Patricia’s Dance Lessons (“PDL”) is located in Spring, Texas. Patricia Rochester, the Owner and Dance Instructor at PDL, says they have students of all ages, styles, and levels of dance. They customize a student’s dance program to fit that student’s needs from social dancer to competitor. PDL helps them achieve their goals on their dancing, but Patricia’s main goal is to bring happiness to people’s lives through dancing.
Patricia believes one way that PDL is different from other studios is that she teaches couple classes, social dancing, and ballroom dancing, dances much like “Dancing with the Stars.” Most of the dance studios that we deal with teach performance dancing mostly for pre-teen and teen agers, and young adults. As far as the studios that teach the same type of dancing as PDL, most of the big franchised studios have a standard program that they apply to every student, regardless of the dancer’s ability or interest. Patricia believes that her students do not actually need to buy 10-20 lesson programs for six different dances when they are only interested in one or two for a specific event.
Being a smaller independent business, PDL can actually focus on each individual’s needs and set up a program to suit their needs. After talking with students in their first dance class, she can tell them approximately how many dance classes they need to achieve their goal and can also recommend some other dance classes they might be interested in, but, of course, the student always has the final word, makes the final decision. Or if, for example, a couple wants to make dancing their new hobby, then they will start with dances that they like the most and then slowly introduce them to other styles as they go. After that, they can decide which dances they want to focus on the most. There is also the case of the wedding couple that needs to work with them within a certain budget. Budget or not, PDL still wants them to look good and feel comfortable on their first dance as a married couple. Most likely to meet that budget, they may give them choreography that is more simple than someone that was able to take classes for several months.
Patricia always tries to make it work with them, even if they only wish to take a class or two. Besides, if they are happy, they can always come back further on.
Patricia says her proudest moment was actually her teen competitor couple earlier this year at one of the Texas Circuit competitions for Ballroom and Latin. It was their first time dancing the Paso Doble at the competitions, and they only had four weeks to learn the whole Bronze Syllabus and choreography, while practicing the other dances as well. She says it was not easy. Due to the fact that it was the end of the school year and there were extra practice sessions required for the competition, in the end they were always physically and emotionally tired. She knew the Paso was their favorite dance and from the first day, they danced it with a lot of passion and feelings. So on the competition day, they were the only couple in their heat to dance the Paso. They went to the dance floor and it was beautiful. They danced like no one was watching and it was indeed a great performance. Patricia always says, “You guys burned the floor!”.
The biggest mistake she sees dancers make during competitions are the “fake” expressions the dancers have, it’s like the expression is forced, has been choreographed and has no feelings. It should come from the inside, go with the melody of the music and tell a story. That is the beauty of this Art, and people can see it.
Patricia’s goal for this year is having one more teacher with the same views on dance as she does, so they can keep bringing good quality of instruction to the community. Also, she hopes to have social dance parties so people can see other dance styles besides the ones they already know. For example, many of her students are not interested in learning the Cha Cha because they do not like Latin music. But Cha Cha can actually be danced to many other pop/dance music styles that people are not even aware. So she wants to open their minds to it and show them the options they have out there.
Also, childrens’ group classes like Ballroom and Latin are getting very popular through Dancing With The Stars. She wants to give them a taste of how these dances can also be lots of fun.
Besides being a dance teacher, Patricia is also an Entertainer. She says if she acts too foolish, many studios out there do not consider that behavior ” very professional.” They see it as a business matter. Patricia says this makes sense, it is a business, but people go there to have a good time. As a result, she started her own studio. She is still a very professional person. However she likes to bring a fun atmosphere to her classes, people get more comfortable and know there is no judgment. People like to have fun and relax from their stressful lives.
Their youngest student is a 4 year old girl and the oldest is a 80 year old gentleman (and, yes. he can dance pretty fast!). Also, they have an active competitor who is 60 years old and a girl with special needs. Additionally, several ladies do not have a partner, so they take the classes by themselves and the instructors dance with them. PDL teaches all dances in the Country, Latin and Ballroom style from beginner to advanced/competitive levels. They also choreograph for wedding dances and variety shows.
Please post a comment if you have had any experience with Patricia’s Dance Lessons or Patricia Rochester.
If you would like more information on Patricia’s Dance Lessons or their instructions, check them out on the website at http://
