Hello,

I did look through quite a bit of threads to see if anyone has had a similar concern and while I learned a lot of new information I couldn't find an answer to the question that has been on my mind lately...

Has anyone here (with a dance experience) had to start again with a new partner - completely inexperienced lead, what was the experience like for you?

A little backstory:

Complete beginner (from EU) with a few months of experience here. I am the lead (M28). So far we have been learning mainly Foxtrot, Viennese waltz, Four-count hustle, + 2 more I cannot recall.

My follower has 2+ years of experience. Met her at the dance classes.

I have to say the learning curve has been extremely steep for me! However, I do think I have managed it fine so far (at least better than I expected). We have taken a couple of private lessons as well (fully paid by me, since I invited her). But lately, there has been growing a little concern in my mind that my dance partner's patience might not be endless. Nothing concrete, just little things here and there (e.g. less keen on taking private lessons, looks at other dance couples, worse mood, etc.).

So in addition to constantly learning new steps and trying my best to lead (this does put an extra strain on me mentally since she has a lot more experience and knows the steps well) ...concerns like these feel like mentally adds a whole new ... thing that I have to manage on the dance floor.

It could just be me and my overthinking mind... But one more thing to note, in our area, there is only one place where the ballroom dances are being taught, and followers are waiting (in queue) for leads in order to join the classes (for us the teaching is casual/for events so the lead is always a male). So she might also be feeling like she has no other options... not an inspiring thought for me. :(

I guess I am just wondering how it is from the follower's perspective if your lead is completely inexperienced. Were you willing to wait as long as necessary for your dance partner to reach a reasonable skill level?

I'll really appreciate any experiences or tips shared.

Thank you!

Hi all. I'm very new to ballroom dancing and have only been taking lessons and attending social dances for about 4 months now.

I dance at least 3 times per week and know the basics (and I do mean BASICS) of the waltz, foxtrot, rumba, cha-cha, tango, east coast swing, hustle, and salsa.

I don't know a lot of terminology yet so I apologize in advance for getting some names of moves totally wrong, which I will.

I have taken intro classes to all of the dances mentioned and practice them constantly at social dances.

My issue is, my regular dance partner has been dancing for 20+ years and has a very set 'routine' of moves he likes to do, which includes, IMO, a LOT of turns/spins.

Maybe it's just me, but I find doing a lot of turns in a dance to be incredibly boring. I know some dances are more 'turn happy' than others, such as Viennese waltz and the two step, which makes me dizzy just watching the women do, so I avoid those at all costs.

But my partner feels that I am not experienced enough to know what I should like or not, which kind of ticks me off. Believe me, I KNOW I don't like to be turned 8-10+ times in a single song and experience isn't going to change that.

I've also noticed that my partner seems to reeeealy like to dance in the 'cuddle' position. No, he's not being inappropriate or making advances. But when we waltz for example, we spend very little time face to face compared to the other couples dancing because he'll turn me and then pull me into a cuddle position, my back to his chest, and we'll dance the rest or most of the rest of the waltz that way.

I mentioned that no one else does that and it makes me feel like we stand out, which I don't like and he said I'm just being silly.

But am I? We spend at least half of each song we dance to in cuddle, doing various turns, and it's just maddening to me.

He's set in his patterns and being new, I want to explore new steps/moves and have fun. He thinks I need to learn formality and discipline first. I'm dancing for exercise and social engagement, not for any type of competition whatsoever.

My instructors say I'm doing incredibly well and picking things up very fast. They also stress enjoying what I'm doing as opposed to stressing over every misstep as having fun is the point and practice will help me get even better.

I feel stuck between my partner and my instructors. Dancing with my partner is starting to feel tedious and more like a lesson each time instead of something I used to look forward to. I am so confused.

Any ideas? I greatly appreciate your input.

I'm looking for a good Christmas song to use as a closer for a ballroom concert. I want it to be upbeat, fun, not a slow tempo, and preferably secular. It should be something that makes sense as a last song that everyone does their bows to. Any suggestions?

When I'm dancing, there's a lot of tension in my shoulders/neck, which makes everything look quite stiff. What are some exercises to try to help with this?

Hi! I am very new and this is my first competition as a beginner. I used to do hair and make up but I cannot figure out how to do my hair as I have bangs. Any ladies with bangs have any style suggestions or anyone have any style suggestions?

I've been taking 2 lessons a week for the past year or so, and I feel like I've made good progress in my dancing. However, I know many people who take even more than that.

I'm curious, how many lessons do you take per a week? Should someone take more lessons if they are doing multiple categories? (Ex. Smooth & Rhythm, or Smooth & Standard) How many lessons are overkill in your opinion?

I am looking to take ballroom dance classes in nyc. Which are the best places to start?

