The dance space is wonderful -- a wooden dance floor in a Ballroom Dance Studio, easy on the shins, and surrounded by mirrors, which adds flow to the dances.
Request dances are chosen by everyone dancing. Even as a newcomer, if you don't know the dance name, browse through the collection of tapes, hum the melody or demonstrate the part of the dance you remember. If you see/hear a dance you like, write down the name so you can request it. Everyone gets to play their favorite dances.
Besides direct
teaching of a new dance, Beginners normally learn by dancing behind the leader,
or in between two good dancers, or doing partner dances with someone who
already knows the dance and can prompt for a quick learn.