WHICH DANCES ARE YOU INTERESTED IN LEARNING?
When I ask a new student what dances they want to learn, I often see a glazed look come over their eyes and the first dance name they can recall comes out of their mouth.
A good place to start is to think of your favourite music and what makes you tap your foot and feel good. From here, I can show you what dances fit your taste in music and teach you to become a well rounded dancer. I've included more information and links to informative sites to help educate you on the dances on offer.
BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING
If you are undecided as to what is the best course of action for you then why not book a few private lessons (4 sessions together is enough to introduce the basics to a few dances), where I can listen to your needs and introduce you to the basic social ballrom/latin dances. Let me show you a step in each one, explain the history and play the music for each dance. Once you have tried out a few dances and better understand when and where you can dance them you can make a better informed choice as to what you want to learn.
DESIGN YOUR OWN DANCE PROGRAM
Once you know your likes and dislikes you pick what dances you want to learn alot of, a little of, or not learn at all. Just like going to the gym, everyones needs are different and should be tailor made just for you.
After a few lessons with me you will quickly discover that one dance helps another dance as they are all interelated. This causes you to learn faster and be more versatile and popular at dances.
All dance packages are the dances you pick out and fully customised to your wants, needs and dancing desires.
At first looking through all the styles on offer can be overwhelming and confusing. My Beginner Survival dance course introduces the easiest and most popular ones to the absolute beginner - waltz, social foxtrot, rumba, cha cha and boogie. Follow on groups namely Improvers, Intermediate and Advanced build on the basic steps learnt in the beginners course and slowly introduce new dances.
DANCES THAT I OFFER
Below you will find a list of the dances that I offer. I've included a link for most of the dances listed. Follow the links to find out more about each dance including it's history, music and short videos of the basic step(s).
International Ballroom (Standard)
Waltz | Quickstep | Vienesse Waltz | Tango | Slow Foxtrot
International Latin Ameican
Cha cha | Samba | Rumba | Paso Doble | Jive
American style Latin American
Social / Nightclub
Social Foxtrot | Boogie | Argentine Tango | Salsa | Swing
ABOUT THE BALLROOM DANCES ON OFFER
Social Foxtrot - The Foxtrot remains one of the most popular social dances in the world today. Little did Harry Fox realise that his trotting on a New York stage in 1913 would become an overnight success. Affectionately reffered to as "crush dancing" The Foxtrot can be danced on crowded dance floors and is the foundation for many of the social dances that followed. It is enjoyed by all age groups for it's ease of movement and smooth style. Foxtrot music is played at most social dances and is one of the easiest dances to learn.
Waltz - The romantic Slow Waltz is an offspring of the faster Viennese Waltz in 3/4 time. The rhythm was gradually slowed down over time as songwriters of ballads and love songs chose to compose in a slower and more comfortable tempo. This dance has continued to rise in popularity at anniversaries, graduations and weddings. When first introduced into the English ballrooms in the early 1800`s, the Waltz was denounced by both church and state for its vulgarity and immorality... this was, after all, the first time society had seen this outrageous dance position, with the man holding the lady so close to his body. But the very thing that brought it such criticism also made it appealing, and the Waltz was here to stay.
Quickstep - Foxtrot and Quickstep have a common origin. In the twenties many bands played the slow-Foxtrot too fast. Eventually they developed into two different dances. The Slow Foxtrot tempo was slowed down and Quickstep became the fast version of the Foxtrot. 1925 began the Charleston fever, it had a lot of influence on the development of the Quickstep. The English developed the Quickstep from the original Charleston as a progressive dance without kicks and mixed in the fast Foxtrot. They called this dance "the QuickTime Foxtrot and Charleston". At the 'Star' Championships of 1927, the English couple Frank Ford and Molly Spain danced a version of the QuickTime Foxtrot and Charleston without the characteristic Charleston knee actions and made it a dance for two instead of a solo. There was a debate as to why this dance became so popular in Britain. It has been thought that the Quickstep was Brit's answer to keeping warm indoors during the winter. It is a proven fact that the energy exerted while dancing a 60 second Quickstep is equivalent to running a mile in record time!!
