WuBDA

Wageningen Ballroom Dance Association

FAQ

FAQ

First Time Dancers

No you don't. We have a beginners class where you learn the basics of all our dances. Each academic period we start with a new dance, so you can join the classes each period. Yes each period you can start. See this page for our trial classes, or mail to board@wubda.nl
Yes of course. The first 2 lessons of academic period 1 are trial lessons. The other academic periods have the first lesson as a trial lesson.
No, you do not need dance shoes to join our classes. Most beginners dance on socks. After a while, you might want to invest in a pair of dance shoes as many people find it better to dance on them, but you don’t have to. Dance shoes are only necessary if you want to join an NTDS or ETDS
There’s no particular dress code. However, we recommend wearing something light and breezy as dancing can get quite intense.
It is not necessary to join with a partner. You can usually find someone to dance with and if there is a shortage of followers or leaders, there’s often an experienced member who likes to help out when needed. It is very rare that you cannot find a partner. Although it is common that some switching between leader and follower roles is necessary.
WuBDA offers Latin and Ballroom classes. Here you have the entire list with some example movies:
Ballroom: Slow Waltz, Tango, Quick step, Vienna Waltz, Slow foxtrot.
Latin: Cha Cha, Rumba, Jive, Samba, Paso Doble
You can click on each dance to see a little video featuring the dance. The beginners will start with the Slow Waltz, Tango, Quick step, Cha cha cha, Rumba and Jive. The other dances are teached at higher levels.

Membership & Courses

No, you need to be a member to join WuBDA dance courses. You always need a membership (only 25 euros a year) whether you join 1 course or 5 courses. Don't forget membership also allows you to join all dance parties, drinks, dinners and social activities that year. Check here to see what we have planned.
Membership: 25 euros/year.
Courses: 15 euros/course.
We have divided the academic year into 5 periods of 8 weeks each. So dancing an entire year costs 95 euros/year, but the package deal can offer you a discount. For more information go here.
You don't need to pay anything for the trial lessons. But when you decide to become a member and join a course you need to pay within 2 weeks.
No, you can transfer the money to the WuBDA bank account. Please transfer the money to NL16 INGB 0007 3572 79. Please mention your name, what your are paying for, and for which period (e.g. Name, Beginners p1).
No, we don’t do refunds. The course fee is very low compared to normal dance schools, and it is a lot of administrative work, so we don’t do refunds when you miss a class.
The package deal is a combination of membership and 5 courses. We divided the academic year into 5 courses. So by taking the package deal you subscribe for an entire year of dance classes. Why would you take the package deal?
  • Money. If you subscribe for a membership (25 euros/year) and the 5 courses separately (15 euros/course) it would bring you to a total of 100 euros. The package deal is 90 euros/year.
  • You don't need to sign-up for courses before each period because you signed-up for an entire year.
Yes, all PhD students can become a WuBDA member.
Unfortunately, no. Teachers of the WUR are not allowed to join student sports associations.
Yes. WuBDA is a student sport association which means we are connected to Thymos, the sports organisation for student sport associations in Wageningen. Sports rights are mandatory and this rule holds for every student sports association.
If you are not eligible for a membership but still want to be part or WuBDA you can become a benefactor. Benefactors can:
    • Join all our events (like drinks, dinners, social activities and dance parties).
You can join the WuBDA NTDS/ETDS team. You are basically a member, but you can't join any courses nor the training hour. But everyone can become a benefactor. You don't have to be a student. Becoming benefactor is perfect for everyone who wants to keep in touch with WuBDA after finishing their studies or if one of your friends would like to join the activities but doesn't want to dance with us.
Yes, once you subscribed for membership (or take the package deal) you stay a member until you unsubscribe. If you haven't unsubscribed before the end of Augustus then you stay a member for another academic year and pay the contribution for that year.
Your contribution is from the moment you paid until the upcoming August 31. So If you joint in December, your contribution only counts towards the 31st of August, not until December again. So everyone needs to pay contribution again in September. If you decide to join in period 4, 5 or 6 you only need to pay half the contribution (12.50 euros).

