SSQQ At a Glance gives a quick
overview on the many facets of the studio.
History of
SSQQ
covers the events that led to the
development of Houston's largest dance studio.
SSQQ Philosophies
explains why don't we use Contracts, the advantages of Group
Lessons, and why Practice Night is so important
to our dance program.
Group Classes
covers the events that explain
how we developed our Group Class Dance program.
This section is actually something of a meditation on the nature
of the Rights of an Individual Versus the rights of the Group. It
covers in great detail the incidents that led to our policies and
the reasoning behind the policies.
Why do we insist everyone switch partners?
Why can't people watch classes?
Why are children banned from the studio?
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Group Dance Classes
Written by Rick Archer
January 2005
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SSQQ Emphasizes
Group Dance Classes
Over the past 50
years, the two most famous dance studios, Arthur Murray and Fred
Astaire, have emphasized private instruction over group dance classes.
Unlike our famous counterparts, SSQQ has made its mark with our
Group Dance Program.
Due to the large size of our studio, we are able to offer 50 different
group classes a week. I wonder if any other dance studio in America
can match this number.
Before you
get the wrong idea, please understand that we completely
respect the value of Private Dance Lessons. For that matter
our studio offers private lessons in addition to our group
lessons.
We are simply unusual in that we put our Group
Lessons ahead of Private Lessons. Over the years our
Group Classes have been so effective (and so inexpensive!!) that
when given a choice most of students prefer our Group Lessons
to our Private Lessons.
Learning to partner dance is really not that difficult,
especially if you are smart enough to stay after class to
Practice. The footwork, rhythm and patterns can
all be acquired within a group setting as long as the dancers
share basically the same ability and experience.
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A Meditation on the Rights of the Individual Versus the
Rights of the Group
Rick Archer, February 2005
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I find it highly
ironic that I of all people am writing an article that defends the rights
of the Group to frequently supercede the rights of an Individual. After
all, I have been a rebel all my life.
I dislike
unenlightened authority and I hate rules that seem to contain little
wisdom. I hate being told what to do by people who mindlessly seem to
follow rules that I don't respect.
I have paid for my rebellious attitude more than once, believe me. For
example, I am the kid who spent half his Saturday mornings at high
school Detention Halls because I refused to get a hair cut. I HATED
Detention Hall!! But did I cut my hair whenever they asked me
to? No.
Sometimes the consequences were even greater. I was thrown out of
Graduate School in 1974 because I had a bad habit of arguing with my
professors. Hmm. In retrospect maybe having a big mouth wasn't
such a good idea.
I also have a bad habit of drifting through red lights and stop signs
at 5 miles per hour in the wee hours of the morning. I only do this
whenever I don't see any headlights. Why stop if there is no threat?
Let me add that several times I have been caught red-handed and forced
to pay a ticket.
Authority has a way of dealing with people like me.
So it is a cosmic
irony that a classic non-conformer like me finds himself in a position
closely akin to that of a high school principal.
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Recently my daughter Samantha won a major city-wide writing award.
Before the ceremony, my daughter and I were invited to dinner by two of
her teachers. In addition to Sam's English teacher, I met a Ms. Teague who
is the Assistant Dean of Middle School. Samantha lives in great fear
of Ms. Teague. Any time she is out of uniform... which is a couple times a
week... Sam spends every minute in terror of Ms. Teague sneaking up behind
her and giving her a demerit. Many a trip home from school has been filled
with tales of what horrible thing Ms. Teague did to Sam or another
classmate that day.
As the dinner progressed, I was deeply amused to find that the Ogre known
as Ms. Teague was in reality a delightful woman. She was kind, warm,
outgoing, and carried a twinkle in her eye. I had a hard time connecting
this gracious lady with the visions of Dragon Woman described by my
daughter. Finally I couldn't take it any more. I asked Ms. Teague, "You
aren't really as mean as they say you are, are you?"
She grinned and said, "No, Mr. Archer. It is a well-rehearsed act.
But please don't tell anyone!"
That said, I find myself in a similar position to Ms. Teague. For my dance
studio to operate properly, I constantly find myself in the deeply awkward
position of defending rules that in reality aren't very important.
If you speed, you could kill someone. If you bring a friend along to watch
your dance class, no one is likely to be hurt.
If you drink alcohol and drive, you could kill someone. If you forget to
bring your
receipt to dance class, no one is likely to be hurt.
