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Discover the Romantic Dance Known as Nite Club Two Step

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adult dance lessons Gilbert ArizonaYou’re at a wedding, when suddenly, a slow song comes on. One or two couples walk out and begin swaying, and soon, more and more people appear on the dance floor. Your date stares longingly at the dancers who look so happy and in love. What do you do? You ask for a dance, of course! Now is the perfect time to sweep your date off of their feet with a popular dance called the Nite Club Two Step.

The Nite Club Two Step is a social ballroom dance that is useful for those slow, romantic, flowy songs. You should feel as if you’re coasting across water without creating a wake. Given that this dance is non-genre specific, it can be danced to nearly ANY slow song, from R & B to Country music, and it’s a great upgrade from swaying like you did at your junior prom. It was created a little over 50 years ago, and remains to be one of the most versatile dances for social situations.

For those of you who watch So You Think You Can Dance, you may have heard of siblings Benji and Lacey Schwimmer (the winner of season 2, and the 4th place finalist of season 3, respectively). Nite Club Two Step was originally the creative genius of Buddy Schwimmer, their dear old dad. When he invented this new dance style back in the 1960’s, he was a mere 15 years old, and it was more out of frustration, than anything! At parties, his friends would just shuffle or sway in place, and he wanted a more structured but finessed way of doing things. His specialty was west coast swing, and he later became known as the King of Swing and the Man with 1,000 Moves.

Nite Club Two Step still remains one the most versatile partner dances. Just to see how relevant this dance truly is, let’s take a look at the Billboard Chart for this week: http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100. Out of the first 20 songs listed, 16 of them would pair well with nite club. It’s perfect for crowded dance floors or a spacious living room – you can use it anytime, anywhere!

Here at Dance FX Studios in Mesa, Arizona, over 95% of our students learn nite club. We teach adults how to lead and follow on the dance floor, as well as the mechanics behind each move, in a fun and relaxed studio environment. You’ll get technique and learn how to incorporate your own personal style into the dance too.

Schedule your introductory dance lesson for beginners for only $25 Monday through Saturday. Let’s up your game from junior prom sways and learn how to sweep that special someone off their feet. We can’t wait to help you build the confidence to dance any time music comes on!

Three Common Mistakes Made on the Dance Floor

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social ballroom lessons in Mesa AZWouldn’t it be so cool to take a pill and instantly become a great social dancer? We could just skip right over all of the fear and anxiety that surrounds coming in for Country, Swing or Latin dance lessons and magically look and feel amazing on any dance floor. Heck, I would want that too! Even more so, I would like to pass that pill out to all of the dancers around me at the Country bars and Latin clubs who may need some help of their own.

While none of us are born knowing how to dance, many common mistakes on the dance floor are avoidable with adult dance lessons. Country Two Step or Salsa lessons for couples and singles are fantastic for developing great skills and habits that will set you up for success when you’re at your best friend’s wedding, on a date, or even at that annual holiday work party.

Until you get started with lessons, here are a few bad habits that you can be mindful of while you’re out dancing. See if you notice these bad behaviors in others, too, as you try to steer clear of those “wild horses” on the dance floor.

A huge, but very common issue, with newer or untrained social dancers is that they tend to exaggerate their movements. There’s no need to Swing dance your partner into another couple in order to have a good time. In fact, she’ll have much more fun if you can keep her arms in their sockets. My tip for you: Keep your steps small and your partner protected so that you can guarantee a second dance and even more fun ahead.

Next, pay attention to your timing. You may not yet know if the song you’re dancing to is a Country Swing or a Country Two Step, but hopefully you can find the beat, and when you do, stick to it. If you’re one of the many who can’t hear music, or don’t think that they have a sense of rhythm, that’s OK! Remember that Country dance lessons will help prepare you for your next night out on the town. I firmly believe that anyone is trainable, so stay positive and seek out lessons. With the right information from your local adult dance studio, you should be shining in no time!

