Tips to get the most from your Dance Lessons
Whether you are dancing competitvely, or purely for social reasons, you can help yourself get the most from your dance lesson by following some simple steps.
Timing – arriving to class
Make sure you get there early! This will give you the time to get your self “sorted out” without your teacher standing over you while you are trying to fasten your shoes! It can be quite stressful, when someone is waiting for you and this won’t help you get in the dancing mood.
What to wear to class
Layers – such as T shirts, cardigans or tracksuit tops are suitable for dancing. You can add and remove these easily as required throughout the lesson. You will see from watching programmes like “Dancing With The Stars” most professionals tend to prefer layering their clothes, so they can put on/take off as required, throughout the lesson – some dances make you HOT!
I have written before about shoes, but will say again – don’t fork out until you know you are going to stick to this! £60 shoes should not be bought lightly! When you do decide to buy, shop around. It might be a good idea to ask your instructor if he can suggest a good supplier. You will need to try shoes on. I know from personal experience that different styles have a different fit/width and you might need to go up or down a half size.
Don’t rush out to buy a competition dress either. There is a myriad of different rules for different grades of dancer – you don’t want to be disqualified because of Rhinestones being “banned” for your grade, do you?! There is also different “styles” of dress, for different dances – eg a Viennese Waltz dress will tend to be bigger and fluffier than one for a normal waltz. A tango dress will often have a high split, and a Paso dress tends to have a very full skirt, but only one layer.
Lots of dancers will buy a dressing gown type thing and a pair of slippers (honest!) for when they are sitting around waiting. Don’t go to M&S for these though! Look at sites such as DSI and Supadance. That’s the look you should be going for! They are not expensive and will really add to your “professional” look.
Warming Up
Think like a sportsperson, whether they are on a field, or in a gym, they will always do some warm up exercises to get their muscles and body stretched adequately. It is very easy to injure yourself going from a cold start to full action. A couple of good warm-ups to think about would be:-
• Rolling your head around (for neck),
• circling your shoulders, push them up and down,
• circle your ankles
• moving your hips from the joint forward and back.
Do these for a total of 5 minutes or so and you should find your body loosens up and dancing will be a lot easier, and will look a lot better!
Bring a bottle!
Bring a drink with you, but take small sips through the lesson – this will ensure that you keep hydrated, and also you will be less likely to need a toilet break than you would be if you downed it in one.
Social Dance Etiquette
You are here to have fun remember! The most important aspects to keep in mind are:-
• Whatever you do - do not criticise your partner, or make them feel bad for getting something wrong.
If someone asks you to dance, you should dance with them. It is only polite. You are not in a nightclub, its not that they want to take you home! If you really want to sit this one out, make sure you dance with this person later in the evening. It is also good practice for you to dance with new people – regardless of their level. You learn to be a better dancer from dancing with “good” and “not so good” partners, and make new friends on the way.
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Posted by Suzanne - May 6th, 2008
Posted in Ballroom Dancing - No Comments »
SPORTS DRINKS – SHOULD DANCERS SPLASH OUT – OR STICK TO THE TAP?
Okay, we all know we need to drink because we don’t want to get dehydrated, but did you know that if you wait until you are already thirsty, it’s too late. When we exert ourselves, we sweat. This, in non scientific terms means our bodies are losing not just water but essential minerals such as salt, potassium and chloride. These are essential to our bodies, and keep us healthy. Dehydration causes amongst other things fatigue, headache and poor performance. It can ultimately cause heat stroke and circulatory collapse. On an aesthetic level, nobody wants dry skin or bad breath either!
There are 3 types of sports drink on the market:-
• Isotonic – “sports” drinks. For intensive activity. These contain carbohydrates and quickly replace fluids lost.
• Hypotonic – lower carb. content. These replace fluid without the burst of energy provided by the carbs
• Hypertonic – very high carbs, usually nothing more than a caffeine based high
You need to remember:-
• These drinks are usually high in calories. If a bottle contains 200 calories, you only need to have a few throughout the day and you will soon start putting on weight.
