The SSQQ Philosophy
Written by Rick Archer
January 2004

SSQQ is considered a very unusual place by other people in the dance business because our approach to running a dance studio is so unique.  Some people assume SSQQ was copied from another studio or came into existence pretty much the way it is now.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  We copied no one and we have changed our style several times due to key incidents over the years.  As you will see, these experiences were critical in shaping our approach to the business of teaching social dance. 

Why SSQQ does not have Contracts.

One of the absolute worst experiences of my life involved lessons at a franchised Ballroom Dance studio here in Houston.  Back in 1975 I was persuaded to try an inexpensive Introductory Offer for Ballroom lessons at a now-defunct Houston studio located at the time on West Gray. 

Maggie, my girlfriend at the time, had noticed an ad in the paper promising 4 half-hour dance lessons for $5.  She begged me to do it with her.  I was strictly "Disco Dance" in those days; Ballroom dancing didn't interest me at all.  But a persuasive beautiful woman is difficult to resist.  Eventually I gave in.

The first half-hour lesson consisted of one move to four different dances such as Foxtrot, Tango, Waltz, and Cha Cha. 

Meanwhile Maggie got straight A's.  Not only was I disgusted with the stupid grading system, I was ready to kill Maggie for rubbing it in how the instructor had said she had danced much better than I had.  I was actually very embarrassed at being exposed as a crummy dancer.  This entire experience was humiliating.

I left in a very bad mood. The advertisement had said dancing was fun.  Not in my opinion.

As you might gather, it wasn't easy for Maggie to get me to show up for the second lesson. I resisted mightily, but finally succumbed to the two magic words, "You Promised."

The second visit was no better than the first.  This week I frowned as the instructor basically gave up on me. Instead he spent most of the half hour flirting with Maggie who was having the time of her life. 
 

TIME FOR THE SHAKEDOWN

As if this wasn't enough humiliation, they saved a little surprise for us.  Shortly before the end of my second visit my dance partner and I were asked to follow our teacher to the back.  I was told the "Dance Director" wanted to see us.

I sensed a trap, but to be honest I had a morbid curiosity just to see what this was all about.

The Dance Director said there was an important dance competition coming up.  He said he had been walking by and noticed just how well we were picking up the material.  Since we had shown unusual promise (in reality I was terrible and well aware just how bad I was), the studio wanted us to represent them!  This guy was so phony it was ridiculous.  I stared at the instructor when I heard the line about our "unusual promise", but he deliberately avoided eye contact.  I could see he was making a mental note in the future not to give anyone a C+ before the sales meeting no matter how bad they were.

I was about to say something, but Maggie took control of the interview.  She whispered, "Let me handle this."  So I backed off and said nothing. Little did I know how much I would come to regret this decision.

Maggie chose a negotiating style best described as "cute them to death".  I didn't really know Maggie all that well.  She and I had only been dating for a few weeks.  So I sat back and watched.  Maggie laughed and joked and made one excuse after another why we couldn't do it.  I did not like her style at all.  In my mind Maggie was prolonging the torture.  'We don't have enough money', 'we are kind of busy', 'we don't know much about dancing', blah blah blah.  I stared incredulously at Maggie.  Why don't you just say 'no' and let's get out of here? 

Finally after an hour I had had enough. Maggie kept giving excuses and the salesmen who had nothing else to do hung in there waiting for her to give them an opening.  I was sick in my stomach with resentment at the high pressure techniques of these con artists combined with deep disgust with Maggie's evasive negotiating style.  So I got up and said, "I am ready to go. Would you permit us to leave now?" 

The two men were stunned. They didn't even know Mr. C+ Tango could even speak! 

Staring down at the seated men, I gave them a look that said I meant business. I may have been the worst dancer in the room and I may have only been 25 years old, but I was still 6 feet tall and 200 pounds. If I was determined to go, they would have a serious time stopping me.  

