Rey Del Ritmo : Dance Tipsand more Info
Dancing
can be considered a form of exercise and many persons join classes for the physical
activity that it can provide, as a result we always recommend that you do some
"Warm Up" before dancing :
Leave a few minutes early for your dance lessons, like all sports, stretching
and limbering up before your class will give your body a chance to warm and get
ready for more strenous activity, 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 worn
that stick to the floor. Be careful with your body
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.
Do
we need special dance shoes ?
This might depend on a number of factors :
You might want to finish a few
lessons and decide how much you like dancing first. Once you know that you will
be taking classes on a regular basis you will find that this is a very worthwhile
investment. We do have some practice shoes on sale and I would be happy to suggest
what you should look for in a dance shoe - men and women, ask me in class for
the benefit of all. See our shoes here : Bloch
Shoes
Social
Dance Etiquette #1 :
Do not teach or criticize your social dance partners
while out on the social dance floor. Remember you are out there for fun and your
partner is too. And on top of it all it is embarrassing for the person being told
how to dance. It accomplishes nothing for anyone to go home at the end of a evening
of dancing and feel bad about themselves and their dance technique.
I don't
tell anyone about their dancing technique, even if they ask me to on the social
floor for tips. Its inappropriate!!
Lighten up and have some fun everyone!
Let their teachers tell them in group class or in a private lesson. "Practice
makes perfect" Well, I don't know about perfect but it sure helps the memory out.
Even just going through what you learned in class for 5 minutes when you get home
makes a big difference in remembering for the following weeks 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!!
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.
GFV Kicksteps Kicksteps -- whatever dance you're doing,
try not to kick with your toes up. This is good if you're doing Country Western
dancing, but for Ballroom, try to point your toes down and to the outside. It
looks better. GFV Line dancing "Line dancing" is a great way to work on body and
foot technique. I still hear how many people can't stand line dancing and I think
it is because they haven't tried it recently. No longer is it just to country
music, line dancing is to every kind of music from swing to top 40 pop. Its fun
and it teaches us coordination. This is how some dancers learn to syncopate for
west coast swing or cha, its a chance to work on feet instead of lead and follow.
Its great exercise and challenging to say the least. Line has come a long way
in the past 10 years or so. It may not be the greatest thing to sit and watch
but it sure is fun to participate. Give it a try, work on foot positions, foot
placements, arm styling, Cuban motion etc and you will find it improves your couples
dancing as well.
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 to find in the music. Break on 2,3 Make sure if you are dancing Cha Cha that you are breaking on the "2,3", it will feel better if you are dancing on the correct beat. Ladies Try to have patience and wait for the gentlemen to get the dance started, remember he is leading.
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. Accomplishing this requires pressing your center into the ground over top your feet. Your feet must be placed in which ever position that is correct and no movement or adjustments after the placement. This grounding technique will make your footwork cleaner and your balance more solid.
Turning Tip Try using the "cup and pin" technique for the connection of hands while spinning or turning. This is done by the leader making a pin with his third and fourth fingers (preferably) and connecting the pads of those fingers to the followers hand which is cupped slightly with the thumb tucked to her forefinger (out of the way of getting caught during the turns). It is important that the follower keep her palm and wrist facing away from her and to connect to the leaders hand gently. The leader can then easily rotate her because her fingers and palm (cup) will rotate with his fingers (pin) as she turns. In order for this to work the follower has to have a soft tone in her arm, especially the shoulder and not push her hand above her head where she can't see it. If this happens it is impossible for the leader to tell you how many spins he wants and makes it difficult to bring the followers hand down to stop the rotation. All of this is important for good lead and follow technique.
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 a 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.
Ladies While dancing West Coast Swing be careful not to coaster on your anchors,
anchor in place and wait for the forward lead on the next pattern. Gentlemen While
dancing West Coast Swing allow the ladies to finish their anchor before leading
them into your next pattern.
Beginner
Dancer's Tip Try never to refuse a dance with someone who is asking you.
It doesn't feel very good to be rejected. This tip is for the ladies and the gentlemen,
and a reminder to the Int/Adv dancers as well. This is how we learn to be better
dancers by dancing with lots of different partners and dancers of all levels.
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.
Gentlemen Men please
go to the ladies, and ask graciously "if you may have the dance please"
for that dance !
When taking a partner on the floor to dance, try warming
her up by some nice easy basics first and gradually move up the level of patterns
after feeling out whether the partner you are dancing with 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.
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 and sometimes as intermediate and advanced
dancers its a good idea to refresh our memories by taking a basic class again,
or rejoining a level for review of a few things we might have forgotten about.
Dance Instructors and others - If you would like to share your dance tips,
please email the webmaster.
See additional Info at our Frequently Asked Questions Page
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