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Country dance classes Mesa AZ

How to Get Him to Ask You For Another Dance

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Country dance classes Mesa AZLadies, we love to dance, don’t we? Well, most of us do! Wouldn’t it be awesome to go out social dancing with the girls and find incredible guys to dance with everywhere we turn? Of course it would. In reality, though, guys have a ton of responsibility on the dance floor. What that means for us is that there are less great male dancers out there than we would like because of the actual work it takes to be a great leader on the dance floor. That doesn’t mean that they’re not out there, though. Or that they’re not works in progress. 🙂 Let’s give our men a break, girls. Here are a few tips from me to you to get him to ask you for another dance every time.

  1. Don’t lead yourself. This is a tough one for us ladies, right? We so want to “help” our leading man with his part. Believe it or not, though, this is actually one of the most detrimental things that we can do for him. It strips of him his “power”, not to mention his manhood. On the dance floor, the guy is called the leader for a reason. There is one leader and one follower, not two leaders, girls. So, even though he may be a beginner with limited knowledge, please respect his level of dance and don’t lead yourself, or try to teach him what to do. This will just fluster him, and strip him of his confidence. When you accept a Salsa or a Two Step dance, I recommend smiling and being gracious. Who knows, maybe a few months down the road with more Private Dance Lessons under his belt, he may become an incredible leader that you will be hoping asks you to dance again.
  2. Show interest in your partner. To follow up on my previous point, let your partner know that he’s doing a great job by making him look good. Don’t over dance or show off if he’s not ready for advanced styling, simply enjoy what he can offer on that night. Interestingly, and this happens often, we as ladies think that HE is the problem on the dance floor, and we tend to discount him before even giving him a chance. This may come to a shock, but WE could be part of the reason why the dance isn’t so great. So, again, be appreciative of the offer to dance, and focus on what you can do to make the experience as good as possible for the two of you. A smile and reassurance goes a long way!
  3. Wear appropriate clothing and accessories. This is a big one. Whether you’re dancing with a beginner or an experienced Swing, Country or Salsa dancer, what you wear can have a definite impact on your dance experience. To start, the right shoes are essential. If you’re out Country dancing, boots are quite appropriate. If you’re at a Salsa club, throw on a pair of heels with a strap around the ankle. The right footwear will help you with balance, coordination and looking good too. 😉 Clothing-wise, a short loose skirt is OK, as long as you have running shorts underneath. (Let’s avoid a possible slip where you might expose yourself.) For Latin dancing, I do not recommend a tight skirt or dress, as you are going to restrict your range of motion and possibly be more focused on being uncomfortable than having fun. For accessories, I suggest earrings that do not dangle, or have the chance to get caught on anything. This could be a real disaster!

Social dancing is a true blast! Ladies, let go, enjoy being swept off of your feet and dress for success! The rest will fall into place, and your dance card will be full before you know it. If you’re a gal who wants social dance tips on how to be a great follower, take social dance lessons for beginners! Dance lessons are a wonderful way to stay healthy, learn a fun, new skill and gain confidence on the dance floor.

Tango dancing in AZ

What Are Your Dancing Goals???

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Tango dancing in ArizonaAnother day here in John’s Little Corner at Dance FX Studios and normally it is a beautiful day but today, despite life’s beauty, there is a dark cloud growing over head and its called frustration! I met with a couple the other day for an Introductory dance lesson that went great, but they shared some information with me that really grinds my ochos!!! It’s not the first time I have heard of this type of thing happening, but my couple was so specific as to what they were wanting, it blows my mind that it took them several tries with different Arizona dance studios for them to finally find us to help them to accomplish their dancing goals. My frustration is with other studio’s agendas taking precedence over their student’s goals. As a student it is primary that you learn something that you will use, that is why you become students! But not everyone learns the same way. Some people are visual learners, and some are more hands on, and some people need a good balance of both to fully understand what it is they are studying. As adults, we kind of have a pretty good idea on how our brains process and absorb information. So here is my frustration…