If you drive on the wrong side of the road, you could kill someone. If you
decide not to switch partners, no one is likely to be hurt.
If you forget to put your seat belt on, you are at the complete mercy of
the idiot who sideswipes your car. If you bring your child along
with you to class, no one is likely to be hurt.
And if you run a red light, someone could get killed including you.
But if you leave your cell phone on and it goes "ring ring ring" in the
middle of class, no one is going to get hurt.
And since SSQQ Rules are cosmically inconsequential, this is why
some of our students try to break them whenever it is convenient for them
to do so.
Here are the things they say:
- What difference
would it make?
- Who cares?
- Just this once.
What if I promise not to do it again?
- I saw someone
else doing this exact thing last week on another night!
- Rick said it
would be okay.
- Can't you make
an exception?
SSQQ Rules by the
very nature of our business are just begging to be broken by someone with
a will to do so.
First of all, the consequences of breaking our rules is very small.
For example, I openly agree it would not hurt much to let your kid sit
there and watch for one night.
Second, we are in the position of trying to please you because you are our
customer and we depend on you to help us stay in business. We wish to keep
your patronage.
So why do we insist on
sticking to our guns??
The simplest explanation is the legend of the little Dutch boy who stuck
his finger in the hole of the dike to prevent the mighty North Sea from
collapsing the entire structure with
erosion. Sticking his
finger at the source of the leak, he stopped the flow of sea water from
slowly tearing down the dike until help arrived to patch it.
Of course the first little "drip, drip" of water will not matter.
But slowly the hole will widen until it becomes a difficult problem to
stop. Soon after that, the danger becomes magnified.
In our case, it becomes a problem of "RESPECT" for our Rules.
As it stands, our Staff and our Students all respect the Rules.
Each time we make an exception, it is like poking a hole in the Dike.
- If there is a
guest standing around or sitting there doing nothing else but watch a
class, don't you suppose every student in that room will notice?
- If there is a
person who starts in the third week of class and doesn't have a clue
what is going on, don't you suppose every student in that room will
notice?
- If there is a
couple who refuses to switch, don't you suppose every student in that
room will notice?
- If there are
children in the room, don't you suppose every student in that room will
notice?
- If someone is
smoking, don't you suppose every student in that room will notice?
- If someone
talks on their cell phone, don't you suppose every student in that room
will notice?
The moment the
students who have cooperated to this point see that our Rules can be
broken by one person, first they get angry at us for not having the guts
to stick to our guns, then they decide they too will challenge the same
Rule or another Rule when the time comes.
"I believe each
individual is naturally entitled to do as he pleases with himself and the
fruit of his labor, so far as it in no wise interferes with any other
man’s rights." – Abraham Lincoln
Please try to
understand our position. If we make an Exception for YOU, then we have to make an exception
for everyone. When
we make you happy, we end up making a lot of other people unhappy.
Let's face it: Having kids run around the studio, having cell phone
conversations everywhere, having guests in every room, and having couples
who don't switch partners would definitely
"interfere with the rights
of our other customers".
The presence of people who are not part of our class structure would
quickly alter the nature of SSQQ dramatically. This is exactly what will
happen when we begin to bend the rules.
Furthermore even if we give in to you, we lose your respect too. You know
from this point on our Rules are meaningless.
Either way, we lose. The simple thing to do is to just say no.
And if you decide to punish us for sticking to our guns by leaving the
studio, then that is a risk we will have to take.
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Why SSQQ has
Different Class
Levels.
In order for the Group Classes to work, the
majority of the class has to be of similar dance experience. Here
again, we have a situation where the rights of the Group supercede the
desires of the Individual.
Back in 1986 I went on a ski trip to Colorado. On
the first day I signed up for Ski School at Copper
Mountain. As I
waited for the class to begin, I watched as a man bullied his way into my upper-level ski class. He
was an older gentleman used to getting his way. I
watched in bemusement as he brow-beat a college age instructor
into giving him permission. Why this man felt
it necessary to push his way into a class where he didn't belong was
beyond my comprehension.
I can report that he held the class up all day long. For starters, we had to wait
for him at the end of every run. The waits were sometimes ten minutes
long because he would fall on the difficult terrain and take several
minutes to get himself back up. The terrain we were on was difficult.
Once the instructor saw how much he was struggling, the instructor
basically abandoned the rest of his class to attend to the "weakest
link".
