Ballroom Dance Lessons

[nkpeeps]

Smooth. you have some good advice. After taking lesson for 5 years , keeping up my posture is still difficult. Its the first thing to go if I concentrat to much on leading and steps. You are so right about keeping your head up. May be just what I needed to see to remember. Thanks

 

 

Eric

[ExRockyMountainGal]

I just heard on the news this morning that Dancing with the Stars is going to have a "Dance Off" between Kelly Monaco and John O'Hurley. It's scheduled for September 20th. Due to the controversy over the judging, only the public is going to be allowed to vote for the winner.

 

Should be interesting.

 

Kathy

[GMONT01]

Hello everyone. It has been a while since we posted. We are still taking our private lessons twice a week. We try to go dancing at least once a week. Having a great time. We just learned the salsa. It was pretty easy to pick up.......we thought! We went to latin night and the salsas were so fast that we could not get it! We obviously are learning with the very slow salsas.

 

We started these lessons because we wanted to learn some Tango steps for our South America Cruise coming up in March. We will be spending about 4 nights in BA before the cruise. We rented the movie Assasination Tango this weekend with Robert Duval. I tell ya what, the dancing was beautiful but it did not look anything like the tango steps we are learning. They didn't seem to be moving in a line of dance but more are less stayed in one spot and turned. I guess the Argentine version is very different.

Have a great week everyone, Gretchen

[critterchick]

I haven't checked in for awhile. We've been doing well in our private classes and continue to enjoy our group class. We take ballroom for an hour followed by Latin & swing. We don't rotate partners in the second class because the women outnumber the men by a LOT, so I'd be spending too much time dancing by myself or chatting & not getting any exercise.

 

We have a challenge remembering everything at this point – we've taken foxtrot, waltz, tango, rumba, cha cha, swing, merengue & samba. Everything gets mixed up in our heads! AIEEE!

[tropicalsunset]

We had a private class last night.... haven't danced the hustle or rhumba in a while....and it showed... I was very frustrated that we were spending alot of time revisiting issues we've worked on in the past!! but it's all good...

and the posture thing is important in ALL the dances... I was leaning forward in the Hustle and throwing myself off balance..

 

Kathy: wasn't that part of the problem that the public was voting on popularity not the quality of the dance....maybe they should have two separate votes.... but I will probably watch anyway.... Love to see John and Charlotta dance!!

 

Gcurry: hope your wife is up to some dancing in LV...

We are off to Boston for some Baseball labor day weekend... I am hoping there's some place to go dancing friday nite in Copley Square!!

 

Gretchen: that is one of my silly dreams to dance the Tango on a SA cruise... can't wait to hear all about it!!

 

Lorraine

[GCurry]

Smooth can address this at length, but the Argentine is very different than the American Tango. Enjoy your SA cruise, a friend of mine lived in Argentina for seven years running an electric company for Houton Lighting and Power. He loved it, particularly the Tierra Del Fuego with whale watching etc. Hope you get down there.

 

MsCurry danced a little last Sat. at our Two-Left-Feet dance, so we'll try to find one of the Casino Bar Clubs with a good group in Lost Wages! Thanks for asking. Put us down in the Rumba and ChaCha group as there are so many steps you can use in both dances.

 

DWTS - it is my opinion that if they had allowed a public vote that last night, John and Charlotta would have won easily. But, I've never seen a contest where the outcome was so blatantly "fixed" as that one.

[DandyCandy]

oh don't get me started on how John and Charlotte were gipped!

They should have won hands down!

Over on the ABC boards though it was a different story, most everyone wanted kelly to win.

The designer of the costumes even posted and myself and some other people asked him why all the costumes for kelly were like stripper outfits when all the women had beautiful figures.

