Ballroom Dance

So you want to ballroom dance? You're about to enter a world of class, tradition, and loads of fun. Ballroom dance is a general term for a variety of styles of traditional dancing that includes Rumba, Cha-Cha, Tango, Waltz, and Fox Trot, to name a few.[1] These dances come from several parts of the world and from different eras, but the thing they have in common is that they are formal partner dances that are focused on flow and elegance. The good news is that learning ballroom dances may be easier than you expect but you will have a lot of enjoyable work ahead of you.

Steps

Choosing a Style of Ballroom Dance

  1. Survey all the different styles of dance that are considered ballroom dance. Figure out which styles you are drawn to. While you don't need to learn all of them, you will need to learn a few core styles at first.
    • There are a variety of styles of ballroom dance, generally divided into standard and latin styles. Standard styles include Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz, and Quickstep. Latin styles include Cha-Cha, Rumba, Samba, Paso Doble, and Jive.[2] While these styles may vary a bit, especially between American and International styles, the foundation of each is a very specific and distinct sequence of steps.
    • Complicated dances such as the bolero and paso doble can be picked up later, but if you want to go out dancing and not be stuck in a chair the whole night, you'll need to learn the basic steps such as the Rumba, Cha-Cha, Tango, Waltz, and Fox Trot.
  2. Decide what your dancing goals are. Do you want to do social dancing or do you want to compete? Do you want to go out each weekend or do you just need to look good at a wedding? A specific type of event might require that you learn only one style. You'll be better prepared for a night of casual social dancing if you learn basic steps for a number of dance styles. Whatever your goals, remember them when moving forward!
  3. Find a specific teacher or a dance school that specializes in ballroom dancing. You might try the phone directory or a quick Google search for your area. Contact one or more of the schools and talk to them about your goals and if they can help you fulfill them.
    • Know what you want and that your needs match your instructors' expertise and methods. Talking to the other students and seeing how long they've been at the studio or visiting one or more dance classes may give you a good idea if it is a match. Some schools, for example, specialize in competitive dancing, while others focus on helping first-time dancers gain the experience (and courage!) to brave the ballroom dance floor at their next wedding invitation.
    • If you live near a college campus, take a look at their student clubs and activities. Many have ballroom dance classes that are open to non-student members.