Frankly I was irritated at the guy. I resented the
constant delays this man caused with his slow skiing. He basically ruined the morning for the 10 people
in the class. And I cannot imagine what benefit he gained from forcing
himself into a level beyond his skill. He definitely paid for
his mistake. I experienced more than a small bit of satisfaction at his
expense watching his frequent falls and
mishaps. He was clearly in over his head.
Similar to Ski School, SSQQ dancers
are grouped according to their dance experience. Our 6 separate rooms allow us to teach 6
different skill levels at the same time every night. At SSQQ we let you make a reasonable
guess as to which level you belong in, then if you
feel you ended up in the wrong class, switching is
as simple as walking to another room.
If you know you aren't a beginner,
but you also aren't sure what level of a class to take, one good idea is to come early
before your first class, dance with a teacher for 20 seconds, and get an
"on-the-spot" recommendation.
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Parallel Classes
A marvelous feature of our Group Classes is having
the ability to take the same class on another night of the week. Many of
our classes have a "Parallel" section - in other words, the same class
taught on a different night.
For example, we have Swing classes 3 nights
a week, Salsa 3 nights a week, and
Western classes 3 nights a week. Our Whip
classes are offered 2 nights a week and so are some of our Ballroom
classes.
This means if you ever miss the night you
prefer, you are welcome to switch to another night
the same class is offered on. This allows
you to make up a missed class.
Many students even double up and come twice
a week to get extra practice if space permits
(which it usually does).
In some ways, the Parallel class system is TOO popular.
Occasionally we get a complaint that all of our classes should
have a "parallel". Most of our higher level classes do not have
parallel class since we simply
do not have enough rooms to offer backups for every class offered.
Starting in the Second Week
Our group classes work on a 4-week cycle. Although
it is better to start in the first week, we build enough review into our
classes that you can start class a week late or miss a class and still catch up.
For example, the first hour of the Second Week of class is spent
reviewing the First Week. Using our Parallel class system, you
can sign up in the second week and perhaps come on one other night the
same week for extra review.
Exception Policy
All Rules are made for a Reason, but we try to be understanding as
well. In addition, we consider "Ignorance of the Rules" to be a
Legitimate Excuse. Our list of Rules and Policies is so vast that
flexibility is sometimes called for.
Therefore we have an Exception Policy. If you ask for something that
bends our Rules, but doesn't threaten to put us out of business, we
might be able to say, "This is the Policy and you can find it here
on the Internet at www.ssqq.com,
but if you wish, we will make an Exception for you in this
situation."
Most people use our Exception Policy to make up missed classes
without having to pay for them a second time.
Please email ssqq in advance to ask,
dance@ssqq.com Warning - if you show up at the studio to
ask for your Exception, we will say 'no'. Please email in advance.
For further
information about Exceptions, click here:
The SSQQ
Exception Policy
Summary
The Parallel class system has been a very popular
feature of SSQQ for many years. The biggest problem with Group Classes
is falling behind due to reasons such as illness, working late, a hot
date, or fill in the blank. Having the flexibility of the Parallel
classes has made all the difference in the world towards minimizing
the problem of having to miss a particular class when a makeup is
easily available.
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No Smoking
SSQQ has been
a "No Smoking" facility ever since I took over
the lease back in 1987. We were the first dance studio in
Houston to prohibit smoking.
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Whether someone chooses to smoke is their business, but one thing
some smokers choose to ignore is how painful it is for a
non-smoker to be subjected to second-hand smoke. The fumes
are so noxious that non-smokers literally cough, get headaches and
even nausea from exposure to cigarette smoke.
It has been suggested we have a special room set aside for smokers
only. Bad idea. The air-conditioning would quickly recycle the
smoke fumes throughout the studio.
This point was made clear in 1991 when a woman tried to
sneak a smoke in the ladies bathroom. Within seconds people from all
over the studio descended on the bathroom in outrage. The
smell had spread everywhere. It became obvious that having
a smoking section at the studio would make as much sense as having
a peeing section in a public swimming pool.
That said, the studio has provided a smoking area
outside Room 5 complete with a circular table, four comfortable
chairs, and potted bushes for anyone who wishes to smoke during
Break or before Practice Night. We don't hate people who smoke; we
just can't stand the cigarette smoke. Please forgive.
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No Children
Over the years we have had many incidents
involving kids, mostly during our early years. One time we had
some small boys get caught jumping up and down on a couch like it
was a trampoline. Another time a kid spilled his drink all
over the couch.
