Many modern jive dancers just want to be able to get on the dance floor and aren’t bothered about progressing their dancing further. They’re happy to plod on, happy to just dance with their friends. Or they might think they can’t progress because they don’t aren’t capable. For the rest we want to improve and…
The closeness of dance and dancing with a partner
Before starting dance classes most people’s experience of partner dancing is limited to dancing at home with a parent, country dancing at school, or a slow shuffle round the dance floor at teenage school discos. So starting social dancing and dancing with a partner isn’t always easy. You need to get fairly close (and yes,…
Partner dancing – dubious leading habits
Leading is one of the hardest things about partner dancing. Yes you need to know the moves, but you also need to think ahead, think of your follower, have good spatial awareness and be able to think on your feet. No pun intended. But some leaders develop bad habits, in particular how they lead. Some…
How to look good on the dance floor (it’s not just about clothes)
When you’re watching someone on the dance floor what are your thoughts? Assuming they’re not falling over or making huge over the top movement that you can’t fail to see. Mostly you watch people dance because they’ve got a spark, something that makes you notice them. It could be what they’re wearing. It could be…
Bad habits to break to improve your dancing
A previous post shared thoughts on dance etiquette while at freestyles and class, but now I’m turning to bad dance habits. Dancers may think it’s beginners with bad habits but that’s not always the case. Lots of people complain about certain bad habits when they dance with people who’ve been dancing a while. If you’ve…
How much can you really learn in one modern jive class
One of the big selling points of modern jive is that anyone can learn it, and that after only one beginner’s class, even a non-dancer can be up and dancing by the end of the night. It’s unlikely they’ll be amazing, but they’ll have 3-4 basic moves, hopefully an understanding of the beat and rhythm…
The fear of social dancing improvisation – tips on keeping up
One of the hardest things in social dancing, for leaders in particular, is knowing what you’re going to lead. As a beginner it’s probably the hardest thing to get past. I call it the improvisation block, and is something we need to get over. Even as someone coming to modern jive and leading from another…
