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
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No excuse, I know - but I have been SO busy lately I just haven’t had chance to update! Would you like to hear about our “Liverpool” experience? Yes, of course you would!! haha!
We live on a small island, so any dance competition we attend in the UK is quite a big deal, and as this particular one was the first comp for my daughter and her new partner, it was an even bigger deal for us. Anyone who wants to feel pressure should attend a couple of dance lessons about a week before a big comp… there is nothing like it! The screaming, shouting, tears, hissy fits and tantrums have to be seen to be believed, and that was just from the dance teachers and the mums……… the kids themselves seemed to be quite blase about the whole thing?! I suppose the fact that it wasnt them spending £500+ and (losing two days holiday entitlement for travelling) for a day’s dancing made the difference?
The competition we attended was the Ellesmere Port and Neston Dance Festival, which was held on 3 February 2008 (last month, I know - but i’ve been busy!) My kids took part in the Junior Beginners and Junior Novice, in both the latin and ballroom sections. The hall itself, whilst being bigger than lots I have seen, was not a patch on what we have here for our dancing, there was a few complaints about the changing room etc - but it was what it was! What I did like was that you could get a nice cup of coffee and a baguette and sit and watch the dancers at the same time. There was stalls with lovely jewellery and even some dance dresses for sale.
As for the dancing, the standard was varied to say the least. There was children that looked like something off “baby ballroom”, all matching tracksuits etc. My kids were a bit intimidated by them - until I said I would buy them tracksuits if it meant that much to them - and they quickly realised that they did NOT want to wear matching clothes!!
The dancers - The Sunday Times used to run an article called “1664″, by which the writer meant aged 16 from the back and 64 from the front! There is a lot of this in dancing…. I was admiring a gorgeous dress being worn by a fabulous figure - imagine my shock when she turned around and her face bore a strong resemblance to a chewed up toffee (fake tan/wrinkle combination, yuk!) The same worked in reverse - lots of 12 year olds in padded bras and inch thick make up that could pass for women in their twenties!
Dance Results - Laura and Todd came first in two comps, third in another, DISQUALIFIED in one, and nowhere at all in the last two.
However, the one thing they did come away with from this comp was an understanding of how to work in a partnership, one does not blame the other, and if he does blame you and then swiftly apologises, you should accept the apology with good grace and then forget about it. Don’t drag it out and cry longer than necessary!
Our flights were with Euromanx and were safe, uneventful and at the bargain cost of £80 return, I would of course use them again - not that we have real choices in our travel arrangements.
We stayed in the Cheshire Oaks Holiday Inn, which as the name suggests is an excellent location to go shopping at this good value outlet village. I think it was about £150 for two nights. I really liked this hotel, it was nice and quiet, and was a typical “chain” hotel, which I like because you know roughly what you are going to get. Breakfast was lovely, it is on a canal and you can go outside and feed the swans bread, they took it right out of our hands.
If you dont know, when you are in Liverpool, you can get a bus ticket for about £4, and using this you can travel on the buses, trains and the famous Ferry. (restrictions apply, eg after 9am and before 4pm) I thought these were excellent value, we were like locals jumping on and off buses, trains and Ferries all over the place!
Liverpool is undergoing a renaissance at the moment, capital of culture and all that. We had a brilliant time hope to go again soon.
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Posted by Suzanne - March 4th, 2008
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Last weekend at the Villa Marina my daughter took part in her first competition with her new dance partner Todd. (I am hoping to put some photographs up when I figure out how to do it! They were definitely the cutest couple on the floor)! Laura wore a full length white silk and chiffon number which was heavily encrusted in diamante, and Todd looked equally gorgeous in his white tie n’tails combo!
“Old Time” or sequence dancing is the sort of thing you might see when you watch a BBC period drama such as Pride and Prejudice. Forget your hips, leave your “groove thing” at home, stand tall and LOOK POSH! This type of dance originates from the days when everyone could dance a bit, but only the “elite” had the time or money for lessons where they would be taught the exacting steps that Old Time is made up of.
What you will notice straight off is everyone is following the same “sequence” of steps. So – if everyone is doing the same – how can a judge decide who is doing it better – why is the “winner” better than everyone else?
Here are my suggestions:-
Timing is very important in all dance, but even the tiniest error shows here! If a “sequence” lasts 16 bars (4 beats to a bar) and you are dancing slightly ahead of the music you will be doing your 16th bar moves, but everyone else will still be doing their 15th – this is perhaps the most obvious thing to spot
Old time dance is predominantly about the position your feet are in at any time, and you will be expected to do ballet type things like the Pas De Basque! (the first thing 4 year olds learn at dancing!)
