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| I'm in Canada and latin dances are pretty much what all adults want. At our parties we play two latin for every standard. Due to TV shows like Dancing With the Stars, people don't realize that there are basic steps in quickstep. They think it is all runs and scatter chasses. We don't have the tradition here of ballroom dancing that you do in Europe. So they are all afraid of the standard dances and of dance in general. When we do introduce waltz, most are disappointed because quickly realize how hard it is and how hard it is to look good. Social foxtrot is always well received. Beginners (here) have a real problem with the intimacy of dance. In part this is due to them wanting to have space to put their heads down so they can look at their feet. We have found the best way to cure them of that is to demonstrate what they look like when they dance with their heads down. They then realize how horrible it looks. The men are terribly afraid of looking stupid so they can lose their temper and blame everything and everyone when they don't get it. I had one man try a new dance, not get it the first time, sit down and declare to his wife that he would wait for the next dance next week. They never came back. As I said, our sessions are six week long and half drop out at week three. All these problems might be a North American thing. Anyways, good luck and have fun! |
| I would start with social foxtrot and cha cha the first week. Cha cha is easier than rumba for beginners but if you stick with a basic routine (4 basic, 4 shoulder to shoulder, 3 new york, spot turn) you can convert this to rumba a bit later on and they get an extra dance for free!
Similarly a simple social foxtrot would be a good starting point to speed up into quickstep.
Most beginners will expect to learn waltz but generally find it harder than they thought. I find it is the closing of the feet on 3 that causes the most problem as they get confused which foot to move next. Emphasise that they should use alternate feet just as when walking and make sure they change their weight when they close.
As others have mentioned the men may need treating with kid gloves. They can get very frustrated that they cannot manage a simple thing like dancing! |
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If its Standard, begin with Quickstep and follow up with Waltz .
Foxtrot and Tango are the 2 that need more attention and highly improbable to get results in 4 hrs.
Q.S. 1/4 turns with prog chasses Nat and Rev. turns.. Foward lock
Waltz.. Closed changes.. Nat and Rev turns IF they are very receptive, add natural Spin ( at a corner )
Latin.. Cha always goes down well and depending upon age, so does Jive, if not, then Rumba .
If I were going to teach a class that only wanted to get "around" the floor, I would use the american style dances ( square rumba for e.g. ), but, still include Q/Step .
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| Hi terence I had in mind almost exactly what you suggested and the first class was on monday. It went very well. I made some 160 beats per minute (aka 40BPM) 'quickstep' music for them to dance to. Over the next few weeks i intend to introduce 1-3 natural turn, back lock and running finish round a corner. To get them round the floor without spin turn. What do you think?. Also did some basic cha-cha. |
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Back lock etc. might be a tad to early ( what time frame do you mean ? ).If you do, may I suggest a Nat. hesitation change, chasse to right and back lock entry..
I would use the Hesit. change 1st, as an entry into the Rev turn ( ladies often miss the NO weight change,) as the first introduction, prior to Chasse to right .It also works for Waltz
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| I agree it may be too early for the back lock and running finnish particularly because of the outside partner work required.
One combination that proves popular with beginners and gives them a feeling really dancing around the corner is tipple chasse to L, tipple chasse to R and lock step ending. Different societies/technique books break this down in different ways. The ISTD would describe it as just a half natural turn and tipple chasse to Right at a corner, whereas Guy Howard breaks it into smaller pieces, but the effect is the same. |
| Good question. If you want to open with standard ballroom I would begin with the quickstep and a very simple routine consisting of:
1) Quarter turn to the right 2) Forward lock 3) Natural turn
Then I would move onto the waltz, which although slower and may seem easier, I feel requires a lot more attention and control:
1) Basic (forward and back) 2) Whisk 3) Chasse 4) Natural Turn (and if time natural spin turn and weave and wing but might be a bit too far).
Foxtrot and Tango would certainly be a bit too far for a first session.
If on the other hand, Latin American is the choice then I would start with Cha Cha Cha and if time potentially a Jive. Cha Cha Cha might be tricky rhythmically but in my opinion is the easiest to teach to a complete beginner:
1) Basic cha cha (forward and back) 2) New York 3) Spot Turn
Jive on the other hand:
1) Basic Jive 2) Change of direction 3) Change of hands behind the back 4) Stop and Go
You can try Rumba and Samba, but I feel these need more control and therefore more time to teach properly then you have.
Hope this is useful. |
| Thanks for all the helpful replies from everybody. The first two sessions have gone really well and the feedback is excellent. Some of them have had lessons previously. With these in quickstep we're doing quarter turn to right, progressive chasse, forward lock into a spin turn, progressive chasse, start again. The spin turn is a bit rough round the edges but manageable. The complete beginners are just working on the quarter turn, progressive chasse and box step, natural turn, reverse turn with links in slow waltz. One thing that is clear from the basic slow waltz pattern is the difficulty they have with rotations. Without making it too complicated, I'm starting to introduce the slightly more experienced dancers to the concept of 'opening the door' for their partner and allowing them past and that they must think of going past instead of round their partners. We had great fun in cha-cha. There are (as always) a lot of ladies without partners. We all held hands in a line and got a good chant going as we danced the very basic "back replace cha-cha-cha, forward replace cha-cha-cha" etc. I'm a great believer in developing good technique early to avoid bad habits and giving them exercises as homework (I live in hope!)I explained the latin hip action as best i can, and gave them a 'walking exercise' which i picked up at a latin workshop once. I'd welcome all comments and suggestions, especially on the best way to introduce good technique and any homework exercises. |
| You mention the difficulty beginners have with rotations. This may have to do with concentrating on feet (you know that you can't do it all with your feet, but beginners don't; they have to get past the "Which foot do I move next and where do I put it?" stage).
One of our local instructors frequently tells beginners (humorously) that "Everything in dance is simple until you start to turn." And he's right. The question is: Why?
If the GPS in your car says "Drive two-tenths of a mile and turn left," you do it--no problem. But if the dance instructor says "... turn left," half the class turns right--or freezes. I asked a friend who is a psychiatrist why so many beginning dancers have this kind of mental block, and he had some general ideas (lots of things to think of at once). Do any of you reading this have some ideas? |
| Hi nloftofan1,
RE: But if the dance instructor says:... turn left," half the class turns right--or freezes. I asked a friend who is a psychiatrist
When you give instruction for rotating to beginners you have to explain that you mean which shoulder is going to move back. A right rotation in dance is totally different than turning with a car to the right. You dont need a psychiatrist in my humble opinion.
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