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Get Ready for Country Thunder AZ 2019 With Country Dance Lessons

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With the holidays fast approaching, Country Thunder AZ 2019 is just around the corner! That’s right, mark your calendars for the hottest Country music festival around. What an awesome time to get together with friends and live it up…all weekend long! And what goes best with Country music? Country Dancing, of course!

Here in Arizona, we get to experience Country Thunder in April, the 11th to the 14th in 2019, to be exact. Will you be there? If so, you have got to know how to Country dance! How else can you truly enjoy your favorite tunes if you’re not Two Stepping or Swing dancing too them as they’re being played?

Within weeks, we’ll be pulling our Christmas trees out of the garage and dusting off our boots as the weather cools. Don’t let winter pass you by without getting started with beginner’s Country Dance Lessons. Before you know it, you’ll be scrambling to learn at the last minute, which is never fun. Besides, all you need is a pair of boots and the right Arizona Dance Studio to get you moving. The question is, where to begin…

Finding a Dance Studio where you’re comfortable learning is key. You’ve got to be able to relax and enjoy the process if you plan to stick with it. For Couples and single men, I highly suggest Private Country Dance Lessons over Group Classes. There are many reasons for this, but the most important one leads back to comfortability. When you’re learning with just your spouse and an instructor, you will be less inclined to worry about “mistakes” or “looking dumb”, and you will be more focused on getting the right information from your dance instructor that can be tailored for the way that you learn best. Now everyone knows that a girl loves a guy that can dance, so men, it’s time to get that ball rolling, either by yourself, or with your lady!

Once you have find the right place, you have to know what styles of Country dance are most popular. Of course, a great dance instructor will direct you, so rely on their guidance to get you started with fantastic dancing habits, but having an idea of what you have seen out dancing will help too, so feel free to bring up dance styles you like.

Oftentimes, we at Dance FX Studios in Mesa, AZ are asked by new students to be taught the Texas Two Step. This is not a dance that is used so much in Arizona, so we often wonder why this comes up so often. Regardless, the Arizona Two Step, is much more practical on the dance floors here in AZ, hence it’s name!

The big differences between the Texas Two Step and the Arizona Two Step are that the former is a bit more fast paced, and requires a larger dance space. As the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas, so it’s cool to do the Texas Two Step there, but in Arizona, we have much smaller dance floors. The Arizona Two Step is going to be your key to covering most of your Country songs and dance spaces here in AZ, so this is the one to learn.

Secondly, the Arizona Two Step is also referred to as the Rhythm Two Step because it doesn’t have to travel and can therefore work on any size dance floor, big or small. This is perfect for Arizona Country Dance venues!

In accordance with it’s name, though, being on tempo with the Rhythm Two Step is essential. This is the one aspect of Country Dancing that many untrained dancers seem to have in common, that is, not adhering to the beat when dancing. With Dance Lessons, you will learn how to find the beat to stay on time with the music, whether you’re Two Step dancing or Country Swing dancing.

Speaking of which, Country Swing dancing is going to be your second most used Country dance, so do request to learn this popular Country Dance style. Country Swing is a circular dance that doesn’t do any traveling, which is also ideal for small, crowded dance floors in AZ.  Country Swing is faster than the Two Step, so when you’re finding it challenging to dance Two Step, switch over to Swing dancing, and you should be good to go!

Have a blast next year at Country Thunder AZ 2019! Be safe, and most importantly, get out and dance! After all, what’s life without dancing in it!?!

AZ Swing dancing lessons

Popular Swing Dance Styles

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AZ Swing dancing lessonsHave you always wanted to learn to Swing dance? Why not!? It’s exciting, versatile and so much fun! Did you know that there are formally 24 Swing dance styles? And that doesn’t even include the most popular of them all… Country Swing dancing! Here at Dance FX Studios in Mesa, Arizona, we teach Jitterbug Swing, Country Swing, and West Coast Swing, as these are the most useful for social dance situations, from weddings to nights around town here in Phoenix. Crazy enough, each Swing dance style has its own characteristics and history, but they all come from the same root dance, the Lindy Hop. Swing dancing originated almost a century ago in the 1920’s. Here’s a bit more information on the three Swing dance styles that we can offer you:

Jitterbug Swing: Jitterbug is a dance that moves in a circular fashion, which makes it a “spot” (non-traveling) dance. You can dance the Jitterbug Swing to all of your favorite oldies, including Rock and Roll, and Big Band music. It is a modified version of East Coast Swing (or Triple Swing) that evolved from Lindy Hop in the 1940s. Jitterbug is the single-rhythm version of East Coast Swing. It uses mostly six count patterns, although there are some variations that use eight counts. The most important piece, and the constant piece, in this dance is the rock step, which is what creates momentum!

Country Swing: Country Swing is avery trendy dance in Arizona today. It is fast-paced and furious, not to mention lots of FUN! Country Swing dancing is very similar to Jitterbug Swing in terms of the moves you can dance, but the styling of the Country Swing is what sets it apart from other Swing dance variations. Put a little Cowboy or Cowgirl twist on your Jitterbug dance steps and you’re on your way to becoming a great Country Swing dancer. This is a must-have dance if you live with us in Arizona, so get started on your Country Swing dance lessons today!

West Coast Swing: The West Coast Swing is a smooth style of Swing dancing that started in California in the 1950’s. It is also known as the Hollywood Swing. This style is danced in a slot style – the follower has one track that is used to go back and forth on, like a balance beam. There are quite a few speculated ideas as to where and why this style originated, but it is not pinpointed to one time or place. West Coast Swing dancing is very flirty and can even be considered sensual, so when you learn this medium-tempo dance, get ready for a really cool experience.

Besides the shape of the dance-circular, a slot dance, etc…music is a big definer that determines which  Swing style to dance. The nice thing about Swing dancing overall is that there are many different genres of music that you can dance to. The most common Jitterbug music includes early swing era jazz tunes, 40’s music, Doo Wop 50’s, 60’s Surf & Beach songs, Rockabilly, R&B, Blues, Motown music, Disco and Neo-swing 90’s and 2000’s music. Country Swing is preferably danced to Country music. It also mixes nicely with the Country 2-Step. Country Swing can be used to to some of the styles of music mentioned in Jitterbug as well. West Coast Swing can also be danced to a wide variety of music styles (R&B, blues, soul, rock, pop, ballads, C&W, and other contemporary music), but it is generally a little slower than typical Swing music.

All three are extremely fun, versatile dances! Come learn how to get down with beginners Swing dance lessons at Dance FX Studios today!