More and more adults are looking for fun ways to get more activity into their lives. To accomplish this goal, many people are turning to ballroom dance classes. The Journal of Physiological Anthropology published a report that taking adult dance classes can be as good for a person’s health as jogging and cycling. These dance lessons can also be as effective for weight loss.
If you are just starting out with beginner dance classes, you may not know where to start or what to do to get better. Before you sign up for private dance lessons, you should try these tips, put together by the Dance Store Online:
- Start by getting your closed dance hold right. When it comes to taking ballroom dance classes, this is the first thing you should do. This is a very important part of learning how to ballroom dance. One partner should position themselves a little to the right of the other. That person’s feet should be offset just a bit. Both people should be able to step in between the other person’s feet.
- Keep your back straight. Any ballroom dance teacher will tell you to keep your back straight. There are ways to make sure you have your back straight enough. If you stand with your back flush with a wall, you can take that straightness onto the dance floor. The look dancers should strive for is majestic and regal.
- Pay attention to the placement of your head. Both partners need to look over the right shoulder of the other person. One way to look at this is to have the head go the same way the toes go. Each person’s feet should be going in the same direction as their head.
- You should pay attention to your connection, timing, and your frame. These three things are crucial to your success with ballroom dance classes. When these things are done properly, the dance itself should come naturally. You have to make sure the rigidity of your arms is maintained. You need to stay in contact with your partner’s arms. Additionally, getting your timing right will help make everything go more smoothly.
- Get to know how to handle single hand connections. Unlike ballroom dancing, when you are doing other kinds of dance, such as swing or some Latin dances, you do not maintain the same kinds of connections. In these dances, the two partners may only be connected by one hand. It still needs to be a firm and solid connection. One partner needs to cup their hand, this allows the other partners to connect only at the fingertips. If you are competing, even a brief drop of that connection can be a true catastrophe for your performance.
- Remember, ballroom dancing is not slow dancing. In slow dancing, the two partners touch with their cheeks. This should never happen with ballroom dancing. You need to keep some space between your head and your partner’s head. This is easier when your arms are stiff and positioned correctly.
- Keep your time by the music. This is something you need to do with all kinds of dancing. When you are taking ballroom dance classes, pay attention to the timing of the music and dance to that. To get more familiar with the music, it can be helpful to listen to the music at home. You should get to know the music as well as you can so you internalize the timing of it.
- Get to know the “Dance Walk.” In many ballroom dance classes, the instructor will teach their students the “Dance Walk.” This is an exercise that can be helpful in teaching students how to move correctly when they dance. This drill can help people who want to learn to move more smoothly. This is different from the way most people walk naturally. This is a great way to get into the right frame of mind to move more like a dancer.
Many adults in the United States are taking up ballroom dancing for a number of reasons. For couples, taking ballroom dance classes can be a good way to reconnect with each other. For others, they can be great to get more exercise and meet new people.