Lately, though, there have been some vendors who charge for the lesson before a dance. Some of those teachers want to be able to offer more "serious" classes to people who already know how to dance and perhaps they aren't able to offer a regular class over several weeks or they want to offer a specialty workshop to focus some high level instruction on one specific topic.
At the same time, there are also dancers who are indignant about having to pay the same price as the people who go in early for the "free" beginner lesson, something that they feel they don't need again. To accomodate these people, some dance organizers will charge a fee for the lesson, even though it's just a short beginner lesson that newbies probably won't retain. People need regular lessons in order to get any good at it (my friend Teri Calderone being the exception that I know of), but some more advanced dancers don't want to "subsidize" the free lesson for beginners.
On the other hand, some dance promoters probably don't want to bother with the beginner lesson unless there's some monetary incentive. If someone wants a lesson, there's something in it for them; if not, then they get a free night off.
From now on, when I see a "lesson" before a dance and I'll see that there's a charge, I'll create a link to this page., Make sure you know if you're paying for a beginner lesson or a more advanced "workshop" intended for non-beginners.
Updated January 20, 2009