Believe it or not, Maggie tried to calm me and asked me to sit back down. That was my last straw with her.  I was astonished that Maggie was contradicting me for the second time.  I snapped at her, "Sit down?  What for?  I have no intention of signing this contract. I am sick and tired of watching you let these men waste our time!  We have been here over an hour and letting you handle this has gotten us nowhere."

The room fell silent.  My hostility had a chilling effect indeed.  At this point, the two men threw in the towel. 

With obvious resentment written on their faces, they moved out of my way. 

Maggie followed me wordlessly which I might say was a departure for her.  It was very awkward moment for everyone. It was then that I realized these two men had actually had believed they had a chance at a kill.  Sorry to disappoint you, Guys.  Too bad I wasn't the spineless dork you had hoped for. 

It occurred to me that by leading them on, Maggie had actually gotten their hopes up that they were about to make a sale.  I could not understand her reasons.  Why was she teasing them?  I could not imagine for what reason Maggie had been leading them on, but I blamed her for the debacle almost as much as I blamed the salesmen.  Who knows, maybe deep down inside she wanted to sign up for those lessons.  But the pressure from the salesmen turned me cold from the start. No way.

As you might suspect, I did not return for my final two lessons. This was not only the end of my Ballroom dancing for about ten years, it also wrapped things up for Maggie and I.  Watching her tease and banter with these two men when she had no intention of signing a contract angered me.  I didn't appreciate being ignored either.  Why give one excuse after another why we couldn't sign the contract when in my mind a simple "No, thank you" would have been sufficient?  Maybe she was raised to be polite.  Not me, I am too direct by nature to understand her tactics.

As you might gather, this experience was so distasteful that I made sure that SSQQ, unlike most of the other Houston dance studios at the time, would never breathe a word about contracts.

Our attitude has always been that people like to take dance lessons and are more than willing to continue if we make the classes fun and our students are allowed to make up their own minds without manipulation.

Recently someone told me that every dance program he had ever been to in Houston operated pretty much the same way we did and asked why I made such a big deal out of 'no contracts'.  I told him that although everyone takes our style for granted these days, back when I started SSQQ, avoiding contracts was considered a radical move.  Since contracts were the accepted way to run a dance studio at the time, SSQQ was clearly going against the grain.

Fortunately our new approach was so effective that over the years my way eventually became The Way that independent dance instructors conducted their business.  Only the franchised dance studios stuck to the contract system.  Our 'no contract philosophy' may have been ahead of its time, but it seems to have worked since we are going strong after 30 years while many of our high-pressure competitors have quietly exited the scene.

Our way of doing business is now the accepted norm in the City of Houston.  Although I suppose Dance Contracts still exist in Houston, I am pretty sure they are the exception rather than the rule.

I will conclude this article with a fascinating series of emails I received in August 2007.  We were discussing Karate and Retirement when out of the blue came an amazing story.
 

Historically Dance Studios have utilized Private Lessons as the main staple of their business.  Contrary to that trend, SSQQ has made its mark emphasizing Group Lessons over Private Lessons.  Let us start by pointing out the obvious: Our Group Class Dance Program is a phenomenal success.  We average over twelve hundred students a month. There is no other dance studio in America like SSQQ.  We are truly "one of a kind".

Nevertheless we openly admit there are many compelling reasons why there are times when Private Lessons are better than Group Lessons. 

For one thing, Group Lessons move at the pace of the "average dancer". If you are a fast learner or a slow learner, either way you will be dissatisfied with the pace of the class. A private lesson moves at your pace!

Perhaps you want to prepare for special occasions like a high school reunion, Rodeo Kickoff Dance or an important event such as a Wedding Dance.  In certain situations, Private Lessons are often the best way to go. For example, it usually takes only one, maybe two privates lessons to prepare for a Wedding Dance. If you are like most Wedding couples, you put this off till the last minute. Fortunately a Private Lesson will solve your problem nicely. 

Or maybe you are in a hurry!  You just signed up for a cruise that leaves Galveston next week. Okay, in this situation Private Lessons make sense.

