Kansas City Fitness Centers Kansas City, MO

Kansas City dance studios tout benefits of dancing

What styles of dancing do you teach?

Witt: "We do ballroom, salsa, swing, hip-hop, belly dancing and a Latin-based fitness dance called Zumba."

Zachary: "We do ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, clogging, drill team, praise dancing, acrobatics, musical theater and cheerleading."

Shaver: "We teach all types of social dancing."

Besides learning how to dance, what are some other reasons people take lessons?

Witt: "A lot come to meet people or to boost self-esteem. Or, they have a goal to obtain, such as for a wedding. Recently one of the biggest reasons is to get into shape."

Zachary: "They do it for exercise, for self-discipline, self-esteem and social reasons."

Shaver: "First of all, it's a social event. It's for people that want to get out and meet others. Sometimes people come for exercise that's recommended by a doctor."

How do you charge for dance lessons and what's the cost?

Witt: "We have different programs with different rates. We have classes you can drop in on for $5 or $10 per class. We also do session classes, which range from $45 for a five-week session to $75 for a nine-week session."

Zachary: "We charge by the month. We probably have the best prices in town. One class a week is $25 per month and two classes per week are $29 per month and so on. You can see a list of all of our prices on our website."

Shaver: "We charge by package and the cost depends on the package. We have an introductory course that's advertised for $75 to $79 depending on the location. That consists of four private lessons, a couple of group lessons and a couple of parties."

Have shows like "Dancing with the Stars" helped your business?

Witt: "Very much so. As a male instructor, I think shows like that have taken away some of the stigma that it's taboo for guys to dance. It makes it OK for guys who want to dance and who haven't had a male dancing icon since Fred [Astaire]."

Zachary: "Every time there's a movie that comes out with dancing, our phone rings off the wall. And because 'Dancing with the Stars' is heavy into lyrical dance, people understand that type of dancing now."

Shaver: "I know it has, although I don't know how much. We did some advertising with them last year. This year we did advertising on 'Good Morning America' just after the show, but it definitely has helped."

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