Things Your Dance Partner Doesn’t Tell You

For those of us who love to dance, we know that finding a dance partner is a blessing. I have listed some things below that maybe hard to talk about with your partner. These are Things Your Partner Doesn’t Tell You. Keeping positive and being kind to one another will make the relationship and the dance partnership last longer. I’ve decided to help you along with working out some issues that may drive you crazy, but you feel uncomfortable saying out-loud.

Ditch the Garlic and Onions

Ballroom Dance, Salsa dancing, and other Social Dance Styles are activities that requires us to be in close contact. Partner dancing brings an entire new dynamic to the table and there are many things we have to consider before stepping on to the dance floor. Number 1 we must consider what we are eating before jumping into a dance frame with our partner or a complete stranger. Sometimes when I walk in the dance studio, I can smell garlic all the way across the room. When we sweat the smell can be overwhelming. Be aware of what kinds of foods and restaurant establishments you attend before your next dance class. During our dance classes we have 25 to 30 clients in our space. That means we are dancing with 12-15 different dance partners. Even though we crank the AC down to 64 in the middle of winter, we are all generating heat. We can smell your lunch or dinner. Try to carry gum and mints and have a travel toothbrush with toothpaste before your dance lesson.

Throw That Shirt Away

Partner dancing includes a laundry list of unspoken hygiene and appearance guidelines. If your shirt has pit stains, let’s go ahead and toss it. When we attend a dance class or a private dance lesson we get awfully close to our teachers, students, and partners armpits. If your shirt is starting to develop holes let’s go ahead and toss that too! Stinky shirts are out. Don’t do this to your dance partner.

You Are Heavy

Wait a minute I only way 110 lbs how can I be heavy? Ladies or follows we are talking to you. When we talk about dance and we refer to heavy, we are not discussing your weight. Being heavy refers to the way you feel when your dance partner tries to lead you. Ladies or follows can improve by picking up your feet and using your leg strength to push backwards. This will help eliminate some of the issues on the bottom half. When the lady or follow puts herself into a dance frame her arms lies on top of the leads arm. When some of us follows concentrate we start to push our energy towards the floor exhausting the arm of our lead. After dancing for an hour we can become very heavy to one another. Start to focus on your frame during your dance lesson. Are you moving your legs and are you holding your own weight instead of resting it on your partner? Your dance partner needs their rotator cuffs.

Let Me Lead Please

Oops! No you’re not the only one trying to lead this dance. How did we get 2 leads? It happens all the time and I have been put in my place many times. As a follow, we need to focus on our connection and not jumping the gun. To make the most out of your dance lesson with your partner, the warm up is one of the most important parts. Just practice weight change in a dance frame. Get in sync with the movement before jumping into complicated steps. Find someone in your dance class to be your practice partner. Practice partners are a great way to meet people in dance class. Don’t be afraid to ask someone. Everyone in class came to dance or meet people. Partner dancing teaches us how to lead and follow.

You’re Off Time

Are we listening to the same song? Did you even listen to the music before you took that first step. Ok so maybe she is trying to lead you because it drives her absolutely bonkers when you dance off time. Stop it ladies or follows, it’s not helping the situation. When partner dancing, sometimes its very hard to bring up your partners mistakes. It’s best to invest in a referee, a professional dance instructor, who can help both of you and find solutions to your mini dance crisis. Let the professionals work out the kinks.

Partner You Were Amazing

Sometimes we even forget to tell our partner how excellent they were on the floor that day. Running from this appointment to the next sometimes its challenging to shake it all off before we hit the dance floor. We are very lucky to have one another. Don’t forget to pat your partner on the back and say good job. Its motivates us and gets us pumped for the next time we dance together.

Questions About Finding A Dance Partner

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