Needless to say i dont know if i would want to watch it again b/c if the public is allowed to vote, obviously the playboy playmate is gonna win again b/c there are a ton of GH fans out there that want her to win just b/c they like her.:mad:

[smoothdancer]

Dont get me started on the costumes, either. I think they are horrible. This is or has been in the past the trend in competivive ballroom dancing. The costumes were just getting smaller and smaller, to the point that you felt you were at a Las Vegas show. Worse people that just should not be wearing such a cosutme were, and I often wondered if they owned a mirror.

 

Finally, thank-god, the USABDA board started to put restictions on costumes, and people wearing such costumes were disquailified. In the independent comps however you still see it... I think this is where the show is coming from.. They are mirroring the competitions in many ways. Another(in my opinion) very bad thing was happening... Women in a desire to look good in these costumes were dropping weight at an extremely unhealthy rate.... When you see some of these women in sweats with thier bones sticking out, it was scary. I am glad there has been a stop to this behavior.

 

As far as the tango, I cannot comment much, as this is our very worst dance!!.. The tango unlike the other smooth dances is a foot placement with each step and you are very deep into your knees, way behind the man and making very delebrate steps. In the smooth dances you are really taking full advantage of the rise and fall, and use all three counts to arrive to your highest point, and your lowest point... You can play with the timing alot .I dont know I dont even consider tango a smooth dance and think of it more in the latin family. We tend to make the tango smooth because well, that is where we are the most comfortable and excel... ya know we are just smoothdancers!! We had yet another lesson last night on Tango, and as usual I was completely fustrated with my lack of not getting it. I just cant feel it. Dancing competitevity it is a problem for us. The dances are grouped as waltz, foxtrot, quickstep and tango.... We blow it in the Tango a lot.

 

We did have friends that took a bunch of Argentine Tango lessons, they thought they were great(so did we) and then went to Bunies Aries, and had great fun with it.... Funny story, they learned that only the very best tango dancers with years of experience would ever consider going on the floor. They learned this later, and learned they were excused because just considered stupid Americans!!.. Anyway they met a lot of great tango dancers, and they were quite gracious to them.

 

Yes, all the time I use many of the same steps in the Rumba in Cha cha and the Mambo all the time... Someone said they use a 4 count in the hustle.. Got off my chair and gave it a try... I could not figure out how to do a 4 count. We break on the three and could not get it...

 

Happy dancing everybody

[DandyCandy]

we use 4 count in hustle. that's how our instructor taught us. we learned the hustle and the jitterbug almost simultaneously.

[DandyCandy]

we use 4 count for the hustle. that's how our instructor taught us. we learned the jitterbug and the hustle almost simultaneously.

[GCurry]

We love the Tango, even though we don't get enough lessons or practice with it. I can't imagine it as a smooth dance as there is so much stop and start to it; and it's always a latin dance down here. Interesting, the Traditional South American Tango music is so march like in rhythm, whereas the American music is much smoother; at least in my opinion. Julio Iglasies has a very good Tango CD BTW. I do love the way the Tango "shows" a woman, one of the few times a man can stand still, and be considered dancing, as the woman flairs.

 

I had hoped DWTS was about dancing, but it was only about intertainment. Probably the rematch will be the same, with Kelly in more "Janet Jackson" costumes!!

 

The Hustle in Texas is usually done as a line dance.

[critterchick]

Kathy, I will be one of those losers phoning in and entering on the Internet for John. Every time somebody brings that up, I get mad all over again. <deep breaths, Jean!>

 

 

I learned the hustle in the 70s as a 4-count. We recently took a class that was 6-count and it drove us nuts. We're both musicians, so we're really attuned to the beat, and it was just off for us the entire time. So we dumped that particular dance from our memory banks. It's the only was to stay sane!

 

 

We took one Argentine tango lesson, and although we liked it, we're just processing WTMI at this point to have a ton of dances we don't do very well. We've culled the herd to about 8 – foxtrot, waltz, American tango, rumba, cha-cha, swing (EC in group classes, WC privately), merengue (Steve Martin in My Blue Heaven, anyone?) and samba (private class). We know about 4 steps in the samba – DH has a terrible time stepping on the ball of his foot first. He works with some tough guys, so he doesn't want to practice on his way to the men's room.