The incident that made us finally draw the line was not really
that spectacular. It was simply the straw that broke the camel's
back.
One afternoon in 1991 a man showed up for his first dance class at
4:30 on a Sunday with his kid in tow. I said to him we did
not allow children. He said he had not been aware of our
policies and could we let his son stay for the day. He said his
son, age 12, was an excellent student and would read a book the
entire afternoon.
I took one look at his son and sensed he was correct. The young
man seemed quiet and self-contained. Finally I relented and gave
permission. As promised, the kid was an angel. He read the entire
time and gave us no problems.
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After class the man told me he would not be
able to continue to take classes since he did not have a baby
sitter. Since the boy had behaved so well, I said okay.
The following week went fine, but in the third week a woman in the
class brought her teenage daughter and the daughter's girlfriend. The mother
had not asked permission. I spoke to her and pointed to the sign
that said "No Children." The woman replied, "I assumed since
that boy was here the first two weeks that you wouldn't mind."
And what was I supposed to say to that?
These girls spent the entire afternoon talking constantly. They
were very distracting. The young man continued to read
quietly.
In class that afternoon I taught a minor acrobatic move known as a "Dip"
where the lady falls into the man's arms and hits a dramatic pose.
The girls took one look at the demonstration and started to
giggle. To them it was silly. Unfortunately their attitude
affected the adults. Several women became self-conscious and said they would
rather watch.
The mother was one of those women who decided not to give it a try.
As usual, I had to learn my lesson the hard way. If you let one
child in, you have to let the next kid in too. Where do you draw the
line? The only choice that makes any sense is to say
"No Children" and stick to your guns.
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No
Guests/No Watching
We are not totally unsympathetic to guests and to people who are curious to watch. We
also realize that many people are indeed not aware of our policy ahead of time.
However, the problem is our students just don't like to be watched.
Let me give an example. On Saturday, March 23, 2002, we had
our first-ever Pajama Party. Many people came
to the Crash Courses before the party already dressed in pajamas.
Did we look ridiculous? Of course we did. That was the whole
idea.
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Anita Williams was
teaching a West Coast Swing 'Flirting With Your Feet' workshop.
There were 10 women in the class all dressed in pajamas. One woman
was in curlers while another woman had her hair spiked in little
tuffs using rubber bands. I was taking the workshop too
wearing a huge bathrobe.
Anita made a reference that a certain movement resembled carrying
a baby in the womb. All the women seemed to get it, but I clearly
didn't and I was teased. In retaliation I decided to make a fool
of myself. I put a big pillow inside my bathrobe to resemble being
pregnant. As I hoped, I got some laughs so I left the pillow in
there as I continued to dance.
About 20 minutes into the class some man was
walking through the room with his
girlfriend en route to somewhere else.
Actually I think they were leaving early.
The man saw the ridiculous sight of 10 women
practicing sexy Whip footwork while
dancing in their pajamas. Even more ridiculous was the sight of a man
prancing around in pajamas trying to dance sexy. He laughed. He
guffawed. He pointed. And he decided to stay and watch a while. He
talked to his girlfriend while the class continued.
They decided to get comfortable so they sat down on
the couch. I could see from the frowns on the women's face that
they were clearly uncomfortable at his presence.
Finally I decided that the man wasn't going to leave gracefully of his own
accord. I intervened and asked him
to leave.
As he and his girlfriend departed, he even
had the nerve to say he
didn't remember me looking quite so heavy
as he pointed to my hidden pillow. What a charmer.
Obviously the odd situation combined with this
man's rudeness is the extreme, but the point is
that having people watch makes at least some of the students feel
self-conscious.
Our studio is not a Zoo and our students are
not there to perform or be scrutinized. They paid good money to
learn to dance within the privacy of their room. We prefer to
respect that privacy.
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Why
We Insist That Everybody Switch Partners, Part One - The Creation of
the Circle.
In order for our
Group Classes to work, we use a system where everyone switches
partners. This philosophy has proven to be controversial because some
students would not switch if given a preference. Perhaps it would help
if they understood the rationale behind the policy.
For the first several years, we tried to simply balance the class.
As long as the class was even steven, there was no concerted effort
nor compelling reason to rotate partners.
Unfortunately one night in 1983 an event occurred that was so bizarre,
it totally changed the way we taught our classes forever. That night
I arrived for my third week of a dance class
to find 16 men and only 7 women in a class
that had been perfectly balanced
in Night One.
