Are you a Good Citizen?? Our Top 5 Tips to Class Etiquette

So many topics to choose from for our first ever blog post, but as we move into the New Year, I think there’s no better topic to begin with than class etiquette.  We’re going to see many new faces and we want to make sure that everyone who hits our floor has an AWESOME experience…and how well we follow class etiquette is a big part of that experience for many people, especially those who are trying Dance Trance, or even dance for that matter, for the first time. 

As a girl that has attended as many fitness classes as she’s taught, I can tell you hours of horror stories – I mean it, pull up a chair and get comfy -- about the mishaps that can occur because of people not following the rules of etiquette.  I’m sure many of you have experienced the same:

·         Breathing through your mouth for 90 minutes because the lady lying on the mat next to you (in 105 degree heat, nonetheless) smells like she bathed in an entire bottle of Tommy Girl before hitting the hot room;

·         Feeling like a weenie because of The Grunter…you know who I mean…the guy in class that lets the whole room know how heavy his weights are, and they are SO heavier than yours, with every guttural grunt;

·         Trying to avoid being in the Dancing Queen’s space for fear of being trampled mid-routine while you’re still figuring out the steps;

·         Shooting daggers at the chatty co-eds in the corner at yoga…don’t they know you need silence to perfect your pigeon pose??

And I’m sure you could add a million other distractions to the “steal the peace”-from-your-workout list.

Any of this sound familiar?? Maybe you cringed a little because it sounds a little too familiar...

At Dance Trance, our goal is for every class to be a FUN fitness experience for ALL of our students, allowing each participant to get a great workout in a safe, friendly environment.  This calls for all students to have good etiquette in every class.  Not sure what “good etiquette” is? Here are some of the top tips to being a good citizen:

1.       Be On Time:

Or even a few minutes early.  We realize that sometimes life has you running late and we LOVE that being late didn’t keep you off the dance floor completely, but try to minimize the commotion by dropping your stuff by the front door and taking a spot on the floor in the back row, closest to the door. 

2.       Silence is Golden:

Let’s be a little clearer: CELL PHONE silence is golden.  Before every class (unless you have an extenuating circumstance and have alerted the instructor), please silence your cell phone.  Even if your ringtone IS our newest, hottest jam.

3.       Timing is Everything:

The #1 reason we ask our students to wait to enter or leave the dance floor between songs is for everyone’s safety.  The #2, and less talked about reason, is that it’s like watching Frogger in real life and takes everyone out of the moment… Best way to avoid this particular distraction: either take an unobtrusive spot in the back row or wait until the song is over to move back to where you were dancing.

4.       There are 0 Assigned Spots:

Okay, well, the instructors have assigned spots, but the rest are totally first come, first serve. The more seasoned students are asked to dance in the row directly behind the instructors, but never should there be any muscling for space.   It’s a big dance floor with plenty of room for everyone! (Came late to class and someone’s in “your” spot?  Find a new spot.  Variety is the spice of life, and you may find the new perspective gives your workout a little extra challenge…)

5.       Do Unto Others…

Be kind to your fellow students!  Give them their dance space, allow them to ask the instructors to go over moves after class/during breakdown, welcome new faces.  We all have goals and who better to encourage us along our fitness paths than those who share the dance floor with us??

To borrow a quote from my Bikram yogi friends in Richmond, don’t let anything steal your peace.  Distractions will happen, do your best stay in the moment and remember why you came to class in the first place: TO HAVE FUN dancing yourself fit.  At some point everyone has broken an etiquette rule or two, but with these tips in mind, we can all be better citizens in our DTFXBG community!

Have something to share? Feel free to post comments here…just keep it positive! :)