Hello all

To start, I'm not a dancer, well not yet anyway.

I was on holiday a few weeks ago and I was asked for a dance by a lady who I think had been to some dance classes. I had to refuse, as they were doing 'proper dances' like foxtrot and tango etc, but in future I would like to be able to say "yes" and take a dance or two.

However, looking online I see that there is ballroom and sequence dancing. My question is: if you are dancing with a stranger who has possibly had a bit of experience of dancing, would you be expected to dance ballroom or sequence?

Which one could I learn to allow me to dance socially like this?

Thanks all

Hi Deano,

First of all, if you can dance (you don't have to be very good at it)you will enjoy your cruise vacation 'cause the ladies (single and married) will ask you to dance with them and I am speaking from my own experience. I suggest that you take dance lessons.

The term sequence when it comes to dance does not ring a bell to me. What you should do is to learn the basic steps of any dance, practice, practice practice until you do the steps automatically without even thinking about it. You don't have to have a partner to practice the steps. Then find a dance partner to learn and practice the variations of the dances. Go to social dances and enjoy. I have been dancing since high school and I am now a senior citizen and I love to dance. I attend social dancing every weekend at hotels, dancing halls, etc. and, believe it or not, people I met at the parties think that I am only in my late forty, modesty aside. It must be my dancing 'cause it's a good exercise and makes me happy, dress-up and worry free when dancing. At my age, I can dance the hustle, jive, swing, etc. for four hours or more and don't get tired.

Go learn the dance steps and enjoy your life. Good Luck!

Franco

Ballroom.

Sequence dances aren't done except at places that cater to sequence dancers. There aren't many of those and its not likely that you found one at random. A sequence dance usually consists of a 16 bar sequence repeated until the end of the song. When this is done socially, it is usually at a very low skill level, but there are exceptions. They do have competitions which are at a much higher level. Since you mentioned foxtrot and tango (although that doesn't eliminate sequence dancing), it is likely you were at a place where they were doing social level ballroom.

There are many types of sequence dances, many of which would not be recognized by a ballroom dancer, such as Blues, Four Step, Gavotte, Glide, Mazurka, Party, Quadrille, Saunter, Stroll, Sway, etc. Some may recognize some of these as predecessors to some of the more modern dances. Sequence dancing also has the dances familiar to ballroom dancers, waltz, foxtrot, tango, jive, rumba, quickstep, etc.

There are lots of other forms of dance that aren't ballroom, as you will find out when you start digging. However you can't go wrong by starting with ballroom.

Deano,
It would be very helpful when seeking information such as this if we knew which part of the world you were in. Sequence dancing is very large in Australia and the U.K. Where are you?

Hello again

Thanks for all your tips so far

I am from the UK, so would that be likely to make a big difference?

"I am from the UK, so would that be likely to make a big difference?"

Yes it does, because most of the world's population of sequence dancers are in the UK. There are some elsewhere, notably Australia and Canada and of course the Brits on holiday in Spain for the winter.

Age will have a bearing too, as much of the sequence dancing takes place during the day time among the active retired.

Note that there are two streams of sequence. There are the dedicated sequence club members who are keen to learn over 40 new dances each year. I would suggest that you avoid those for now. There are also dances held for those happy to stick with a selection of dances which have stood the test of time, sometimes referred to as 'social sequence'. Many 'tea dances' are a mix of these popular sequence and normal freestyle ballroom.

Since the sequence dances are basically 16 bar routines based on standard ballroom and latin it would be useful to learn these basics first, especially if you also learn the names of the figures being taught. That way when you have more experience a sequence partner can call the name of the next figure as you dance to help you. The advantage of sequence is that the short routines are repeated several times which aids learning, and if you get lost you can always copy the couple next to you.

Evening classes are about to start so I would try to find a suitable beginners ballroom class to start with. Classes in a village hall would be ideal. Some of these often include the occasional simple popular sequence routine which could prove useful in the future.

The main thing is to enjoy yourself!