Which sequence dances are the most used?

[fantasy51]

I will be going on QV on 1 to 15 August along with a fantastic dancer. I want to make the most of our time together. I am only a good dancer and still have lots to learn. Sequence dancing is relatively new to me.

 

Can you please suggest some of the most popular ones on the ship, so that I can learn them in the next 7 weeks before we go.

 

I already know Saunter Together, Rumba One, Waltz Catherine, Mayfair Quickstep, Balmoral Blues, Square Tango and Sally Ann Cha Cha.

 

Which other dances are frequently used?

Edited June 14, 2015 by fantasy51

[Bell Boy]

Well you certainly have a head start, you might like to look at;

 

Emerdale Waltz

Tango Serida (my favourite)

Melody Foxtrot

Cindy Swing ( very easy one )

Tayside Tango

 

Good luck :)

 

Don't forget you can always request any of your favourites with the Social Hostess.

[Highly Sociable]

 

Emerdale Waltz

Tango Serida (my favourite)

Melody Foxtrot

Cindy Swing ( very easy one )

Tayside Tango

 

.

 

Oh my word! I can see I've got quite a lot of homework to do before our 175th anniversary voyage 😉

[fantasy51]

Oh my word! I can see I've got quite a lot of homework to do before our 175th anniversary voyage 😉

 

Have fun. I hope you have a good dance school nearby.

[Lakesregion]

I always enjoy the sets where the featured singer and the band play totally different rhythms. That way if you are really good you get two different dances in a single set.

[fantasy51]

I always enjoy the sets where the featured singer and the band play totally different rhythms. That way if you are really good you get two different dances in a single set.

 

Oh my, what a challenge! :D :eek:

[Bell Boy]

That's the good thing about the 'early evening' Sequence dancing, it's all 'strict tempo Taped music' . Oh and we get to choose what we like and what we can do :D

[Solent Richard]

That's the good thing about the 'early evening' Sequence dancing, it's all 'strict tempo Taped music' . Oh and we get to choose what we like and what we can do :D

 

I'm so sorry Bell Boy but Sequence leaves me quite cold.

 

Sequence dancers never smile and always have such serious looks on their faces.

[Slow Foxtrot]

I'm so sorry Bell Boy but Sequence leaves me quite cold.

 

Sequence dancers never smile and always have such serious looks on their faces.

 

We are experienced ballroom dancers but enjoy the sequence dances just for the variation. Many have authentic ballroom steps and they can be good fun.

As for not smiling - that's a generalisation with which many people may beg to differ.

We find that at popular social dances the format is usually 50/50. That's how it is at Balckpool's famous Tower Ballroom. And it keeps everybody happy - and even smiling!

[Bell Boy]

I'm so sorry Bell Boy but Sequence leaves me quite cold.

 

Sequence dancers never smile and always have such serious looks on their faces.

 

Ah ! SR, that's because you aint seen fantasy 51 and I on the dance floor. :D

[Pollypops]

This thread is interesting to me as we are going on Cunard for the first time next month and are keen dancers (we make up in enthusiasm for what we lack in talent!). We know all bar one of the sequence dances mentioned, and a few more. I guess we will probably miss the early evening dancing as we have opted for 6pm dinner, but on some nights we can dine elsewhere and plan our evening so that we can dance early.

At some of the dances we go to we have a lot of fun with the sequence dances, but I do agree that some of the "serious dancers" you meet onboard ships don't smile much. They are usually the people who obviously think they are wonderful and want everyone to watch them, those we dub the "Look at me" brigade (LAMBs):D!

[fantasy51]

Ah ! SR, that's because you aint seen fantasy 51 and I on the dance floor. :D

 

One day, Bell Boy, one day ...

[fantasy51]

I guess we will probably miss the early evening dancing as we have opted for 6pm dinner, but on some nights we can dine elsewhere and plan our evening so that we can dance early.

 

Hi Pollypops. I usually go to 6pm dinner just so I don't have to miss out on any dancing. I leave the dining room at 7.30 (generally having finished dinner by then, unless the waiters are very slow) and rush to my room to clean my teeth and change my shoes ready for the 7.45 session. Sometimes I'm 5-10 minutes late, but I manage to get there for most of that session.

 

One other option is to stay and dance to the recorded music between 8.30 and 9.15 when there is nothing happening in the ballroom. Some very keen couples do that, as they know they will have the ballroom floor almost completely to themselves, and there are fewer people watching.

[Dancer Bob]

My experience agrees with fantasy, late sitting just doesn't work. Early sitting can be a rush, but if I'm with late-arrivers and dawdlers, they're probably not happy with me, so I should change.

