In Ballroom Dancing, we were all beginners at one time. Learning any form of dance can be intimidating when you first start out. These tips will ease that tension for any beginner and help keep you focused on what’s important.
- Do 5 things well rather than 20 poorly – The biggest mistake a beginner can make it wanting to go too far too fast. Learn to dance each step competently. You are doing yourself, and your partners a great disservice by learning many steps if you execute them poorly.
- Always remember to drill the basics – You may have danced a week or twenty years. It doesn’t matter. You must always review the basics so you might as well get them right the first time.
- Focus on Today – Dance is a journey. Don’t worry about how far you have to go. Whether a lesson or a party, enjoy each time you get on the dance floor. Dance what you know and be content. One day you will look back and see how far you have come.
- Commit- This is a lifestyle and requires a commitment of both time and financial resources. Be consistent, whether it’s weekly, every two weeks, whatever.
- Last but not least…. Buy Some Shoes!!!- You won’t believe the difference until you actually do this, but it is SOOOOOO worth the investment. You don’t play sports in your sunday dress shoes, but we think we can dance in them simply because dance shoes look the same. They are heavy and probably stick to the floor. A good pair of dance shoes will make you a pro!!! Ok, I can’t back that up, but they will make learning to dance easier and much more comfortable. Dancing with Heart and Sole
What did you find that helped you when you first started to dance?
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And the best way to romance a woman is thru dancing!
5 Tips for Ballroom Beginners by David Carter on June 16, 2009 Learning any form of dance can be intimidating when you first start out. These tips will ease that tension and help keep you focused on what’s important. Do 5 things well rather than 20 poorly – The biggest mistake
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5 tips for ballroom dancing http://bit.ly/8GA3B
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First, some problems with the tips…
1) a beginner will not be able to do 5 things properly. In actuality, understanding that they are free to do absolutely anything they want is a very important concept. Some people never break free, and they do the same 5 moves for their whole life or they don’t do anything other than what they’ve learned as moves, and it’s sad because I feel they’ve missed a very big part of dance. No, the real tip is to not worry about the moves. At all. Just dance and enjoy it. Time and experience is the biggest factor, committing is the most important. Learning moves are supposed to be just there to get you started.
5) I hate my competition shoes. Not because I have to clean them and all that, it’s because I don’t think they work as well. Plus, social dance floors are not that clean often outside of classes. I recommend a nice pair of flats. Pick a pair of very comfy shoes, that you can easily spin in. Generally, you want smooth bottoms. Comfort is the most important aspect; when you are dancing hours at a time, your feet need to be comfy and well treated, or they will rebel.
To add my own…
6) Get out there and dance. Do not sit out on the sidelines. Yes, watching from time to time is nice and will be good, but the reality is that it’ll be far more beneficial for you to just dance. And don’t sit out the ones you do not know so well, it’s a good time to learn them. Experience in the dance world is key.
7) This is the most important. Lead and follow are the essentials to dance.
Asking.
7a) For follows, you must not lead yourself. Even if you partner is terrible, you are doing a great disservice to them by doing everything yourself. They need to learn, and if every lady is doing it right, he is going to think he is doing it right. It is necessary to keep from going wild on the dance floor. Stay relatively close to your partner, in open position dances you should never fully extend your arms. Make sure to keep tension… nobody likes dancing with a wet noodle.
7b) For leads, everything is about the partner. Dancing is not about you, forget yourself. It’s all about the partner. You need to keep her safe on the dance floor and you need to make sure she is having fun. Pay attention to her needs, she is all that matters.
8a) Follows, feel completely free to ask others to dance. Nearly everybody will oblige, and if they don’t, they’re jerks to who don’t deserve to be danced with. Yeah, it’s hard to do, but just think that every single lead had to get over that just to dance… For that matter, don’t turn people down–it’s very insensitive (unless the guy is a total creep).
8b) Leads, ask everybody. Do not be selfish. Those beginners want to dance too. Experience the variety of follows and fun people to dance with. If a follow asks you to dance, NEVER turn them down, I cannot think of a case you should ever do so. If a follow seems sad as she hasn’t gotten to dance a lot, ask her. Give them a little happiness and joy in this harsh and cruel world. If you are good and don’t ask beginners to dance, you are a snobbish sleaze.