So do you want to try ballroom dancing? You are about to enter a world of class, tradition and lots of fun. The good news is that it's easier than you would think. The bad news is that you'll still have to work on it. Ballroom dancing is a somewhat artificial category, which includes many styles derived from different parts of the world and from different eras. The thing in common is the expectation that dancing is a 'polite' activity and that the dancer-ballroom relationship is somewhat formal (ballroom dancing is never like "Dirty Dancing" - even the most sensual ones. like the Tango they are stylized. The sensuality of the dance exists but it is an allusion and not a hot and sweaty contact between two that huddle).
Steps
Step 1. Learn that unlike most couple dances, ballroom dances include multiple styles
You don't have to learn them all but just someone to serve you as a basis to get started. Complicated dances like bolero and paso doble can be learned later, but if you want to go out dancing and not hang on to a chair the whole night, you will need to know rumba, cha-cha, tango, waltz and fox trot.
Step 2. Decide why you want to dance
Is it a social activity or a competition? Do you want to go out every weekend or do you need to make a good impression at a wedding? A specific type of event may involve learning only a few styles, but you may like them enough to delve into. You'll be better prepared for a night of dancing if you learn the basic steps for a few dances (you'll mesh the moves on the court, as you practice as the basics become more familiar).
Step 3. Find yourself a teacher and a school on the list or by doing a quick Google search, for example by typing "dance schools in [your city name]"
Contact one or more schools and discuss your goals as a dancer. You will have to find the right school: some for example specialize in competitions, others focus on teaching beginners to give them experience (and courage!) To be able to face the hall at the next wedding reception they will attend. If you live near a college campus check out the clubs and student activities. Many have ballroom dance teams that compete in intra-university competitions (both beginner and professional level) and many are also open to non-student members.
Step 4. Look at the prices
You will need to be sure that the school and the teacher are worth the price they ask. Group lessons are usually less expensive than private lessons, while specialized and customized racing lessons can cost hundreds of euros more. Here's how to tell if the lessons are worth it or not.
- Make sure you know what you really want and that your needs are met by the instructor's experience and methods,
- Talk to other students to hear how long they've been to that dance school (typically those who gain experience don't stay long if the classes are expensive) and
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Attend one or more lessons. Many dance studios offer free or low-cost classes to allow attendees to find the right combination of their desires and what the school offers.
Ballroom Dance Step 5 Step 5. Attend classes
It may seem obvious, but people often skip them. No matter how good the teacher or school is: every time you miss a class, you won't benefit from it. If a particular time conflicts with your day, find another one that you can attend without any problems.
Ballroom Dance Step 6 Step 6. Listen to hall music
Ask your instructor for a list of songs that have the rhythm you work on. Buy them and listen to them. You can also find collections specially chosen for a specific dance.
Ballroom Dance Step 7 Step 7. Pick up the beat and beat the beat while listening to the music
Many novice dancers benefit from clapping in time to the music. Also, as you listen, visualize the dancers moving to the beat. Try to feel the style as well as its rhythm.
Ballroom Dance Step 8 Step 8. Exercise
Most schools have practice sessions outside of class. Throw yourself. Don't be afraid to ask for help from those with more experience.
Ballroom Dance Step 9 Step 9. Dance
You're here to learn how to dance, so dance. Even after the first lesson you can "dance" in your mind while listening to music and try a few steps in a hidden corner. If you learn two moves in each lesson, by the third you will know six. That's enough to go dancing and look like someone who knows her stuff on the dance floor.
Advice
- In ballroom dancing, posture is very important. As much as you judge style in competitions more than anything else, posture is certainly no less important, even if you dance for fun. Good posture is not just a matter of appearance but affects how well a couple moves together.
- When facing your partner in one of the basic positions, each dancer should look slightly away from the other's face, looking over his shoulder. Otherwise, the intensity of the gaze of someone so close could create discomfort, even frightening.
- This communication is non-verbal except when learning a step. It is physical. In most ballroom dances, coordination is conveyed by those parts of the body that touch each other: often the left hand of the bearer and the right of the partner, the right of the bearer resting on the back of the other, the left of the one who comes. carried on the right shoulder of the driver and the right elbows of one and the left of the other, which touch
- Say yes! If someone invites you to dance, accept! It is good practice to say yes and rudeness to refuse. Ballroom dancing itself is not "a date" and neither should try to use physical proximity to suggest an ulterior motive.
- Music and dance go hand in hand. Remember that it is not only the rhythm (3/4, 4/4, etc.) but also the tempo and style of the music that makes a song suitable for dancing beautiful. A beautiful tango show is made of tension and provocation, the same as the perfectly close-knit couple who plays it.