I was perplexed. Just two weeks
earlier the class had 16 men and 16 women. What was
going on here?
Never before had I taught a partner dancing class
with such an unbalanced ratio. At first I assigned one woman to two
men, but noticed if the woman had come with one the men, the other guy
got ignored a lot. This wasn't working. The men were not sharing
evenly.
This new problem forced
me to come up with another plan. In a flash, I decided for the
first time ever to
ask everyone to form a circle, do the pattern, then
rotate partners. This change made a bad situation
much better. At least it forced the men to
share the women evenly.
Then the mathematics side of me took over. When I
was in the circle, the ratio was 17 to 7. I noticed if switched
over to dance the lady's dance part, then the ratio would improve to 16 to 8. This
meant each man would only have to stand out every other time. This was
the moment when I decided to dance the lady's part in class for the
first time. As they say, Necessity is the Mother of Invention.
Dancing as a "follow" was definitely a new experience. I had of course walked through the lady's part in
private dance lessons while learning to be a dance
teacher so I was at least familiar with the
footwork. Before I made my move, I thought
it over carefully. Finally I concluded I had little choice but to
dance the girl’s part since the
ratio was so out of kilter. I
carefully explained to the men what I was about to do and why.
As a rule men are not quite as open-minded about same-sex dancing as
women, but I must say these guys were good sports about it.
Judging from their expressions, the men were not happy about this
development, but they all agreed
drastic times
called for drastic measures.
Yes, that is correct. Dancing with me was so
distasteful that "drastic" was putting it mildly. But to their credit,
they accepted the move after some fussing.
Now the men started to rotate through me.
Dancing as a "follow"
wasn't as hard as I had expected. At least it wasn't hard at first. I
had patted myself on the back too soon.
Next in line for me was Conan the Barbarian. I had followed the
first two men pretty well. But
the third man I danced with used so much power to turn me that I had to fall to my knees to release the tension on my arm. Sir Isaac
Newton discovered gravity when an apple hit him on the head
and now
I had a similar inspiration. The moment I hit the floor I had a
strong idea why the class was no longer balanced. This dance class strongman had
obviously been hurting the women so badly they didn't dare come back.
When Conan turned me, he was actually pushing downward at the same
time! That should give you an idea how clueless he was. This guy
was obviously a body-builder. No woman could put up with that
kind of strength for long. No wonder they disappeared. The thought of
dancing with this guy again would have chased me off too if I had a
choice in the matter. But unfortunately it was my duty to try again. I
couldn't dare let him move on to any more women! Conan had
already eliminated over half of them!
We tried again. This time I used my own considerable power to push my
hand's back up. Nope. That didn't work either. The third time I
made my arms as relaxed as humanly possible and did not resist. It
still hurt to dance with him but not as much and I was able to keep my
balance. I was getting a worst-case scenario in what women have to put
up with all too frequently out on the dance floor and I didn't like it
one bit. Finally I explained to the man that his power was killing me
and showed him what he needed to do to make things better. He
literally did not know his own power.
To this guy’s credit once I
explained what he was doing wrong, he began to improve. By the evening’s end he still
needed work, but at least the women were no longer afraid to dance with him. My painful
experience made me realize it is not enough to just
show or tell someone how to lead or follow...
the teacher must dance with the students to test their understanding.
This
unusual evening marked the creation of three
different SSQQ traditions. First, from this point on we began to teach
all of classes in a circle. Second, we
established the tradition of switching partners in all classes. Third, by joining the rotation, the
teacher and the assistants were
now in position to correct mistakes on the spot.
From now on, a man making the mistakes on the
magnitude of Conan would never go uncorrected for the three weeks. We
would catch the problem quickly before it became an issue causing 10
women to quit their dance class.
Although he made my evening a difficult one, Mr. Conan did the studio
a huge favor. He changed forever the way our studio teaches dance
classes.
The quality of our teaching increased considerably from this point on.
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Why
We
Insist that
Everyone Switch
Partners, Part Two -
A
Group Class Disintegrates Before My very Eyes.
I will never forget the sweet couple that pulled me
aside one night back in 1987 to beg me not to make them switch
partners. They told me they were getting married and needed
to practice for their wedding dance. They asked so
nicely that despite my misgivings, I
agreed to make an exception for them.
I told them to dance in the corner and just wave by
anyone who tried to dance with them.
