Social Dancing Etiquette for Country Dancers
I’m sure you’re wondering why we don’t teach any flips or dips in our Mesa, AZ dance studio. You see people doing them all the time when you go out Country dancing especially, so why aren’t we showing them to you? Well, we have some pretty good reasons why we avoid them.
Our studio focuses on social partner dances, like Country Two Step, Salsa dancing and Swing dancing. When you are out socially, it is of primary importance that you are mindful of others. Flips, dips and tricks not only require lots of space, but can be very dangerous to onlookers, or fellow dancers. Rather than tossing our partners around, we recommend learning to dance with all 4 feet on the ground (his and hers). We love to teach, and would encourage you to learn, practical dance moves that are not only safe, but will help you dance with anyone at your local bar, or even at a wedding or other special event. When you see couples who are doing flashy moves, it is most likely they can only do them with the people they practice with. They can’t dance with anyone else in that way because any move that both you and your partner have to memorize is considered choreography. At Dance FX Studios, we want you give you the tools to lead or follow anyone around any floor, not memorize patterns or flashy moves that are not able to be led or followed. Being in a social environment, these types of moves really should not be used at all and we strongly urge you not to try them.
Many couples who do the more eye-catching moves are often looked up to by novice (or non) dancers who truly do not consider the ramifications of a slip up. The couple may look flashy and cool, but they are really just getting in the way of people who want to social dance and enjoy each other. Plus, we would bet that they have unfortunately kicked somebody in the face before when they flipped their partner, or maybe their shoe flew off and hit someone… and if you trust someone to throw you in the air and they don’t catch you, guess what? You will end up falling on the hard floor, which most of the time is wood or concrete, and you could seriously get injured. Honestly none of the risks are worth the “cool” move. You aren’t on the set of “Dirty Dancing”…so relax.
The same thing goes for dips… We know traditionally people love to end a dance with a cute dip, but we like to save those for our wedding routines. Notice that we said routine. A routine is choreography; this is the only time we will teach moves like that… because technically, you will be on a floor to yourself. While it looks cute and romantic, do you really want your head that close to the dance floor? Or, being the male, do you want the responsibility of possibly dropping someone? What if you dance with someone you don’t know and they aren’t expecting a dip? All of those scenarios could seriously end up badly. Most importantly point, those moves aren’t made for a social situation and they should be left on the stage.
If you think you can’t look as cool as, or cooler than, that couple doing crazy stunts, you are so wrong. With Dance FX Studios’ New Student Offer for Beginner’s Dance Lessons, we can show you tons of great looking moves in popular Latin, Swing and Country dances without having either of you lift anybody in the air. Join us in the fun!