Lastly, please pay attention to your surroundings. Keep your head up, eyes open, and plan ahead for where you want to move next. Otherwise, you may end up on someone’s lap (yes, this has happened many a time) or who knows where else, if you fling your partner around like a rag doll. There are many obstacles that can seemingly “pop out” at you if you’re unaware of your surroundings at all times . My tip for you: Be strategic. think one move ahead, kind of like you’re playing billiards, and know your stuff so everyone stays safe and has a blast dancing with you.

Again, all of these errors are typical yet completely avoidable with the correct information. Start with beginners dance lessons near you so that you can look and feel your best the next time you go out dancing. Trust me, dancing is so much more fun when you know what you’re doing. 🙂

Social dance lessons Arizona

Social Dancing Makes You Smarter

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Social dance lessons near Chandler ArizonaWho knew that social dancing, like Country Swing dancing or Salsa dancing, can actually make you smarter? I sure didn’t until I did my research on the numerous benefits of social dancing over the last 20 years in my career as a professional social ballroom dance instructor.

It’s so easy to underestimate what is required to be a great social dancer. As dancers, we apparently just prance around at night, letting go of all of our worries without a care in the world, right? Well, the part about letting go of your cares is true when you are dancing, mostly because of the need to concentrate on what you are doing.  And the fun-factor? Well, that’s there too because social dancing is a blast, but getting back to how dancing makes you smarter, there’s a whole lot of split-second decision making in social dancing which contributes to a higher level of intelligence. It’s pretty cool to think that you can actually give your brain a work-out, making it sharper and more responsive, all by social ballroom dancing.

To quickly veer off track for a moment, it is important to clarify one thing. Many people ask, “What exactly is social ballroom dancing?”. That’s a great question! Ballroom dancing in general includes any dance that you do with a partner, from Latin dancing like Salsa and Bachata, to Swing dancing and Country Western dancing. If you’re physically connected to your dance partner, you’re “partner dancing” or “ballroom dancing”. The “social” aspect of it comes in to play when compared to competitive ballroom dancing, which is judged by professionals who have specific standards within each dance that a couple must abide by in order to be successful. Social ballroom dancing, on the other hand, is not meant to be judged. It is for the purpose of having fun with someone else at a Country bar or a Latin night club, as examples. Now that you know the difference, here’s more on social ballroom dancing, and how it makes you smarter…

As Jean Piaget, psychologist and philosopher known for his epistemological studies with children as well as his theory of cognitive development once said, “Intelligence is what we use when we don’t already know what to do.” Unlike a tree that grows without thinking or an animal that makes its decisions based on instinct for the purpose of survival, we humans fortunately have the ability to think and reason. On the social dance floor, as I mentioned, quick decisions as a leader are required to keep you and your partner safe and having fun. Thinking about what move to do next means an you have to be in an in-the-moment frame of mind. That means that each time you go Country Two Step dancing, you are sharpening that noggin! How awesome is that?!

One would think that competitive ballroom dancing would do just the same, but with pre-planned choreography, the element of surprise and quick thinking is off the table. So, my conclusion is that if you want to “get smart”, learn to social dance! Done! 😉

There are many other added mental benefits to social dancing, from dramatically reducing stress to warding off dementia. In the New England Journal of Medicine report on aging and mental acuity, it was determined that dancing frequently offered the greatest risk reduction of any activity studied, cognitive or physical, including reading, doing crossword puzzles and bicycle riding. It was 76% more effective than all of these activities in keeping dementia at bay.  So if you love social ballroom dancing for the pure fun of it, you will also be gaining some pretty cool side effects of it as you age, making social dancing the best hobby ever!

Do you want to be a confident social dancer? Our talented team at Dance FX Studios in the Phoenix East valley can help you to shine on any dance floor.  Social dance lessons are great fun in addition to being healthy. Join us today and begin your exciting journey into social dancing.