I was teaching a very large Beginning Jitterbug
class. We had 40 students signed up. That first
week, 38 people stayed in the circle and switched partners while the single couple stayed
isolated over in a corner.
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In the
second week, another couple asked permission. What was I supposed to say ?
Now two couples were out of the Circle. It got
worse - After the Break, two more couples
joined them without bothering to ask. Now there were
4 couples not switching.
I could see people
whispering to each other what was going on.
By next time the
class met for their third lesson,
the class had separated into two groups.
Half the class were the non-coupled people rotating in a circle on one side of the room
while the other half of the class were couples
who stayed at the other end preferring not
to switch. I was totally caught off guard by this
turn of events and did not have a clue how to deal with such an
obviously divisive issue. No matter what I said or did, I risked
alienating half the class so I felt helpless to correct the problem.
What a mess. The morale in my class was pathetic.
The absolute nadir occurred when
several ladies of the non-switching couples began to
insist I give special attention to
their partners. It seems their husband's leads and footwork were weak.
They did not ask politely either. They were frustrated because they
could see that their husbands were not improving like the "single" men
were. In their words, their husbands were simply "not getting it".
These women were not the only ones who were frustrated. I came very close
to losing my temper at this point. By not joining the Circle,
these couples had literally taken themselves out of the Loop and now
they expected me to give them special attention.
The lesson we learned from the Conan incident is
that "Leads" are best taught to men by a female instructor who can
spot a problem while rotating through the Circle. She is in a position
to correct it on the spot and prevent bad habits from developing.
However since the non-switchers weren't in the Circle, they were not
receiving the proper attention.
The non-switchers were
not improving at all and now the women were upset.
So was I. My class had fallen to pieces. Reluctantly I
took my female assistant out of the Circle and sent her down to
concentrate on the couples. I worked with the Singles for the rest of
the night while she helped the couples. It was a very long night.
By the fourth and final week of the Beginner class, attendance had
dwindled to about 12 people. The wedding
couple was nowhere in sight. I had a feeling they sensed that my favor
to them had been the path to ruin. The class that night was not
fun, but with so few people I was able to talk them into using the
Circle again as a group... except for one couple that insisted on
staying apart. Just shoot me. Quite frankly, no one finished that
course in a very good frame of mind.
The final humiliation came a week later. Only seven
people from the original group of 40 showed up for the Intermediate
level. Normally at least 20 and sometimes 30 people will go on
to the next level. I was furious to see that the problems
created by accommodating the people who did not wish to switch had not
only ruined my Beginner class, they had crippled my Intermediate class
as well.
I was so disgusted I vowed that from now on
even if I had to ask
people to leave the class and refund tuition, I would
rather do that than have people refuse
to switch.
Most people do not mind "sharing", but if even one couple doesn't
switch, then the selfish side of human nature is tempted to appear.
From now on I wasn't going to give anyone a choice.
This incident convinced me that for our
Group Classes to
work, switching is necessary.
Even today once in a while a couple will ask permission not to switch,
but after the teacher gently insists they switch it, this ceases to
be an issue after they rotate a couple times. They realize that by
switching partners they can learn a lot more about leading and following
different people than they could by dancing alone. They start to relax
once they
realize that dancing with different people is actually kind of fun.
The term "Social Dance" implies learning to dance with more than one
person. Dancing is literally a "social skill". Someday you are
going to have the occasion to dance with coworkers at a
business-related party, with friends at a barbeque with a C&W band,
with relatives and friends at a wedding, or with friends at a New
Year's Party. These moments may be off the future somewhere, but the
time to prepare for them is while you are taking our dance classes.
And when you get right down to it, isn't a big part of Social Dance
learning to be "social" as well? Switching Partners is not
nearly as difficult as some people imagine. Once you get used to it,
you will see our point.
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SSQQ At a Glance gives a quick
overview on the many facets of the studio.
History of
SSQQ
covers the events that led to the
development of Houston's largest dance studio.
SSQQ Philosophies
explains why don't we use Contracts, the advantages of Group
Lessons, and why Practice Night is so important
to our dance program.
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Group Classes
covers the events that explain
how we developed our Group Class Dance program.
This section is actually something of a meditation on the nature
of the Rights of an Individual Versus the rights of the Group. It
covers in great detail the incidents that led to our policies and
the reasoning behind the policies.
Why do we insist everyone switch partners?
Why can't people watch classes?
Why are children banned from the studio?
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