faq
I've never danced before! Is Rapid Rhythms beginner-friendly?
Yes! Beginners are welcomed and celebrated at Rapid Rhythms. Our Level One classes are designed for beginners with any experience level.
What kind of shoes should i wear for classes?
Best place to start is a pair of shoes with flat bottoms. A lot of swing dancers wear Keds or flat-bottomed sneakers and add shoe inserts if they want them. Please, no open toed shoes, bare feet, or just socks.
If you're a heels lover, we recommend the heel be no higher than 1.5 inches. We highly discourage wearing heels to Charleston classes due to the pulse type for that dance and how intense it can be on your knees, calves, and ankles.
What should i wear for classes?
Personal preference and style are welcome in classes! If you love dressing up to go out dancing, we love that for you! If you'd rather show up in sweat pants and a hoodie, we also love that for you!
As a general guideline, it's best if you're able to move your entire body without worrying about something falling off, riding up, or otherwise distracting you from class. If you're someone prone to more perspiration, consider bringing a change of shirts for both your comfort and your partners'.
What can i expect in classes?
Classes always start with a warm up led by the class instructors. These warm ups are focused on getting your body moving and your head in the space to dance.
After warm ups, we partner up. There are two options for the rest of class: either rotate partners and dance with everyone in the class or stick with the same partner for the entire class.
Do I need to register somewhere to attend class?
Nope!
If it's your first time dancing with us, we ask that you show up 15 minutes prior to class starting so we can get you in our system and so you can sign our waiver. Every week after that, you just need to show up and check in with our front desk.
I want to dance with different people in class, but I don't want to dance with everyone. Is that allowed?
If you opt into rotating partners, we ask that you dance with everyone in rotation. If that's not something you want to do, please stick with the same partner for the entirety of the class. We always have a social dance after our Level One class; that's a great time to dance with other people if you don't want to partake in the rotation during class!
If there are explicit concerns you have about dancing with someone in rotation, please speak to the instructors before class begins.
Are dance roles gendered?
Here at Rapid Rhythms, we believe everyone can lead and everyone can follow. There's nothing gendered about leading or following in our book. Most of our instructors can lead and follow and quite a few of our students do both roles as well!
I've done swing dancing before and i'm not sure what class i should go to. what should i do?