Quickstart Dance is the creation, and passion, of Paul and Jean Zimmer. They discovered Cued Ballroom Dance in 2011 and fell in love with it. Paul had tried to learn ballroom dancing the traditional way and failed miserably. Cuing, combined with the more relaxed approach and environment of Cued Ballroom, made all the difference for him.

Over the years, they’ve become increasingly active in the Cued Ballroom community, both locally and internationally. In 2018, they started the DanceDemos YouTube channel to provide demos of popular dances, as well as a vehicle for providing greater exposure for the activity.

To help promote this wonderful activity, they have created a Zazzle store and have even written three novels (set in the Cued Ballroom world, naturally!). And Paul spent much of the Pandemic learning to cue.

Like Pilgrims in the Promised Land, they can’t wait to share their knowledge and enthusiasm with others. In 2022, they decided to take a more hands-on approach and teach their own dance classes locally.

These classes, Quickstart Dance, are aimed at raw beginners and utilize everything the Zimmers have learned and all they’ve read about teaching dance. The focus is on building muscle memory and having fun, with technique details pushed to the back burner. They use metronomes and their own unique “Beat Assist” system (a method of emphasizing the beat of the music) to help students build all-important rhythm skills. And they support their students with videos providing both a review of the steps taught and cued music to practice with.

Cuing in these classes is used strictly as a teaching tool (and what a teaching tool it is!). Cued Ballroom uses cuing to guide the dancers through a specific choreography, whereas Quickstart uses cuing only to remind students where they are in a fixed sequence. But it does provide students with some exposure to cuing. It is hoped that some of these students will feel inspired to join the friendly local Cued Ballroom community.