Dance Lessons: Our Experience

[Jelly]

SESSION #1: Swing

"Do we have to go? I don''t have shoes to wear. How many other couples will be there? Will they make me dance with someone else?"

These are all questions my fiance, Joe, asked me before heading out to our first ballroom dance class. He''s never danced before or taken lessons and was very reluctant beforehand. But this was for out first dance at our wedding, so he agreed. It meant a lot to me.

There were about 15 couples total, with ages ranging from high school students to seniors. Quite a wide range of people of all shapes and sizes. One of the first things I did was check out everyone''s shoes. Normlly I check out diamonds, but tonight I was focused on shoes. If they have dancing shoes, they must be more advanced, right?

Once we got there we were relieved to find out that most of the other couple hadn''t danced together before this lesson. After about 25 minutes of introductions, meet and greet session, and watching a demonstration of different dances by the instructors, we started our first steps.

"Men on this side, ladies on that side!" shouted our instructor. I placed myself in the front row so i could watch Joe.

"Tonight we are learning the basics of Swing. I''m going to put on the music and I want all of us to tap our toes to the beat....Very good! Now lets try this:

"1--2--3,4 1--2--3,4 Now you try it. 1--2--3,4 Men, RIGHt--LEFT--RIGHT, RIGHT. Ladies, LEFT--RIGHT--LEFT, LEFT!"

I watched Joe from the other side. Hey! He''s doing it! And he doesn''t look bad, kinda cute actually.

We got into partners and they made the ladies close their eyes. They wanted the men to lead and start the dance. I closed my eyes and waited for some sort of train wreck. It didn''t happen! We started dancing, eyes closed and it was fabulous! By the end of the night we even mastered him turning me. I looked around the class and there were other couples flopping around, laughing, messing up. Not us! We were old pros (well kind of).

I kept telling him how cute he was and how happy I was to be there. He was full of smiles too! It was probably one of the more romantic ways to spend a Saturday night.

We drove home and picked up a pizza to celebrate. Late last night we practiced in our kitchen and even experimented with other moves. All in all, a very good first session!

Sometime this week, we will go shopping for proper shoes.

 

[Tybee]

Jelly!
This is so cute and well written! Thanks for sharing this experience with us! I giggled reading it, and even nudged my FI and made him read it too.
I''m glad your experience was so fun. We too are considering taking lessons. It was fun to read how great yours was.

 

[Jelly]

Tybee, go for it! It seems to be really popular thanks to Dancing with the Stars. I''m sure there are classes near you!

 

[decodelighted]

I''m SO jealous! My sweetie says NO! I''ve been addicted to those dancing shows and used to take Hip Hop in the city ... nothings better, more fun exercise too!
AIIGH. Weep.

p.s. -- I agree, that was very well-written & entertaining. Can''t wait for Parts 2-??.

 

[sunkist]

Jelly that sounds like sooo much fun!! I''m glad your fiance enjoyed it too. I''ve always wanted to take dancing lessons with my BF and I think we finally will! Have fun at your next class, and let us know how it goes

 

[Mara]

how fun jelly!!

we are going to take private lessons because our local ballroom doesn''t let you just pair up with one person, aka your hubby to dance..you have to share and switch partners...which i am NOT into. i went to a lesson once with some friends and being passed around from guy to guy was just not my idea of a good time, i felt like i could never quite get entirely comfortable with some random person holding me.

so while the privates are alot more expensive, my gf who is doing it says its the best way to learn quickly so we''re going to do that for a few months and then once we are better maybe attempt some group classes to continue to practice but maybe then it won''t matter as much who we dance with esp if they are not beginners either anymore.

what we are going to sign up for first is apparently some sort of 4 class private dance package where you get an introduction to all 8 ballroom dances and from there you decide what you like and go fwd!

keep us posted, it sounds like you had a great time!!

 

[flopkins]

Jelly glad you had such a good time!!!!