“A step in which the dancer swings one foot to the side, springs onto it, and swings the other foot against it.
Or more precisely — Slight CCW ronde movement with left foot and arched instep on “and” count and step side with slight hop, ball-flat. Close R to L with right heel to left toe on the second “and,” soften both knees and lift left heel on an “a” count, and step L raising R slightly toe pointing down. Done over two beats of music.
And finally a little more fancifully — Jeté to Second Position with Demi-Rondé. Assemblé to Fifth Position Front. Slight Plié and Coupé in place, finishing in Fifth Position en l’air with toe pointed down. (such music!)”
(from Silvester & Whitman, 1967)
No problem!
and the bug bear of all beginners the “old time waltz” – “into 5th,” etc….. and there are many, many different things your feet need to do! However, this footwork has to be exact – this is what separates the men from the boys!
When you are not doing this “waltz” bit, you will be holding one of your partner’s hands, and both progressing forward. Throughout the dance there are times when you must look at your partner, then look away –being quite sharp in this movement. Also you need to be able to move your joined arms forward and back in the prescribed manner!! (remember to look at your partner at the back of these joined hands!)
Complicated stuff eh!!!
However if you think, “Oh, I can’t dance”, you still might want to give Old-time a try. Because it is so structured there is no guess as to what you will do, or where you will go next. This can be very relaxing, and even has some meditative qualities. And, if you get stuck, you can just follow the person in front!
I personally LOVE old time… it is exercise without the exertion – just my cup of tea!
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Posted by Suzanne - January 22nd, 2008
Posted in Ballroom Dancing - 2 Comments »
Did you know that Ballroom Dancing is a great way of getting fit? Doing just 30 minutes of non-stop ballroom dancing increases your heart rate into your fat burning zone, producing benefits equal to that of a low impact aerobics class. Nobody should under estimate the effect of general fitness that dancing can have, if you watch the stars of Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing With The Stars closely you’ll notice how they lose weight and tone-up over the length of the series. Even the fittest sports stars struggle with the dancing regime. Obviously this is all very much compacted into a short space of time for TV but by using Ballroom Dancing as a fitness hobby the long term health benefits will be great, and perhaps more important for some, noticeable.
The exact amount of calories you’ll burn will depend entirely on the type of dancing you’re doing. Generally speaking modern dances like the Waltz and Quick Step burn less calories than the Latin Ballroom Dances like the Cha-Cha, Rumba and Salsa. Either way you’ll be burning between 200 and 400 calories per hour. As you become fitter you’ll also be able to dance for longer, meaning that you’ll be able to burn even more calories. One of the great advantages dancing has over other traditional forms of exercise like playing competitive sports and going to the gym is that it can also be a great chance for couples to spend time together. What could be more fun than getting a bit sweaty burning some serious calories and getting fitter with your partner. Although most girls wont need any persuading on the health benefits of Ballroom Dancing, the men might need a little convincing as it’s bound to take them out of their comfort zone. With any luck seeing world famous sports stars doing it on TV might help change that.
Finally, one thing worth mentioning is the right clothes to wear. As with any form of exercise it is vital to have the correct clothing while getting fit dancing. It’s important that men don’t wear tight belts and no ties (a dangerous weapon on a twirling man). For women it’s best to avoid any form of open-toe sandal, heels are also not suitable. Flat comfortable broken in shoes and loose fit clothing is the way to go.
Ballroom Dancing is a fun way of improving your health and getting fit. Why not give it a go?
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Posted by admin - December 1st, 2007
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The Isle of Man is a small island situated in the Irish Sea. It’s a quite place, with some stunning scenery, it’s shame that all most people who visit will see of it is the ugliest part and capital, Douglas! However even Douglas has a few gems, and near the top amongst these is the Villa Marina.
The Villa Marina complex will be hosting this years Isle of Man Dance Festival, an annual event organised by Ellis Killey of the Killey School of Dancing. Ellis is one of the senior characters in the Manx ballroom dance scene and I can guarantee that you’d be hard pushed to find anybody more passionate about ballroom dancing. The festival takes place this year over the weekend of the 8th and 9th of September and even if you’re not a dancer it is a great opportunity to watch ballroom dancing in one of the great original dance venues.
To find out more information including a full running order please have a look at Isle of Man Ballroom Dance Festival
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Posted by admin - September 8th, 2007
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