[tropicalsunset]

Gcurry : I LOVE the new avatar!!!

[smoothdancer]

I cant stand it anymore... I am the only one that hustle's to a three count. Next lesson I am going to ask my instructor how to hustle to a 4 count.

 

Back to tango, my all time favorite scene of a Tango is the one done in the movie Scent OF A Women... I have just about worn that part of the DVD out.

[abbydancer2003]

As far as I know, from 3 different teachers, hustle can be done to either a 4 count (the basic that we learned is rock step on 1-2 and step step on 3-4) or a syncopated 3 count.

(rock step on and-1, step step on 2-3). The challenge is that in the 3 count, you're off the edge of the measure most of the time (can you tell I'm not a musician?). In other words first basic is and-1 2 3, second is and-4 1 2, third is and-3 4 1, fourth is and-2 3 4 and then you're back to the start. It's a bit more challenging. I'm not sure either is more correct, although I'd guess that the champions do the syncopated version.

 

We tend to start with the 3 count and then fall into the 4 count, which might explain why we rarely practice it.

 

Hope somebody found this interesting and not too confusing.

 

abby

[smoothdancer]

abby

That was a great explanation! Get it now...Thanks

[nkpeeps]

Hi all. We learned the 4 count hustle first, and learned 3 count later. I find 3 count somewhat harder. 4 count is the same as the swing step , but you step on each beat. A lot of instructors dont consider 4 count real hustle. They refer to it as baby hustle or grampa hustle. It works for a fast song . 3 count works for the slower ones

[tropicalsunset]

We haven't done the hustle in quite a while but went back to it last week... we do a four count hustle.. I really have fun with it but almost felt we were starting over as we really had to fine tune our steps and technique... I think we will keep our repertoire of dances limited to the basics .... can't seem to really get as good as we'd like to and then add other dances like the salsa..etc.. :( :rolleyes:

 

RE: DWTS: wonder if John actually lost that weight he had set out for!! ;) :D anyone taking any bets as to the outcome... in any event... it comes down to commercial airtime and the career of those involved... I seem to see John alot lately on TV.... so geuss he didn't really "lose" after all... :cool:

[mummsie]

Hello all. Well back after a longer absence than what I thought. Went down the Gold Coast to work at the World Superstars competition weekend before last. Competition was fantastic - good crowd - sell out audience. Floor shows were magnificent. We had 2 couples - Jonathon Wilkins and Katusha Demadova (sorry if not spelt correct) and a latin couple whose names escape me at the moment who both flew in from the USA to dance for us.

 

Monday morning got home about 1am and was having the day off work. I probably should have gone to work because I probably wouldn't have hurt myself. I fell down the stairs at home and twisted my ankle really badly. Lucky my daughter was home. She picked me up off the floor and got me into the car. Spent 3.5 glorious hours up at the local hospital before they sent me home with instructions not to dance for at least 2 weeks and be careful walking. I went back for a check up yesterday. Doctor was amazed at how well I am walking and moving it even though foot is about 30 beautiful colours between black and green. So back at work today albeit being very careful about what I do.

 

At least the week at home gave me some time to get a move on with my new ballgown I am making.

 

Good to see a lot of activity on this forum while I was away. - Gayle

[GCurry]

We got back from Vegas Sun. afternoon, and are eternally grateful that we didn't have to dance with Katrina. Having lived and are working in Galveston, the city that suffered the worst storm, 1900, 6-8 thousand dead, we have no illusions about what to do. I also was living in Pirates Beach on the island in 83 when Ellisa came through, and got me a new roof and no electricity for 13 days. I was running the Gas Company in Galveston at that time, so I was part of a lot of Utility repair. Our Bacliff home is less than a mile from Galveston Bay, but, it's a totally different situation.