Some of the recorded music during breaks is good enough for sequence dancing, but the sound technician doesn't know any more than the Social Hostess, so it's a matter of luck. And Cunard's music policies could change at a moments notice, probably not for the better.

[Slow Foxtrot]

Some of the recorded music during breaks is good enough for sequence dancing, but the sound technician doesn't know any more than the Social Hostess, so it's a matter of luck.

 

Slight problem here Bob. Sequence dances need to be announced !! For instance, there are many sequence dances all danced to the waltz timing. So, if the dance is not announced you may have couples all doing a different sequence waltz !! Result - chaos on the dance floor. So, as said, the exact dance needs to be announced first.

[fantasy51]

Generally it's only two or three couples dancing during the break between the evening sessions. Often they are friends. They generally agree among themselves which dances to do.

 

If it's one of the proper dance sessions, then it is announced properly.

[Electra 7]

Hi I was trying to find out the most popular sequence dances onboard Cunard

I have found this thread does anyone have any other sequence dances that they think might be danced regularly on board 

[Germancruiser]

l love to watch the sequence dances on board Cuanrd ships. Esp. the Mayfair foxtrott, Rumba one and the Chaterin Walz. So classy and very very british- even the names. LOL.

[Ranchi]

Not a sequence dance but I haven’t seen a ‘Taxi quickstep’ since before Covid. Can’t think why! 
 

Edited September 22, 2022 by Ranchi

[57eric]

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2139175-which-sequence-dances-are-the-most-used/

[57eric]

Oops - thought this was a new thread.  Mea culpa.

[mia mom]

Can anyone tell me if the dance hosts are back? 

[Bell Boy]

No they not back, however, anyone on Q.Vic 30th Oct I'll be in the Ballroom most evenings 😉

Earlier this year I was danced off my feet, whilst several ladies' husbands were losing vast amounts in the Casino. 

[ballroom-cruisers]

Sequence dance sessions of around half an hour are sometimes organised by the dance pros, either during the breaks between orchestra sets in the evening, or during dedicated sequence sessions earlier in the day, and on some voyages an hour of sequence around 5pm has been in the daily schedule, again hosted by the dance pros.  They do need to be dedicated to sequence only since a ring of couples spread around the perimeter of the dance floor doing exactly the same figures repeated during the three minutes or so of the music means no other dance can be done at the same time. Also because everyone is doing the exact same steps simultaneously it means the host needs to call a countdown to the 'start' time as the music intro begins or it will descend into chaos.  There are around 15 or so most popular sequence dances - such as rumba one, square tango, balmoral blues, Catherine Waltz, White City Waltz, Cindy Swing, Saunter Together, Tango Serida, Mambo Magic, Sally Anne Cha Cha and a few others.  Many of the thousands of other sequence dances are done by regional groups within the UK, but many are simply not known to a lot of sequence dances - so the only way there is a chance most people will know the dance called is to announce one of the more popular ones. On the other hand if there are a lot of sequence dancers then it is near impossible to dance them with nice actions as too many couples are packed together with too little space to move properly. Also one thing to be aware of is that the rumba and cha cha sequence dances, which were originally written to be danced correctly on the '2' beat, are often danced on the '1' beat, which means the movements do not match the music correctly, so if you try to dance on the '2' then couples nearby may be moving at odds with couples moving properly.   Also passengers from countries other than the UK, and possibly Australia, will often be excluded from sequence dance sessions since most countries do International Ballroom and Latin, or the American equivalents such as Smooth and Rhythm, and do not know the steps for the sequence dances.  Occasionally people try to get groups onto the dance floor to do a sequence dance during normal ballroom or Latin music, and this generates a conflict since sequence dances are not really compatible with more usual patterns of the freestyle ballroom and Latin dances. So the optimal situation is to have managed sequence sets in between the usual ballroom and Latin sets.  One other point, is that quite often people get used to doing a particular sequence dance to a specific piece of music - so if the host calls a sequence dance to an unfamiliar piece of music then some couples take exception to that although in principle of course a waltz of any kind should be possible to any good piece of waltz music, or similarly a foxtrot or a rumba. 

Edited October 19, 2022 by ballroom-cruisers
typo

[Dancer Bob]

I agree completely with ballroom-cruisers, except I'm less kind to those who refuse to share the floor, even when there's only 2 or 3 couples. Over the years, I've come to appreciate good floorcraft as the mark of a good dancer. Unable to share indicates a beginner who needs help, unwilling to share,  I have no sympathy.

Around here we have line dancing, pretty much the same thing, except you learn really bad habits, especially bad posture and weird wiggling.

As for hosts, Cunard has ordered two hosts for the QM2 World cruise from one of their suppliers, I'm not aware of anything else.

Edited October 21, 2022 by Dancer Bob