Private Lessons are definitely the way to go if you intend to be part of a dance exhibition or a dance competition. Style, technique, subtle leads, the secrets of following, and tricky footwork are always better taught in a Private Lesson.  Literally, if DANCE EXCELLENCE is your goal, then one-on-one training with a good coach will always be superior.   To use a simple analogy, SSQQ Group Classes are good for Elementary through College level dancing, but Masters and PhDs in dance require a gifted coach for success. Indeed, SSQQ is home to many dance champions. All of these people started with Group Lessons, then switched to Privates when it was time to prepare for Dance Contests.

That said, there are advantages to taking Group Lessons over Private Lessons as well.

First and foremost, Group Lessons are economical. 

The price advantages of Group Lessons over Private Lessons are clear. For example, here at SSQQ a man can take 8 hours of Twostep for $46 or a one-hour private lesson for $50. The private lesson may cover more material because it can move at a faster clip, but realistically there is no way the man will ever develop the kind of muscle memory he would have achieved in eight hours of a Group Lesson.

Unless you are very wealthy or you are in a big hurry, Group Lessons have a huge economic advantage over Private Lessons.  If at some point you wish to become a competitive dancer, then Private Lessons are recommended. But this step is usually not taken until you are one or two years into dancing.

Until you reach a point like this, Group Lessons using different "Levels" will do an excellent job of preparing you to become an excellent social dancer at a fraction of the cost you would invest using Private Lessons.

Second, if your object is to become a good Social Dancer, then Group Lessons are the way to go.

In a Group Lesson, you learn how to dance with normal men and women. In a private lesson you learn to dance with a professional who is a Dance God or Dance Goddess. There is a big difference! 

Let me share an embarrassing anecdote. In the early 80s, I took two private lessons a week in a dance known as the Whip.  My training in the Whip lasted for about a year. At that time, Western dancing was big.  I was simply learning the Whip as an afterthought, but never actually danced it in public. My teacher was a man who was a phenomenal dancer.

It didn't matter how fast the music was - he simply instructed me to use more power to help him rotate faster!  He taught me to use whatever force was necessary to accelerate him or decelerate him to hit the beat.

After a year of tossing a 180 pound man around, I was ready to start dancing the Whip with women in the Real World. Immediately I was surprised at how much easier it was to move a 120 pound woman than it had been my male teacher. If the music was fast, it was effortless for me to spin that woman a little faster to keep the beat.

Soon however I noticed that women were turning me down repeatedly for dances. Others came up with excuses like suddenly needing to go to the restroom.  I began to wonder what was going on. This went on for several weeks until a lady named Debbie Oswald told me to sit down. Debbie explained that all these women - herself included - felt manhandled. She said that when I had been dancing Western, I was wonderful to dance with. But ever since I began to dance the Whip, I had become a huge topic among the women in Debbie's circle of friends. She said these women confessed that they were TERRIFIED to dance with me!  Debbie said the women all agreed that my timing was excellent, my leads were excellent, my knowledge of patterns was extensive, but none of this mattered because I was too strong. It simply wasn't fun to dance with me. If I would stop forcing them to turn so fast, then maybe I could lose my bad reputation. 

I had noticed that many of the women would lose their balance when I turned them faster. My teacher was such a great athlete that he could spin faster than any woman or man in the city. Extra speed didn't bother him at all. But the women I danced with who didn't have perfect technique simply lost their balance when I used force. They would lose control and would almost fall except that I would catch them. Nevertheless the near wipe-out had to frighten them. A light bulb went on.

Learning to dance with a professional was nice, but it had backfired when it came to dancing with normal human beings. I was devastated to learn what my problem was, but thank goodness Debbie confided in me. I learned my lesson the hard way and soon adapted my leads to the women I was dancing with, not some pro from Mount Olympus.

Third, Group Lessons are a great deal of fun.  And there are no Birds and Bees when you take Private Lessons.

If you are single, there is no simpler way on earth to develop an extensive circle of friends than by taking Dance Classes.  SSQQ has quietly acquired the reputation of being one of Houston's most effective venues for finding boyfriends and husbands, girlfriends and wives.  Slow Dance and Romance go hand in hand.  Unlike computer dating services, SSQQ group classes allow people to meet and mingle the old-fashioned way. People get to start as friends and build relationships over the course of time.  Quick moves are unnecessary. Unlike Bars, you don't have any of the pressure to ask total strangers to dance or use the best pickup lines.