Dance Classes

You can always join a beginners course.
Intermediate is for people with at least 1 year of dancing experience.
Advanced is for people with approximately 2 years of dancing experience.
Expert is for people with 3 or more years of dancing experience.
For more information take a look at the levels page.
For the times and locations of our classes, take a look at the schedule on the Course page.
Each course we teach 1 Ballroom and 1 Latin dance. The different levels are taught the same dances, but of course at a higher level your taught more advanced figures and technique.
Period 1: Cha Cha and Quick step (academic period 1)
Period 2: Jive and Tango (academic period 2)
Period 3: Rumba and Slow Waltz (academic period 3&4)
Period 4: Samba and Vienna Waltz (academic period 5)
Period 5: the beginners repeat what they learned in the previous periods. Intermediate and advance learn: Paso dobble and Slow foxtrot. (academic period 6)
We organize biweekly free dancing hours where you can practice your skills. Take a look at the Free Dancing FAQ. Also social dances are organised sometimes where you can have a drink and dance. Social dances will appear in the events calendar!

Free Dancing

Classes (of a course): A teacher is present and teaches you how to dance. Free dancing: dance music is playing, but no teacher is actively teaching (but they will probably help you if they're present).
Every other week Tuesdays at 21:30 after the beginners class in sports hall De Vlinder Hall 2.
All members and benefactors can join freedancing for free.
Yes, you can, we would love to see integration between the levels. Just ask for someone in our WhatsApp group or on the dance floor. Dancing with different people can break habits and they can point you on mistakes you normally would mis.
If you are a member or benefactor of WuBDA, there are no additional cost. If you are not then there is a fee of 3 euros.
Yes, sometimes we organize workshops during this hour. Take a look at the event page to see if we have planned any workshops.

Relevant for Members

After you subscribe as a member and pay the membership fee, you get added in the WuBDA members WhatsApp. There, you can find the password to access the hidden content in the subscription of the group. Hidden content is only accessible for members and benefactors.
The NTDS and ETDS have different category's so everyone can join.  
First of all, you get a news letter once a month with all the important updates of that month. Furthermore there is a WhatsApp group 'WuBDA members' with all members. Especially activities and urgent information about lessons is shared there. You can choose to also join the Whatsapp group 'lekker swingen' for informal discussions and for announcements about dance parties of sister associations. Finally going to the GMM is a good way to be informed of developments in the association and to give your opinion. The minutes are mailed after each GMM and you can always request past minutes by emailing the board. (If you are a member and haven't received the news mail you should first check your spam box. If you can't find the mail there or are not in the 'WuBDA members' WhatsApp group, you should contact the board. )
Yes of course you can! For more information about the committees, you should go to the committee page. Here you can find what a committee does, who is in it and the contact information of each committee. If you are interested, you can either contact the committee or the board. Then they will see if there is space for a new committee member (often there is ;). You are welcome to mail/WhatsApp them or to ask them about the committee during classes and activities.
Yes, we have a Facebook page and an Instagram profile. We post content like pictures taken during classes and events, videos of shows, event dates and more.  

Committees

The Committee Page gives extensive information on each committee and features a video in which a committee member presents their committee. But in short:
Activity Committee: organize a things like drinks, dinners and small activities each period.
Event Committee: organize a few (bigger) events each year.
Gala Committee: organize the annual WuBDA gala.
Showcie: organize workshops, dance projects and shows.
xTDS: ensures WuBDA is represented well at the NTDS and ETDS.
VakanCie: organizes trips outside Wageningen and is working on the first WuBDA vacation.
Lustrum Committee: is hard at work to organize our first ever Lustrum.
On the event page.
Most are free, but some are paid, usually less than 5 euros. Bigger events (gala’s, fancy dinners, etc.) might cost more money.
Yes, of course, we love it when people are actively involved in WuBDA. You can either approach the committee members in person during activities or during classes. But you can also send an email. Go to the Committee Page to find who is in which committee and what the committee email address is.
As of 20 July 2022, the committees seeking members are: - The Showcie -The GalaCie -The AC -The xTDS always seeks a member who wants to take over next.