Mara- I''ve taken a bunch of social dancing classes, and most ppl I know who are beginners don''t like the idea of trading partners, but really it makes you a better dancer in the end. When you just dance w/your partner, you tend to reinforce each others'' mistakes/bad habits and if you plan to go to clubs and do social dancing, it''s good to practice w/other guys because they all have slightly diff styles. Of course, there are the good and the bad, but a good teacher will help correct the mistakes most ppl are making... although there are always a few that just NEVER get it...

I''m always most comfy dancing w/FI though, but it''s still fun to have a better leader make me look good...

I suppose if you take enough privates to get to an intermediate level, it''s nice to take group intermediate classes, most of the leaders at least have a clue then...

 

[Jelly]

I used to do ballroom dancing in college and we always traded partners. Unfortunately back then, there were twice as many girls as boys and I often had to take on the "leader" role and dance with a girl.

This present class seems to be all couples who prefer to dance with each other. That works for me since I want to get really good with Joe before our wedding.

 

[Mara]

flopkins that definitely makes sense but mentally as a beginner i'd rather step on greg's toes than some stranger's...hehehe and be worried about learning AND worried about falling on or stepping on the other person since i don't know them! like you said, i am thinking if we can get to a certain level together with private then we can take intermediate groups where most everyone has some sort of a clue and then it can be more about getting better at something and touching on various points that need to be worked on. but in the beginning i know we'll both feel pretty awkward so i know we'd feel more comfortable being awkward with each other!!

 

[selflove]

I start my first lesson tonight, with the ballroom dance club at a local university. FI can''t get up here in time after work so I''m doing these by myself. So I''m not looking forward to the random male partners either, but FI says that once I get better, he''ll get up here before the wedding so we can practice together. The stinker says I need to get up to his level before he''ll come all the way up here! I''m nervous...!!!!

 

[regalada]

We have been taking ballroom classes together since last fall at a local university in a class full of college students (we are in our early 30''s). FI has been ballroom dancing for over ten years so basically the classes are for me. I told him I would take them if I could hang on to him as a partner the entire time, so everybody switches partners but us. I think that because we are relatively old foggies in the class no one has commented on the fact that I don''t share him. We take the beginner''s class together and then he does the mid-level and then he can dance with anybody.

I have learned a lot in the few months we have been taking the class. We videotape the lessons and then play them at home so we can learn the steps correctly and practice, practice, practice. It has not been as easy as it looked but it sure is a lot of fun!

 

[Mara]

I haven''t watched it yet but there was a Primetime on Ballroom Dancing last week, I tivo''d it and am looking fwd to seeing it, it was talking about how it''s the big thing right now all over the US!

 

[BrightSpot]

How fun, Jelly! FI & I are in a swing class right now too. We''ve taken basic 6 ballroom, salsa & swing together & always have a great time. If you''re in the market for a pair of swing dance shoes, Bleyer makes some nice ones.

Mara, we were a bit hesitant to switch partners at first too, but it really does make you a better dancer to do so. (I second what flopkins said about how just dancing with your own partner reinforces bad habits) Plus, then you get to miss each other a bit & look forward to your chance to dance with your guy.

I guess you do run the risk of looking silly in front of someone you don''t know, but everyone''s in the same boat.

But you''re definitely right that you can learn much faster in the private lessons. The introductory package sounds like a good deal as you''ll have an overview of all of the dances, then can choose to move forward with the ones that spark your interest/passion the most.

Selflove, good luck with your first class tonight! Let us know how it goes.

Regalada, that''s great that your FI is an experienced dancer. A good lead will make his partner look great on the dance floor. All you have to do is follow!

That''s a great idea to videotape the lessons. We never practice as much as we should...

Have fun ladies!

 

[Mara]

Gals who have been taking it for a while, do you think it''s unrealistic of me to think we''ll be practicing all the time at home? I have this image in my mind of us doing it like 2x a week or something, but do you find it hard to get motivated to practice? How does this affect you in your classes, do you feel you are learning slower?

I want to be sure we DO practice, esp if we are forking over $$ for private so I''m already thinking of how we can really get the most out of the experience!

 

[Jelly]

Selflove, good luck tonight and make sure you give us a full report when you get back!