You take what can't really be replaced, you know, golf trophies, wife, maybe the dog, nail it up and go. Family next to me does Coast Guard Rescue, so I know where he is. There are 100 trucks from Houston CenterPoint energy headed to New O, and thousands of refugees in the Houston area.

 

We had the Carnival Conquest devert to here Monday, and two Carnival Cruises originally out of NO are leaving from here Sep. 1 & 5th. Need a five day cruise outside cabin for $150?

 

No good dancing in Vegas, MsCurry isn't totally recovered as yet, although that didn't stop her from winning a little.

 

Smooth, love the Scent of a Woman step, one of the few really neat ones we do in Tango.

 

Mummsie, a dancer falling down stairs; whatever were you thinking? BTW have you seen the Austrailian Movie "Strictly Ballroom"? If so what were your thoughts?

 

Tropical thanks for liking my empty beach.

[mummsie]

Gcurry, Yeah I know. What was I thinking. I should have been watching where I was going and not where I had been. Hopefully will be all better by next week - I can almost walk normally now. Will have to start practicing my theory stuff again today. It was a bugger doing a heel turn last week at theory class :D in foxtrot.

 

I feel for the people suffering with Katrina. We too live in a cyclone belt in the tropics so I know we are always living with the thought it could have been us. Our last cyclone to hit bad was about 20 years ago but I remember it well.

 

As for Strictly Dancing - great movie. We have it on DVD. I actually know a couple of the pro teachers that the show sent up and they still wear their hair the same. :p We usually watch it at Xmas time when normal TV is rubbish.

 

An outside cabin for $150 - what a bargain. I wouldn't be much good though - I get sea sick. My hubby would be ok though. Usually when we cruise I disappear when the going gets rough. Doesn't stop me going though. We have 2 cruises booked in the next 12 months. One out of Sydney in December and another out of Singapore in July next year. :) We have friends flying to Florida in 3 weeks for a 10 day cruise in the Mexican Riviera. I hope things have settled for them by the time they fly out. - Gayle

[smoothdancer]

Glad to hear you are recovering Mumsie!!

 

I have always wanted to see Jonathan and partner dance in person. I have seen them on tape and boy are they fantastic....

 

Having a ballroom situation here myself... We have been dancing with the same coach for 7 years now, three times a week... After a series of events, we decided the studio no longer fit our needs, and left the studio last week... This has got to be the first weeks in years that we have not danced... It is pretty upsetting to leave a stuido after such a long relationship. We are taking the week off, and then searching for a new coach...

[mummsie]

Smoothdancer, Good luck finding a coach that works for you. It is a hard decision. One we haven't had to worry about yet but I can see that day coming. Our present coaches are in their late 50's and will be want to retire some time soon. We will than have to look around for somebody else who fits our needs.

 

Yes they were excellent - so were the latin couple whos name still escapes me - Slavakio or something - and his Russian partner who dance in the USA as well. - Gayle

[critterchick]

We are trying to learn the merengue steps from My Blue Heaven (Steve Martin). Unfortunately, the feet are cut off in a little part of it, but we are improvising. The Monarch has a Latin bar, Bolero's, so maybe we'll have to tip the bandleader a little to get them to play a merengue!

 

GCurry, please tell me you would take the dog before the golf trophies!

[GCurry]

Ole Lance is available, and he was a national dance champion, although I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

Lots of luck Smooth, finding some one to take you to the next level.

 

Just kidding about the Golf Trophies Critters, and Samba Wigglebutt (of the Bacliff Wigglebutts) would be going with us to the Dallas area if we had to leave.

We do have a refugee center set up in Galveston at this time, and I'm sure, as we are the major indigent care center for Texas, we'll get a lot of patients out of Louisiana.

 

Jean it looks like you are really serious about cruising , have a great time on the Monarch.