Hello,

I'm looking for a succint explanation of the differences between International Standard and American Smooth and why those differences exist.

From my understanding American Smooth was developed for more social dances. And I know that in International Standard you need to stay in closed position, but I'm curious as to the rationale behind that and any other key differences.

Thanks!

I’m a (beginner? Intermediate? I started just under a year ago) Latin dancer. I found that my upper body is EXTREMELY stiff and I don’t know how to fix that. My lower body is fine it’s just the upper body that’s giving me a headache. How do I get more movement? Any tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated

Hello,

Up until now I've been leading promenade position but adjusting my right hand to indicate it to the follow. But at the end of my last class my teacher started to introduce me to the idea of leading ppromenade by instead opening up/turning my shoulder and hip to the right.

I want to be practicing it before my next class (next Friday), but I'm not sure it fully clicked with me. I understood it as keeping my arms roughly the same as in closed with a slight extension in the left arm and turning my shoulder, torso and hips slightly to the right. Is this correct?

Thanks!

https://reddit.com/link/1h1fr4x/video/sp2kbbhlki3e1/player

So I've been in a slump lately and every time I go to dance classes, be it group or private, I'm always wondering what am I even doing there. As soon as I step into the room my feet become heavy and I get so many intrusive thoughts, that I have no talent, I'm ugly, I'm fat (I have 56 kgs currently after losing 16 kgs in the last 2 years), I'm too short (156 cm), I have weak muscles, I have bad balance on high heels, I'm a fraud trying to go pro at 26 years old when some dancers are already retiring etc.

I started 2 years ago and have been taking private classes since 1 year ago. I really am so in love with dancing and practice every day. I have 8 hours of dance classes every week, go to the studio during weekend to practice by myself and doing the same at home whenever I have time, even during work breaks. But it simply feels that it is never enough. Even when I feel like I improved part of some technique at home, at the studio I'm frozen in place.

I do have huge respect for my dance instructor and he's been pretty encouraging throughout my evolution while not indulging me too much but lately I've been getting the feeling he's fed up with my lack of improvement. Yesterday he said the pace I'm going at right now is far from enough to go pro (he was actually the one who suggested going pro) and even though I do have talent, I lack the allure of a dancer unless I lose weight.

The latter was a huge blow to me since my body shape has always been my biggest complex and just a few months ago he was actually praising me for losing weight. I am still trying to lose weight but I cannot eat any less than this while dealing with GERD as well due to my tendecy to starve myself. And, guess what, eating less and only nutritional meals while exhausting myself dancing does nothing, sometimes I'm even gaining weight.

So yeah, during the last few months all of this has been taking a huge toll on my mental health. I was already an axious and overthinking person with a lot of self doubts but now is worse to the point that I feel like crying whenever I think about dancing. Or having mental breakdowns while practicing. At this point I don't know who I am anymore or what I'm actually trying to achieve. Everything feels pointless and I'm a useless human being.

So what should I do? For sure I cannot give up because, you know, if I have to think about the moments in life when I've been happiest, dancing is always my first thought. Though rare, during group classes when we are just practicing the choreography, I have these moments when my mind is empty and I seem to be touching the most inner layer of my heart and when that takes over, God, it's pure bliss. Like the purest kind of love. Or maybe I'm just crazy but if that is how craziness feels like that I'd rather be that for the rest of my life.

But then reality sinks again and I'm thinking that I don't deserve feeling like that after 2 years of dancing when other people have been doing it for their entire life and are out there competing, actually being good at it and having so many achievements, with years of hard work behind them. Yeah, for real now, who am I kidding...

Hi everyone,

I'm an artist working on a project with a ballroom at the moment and I'm trying to get my hands on Slipperine, a pink powder that was used to make dance floors extra slippery. It seems to have been manufactured by a Scottish company (but used all over the world) and sold in cans. I can't find anywhere to buy it, or even information about where/if it is currently being manufactured. I wondered if anyone knew of it, and knew where I might get some? Thank you.

Hello,

I have nearly no knowledge regarding ballroom dance but my fiancé and I are looking for an entrance dance for our wedding. We both like the song Pink + White by Frank Ocean but we have no idea how you would dance to that song. If I am right the song is written in 6/8 what makes it a viennese waltz. But that feels awkwardly fast for that song. Otherwise it would maybe be possible to dance in 2/4 what would result in a tango? But that also doesn't seem to fit the song quite well. Maybe you guys can help us out. Thank you very much

Hey there!

I started taking classes in standard/Latin and Lindy Hop this summer. I'm having a bunch of fun, and I'd like to get some proper shoes at this point. I'm male, and, for both classes, we practice on wooden flooring.