Learning How to Ballroom Dance

  1. Learn the box step. If you are nervous going to your first class with absolutely no knowledge of ballroom dancing, you may want to practice a bit with the help of websites or videos online. Start by learning the box step, the foundation step of many ballroom dances.
    • When doing the box step you are moving your feet in a square. Start with your feet together with your weight on your right foot. Move your left leg straight forward in a small step and shift your weight onto that foot. Next step your right foot up but to the side of your left foot, so that there is a gap of about a foot between your feet. Finish this first sequence by shifting your weight onto your right foot and bringing your feet together by moving your left foot over to meet your right. Now you will do this sequence again, only backwards. Shift your weight to your left foot and move your right foot straight back in a small step. Shift your weight and move your left foot back but to the side. Finish the box step by moving your right foot over to meet your left.
    • If you are having trouble, remember that it is always the outside leg that moves around the square you are making.[3]
  2. Practice a few more steps at home. There are many articles on the internet that can give you the basic sequence of steps and body movements of other ballroom steps including: How to do the Rumba, Do the Cha-Cha, How to Samba, How to Dance the Tango, and How to Dance the Waltz.
    • These videos and online content cannot necessarily replace the benefits of going to a class. A dance teacher will be able to give you individualized instruction that is key to improving your dance skills.
  3. Attend a ballroom dance class. While you may have some basic knowledge of ballroom dance steps, classes will help you with all the other important aspects that make up a dance, including posture, communication, and dance etiquette. Some classes require that you come with a partner but many are designed for people without a specific partner.
    • Be sure to check the prices, as they will vary. You will want to be sure the school and your teacher are worth what you're paying. Many dance studios will offer potential students a free or low-cost initial lesson that will allow you to more easily find a good match between the studio and your goals. Group classes will generally be less expensive than private lessons, while the best specialized and personalized coaching for competitive ballroom dance can be a hundred times more expensive.[4]
  4. Listen to ballroom music. Ask your teacher for a list of songs in the rhythm you're working on. Buy them and listen to them in the background. You might also find some musical collections selected specifically for a particular dance.
    • Pick out the dance rhythm and count it aloud as the music plays. Many beginning dancers benefit from first clapping the beat with the music. Yet also as you listen, visualize the dancers moving to the music. Feel the style of the dance, in addition to its rhythm.
  5. Go to a practice session at your studio. Most studios have practice sessions outside of lessons but you can also just practice on your own. Don't be afraid to ask more experienced dancers for help.
  6. Find a partner to practice with outside of class. Perhaps you have a friend that would like to learn how to ballroom dance as well. Maybe you can convince your partner to join you in the adventure of learning to dance.
    • It is a fact of life that people come in all shapes and sizes. Adjust your position and your dancing style to accommodate your partner, especially if height differences or body size might otherwise cause uncomfortable body contact. Remember that ballroom dancing is about grace, polish and courtesy.
    • Dance at the level of your partner. Don't try to do all your advanced new moves with someone who's just starting out. Ballroom dancing should be enjoyable for everyone involved. There is no point in trying to make yourself look good by making your partner look bad. When a couple works together, dance is a thing of beauty.
    • The secret to dancing together, as opposed to dancing near one another, is communication. This communication isn't conveyed through some special code, but is rather accomplished through the subtle body movements that can easily be detected when both dancers are standing upright, with good posture.
  7. Go out and dance! You're in this to learn how to dance, so go dancing. Even after your first lesson feel free to go out dancing in public. If you have learned two moves at that lesson just use those. That's enough to go dancing and have a great time on the dance floor.
    • Ask everyone to dance! Beginners and experienced dancers will both help you to improve your dancing. Beginners make you check what you know. Experienced dancers will correct you. As a rule, ballroom dancers don't say no when you ask them to dance.
    • If someone asks you to dance, say yes! Remember that not only is it rude to say no, you also shouldn't miss out on a chance to polish your skills, no matter who asks.
    • Remember that ballroom etiquette precludes dancing more than two dances in a row with the same person. If you only want to dance with your boyfriend or girlfriend, you can stay home and dance in your living room.

Tips

  • When facing a new partner in one of the basic positions, each dancer should look slightly away from the other's face, usually over their shoulder. Otherwise, the intensity of staring into the eyes of someone so physically close can be uncomfortable, even a bit frightening.
  • Don't be a "wet noodle"! If you are not leading, remember to still be an active partner. Willingly follow your lead but remember not to push them around the dance floor.
  • If you are leading, do NOT push your partner around the dance floor! There is a difference between being a strong lead and being overpowering. Partner dancing is about communication and give and take.
  • Ballroom dancing is at its heart, elegant. Think "elegant" as you practice. Dance is not a simple matter of learning where to move your feet. It is a new way of moving your entire body, in close coordination with someone else moving their entire body. You are far better off learning the basic steps so well you can almost float across the floor than by rushing into the complex steps and looking like a moose calf just learning how to walk. If you only know where to put your feet, you don't know the dance.
  • Keep the steps small and you will both look better and will maintain better balance in the bargain. In most ballroom dances, the initial step is the lead's left foot moving forward and the partner's right foot stepping backwards. In that it is a usual thing to be able to step further forward than backward, the lead must be careful to keep the steps small. Besides, the illusion of floating across the dance floor is not created by a few large swooping strides, but rather by a quick succession of small, incremental steps.

Warnings

  • Dancing is physical and, as with any physical activity, if you do it wrong you can get hurt. Any dance step requiring one partner to rely on the other for balance should be approached only under the supervision of a dance instructor, and attempted only if both partners are familiar with their roles.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.justdanceballroom.com/styles.html
  2. ↑ http://usadance.org/college/ballroom-101/
  3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5ZvFrc6mFw
  4. ↑ http://usadance.org/social-dance/how-to-get-started/
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