• Citric acid will not do your teeth any favours. If you must have a citrus drink, take it through a straw!
• Stimulants contained in some of them will make you feel very nervous, and also if you take enough, you may find they have a laxative effect.
• They are quite expensive
What do these “sports” drinks contain?
The following could be in your drink.
B-Vitamins: different ones, eg Thiamine, folic acid, but perhaps the best one for Dancers is :- Vitamin B-2 Riboflavin Helps the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. If you are looking to produce a higher level of energy in the body, Vitamin B2 is the one of the more important nutrients. If you exercise every day, you are using up your vitamin B2 supply. Cheese and milk are the best dietary sources of this vitamin, also green vegetables and whole grains.
Caffeine: raises your alertness and heartbeat and has an adrenaline like effect. Will make you go to the toilet more. If you drink a lot of caffeine and then decide to stop, you will get a headache. I know this through personal experience. This confirms to me that it is having an effect on my body, because I suffer withdrawal symptoms without it.
Ginseng: Natural, but then most things were at one stage. Said to effect metabolism and make it more efficient. It is thought ingredients in ginseng improve the immune system by stimulating immunoglobin - proteins that act as antibodies.
Pregnant women, people with diabetes and those with high blood pressure are all advised to avoid ginseng as are for patients under 40, or those with depression, acute anxiety or acute inflammatory disease. It is normally only taken for a period of 3 weeks - And all this in a drink of pop!
Glucose: Sugar!
Guarana: natural caffeine yet causes less anxiety.
Green Tea: Another natural source of caffeine, but more beneficial thanks to its anti-oxidant qualities.
Malto-Dextrin: Useful for after exercising. Starch used as a filler in sports drinks. Shows a much slower release than typical sugar into the blood stream as glucose and so makes it a perfect choice for sustained liquid energy.
Sucrose: A carbohydrate which provides the body with immediate fuel. Another type of sugar. Did you know, sugar is to plants what fat is to people – ie a fuel “storage” system?
Taurine: An amino acid involved in the function of the heart, brain and eyes. Drinks that contain high levels of taurine are banned in some countries (Sweden, France) due to health concerns about it.
However, in moderation these drinks can work for you. Your electrolytes will be replaced and the carbs will give you a quick boost of energy – which we all need sometimes.
FOR WATER
It is cheaper, more easily available and works better to stop dehydration. If you are only going to be dancing for a short period of time, water is recommended. Drink small sips throughout your session. Drink in moderation, because I bet you haven’t eaten much, and you don’t want to suddenly need the toilet when your number has been recalled!
AGAINST WATER
• Water can be a bit boring so you have to make efforts to ensure that you have drunk enough to re-hydrate.
• Water does not provide energy, so does not have the performance benefits.
• No electrolytes.
• I have heard stories of athletes collapsing through, believe it or not, drinking too much water. They have washed the salts out of their bodies. Make sure this does not happen to you.
I am not a scientist obviously, but my considered opinion is that both types have their place in our kit bags. For short periods, stick to the water and have a nice nutritious meal as soon as you can. A longer session calls for the hypotonic option, but if you are really pulling out all the stops that is when you will get the help you need from the isotonic drink.
Regardless of what you choose to drink, my advice is take small sips, on a very regular basis.
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Posted by Suzanne - May 1st, 2008
Posted in Health Matters - No Comments »
HOW TO DO A VIENNESE WALTZ
A Viennese Waltz does not really bear any relation to what we know as the waltz, for a start it is twice as fast! If a normal waltz can be counted “1,2 and 3” at 90bpm, this one is 1,2,3,4,5,6 at 180bpm and involves constant movement. There are not many steps, as such, but what there is as a style all of its own! To watch a large number of couples circling the floor and dancing in this style is truly breathtaking.