The gentleman and his wife, my new students, have been to four or more different ballroom dance studios in Phoenix wanting to share time together and learn how to dance. They were shown a number of dances at each studio, from the Salsa to Swing dancing, which is typical because… how do you know what you will like until you try a few different dance styles, right? Plus…it is good to know a few different styles because, unless you control the music wherever you go, you have to be prepared for whatever comes on at weddings, in the Country bars, at Latin dance clubs, etc… Here’s the thing though, if you have been shown a number of different dances and know what you like and what you want to learn, is there any reason to keep pushing other dances onto you? NO! Yet even worse is the fact that this gentleman knows that he can only learn one thing at a time and did his best to try and learn a couple dances at the same time, but with no success, only further frustration. They were even told that they would only do one style but ultimately they were lied to. WHY???????? What is the purpose of this at dance studios? To keep students confused and keep them longer making them invest more and more money into nothing but frustration and confusion? I don’t understand. Really I do, but it saddens me to know that something as joyous and healthy as dancing is is being exploited into something dark and irritating because of greed. Dancing is a beautiful thing that deserves to be shared by everyone! Yes, to stay in business you have to take care of business, but do you do that at the expense of your students piece of mind? No. I tell you, NO!
We ballroom dance instructors need to make the dance lesson customized to our students needs. Listen to their goals, pay attention to how they learn, and adapt. Just because you are the instructor, doesn’t mean you don’t learn from your students. As a student you have the right to direct how your lessons will go, within reason. You can not just change everything how you see fit because then you would no longer be the student. Believe me, us good instructors of dance do have a method to their madness, but some apparently are just full-on mad… so be cautious in your choice of instructor and studio, and make sure your dance lessons fit your needs and styles of learning. And, beginner dancers, please communicate your ways of learning to your instructor before enrolling into their dance program because the last thing you want to have happen is that you make a bad investment.
Now I could continue on about this but I am going to move past it. I could go on and on how we here at Dance FX Studios in Mesa, Arizona listen to your needs, customize your lessons around your learning style, help you reach your goals, help keep frustration from being an issue in learning, and most importantly help you enjoy the beauty in dance! But I don’t really need to if all these other studios continue on in their ways of doing things. So remember newbies, learning to Latin, Swing and Country dance is a thrilling journey, and an investment well worth your time and effort, but make sure it’s your own unique journey and not one from someone else’s manufactured journey-making machine!

Until next time, this is John in his Little Corner at Dance FX Studios saying, I hope “Dance FX You” in the way it should so you can gain a hobby and skill that will bring you joy for years to come!

Man and woman country dancing

The Truth About True Country Dancing

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Man and woman country dancing in ArizonaI’m going to be really blunt for a second…

True Country is not a social dance.

Okay, I said it. Now, before you get angry and stop reading, I will clarify: True Country is fun, acrobatic, and is done to music. It takes skill to perform the lifts and dips, there are plenty of spins, and it looks like dance. I love to see it in performance, when it has been practiced and perfected between two skilled partners… But that does not make it a social partner dance.

I bring this up because True Country has become a huge trend throughout the Country Dance world, especially in Arizona. We at Dance FX Studios have had countless numbers of new students come in asking to learn True Country, but to be completely honest, it scares me. I’ve seen many girls dropped, hit, and injured because guys tried “cool moves” they learned on Youtube. There are plenty of moves out there, but they aren’t always successful when attempting True Country because:

There is no set structure or rhythm.

Can you tell me the basic of True Country? What is the standard rhythm that one follows? There is no answer. Country Swing is slow-slow-quick-quick and Arizona Two Step is quick-quick-slow-tap-slow-tap. Why does that matter, you ask? Without some kind of standardized structure or rhythm, there is no way for partners to properly communicate. If there is no set rhythm for dancers to follow together, they have no way of knowing who is on what foot and when.

True Country doesn’t follow the beat of the music.

The other reason rhythm is so important in partner dance? It keeps you with the music, of course! Music gives you your timing and helps keep partners together with an audible beat to follow. Because there isn’t a set rhythm, dancers tend to ignore the music completely. Dance at its core is the physical embodiment of musical interpretation. If you ignore the music, you’re just moving.

There is no lead or follow.

If you can’t tell what beat or what foot your partner is on, how can you know when the most comfortable time to turn your girl is? You can’t. The majority of social True Country dancers aren’t guiding their partners, but rather they are throwing them. Without training, True Country doesn’t ask for an equal partnership where the man leads and the woman interprets and follows. Instead, women are simply flung from place to place.

What it all boils down to is this: True Country is a performance. Like any acrobatic routine, it is exactly that – a routine. True Country can be really cool to look at when the couple has already planned each and every move. If not, it’s sloppy at its best and dangerous at its worst. Your best bet is to learn what we at Dance FX Studios are now calling “Real Country.” Learn Two Step or Country Swing the right way, so you can lead or follow without having to throw or be thrown. I promise, it’s a lot more fun (and safe) to do turns and twists to the music and with some technique under your belt. If you’re in the greater Pheonix area, come check out our studio in Mesa. Located just off the 60 and the 101, we’re minutes away from Tempe, Chandler, Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Gilbert. Join us for our group classes starting up in September or try an introductory private dance lesson. We can get you dancing comfortably and safely while looking cool on the floor in no time!

Not in Arizona? We’ve gotcha covered. We’ll be uploading instructional Real Country videos to our Youtube page soon, so you can get your dance on wherever you are!

Contact us to begin your dancing journey…

 

Private dance lessons are available by appointment Monday-Friday from 12-8 pm and on Saturdays from 10 am-3 pm. For more information, call us today at 480.968.6177.