Dancing on the QE

We will be on the QE towards the end of the year, and are keen ballroom dancers. We noticed that at the Black and White Ball on our cruise there will be the "Officers Gavotte", but we don't know what the steps are or how this, presumably, old time dance works. Trying to find any information from a normal web search didn't give any useful information. Can someone post what the steps are and the position of men and ladies for this dance is?

A second question is does anyone know if there is a list of who the professional dancers are on a specific cruise, and if so where to find it? In the past we have enjoyed both the show dances as well as dance classes on board, but it would be nice to be able to look up ahead of embarkation who the pro dancers will be. Although on other cruise lines it is possible to book private lessons with the professional dancers during a cruise, Cunard doesn't seem to offer that, but it would be good if Cunard changed their mind on that score! It is always nice to see different ways of approaching technique and possibly new steps wherever we are away from home.

Hi,

I'm afraid I can only offer a little help as I don't dance (yet!) and am hoping to remedy that before my first voyage next year so I've never cruised before either. What I can offer is that I noted with interest that it said on Cunard's website that there is the possibility of one to one lessons: "There are no charges for these lessons, however, it may be possible to arrange 1 to 1 tuition, though any charges generated from this would be at the instructor's discretion."

https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/life-on-board/Onboard_Activities

It's a bit mysterious but maybe someone else on the forum could enlighten us if they have ever taken advantage of this possibility....

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcloaked

We will be on the QE towards the end of the year, and are keen ballroom dancers. We noticed that at the Black and White Ball on our cruise there will be the "Officers Gavotte", but we don't know what the steps are or how this, presumably, old time dance works. Trying to find any information from a normal web search didn't give any useful information. Can someone post what the steps are and the position of men and ladies for this dance is?........

Here's a description found on Google.

We all took part in the usual Officers Gavotte, which is supposed to get guests mixing, but apart from a smile and friendly greeting, there is hardly time to actually meet anyone.

To explain the Officers Gavotte: People line up around the ballroom, with each man having a lady on either side. Then there are a repeated sequence of steps as follows: - 8 steps forward, 8 steps back, underarm turn for the woman on the right, then turn for the woman on the left, air kiss the woman on the right, then the woman on the left and then the women send the man forward to the ladies ahead, and greet their new partner. The orchestra plays the tune I know as The Teddy Bears Picnic - I don’t know if it has any other name – and get faster and faster with each sequence. It is good fun and it gets people out on the floor that otherwise would not venture out.

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Incidentally, any connection with a Ballroom Gavotte (as danced at Blackpool Tower Ballroom) is purely accidental - the description 'Officers' Gavotte' being the definitive oxymoron. However, it goes down well as a fun dance in the Queens Ballroom, there is plenty of kissing and it ends with everyone running round the floor like demented dervishes. Ah, the sheer elegance of the Queens Ballroom!

Just got off QE on monday. I know of both a couple and a single traveller who had private lessons with the professionals during our cruise. I'm afraid I have no idea of the cost.

Thank you for those replies - and the description of the Officer's Gavotte. It sounds pretty straightforward, and no doubt after a couple of faltering cycles everyone flows easily around the room air kissing and underarm turning at the appropriate moment! I certainly wasn't aware of private lessons for Cunard though the group ballroom and Latin classes were part of the inclusive entertainment on our previous Cunard cruise, and executed very well at beginner level. I imagine that private lessons are a private contract with the dance professionals, who will put the agreed charge onto your onboard account after any lessons have been given. At least that was the way it worked on other cruise lines.

Belle on Board, I expect you will have a fabulous time on board and enjoy the dance classes, and the social dances, in the ballroom, and if you are on your own there are dance hosts who will dance with you (the dance hosts are all men as far as I know). We love the dancing on board and, although it can get pretty busy at times, the dancing lasts long enough that things do usually quieten down towards the end of each evening, and often it is not that busy early on in the evenings. I guess that the arrangements on the QE are very similar to the other Cunard ships regarding ballroom and Latin dancing, and I was also told that there is a separate session for sequence dancing so that the main evening dancing is only ballroom and Latin, but not sequence dancing.

There is a brief clip of the gavotte within this video it appears at 4:20 at least l hope it is the gavotte and l have identified the correct dance 💃

M-AR

Thank you Mid-Atlantic Ridge - that looks spot on. Now we should know what to do at the time the Officer's Gavotte is called.

I don't dance ... at all. I wish I did but sadly have too many left feet BUT I just watched that dance any I think we can do that!!

The Officers' Gavotte is really easy. You will be walked through the steps, and instructions are given as you dance.

I have had private lessons on QV with two different couples. There will be a professional couple teaching the free lessons. Approach them privately and ask for lessons. Some couples tell you that lessons are available (and encourage you to book lessons and buy their DVDs) but others do not tell you but are happy to book you in. Times and prices vary depending on the couple. You pay in cash (dollars) at the end of the session. I very much enjoyed my lessons with Dan and Olena.

Diane