Class Information
Each ABD class runs for 5 consecutive weeks unless otherwise noted. Each class meets once a week at Hancock Recreation Center, 811 E 41st Street. In each 5-week session participants may elect to take either one class or all of the classes available in that session.

The fees for each 5-week session are as follows:

	ABD Member	Non-member
One Session - One Class	$20	$35
One Session - Unlimited Classes	$30	$45

* All two-hour classes require you to pay the unlimited price.

2008 Class Schedule

Don McCollum's Classes: Tuesdays and Thursdays

		Tuesday		Thursday
Dates		7:30-8:30pm	8:45-9:45pm	7:30-8:30pm	8:45-9:45pm
1	01/15-02/15	Samba 3	Trad Cuban Rumba 4	ECS 1	Polka 2
2	02/19-03/21	Intl Viennese 1	Samba 4	Trad Cuban Mambo 1	ECS 2
3	03/25-04/25	ECS 3	Intl Viennese 2	Intl Paso Doble 1	Trad Cuban Mambo 2
4	04/29-05/30	Trad Cuban Mambo 3	ECS 4	Intl Foxtrot 1	Intl Paso Doble 2
	06/03-06/06	Mid-Year Workshop Samba - Advanced (no beginners) This will be an extension of the Samba 4 that was just completed
5	06/10-07/18*	Intl Paso Doble 3	Trad Cuban Mambo 4	WCS 1	Intl Foxtrot 2
6	07/22-08/22	Intl Foxtrot 3	Intl Paso Doble 4	Trad Cuban Cha Cha 1	WCS 2
7	08/26-09/26	WCS 3	Intl Foxtrot 4	Foxtrot 1	Trad Cuban Cha Cha 2
8	09/30-10/31	Trad Cuban Cha Cha 3	WCS 4	Intl Quickstep 1	Foxtrot 2
9	11/04-12/12*	Foxtrot 3	Trad Cuban Cha Cha 4	Waltz 1	Intl Quickstep 2
	12/16-12/19*	Winter Workshop Peabody This will be to introduce a new dance that is coming next year

Richard Fowler's Classes: Thursdays and Fridays

		Thursday		Friday
Dates		7:30-8:30pm	8:45-9:45pm	7:30-8:30pm	8:45-9:45pm
1	01/17-02/15	Nightclub 3	Demand	Foxtrot 1	Mambo 2
2	02/21-03/21	Mambo 3	Bolero 1	Waltz 1	Foxtrot 2
3	03/27-04/25	Foxtrot 3	Demand	ECS 1	Waltz 2
4	05/01-05/30	Waltz 3	Demand	WCS 1	ECS 2
	06/05-06/06	Mid-Year Workshop No Class
5	06/12-07/18*	ECS 3	Demand	Tango 1	WCS 2
6	07/24-08/22	WCS 3	Viennese 1	Samba 1	Tango 2
7	08/28-09/26	Tango 3	Demand	Rumba 1	Samba 2
8	10/02-10/31	Samba 3	Demand	Cha Cha 1	Rumba 2
9	11/06-12/12*	Rumba 3	Demand	Mambo 1	Cha Cha 2
	06/05-06/06	Winter Workshop To Be Determined

*Weeks Skipped
07/01 - 07/04
11/25 - 11/28

NOTE: "Intl" is short for "International Style," rather than "Intermediate."

*Demand classes are determined by student vote. The voting is held at the beginning of the last class of each 5-week session to determine what will be taught for the subsequent five weeks.

American vs. International
American style dancing is done mostly in the United States and Canada while the International style is done all around the world (including the U.S. and Canada) and is the style that will be danced at the Olympics. American style dances were codified with ease of learning (and sales) in mind, and so tend to have patterns that are easier to mix-and-match. Most beginners find the American style easier to learn and to dance socially, since a dancer with only one figure in a dance can be functional (although a bit boring) on the floor, whereas International style dances tend to have smaller patterns which must be fit into longer sequences in order to get to a point where a sequence can be repeated.

One way to think of it is that International style patterns are syllables and American style patterns are words you use in forming dance sentences. The International style was also codified more for descriptive clarity than with ease of teaching (or sales) in mind, and so some difficult skills are included fairly early in the syllabus, while the American style builds up to these skills over time. Eventually, the two skill sets are quite similar, the two styles just take two different paths to achieve their goals.

Once you've attained a certain amount of skill in one style, it is easier to learn the other, and in some cases the differences are quite minor (especially between Smooth and Standard).

(From kungfuballroom.com)