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Our
Ballroom Studio specializes in private dancing lessons & classes
for all the popular dances including
Waltz, Fox Trot, Swing, Salsa, Hustle,
Tango and more...
Schedule your first dance
lesson
TODAY. |
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"Should I be
warming up before my dance lesson?"
It is a good idea to arrive early and stretch before
any kind of dance class or social. Muscles can be cold
and tight and injured easily if your not careful. Five
minutes to stretch your body a little should do the
trick for social dancing.
It is very easy to hurt shoulder joints for both the
ladies and the gentlemen when leading turns and
following them. Even knees and hip joints due to
rotating incorrectly or the wrong kind of shoes that
stick to the floor.
Be careful with your body, it only takes leaving a few minutes earlier for
class to give yourself enough time to stretch and warm
up.
Ideas for stretching include: rolling your head around
to loosen up neck joints, rolling shoulders in a
backward and forward rotation as well as pushing them
down and back for a feeling of proper dance posture,
moving arms up above your head and behind you, circling
ankles in and outwards so you don't twist them, moving
legs from the hip joint forward and back to loosen those
joints up as well.
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Should you buy dance shoes?
If you are thinking about buying dance shoes,
there are a couple of things you might want to
consider first. Are you sure you are going to be
taking lessons on a regular basis? If you are
just starting lessons, you might want to wait and
make sure you like dancing first and then go out
and buy a pair. If you are already dancing
regularly at lessons and socials, you may want
purchase some. The type of shoes you should buy
depends on the types of dances you are learning.
For instance, if you are thinking of competing
in Country and Western or you mostly go to
social country dances, you may want to get
"dance boots". One brand is called "Evening
Star". If you want dance shoes that are good for
any kind of couples dancing, you may want to
consider "ballroom practice shoes".
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Social Dance Etiquette #1
Do not teach or criticize your social dance
partners while you're out on the social dance
floor. Remember, you are out there for fun and
your partner is too. It is embarrassing for the
person being told how to dance. Let
their teachers instruct them in group class or
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"Practice makes
perfect"
Well, I don't know about perfect but it
sure helps the memory out. Even going through
what you learned in class for 5 minutes ago,
when you get home makes a big difference
in remembering for the following week's lesson
or social. Several times I have heard "well we
can't seem to find the time together to practice
during the week with our busy schedules". My
response is "practice yourself."
It's amazing how going over pivot turns
by yourself or thinking about where you prep to
lead a turn really improves your own dancing.
Then in class you can practice together. And
secondly, attend some dances, if you don't
already, that's where you can have fun socially
with everyone from your group class plus get
some floor time in. Who cares if you mess up,
that's why everyone else is there too, for the
practice!!
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Footwork
Footwork is one of
the cornerstones of good ballroom dancing - but
it doesn't mean only learning the steps, it's
also where your feet go and in what manner. One
of the coolest things appearance-wise to learn,
is to dance with one's feet together instead of
apart. Your feet should actually lightly brush
against one another as they move. This means you
have to develop a good sense of balance, because
- let's face it - it's always easier to balance
standing and moving with your feet apart. |
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Correct Beat Gentlemen
When
starting a dance take your time finding the
correct beat of music to begin on. Sometimes it
helps to tap it out with your foot on the floor
and start on the "1" count. It is usually the
easiest beat to find in the music.
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Ladies
Try to have patience
and wait for the gentlemen to get the dance
started, remember he is leading.
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Grounding
The term
"grounding" is used in dancing, but many dancers
still have a hard time understanding this word.
Basically if you can picture yourself
walking across an ice rink, most people will try
to walk across the ice so that they don't slip
and fall. When dancing, you want to place your
feet on the dance floor like you don't want to
let them slip.
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Proper Dance Technique
Lots
of dancers say to me when taking lessons, both
group and private, that they just want to be
good social dancers and not competitors, so why
do they have to learn proper dance technique. I
reply with this explanation, "without using good
dance technique you don't become a great social
dancer". If your not using the correct foot
positions, or the proper posture it causes
balance problems and lead and follow problems as
well. Usually when a move doesn't work, it is
because of an incorrect body position or some
other dance technique problem. I think that some
people confuse technique with showmanship, that
the competitors are trying to achieve. Learning
proper technique makes you more enjoyable to
dance with, whether you are a leader or a
follower in couples' dance. Good technique makes
a dancer look smoother and helps the general
flow of the dance executed.
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Beginner Dancer's Tip
Try never to refuse a dance
with someone who is asking you. This is
how we learn to be better dancers; by dancing
with lots of different partners and dancers of
all levels.
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Ladies
Patience while
learning moves in group class, the gentlemen
have lots more to think about then the ladies,
focus in on your following skills and most
importantly the connection you are giving to
your partner, rather then back leading the
pattern for yourself.
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Gentlemen
When taking a
partner on the floor to dance, try warming her
up by some nice easy basics first. Then
gradually move up the level of patterns after
determining whether your dance partner is ready
to follow the more advanced moves. Remember your
job is to make her look good and in return, you
will look good as well.
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Beginners
Make sure you have strong basics in
any dance you are learning, before moving up a
level or learning new patterns. It will make the
next level a lot more frustrating if you don't
know your basics well enough. We all started at
the beginning and repeated the first level a few
times before moving up. Sometimes as
intermediate or advanced dancers, its a good
idea to refresh our memories by taking a basic
class again, as a reminder of a few things we
have forgotten about. |
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BRING PASSION
and
EXCITEMENT
into your
LIFE!
Arthur Murray Dance Studios
can put a lot of fun
in your life
just take the first step.
(508) 798-0392
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