This is a rotary dance where you are constantly turning clock/anti-clockwise (natural and reverse turns) and if you are not turning in this manner you are doing change steps or spinning on the spot – doing your fleckle! (this is quite hard, so don’t expect to learn it quickly). American VW has things such as open hold, pivots, underarm turns etc, - but I don’t think they are allowed in a British comp. so I wont go into that here!
Firstly, you need a good close hold. With all this spinning, you need to ensure you as a couple have a good centre of gravity – you do not want to fall over! Because you are moving so fast, you need to give your trust to the lead, and let him steer you. This is best achieved again if he is holding you correctly.
The Viennese Waltz does not have rise and fall, apart from anything else it is too fast to incorporate it, and it could leave your audience feeling sea-sick! NOTE: the VW you may see on DWTS bears little resemblance to that danced in Vienna!
The best way to begin to learn this dance is actually on your own, in a largeish room with nothing for you to trip over or bang into. You may well get dizzy and nauseous, this dance also requires a good level of physical fitness. I suggest you do a little each day to build your stamina. Some people suggest you start off in flat shoes, so you don’t “go over” on your heels.
Man/Woman steps are the same –they just “mirror” each other. Like I said, a rotation is 1,2,3,4,5,6 – so when one is doing 1,2,3 –the other is doing 4,5,6 and vice versa. Note 4,5,6 should be smaller steps, so that 1,2,3 can get around you! If you rotate to the right, this is a natural turn. I try to think of my watch. It is “natural” for the hands to turn “right”. A reverse turn therefore is when you are rotating to the left. Change steps is how you switch direction in your turns when carrying on moving. To spin in one spot is to “fleckle”, this is handy if you fancy showing off a bit, or are stuck – perhaps another couple is in your way?
OK – here’s how to do it!
Natural Turn
Step 1 Listen to the beat. The emphasis will be on the first and fourth beats, and the turns will be on the quick beats. It goes: ONE, 2,3 FOUR, 5,6 ONE, 2,3 FOUR 5,6
Step 2 Have both feet facing 60deg to the left of the line of dance. Step forward with your right foot so you turn to face the line of dance. Continue rotating on the toe of your right foot, you should turn 90 deg.
Step 3 Move left foot in direction of line of dance, stay on the toe of your left foot. Move your right foot so it is next to the left foot. Have your back facing 60 deg towards the left of the direction you are dancing.
Step 4 Rotate your body as you step backward on your left. You should be facing the line of dance.
Step 5 Put right foot down line of dance, facing 60 deg, to the left of the line of dance. Slide your left foot over so its next to the right foot.
Step 6 Repeat
Reverse Turn
Step 1 Do the same as above, but move with your left foot first instead of your right.
Step 2 Move your left foot over your right foot on the third step
Step 3 Place it between your partners feet
Step 4 Continue the turn
CHANGE STEPS
Step 1 Use change steps to make the transition from natural to reverse turns
Step 2 Take 2 steps down the line of dance
Step 3 Move the moving food next to the standing foot on the third step
THE FLECKLE
Step 1 Turn in a circle with your partner. You will step with your left foot in front of the right foot as you turn, then step with your left foot behind the right foot. Then step with your left foot before your right foot. Your partner will do the same.
Step 2 Reverse direction by checking your movement, rock forward on to the left foot, back on the right, step on the left, then begin rotating in the other direction.
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Posted by Suzanne - April 8th, 2008
Posted in Ballroom Dances - No Comments »
“Millions of girls using Facebook, Bebo and Myspace ‘at risk’ from paedophiles and bullies”
This is the front page headline from today’s Daily Mail. I am a parent of one of these “millions of girls” who use Bebo, MSN etc, and it is fair to say the content on these sites that pass between users can be shocking to say the least. I won’t go into details here. This is not a scare-mongering article! As parents, we know we have a duty to supervise our children, both in the real and the “cyber” worlds. However, that duty also comes with the realisation that as much as we would like to keep our kids safe from the nasty things that go on, we cannot protect them entirely.