- As you learn a new step, remember that choruses and solos, however beautiful they are, are not as important in the dance as the steady and predictable rhythm. Once you have mastered the steps, you will have plenty of time to experiment with alternative sounds.
- You ask to dance! Beginners and advanced will be of great help to you to improve. Beginners will allow you to check what you have learned. Experts will correct you. It is a rule that those who dance do not refuse an invitation. And remember: the hall etiquette prohibits doing more than two dances in a row with the same person. If you want to dance only with your boyfriend / girlfriend stay home.
- A common mistake, especially in very tall men with a shorter partner, is taking too long steps.
- Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire's most famous partner has often been considered his equal. "Because," the comparison claimed, "he took every step Fred Astaire took - backwards and on his heels!"
- The magic part of ballroom dancing is the wonder of two people moving effortlessly on the floor as if they were one. It's an optical illusion but it doesn't happen automatically. The secret to dancing together and not in front of one person is communication.
- Watch the episodes of 'Vampire Diaries' especially the dance scenes! An example is the episode of the party at the Mikaelsons and the one called 'Miss Mystic Falls'!
- Exploiting your partner's physical proximity to the point of making them uncomfortable is particularly crude and not at all chivalrous. Even when the partners are lifelong companions, ballroom dancing requires a certain savoir faire, a style based on both good posture, good balance and paying attention to the music as well as to the other dancers on the floor.
- In most ballroom dances, the initial step is that of the bearer, who moves the left foot forward while the partner moves the right backward. Although it should be established by now that the couple knows how to go back and forth, whoever leads must be careful to take small steps. Furthermore, the illusion of floating on the floor of the room is not created by hasty and wide steps, but rather by a succession of small steps that increase. By keeping them small you will have a better demeanor and balance.
- If the conduction is incorrect and the wearer tends forward from the waist up while not moving the whole body:
- The partner will hear the right (in the left of the leader),
- the left hand (on the bearer's right shoulder)
- and the torso (as soon as the driver's right moves) which go backwards. Since both bodies should be moving together, these signals should indicate a step backwards. Yet, if the bearer leans forward instead of stepping back, both dancers will vary their position as the partner will move forward, while the bearer will not. In this case the communication will have failed.
- This communication does not happen by means of a special code, but rather through subtle body movements that can easily be recognized when both dancers maintain good posture. For example, when the leader moves forward, the right shoulder, left hand, hand and right foot will move simultaneously. Therefore the partner will feel the movement in the left hand (resting on the right shoulder), in the right (held by the bearer's left) and in the back (the bearer's right moves backwards as soon as the step starts). Similarly, if the dancers maintain good posture and the bearer moves steadily and steadily, keeping the body parallel to that of the partner, moving the upper body (instead of leaning towards him or moving away), the partner can easily perceive movement to the right, left or forward.
- People have different builds. Adjust your position and your style according to the partner, especially if the difference in height and size create some problems with contact. Remember that ballroom dancing is all about grace, refinement and courtesy.
- If the wearer is straight, both hands, the right shoulder and the point of contact between the right and left elbows will only move when taking the step. Therefore, without saying a word the leader is able to communicate to "move forward (or to the left, right or back) and the exact distance of the move.
- To make this communication work, the posture of both dancers must be maintained and every movement of the wearer must be "signaled" by the body. Similarly, the points of contact - those who communicate messages from one dancer to another - must be maintained so that the messages do not become ambiguous.
- If you can maintain good posture and constant communication points, the partner will subconsciously perceive the movement that is indicated. Each step learned will be a set of communication points in a specific context. Experienced partners can move quickly and with great precision by taking very complicated steps, without even thinking about what comes next.
Warnings
- Ladies, don't be "spineless"! Give your partner someone to lead. This doesn't mean pushing him on the dance floor!
- Gentlemen, lead your lady, don't push her on the runway. And don't give her the lead unless she's teaching you a step.
- Yes, suspended steps (hops or steps that require balance for example) are strong. As a beginner you will not be ready. Don't try them. Don't even ask until you have at least a year of dancing behind you. Dancing is physical and like any physical activity, you could get hurt. Any dance step requires a partner you can rely on and those that require particular balance should be approached under the supervision of an instructor and only attempted if you are familiar with the roles.
- Ballroom dancing is elegance. Just think about elegance while exercising. Dancing isn't just a matter of learning where to put your feet, it's a new way of moving your whole body by coordinating with someone who does the same exactly when you do. Better to learn the basics perfectly to be able to fly on the runway rather than throw yourself into something complex and look like a baby moose learning to walk. If you only know where to put your feet, you are not capable of dancing.
- Dance with a partner at your level. Don't make new advanced moves with someone just starting out. Going dancing should be an activity for everyone: for those who practice and those who watch. There is no need to try to look better by making your partner look bad. When a couple works together in this light, dance becomes beauty.
