you will get a quality lesson customized to your goals every time you work with one of our consultants.
(Having fun at a masterclass lead by Martin Dontigny)
Personal Coaching Lesson
This is where you get the opportunity to work for your entire lesson with the traveling consultant. Your instructor will be there, too, so they can record everything you learn and dance with you to try out any new concepts. This way you will have material for the next several lessons. There is an extra fee to cover the consultant’s time, but the amount of progress you will make on this lesson and the lessons afterwards is worth the investment in your dancing.
(Consultant Patty Contenta in a personal coaching lesson)
Masterclass
A masterclass is geared toward dancers of all levels, just like many of the classes in our studio. Whether you have been a student for many years or you walked in for your first lesson a couple weeks ago, you will always leave of the class with some new insight to improve your dancing. Remember that just like the personal coaching sessions, your job is not to remember everything you hear, but to absorb and implement what you can. The rest is up to your teacher!
These classes cover a huge variety of dances, from our core ballroom styles to the more social ones. For example, Jimmy Mulligan, who visited the studio in February of 2019 was a national hustle and west coast swing champion, so that was the subject of his class. Whether you have the dance in the program or not, it’s worth attending the class because of the quality of the instruction form these fantastic teachers.
(Consultant Bob Long teaching a Foxtrot masterclass)
Frequently Asked Questions
- “Am I too new to work with a consultant?” No! Arthur Murray traveling consultants are trained to work with everyone, from new students through their students in their gold program. Many of them enjoy breaking down fundamental concepts as quickly and easily as possible.
- “What sorts of things should I work on in my lesson?” There are lots of subjects to choose from; you can work on a dance that is giving your trouble, you can work on a dance you are moving into a new level on, you can get pointers on a routine you are practicing, or you can get choreography for a whole new routine
- “How will I be able to remember everything from my lesson?” Just like on your first few lessons, it will feel like you are getting a whole lot of information all at once. Neither the coach nor your teacher will expect you to remember all of it. It’ll be on the next few lessons after the coaching that you feel the most progress.
- “My teacher is great, why do I need to work with somebody else?” Your teachers are always going to be in charge of your day-to-day dance progress, but just like expert coaching in any field, sometimes it’s necessary to have a pair of outside eyes to give you a new perspective on your dancing.
