Six weeks into Dance lessons

I looove dancing, especially salsa. I was in Cali, Colombia (the salsa capital of the world) recently, and I had a blast.

I started dance classes years ago and my partner bailed after learning the foxtrot and part of the waltz. I would love to do it again. Maybe someday.

The best thing with learning swing where I am is you don't need a partner. You just turn up and they keep rotating partners during the class. That way you get to learn to respond to people differently and it keeps the style improvisational. Sometimes there's a lack of balance in the class - too many follows and not enough leads, but most workshops will aim to balance out the roles, plus you get a short chance to practice footwork on your own if you are without a partner temporarily.

I'm currently on party night five of dancing in Iceland...,

DetroitDarin wrote: »

i'm considering a group-lesson plan to actually have partners...But the biggest thing is to simply learn everything I can so I can get to places like iceland for 5-day parties

eight dance parties (including a demo session in a bar) over a week's stay in Reykjavik and the West Fjords. I haven't danced for two nights and my feet are itching to get going again.

My tip for you is get social dancing as much as you possibly can - even if you think you can't. I held off from getting on the dance floor for so long and now I realise that is the BEST way to improve.

group lessons are good as you get to connect (physically) in different ways with different partners which helps you to understand what works and what doesn't. I had some great dances over the past week, and some pretty horrendous ones too. I also now know that my repertoire is quite small and that needs expanding.

girlinahat wrote: »

The best thing with learning swing where I am is you don't need a partner. You just turn up and they keep rotating partners during the class. That way you get to learn to respond to people differently and it keeps the style improvisational. Sometimes there's a lack of balance in the class - too many follows and not enough leads, but most workshops will aim to balance out the roles, plus you get a short chance to practice footwork on your own if you are without a partner temporarily.

I'm currently on party night five of dancing in Iceland...,

in addition to the "Quote" "Insightful" and "Awesome" buttons, we now need one for "Jealous"

sounds fantastic!

So @DetroitDarin how are the lessons going? I got asked if I did West Coast Swing last week by a Polish dancer and now I'm intrigued as to understanding the differences between styles. He used a lot of footwork that was different to Lindy. There was another guy there from the East coast of the US and he was doing footwork none of us really understood so I wonder if he had learnt a different style as well.

Blues dancing is fun too! I do swing and salsa with a friend. She's really into blues. I want to try it too. There is a blues and fusion group that a lot of my friends dance with.

BinaryPulsar wrote: »

Blues dancing is fun too! I do swing and salsa with a friend. She's really into blues. I want to try it too. There is a blues and fusion group that a lot of my friends dance with.

blues is great for those late night I-can't-move-my-feet anymore moments. It's a great way of sharing a connection with someone that only lasts a song. I've had dances with people who try to make blues too technical and boy is that depressing!! Blues has SOUL, not technique!!

I have a beginner's Collegiate Shag class starting in a week or so and really looking forward to refining my knowledge (especially as have a 5 day workshop in Barcelona coming up - did I mention how dancing gets you the chance to travel the world????)