So far, I've mostly been using a pair of strictly indoor trainers (just to have something on my feet that doesn't damage the floor). Lately, though, I've just been dancing in socks for the ballroom class, because I noticed that I had way too much grip when trying to learn this spin turn in quickstep. As a side adventure, I've also had some sneakers sueded, because I happened to have those lying around, and I wanted to see what slippery shoes feel like. The slipperiness is nice, but skate shoes definitely aren't ideal for these kinds of dancing either (for some reason, particularly the triple step in Lindy Hop seemed much harder using those shoes compared to the trainers).

But enough of that. Let me get to my questions:

• Do shoes exist that would work well for both ballroom and swing dancing? I suspect the answer is no, but I wanted to ask because, A) it would be nice if I could get away with buying just a single pair of expensive shoes for now, and B) occasionally, I'll dance both ballroom and swing during the same social event

• As an extension of the previous question, what's the difference between ballroom and swing shoes? I've mostly been looking into swing shoes so far, because I've been having an easier time finding shoe brands for the specific purpose of swing dancing. Those brands don't have that many options either, so they don't overwhelm me. As an example, I kinda like these shoes https://www.saintsavoy.com/en/produkt/pacific-clay/ because I think they look a bit more versatile than the other shoes on that site. The shape of these reminds me of dress shoes, and the soles are said to be made for dancing. So, which properties would make these work better for swing dancing than ballroom dancing?

• Are ballroom shoes and dress shoes the same?

• Assuming that I need specific ballroom shoes, which kind of properties should I be looking for here? Do you have any specific shoe or brand recommendations?

Perhaps I should also mention that I'm not looking to compete. I'm just doing this to social dance.

I’ve been trying to clean up my technique lately, but I’ve had a hard time finding information about what sort of drills I should be doing, on a frequent basis. What has everyone else been using, that’s worked well? I’d be happy to hear advice on just about any style, but I’d especially like to learn about exercises for rhythm/latin. My other question is, how do you become a better follower? I admit that I’m kind of a “stubborn” follow, thus far. Sometimes I don’t pick up on direction the best, and sometimes I’ll move before my leader does. I know the obvious answer is probably just to practice dancing with a lot of different people, but that isn’t always an option to me, so I was curious if there’s anything I can do on my own.

Hi everyone, I just wanted to share how incredible it feels to be back in the world of dance after over 10 years away. The power, energy, and beauty that dancing brings to my life are unmatched. It's been helping me reconnect with my femininity and slowly regain confidence in myself.

Lately, I've been experiencing what I can only describe as a positive obsession with dancing. I always have dance music playing in my headphones, I'm constantly visualizing steps and routines in my head, and I can’t wait to perform. I find myself fantasizing about what my performances will feel like and look like—it's such a pure and beautiful motivation.

I’ve done (and still enjoy!) so many other sports—yoga, running, gym workouts—but nothing has ever sparked this kind of passion in me. Dancing feels like a completely different world, one where I feel alive and truly myself.

Does anyone else feel this way? Is dance your happy obsession too?

Hey everybody!

With a friend we were wondering what was the average spending per year per dancer. We have very different opinions on that (she said up to 7K per year, I tap more around 3K).

What’s yours??

It includes:

• classes & privates
• events (workshops, festivals, weekenders)
• socials
• shoes & clothing
• transportation & housing (for far away events)

And for how long have you been dancing?

QUESTION: Can anyone give me ANY kind of an OPINIONS -- on how social ballroom dancing opportunities for 75-plus years-old singles in Denver CO -- compares to Pittsburgh PA or Philadelphia PA ??

I'm talking about just basic social dancing -- East Coast Swing, Cha Cha, Waltz, beginner-level West Coast Swing -- just dances to "mingle" -- nothing fancy.

• As a 76-year-old single male, I found on a recent 10-month trip to Denver -- that there are several places I can go, and usually find single females in their 70s and 80s to dance with.
• For example, in the Denver area, I can go to dances at the Aurora Eagles, Berkeley Park Senior Center, Dougie G’s Lounge, Lakewood Elks, Platt Park Senior Center, Sons of Italy, Stampede, Turnverein, and Windsor Gardens -- and most-always find other singles to dance with.

~~~~
I'm wondering if Pittsburgh or Philadelphia have similar opportunities for the 75+ dancers.

• I'm SUSPECTING that Denver may have significantly MORE opportunities for older singles -- than these 2 Pennsylvania cities ??
• I'm also suspecting that older seniors in my age range (75+) are maybe in better physical condition in Denver, than in the Pennsylvania cities ??