In passing, a couple of years, back I asked my software developer hubby if he could write something which would enable us to monitor our Daughter. This led him to create a programme called ICU (I see you!, clever eh!). This was installed on her machine, and throughout our network, so whenever she was on any computer he would get a “snapshot” of whatever she was looking at, saying, doing or playing. It did not take long to realise that whilst our daughter is still the sweet little innocent we hoped – the same could not be said for the “friends” that send her things and link to her profile from theirs!
This made us think. Do these other parents even know what their kids are doing? Our daughter is lucky because my husband is savvy enough to set up something to look after her. Most parents are not as computer literate. It was this that made him decide to roll out “ICU” and offer it as a tool for all parents to help keep their kids safe online. There are of course, lots of these types of things around, but generally they are complicated – and the parent has to run reports and all that sort of carry on. ICU is dead easy, you don’t have to “do” anything……It is also about a tenth of the price of the others. (Ideally, it would be free, but anyone even running a small website knows there are costs involved.)
It is also a fact that if your kids know you are watching them, they are much more likely to monitor themselves and what they do! They are more likely to act like they would if you were stood over their shoulder!
Like I say, there are others around. But from one parent to another I want to let as many people as possible know that we are NOT fighting a losing battle on this, and there are things we can do. Here are some links for you to have a look at. See if they would work for you. One is my hubby’s, the other is a similar type of thing. One of them might be just what you are looking for.
www.icu-software.co.uk
www.spectorsoft.com
Regards, Suzanne
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Posted by Suzanne - April 2nd, 2008
Posted in Personal Ramblings - No Comments »
Hi readers
I bet you have been wondering why i have had nothing to say about this programme? I thought I would let it “bed in” a bit first before forming any opinion. So, here we go!
I am not going to bother writing about everyone (who is who, and who is with who) etc - you can find that out from anywhere - but the ones that stand out so far for me are:-
The Bad
Julie Anne/Adam Corolla I think it is fair to say she wont be winning the treble! I didnt like him much last week, thought he was a bit cocky, but this week he didnt seem to be quite as full of himself, so thats a start! Foxtrot was dire, Mambo - better! -loved her green dress!
Kim/Penn Poor Kim. The best bet was when he broke the bar in the training room! I didnt like his voodoo doll thing, i thought he was rude to the judges and I didnt like at the end when he would not dance properly and kim had to walk away from him! I think to be fair though, he was always going to find it tough - big tall people always do!
Steve - he is a darling, but he dances like my dad!
Monica - Poor girl never stood a chance. She looked wracked with nerves, and was as far removed from what she is used to than she could be.. Good for her though for trying. She will be missed.
I like watching all the people who don’t find dancing comes naturally! It makes it clear just how hard it is to actually dance well!
The good
Kristi Yamaguchi - could win, but probably wont! i think her lifetime of ice skating experiience will count against her, as traditionally people vote for those who dont have an advantage. I am unsure how much she really has, but i know people perceive her in this way.
Shannon Elizabeth - One of my favourites. I loved her cha-cha, and her quickstep was amazing. I dont know if it was good technically, but as a viewer, it was a joy to watch.
None of the others have made much of an impact on me yet.
back soon!
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Posted by Suzanne - April 1st, 2008
Posted in Personal Ramblings - No Comments »
Well, that shows how much I know doesn’t it! I can’t help thinking that “my” Denise would have scored higher, had she not been the first one out? How gorgeous is that David Ginola?! Wonder why Darren wore that vile red suit. It did however remind me that I had to post some letters the following day!
My favourite was actually Matt Dawson, and I have never really bothered too much about him. He really dominated his partner, so much so that I felt she was getting dragged around a little bit - and for a split second I was reminded of when Erin and Colin had those puppets as partners! But apart from that, I absolutely loved it. Fingers crossed Elaine Paige will take part as a full competitor in a future series.
I felt sorry for Jade - she was brilliant - and there was no need for Arlene to be the way she was.
Winner of course being Ramps - about time too!
Good job I am not a gambler though, isn’t it!
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Posted by Suzanne - March 19th, 2008
Posted in Strictly Come Dancing - No Comments »
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