Tango - The Tango originated in the bordellos of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and is done in a slightly different manner than other dances. The hold is very different, with the lady's arm under the man's, which creates a tighter hold for a quick staccato action and stylised poses. (Not to be confused with Argentine Tango)
Argentine Tango - The Argentine Tango is a beautiful, simple language of improvisational social dance that has developed over the last century in the city of Buenos Aires. It is a true dance of leading and following. Argentine Tango, with it's dramatic character and use of leg and foot actions, uses slower music and is more of a spot dance, which makes it easier to dance on smaller or crowded floors.
Viennese Waltz - The Viennese Waltz is a fast Waltz which originated in Austria. Joseph Lanner and Johan Strauss wrote the first waltzes in the early 19th century. In the middle of the 20th century, the German, Paul Krebs choreographed the Viennese Waltz style to which we dance today. The dance enjoyed a great deal of popularity not only in Europe, but also in America, and has been used in many Hollywood productions.
ABOUT THE LATIN AMERICAN DANCES ON OFFER
Cha Cha - An exciting, cheeky, syncopated, latin dance, which originated in the 1950s as a slowed down Mambo, the Cha Cha gathers it's personality, character, rhythm, basis, and charm from two major dance sources. It is a derivation of the Mambo. The Cha Cha gets it's name and character from it's distince foot rhythm.
Rumba - The Rumba is Cuban in origin and is often referred to as the "dance of love". Sultry and romantic, the Rumba allows the female dancer to show off her femininity and the male dancer to express the sheer joy of being alive. The music is a mixture of African and Latin rhythms.
Samba - The Samba is a lively and animated Brazilian dance which was first introduced in 1917 and was finally adopted as a ballroom latin dance. Unlike the other Latin dances which are generally stationary, the Samba has a travelling action around the floor with lots of controlled bounces and turns.
Salsa - Salsa dancing is a dance style associated with the salsa style of music now popular worldwide. Salsa music has its origins sometime in the 1950s to 1970s, with the truly distinct salsa style coming out of New York in the 1970s. The music fuses a number of Cuban styles, particularly the son, but also draws from a number of other Latin American styles. It is a hot and incredibly spicy distillation of Afro-Caribbean Rhythm and music.
Mambo - The spicy Mambo as we know it grew out of the Danzon (national music of Cuba), and grasped the imagination of the American dance scene at the close of World War 2. Later, fast Swing-Jazz and upbeat Latin music joined in to form the updated and uninhibited Mambo. The Mambo is a spot dance and the steps are quite compact.
East Coast Swing - This dance is frequently referred to as Triple Step swing due to the rhythm of the basic triple step. This dance consists of six and eight count patterns, which require a rock step back by both man and woman to link the patterns together. It is a circular dance with a slight bounce which is very grounded and not high in the legs like Jive. This bounce requires the dancer to remain very smooth and not jump around much. East Coast Swing is the base for all swing dances.
Jive - The Jive is a very fast, acrobatic, lively dance made popular during World War 2 by the swing music of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey and Glen Miller.
Paso Doble - Paso Doble, or Pasodoble, is a lively dance modeled after the drama of the Spanish bullfight. Paso doble actually means "two-step." The Paso Doble originated in southern France and began gaining popularity in the United States in the 1930s. Because the dance developed in France, the steps of the Spanish Paso Doble actually have French names. Traditionally, the man is characterized as the matador (bullfighter) and the lady as his cape in the drama of a Spanish bullfight. The dancers may choose to enact the role of the torero, picador, banderillero, bull, or Spanish dancer, and may change roles throughout the dance. Based on Flamenco dancing, the Paso Doble is both arrogant and passionate. The Paso Doble is performed more as a competition dance than as a social dance.