Here at the studio, practically anyone you ask to dance says "yes" and striking up a conversation is effortless. It is not an accident our studio has averaged 25 weddings and engagements per year over the last five years. You put a woman in a man's arms to romantic music and very powerful things begin to happen.

Why SSQQ Practice Night is so Important.

During the final class, the instructor was talking about the possibility of another level. I had not done very well in the third level. As I thought about it,  I realized I knew a lot of patterns, but could not actually put two of them back-to-back since I had no "muscle memory". 

Muscle Memory is the process of transferring information from your brain to your body. Moves that feel awkward and mechanical in class have a way of becoming fluid with repetition.  Just as a golfer must practice his swing, a dancer must practice his leads and footwork for them to become second nature. I knew I should have practiced, but I didn't. Why not?

The reason was simple: I did not practice because I lacked the confidence to ask any of the ladies taking the class to go dancing with me. I kept taking these classes so I could get better, but without practice I never actually improved. To me it felt like I would have to ask a woman out for a date in order to practice. Since one of the main reasons I was taking lessons to improve my confidence around women, I was in a quandary.

I needed to practice to gain confidence, but I didn’t practice because I had no confidence.

I was insecure about women and I was insecure about dancing. I didn't want them to see how bad a dancer I was.  Nor did I think they wanted to go dancing with a klutz.  I was so naive it never dawned on me that women like to dance so much that several of the women in my would gladly have been patient with me.  Finally in disgust at the trap I was in, I quit taking the lessons.

The absurdity was not lost on me. Drawing on this experience, a couple years later when I taught my first dance course in 1977, I made a point to take my entire class out dancing after their final class to a long-gone Disco called the "Rubiyat".  I was amazed at how much they loved this opportunity!  The entire class went and danced the night away. We all had a great time.

Having this built-in opportunity to get out and dance made all the difference in the world to my students. During the evening one lady came up to me and thanked me for organizing the event.  She said she was too afraid to come to a club by herself, but coming here with the group was not intimidating at all. Then she winked and said a man from our class had asked for her phone number!   This lady had been keeping her eye on him for several weeks, but was shocked to find out he had been doing the same thing with her. Imagine that.

I smiled. I knew I had done the right thing and I was proud of myself. I made a vow that I would do this again.

I named these after-class adventures Practice Night. It was the start of something big.  Definitely. Today SSQQ is responsible for an average of 25 marriages a year!  And it all started with Practice Night.

The Success of Practice Night Creates a Subtle Magic...

In the beginning I could have predicted the rapid improvement I saw in my students' dancing as the result of Practice Night. Obviously people who practice get better. You don't need Nostradamus for that.

What I did not anticipate was the unbelievable number of friendships that developed as a function of having these large groups of people dancing together.

Quickly Practice Night came to mean more than a simple chance to improve dance skills; it became an important opportunity to hang out with the gang.

Over the years SSQQ has been given quiet credit for countless romances and marriages too. We have been encouraged to enter the "dating business" many times, but I am convinced such an ill-conceived idea would jeopardize the "Magic".

Instead we remain a nice, safe place where people come to dance, see their friends, and have a good time.  Practice Night immediately follows every class here at studio starting at 9:15 pm. We turn down the lights, pump up the volume, and start the Dance.  With two large dance floors, great dancers and great music, the conditions are perfect for slow dance and romance.

Practice Night is free and so is the "Magic". Come and find out for yourself.

Two Left Feet

Over the years SSQQ has been a source of comfort to people with two left feet, the rhythm-impaired, men who can’t lead, and women who can't follow. We nurture wounded soles and damaged psyches. Most students do indeed make progress.

In addition we deal humanely with the occasional person who freezes up from the pressure of learning to dance. We help all students to a nearby chair when they are suddenly no longer able to walk, much less dance.