Mara, I practice the basic steps by myself and I make Joe practice them with me. No point in paying good money and not following up with practice. I''m sure you''ll have a blast and will have a lot of fun practicing at home. Just remember to not get too bossy and give him lots of praise!

Regalada, great idea about taping the lessons. Do the other students feel self conscience about being in front of the camera?

Bleyer, I''ll check out those shoes. I''m having a hard time finding a store in my area that sells them. I would buy online, but shoes are tricky, and I''m afraid they won''t fit.

 

[flopkins]

Date: 2/6/2006 5:06:43 PM
Author: Mara
Gals who have been taking it for a while, do you think it''s unrealistic of me to think we''ll be practicing all the time at home? I have this image in my mind of us doing it like 2x a week or something, but do you find it hard to get motivated to practice? How does this affect you in your classes, do you feel you are learning slower?

Mara - I think it depends how motivated you are. FI and I have almost NEVER practice at home, except maybe for 15 min before we go out to a salsa club that evening ,and FI says, oh crap I forgot all our patterns (don''t know how familiar you are w/the lingo but they usually teach a ''pattern'' every lesson in the intermediate level, which is like a sequence of steps that go well together) and we whip out our little book we keep notes in and try to remember old stuff.... that''s one thing we''ve found useful, is after every lesson we go home and write down the steps the best we can remember, and then have a little ''library'' of moves we can do... it''s tougher on the guy bc he has to remember what to lead and the girl just follows... sometimes FI will start something and I''ll just do whatever he''s leading and halfway through he''ll stop and go, wait, what am I doing? And I''ll just look blankly at him... I have no clue, I''m just being a good follower!

I think we would practice more but the space at our place doesn''t really allow for it, and FI always wants to practice when I''m in my PJs and w/my slippers on...

I second everything BrightSpot said too - re feeling self concious. Everyone is in the same boat, it''s nice to know that everyone''s learning and trying to get better, so I''ve really grown to like the atmosphere... although it depends on where you go. Some places are a much more ''mixed bag'' than others. Esp if you go for a lesson at a dance club before the real dancing starts - you tend to get a lot of beginners then, bc all the ''good'' ppl just show up later for the live band. It''s better to go to an actual class, I think.

selflove you must tell us how it goes! how long has FI been dancing?

regalada - there is usu a couple or two that take the class w/o switching, and it''s no big deal - don''t you know you might be missing out on dancing w/some great leaders though?!

PS Wear comfy shoes that are leather soles... DON''T wear sneakers... they stick too much and it is difficult to turn.

 

[selflove]

Thanks for the advice on the sneakers Flopkins, that''s what I planned to wear but I''ll just wear my work pumps. I have no idea how long FI has been dancing...we haven''t really gone dancing since we''ve met but he does know all the steps to the waltz and is very good at leading. Well, he''s 6''5" so I''m just grateful he''s not an oaf.

 

[selflove]

OMG, the dance "lesson" last night was a train wreck!!! Picture a room full of 30-40 people who have no idea what they''re doing, and two instructors who only dance with each other. We started with a waltz and it took me only seconds to remember learning these steps in jr. high gym class. But my first partner had no idea, he had never learned the steps, and he could not lead me. So when we changed partners I was hopeful I''d get someone who knew the steps or could at least be a strong lead--nope. Didn''t happen. There were only a few guys in the class who had even a small clue. When we learned the tango steps it just got worse and hardly anyone knew what steps to do. And the odors...I can''t even re-live the odors and bad breath.

My only hope to learn how to ballroom dance in the 3 months before the wedding is to take private lessons. Drat! I was hoping to save some $$ in this area!

 

[sunkist]

I''m bumping this thread up, because Jelly I want to hear the rest of the story!

How did the dance lessons go? Did you finish, or quit, are you still using the steps, or perhaps you''re dancing pros now?? I REALLY want to take dance lessons with my sweetie. He wants to dance with me but feels self conscious about it because he doesn''t really know how. I hope near the end of the year he''ll have more time off so we can actually take some classes. But in the mean time, I''m interested in the rest of your experience!

 

[BrightSpot]

Me too, Jelly! How did the rest of your lessons go? I love your new avatar, by the way.