~~~~ FYI: WHY I'M ASKING (My Situation): ~~~~

• I presently live in a small rural city in North-Central PA (Williamsport) -- where there is essentially NOTHING for senior singles in the way of ballroom or swing dancing.
• Wherever I travel, I need to DRIVE -- because I have a 55-pound dog, that I inherited from my deceased Significant Other.
• I temporarily have access to a place in Denver where the dog and I can stay for a month or two -- hence the reason I've been driving to Denver.
• But making DRIVING trips to Pittsburgh or Philly would be a lot CLOSER -- than making driving trips to Denver -- if there were similar dance opportunities.

CONS: As you probably know, Denver is (a) expensive, and (b) has a lot of traffic congestion.

PROS: The lower humidity makes the winters feel less cold for me (and summers less sticky).

• I don't care too much about the mountains and the other aesthetic stuff; just (1) can I find dance partners within a relatively short driving distance from where I'm staying.
• In Southeast Denver I could drive about 6 miles to get to the Turnverein, or 11 miles to get to the Sons of Italy dances.
• In Williamsport I have to drive about 90 miles to get to nearest dance activities in Scranton or Harrisburg (which only have a FEW singles) -- which I used to do when I was younger, but is now too far for someone my age.

This earlier Reddit thread

https://www.reddit.com/r/Denver/comments/17w6iww/looking_to_possibly_move_to_denver_or_pittsburgh

has some comparisons between Denver and Pittsburgh, but NOT from a 75+ ballroom dancers point-of-view.

• There's lots more Reddit comparisons of these cities, but NOT from a senior-aged ballroom dancer's point of view.

THANKS in advance -- for any opinions that you care to offer.

My wife and I started some ballroom dancing classes for fun - I took a semester class waaaayy back when in college, and enjoyed it a lot. We asked our instructor to start us out with Foxtrot. She taught us a basic that's essentially slow, slow ,slow, quick, quick. So three strides forward, then sidestep to the right. Last and first step are therefore with the left foot (for the lead). I seem to recall this also from the earlier class I'd taken in college. But everything I can find online says the basic foxtrot is slow, slow, quick, quick - so two strides forward, then sidestep to the left. What gives? I know there are a few styles of foxtrot (American, International, Continuous), but none of those seem to be the slow, slow, slow, quick, quick we learned. If anyone can clue me in (mostly, because I want to find some additional steps in this style), would be grateful.

I’ve never heard of one. I have a background in ballet and there are many all around the world. Just wonder if ballroom does?

Hi all! My husband and I have a "party performance" tomorrow for our open waltz routine. We're looking for songs that aren’t classically used for waltz. Do you all have recommendations for something with a cool jazz feel or Jazz Standards? I love Elle Fitzgerald, Chet Baker, Billie Holiday (but her cadence throws my timing off).

Sincerely,

An Amature

Ok, ok, the title I have chosen is quite controversial, but it's just my feeling right now. I'm doing a dance course at my university right now, and until now everything (Discofox, Chacha, Rumba) has worked quite well, but Tango drives me out of my mind. (Though overall in fact I just am a clumsy person with motoric deficits...).

The disaster began with the fact that the basic tango step in this class (step left forward - step right forward - step right backward - step left to the left - close with right foot) has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with the tango I learned in school.

Secondly it's freaking hard to keep the damn tango beat because of the changing velocity of the steps.

And what threw me completely off course was the fact that we were supposed to turn about 90° in the clockwise direction. Unfortunately, this is way beyond my coordination skills, I can't even imagine how this is supposed to work.

The fact that my partner was also an experienced dancer and probably cursed me for my clumsiness only made me fail even more.

So maybe you can help me a little:

1. I need good and super simple training songs for the worst tango-dancer of all times.

2. How to keep the beat/steps? How many beats do i have for the rocking step? All other steps will be one beat I guess.

3. How do I manage not to worry about what my partner or viewers think when I've messed up again? That makes everything so much worse...

4. Any general tips to succesfully survive tango without fully embarassing me?

Thanks for helping me in advance

Hello! I started taking private lessons in March this year at Fred Astaire in Madison for my wedding, but I continued to go because I really enjoy it.

However, lessons are $120 per lesson and I'm trying to buy a house next year with my husband. I can't really go more than twice a month with occasional practice parties starting in December, and I know that's not enriching/frequent enough for what I want. Technically I can go more, but I'm not looking to spend $600+ on lessons each month and I need to save money.

I'm thinking about taking cheaper, weekly group lessons at Madison Ballroom Company and taking a private lesson once a month at Fred Astaire, but my instructor said they "would teach me bad". Does anyone have recommendations for good, cheaper studios in the Madison area? Or know if Madison Ballroom is actually bad or not? I don't want to be taught incorrectly and waste all of the money and time I've spent so far. Thank you!

I'm also just learning as a hobby- I don't have any desire to compete, but I'd like to be "good".