Chicago Dance Blog

Dance is a learned skill. Dance is similar to language in that we all have an innate ability. However, the actual development of how to learn how to dance is environmentally determined. We can all learn a language easily when we are children, but for adults it is more difficult—the same is true for dancing.

As with any skill, we all have a different amount of inborn potential for how to learn how to dance. Essentially there is a range of potential innate abilities that need to be developed. Learning how to dance will take more effort for some than others. Someone with little natural talent for dancing will require a lot of effort to equal what someone with talent can accomplish with little effort. When a person with innate ability puts any effort towards learning and practice, they will outperform someone with little natural skill.

Frequently, we overlook how important it is to have an interest, passion or inclination towards a subject. Otherwise there will be no effort despite any innate ability. If we love dancing and music, we’ll put in the extra effort toward how to learn how to dance and the various skills involved.

Dance is comprised of many different skills, so there is room for many different types of success. Dance is an expressive art with an athletic component. One of the more challenging aspects for many people is musicality—sensitivity to the musical quality and expression of dancing. As with any musical performance, we try to express emotions and feelings as we dance. We express musicality with our bodies.

The many different aspects to musicality can be learned even as adults. When we develop more technical skills after asking how to learn how to dance, we can become more creative in our interpretations and more expressive of our feelings. Musicality in dance involves many different abilities, including the following:

• Listening to music and developing an appreciation for it.
• Picking out different musical instruments in music.
• Hearing dynamics and nuances in music.
• Recognizing breaks and accents and anticipating their occurrence.
• Identifying the beats in music.
• Understanding tempos and time signatures in written music.
• Understanding phrasing, musical themes and song structure.
• Learning different dance rhythms.
• Developing individual interpretations.

The last one is especially important because the same dance is interpreted differently by every couple who dances it, bringing out their own creativity and flair.

Eventually wanting to know how to learn how to dance leads the dancer to the desire to learn musicality, the creative physical expression shown in time to the music. As your musicality grows, your flair and joy in dancing will grow as well.

Instructors are always surprised by how inappropriately people will dress for their ballroom dance classes, especially in the beginner classes. At Chicago Dance, we are pretty casual—the days of ties are long gone. But come on—are shorts, sandals or flip flops really appropriate or comfortable when learning how to ballroom dance? On the other hand, it is surprising how many people wear tight fitting clothing and think they are going to be comfortable in ballroom dance class.

So what should men wear to ballroom dance class?  A shirt or even a t-shirt and dress trousers are the choice for men in most ballroom dance classes. If you sweat a lot, bring a change of shirt.  Suits and jackets that competitors and performers wear are specifically cut to not bunch at the shoulders.  Regular suits and jackets are not always the best for dancing.  Lift and move your arms around to see how your jacket performs before wearing it for dance.

What should women wear to ballroom dancing class? A flowing skirt enhances the dancer’s movement. Suitable clothes must allow the follow to stride out and the lead to step forward. Therefore, a tight, straight skirt, such as an A-line skirt, won’t work.

Shoes are the single most important item for any dancer. Serious ballroom dancers buy dance shoes but those of you learning how to ballroom dance don’t need to do that immediately. Ideally dancers should have shoes with suede or leather soles—suede is found on shoes made specifically for dancing and is generally preferred by most dancers. These shoes should not be worn outside at the risk of destroying the soles.  Leather sole shoes are versatile for wearing outside and in public dance venues other than dance schools.  If you don’t have leather-soled shoes in your closet, get a smooth sole shoe. A pair of dress or office lace-up shoes will probably be fine. Athletic or sports shoes have too much grip to allow your feet to move freely on the dance floor, which could damage your knees or ankles. The more slip on the sole the better to prevent injury to your body while learning how to ballroom dance.

Men in ballroom dance class should have shoes with a 1/2″ heel, which is the normal shoe heel height. You will notice that some men wear a higher heel for the Latin dances. You want shoes that are reasonable secure on your feet as you will be turning and stepping backwards. This will help you to be a better lead if you’re not tripping over your shoes in the ballroom dancing class.

Ladies should wear a sandal with a strap or a court shoe that fits properly. This will enable them to complete the steps in ballroom dance class that have the ladies moving backwards. You can’t step backwards with a slip-on shoe and or a shoe that does not stay on your foot. The other important point with shoes is that ladies’ shoes must have a heel. Normally the latin shoes should have a 2 1/2″ heel, but 2″ is acceptable if the woman is more comfortable in it and is still learning how to ballroom dance.  Court shoes for ballroom are generally a lower heel – 2″.  Flat jazz sneakers or ballet slippers or okay for practice but some heel is preferable for your ballroom dancing class.

Now that you know what to wear and what not to wear to your ballroom dancing class, you’ll feel more comfortable and graceful as you dance. You’re ready to enjoy the wonderfully social activity of learning how to ballroom dance!

Imagine coming to a ballroom dancing class with a close friend or significant other. You plan to enjoy the evening together, learning how to ballroom dance, spending time in each other’s company. You are surprised to learn the instructor wants you to rotate partners. You object to this, feeling intimidated by the idea of new partners.

There are many reasons why couples do not want to change partners in a ballroom dance class. One reason is that extremely shy individuals find it difficult or threatening to rotate to a new unknown person. This fear usually diminishes as confidence in their dance skills increases during the ballroom dancing class. Another strong reason that couples dislike rotating is that in some religious or cultural groups, dancing with anyone but your spouse is not permitted, whether in a ballroom dancing class or not. If an established couple insists on always dancing together, they should check with the instructor and school to make sure it is acceptable. When in class, the couple should remain to the sides so as not to be disruptive. Private lessons might be the preferred learning method for couples who want to dance exclusively with each other.

The experience of instructors shows that couples who remain together while learning how to ballroom dance tend to fall behind in group learning situations. By changing partners in a ballroom dance class, you learn faster. By changing partners, you are likely to better understand both the pattern and your role. If you stick with only your partner and both of you are struggling, it is harder to progress. Instructors know that switching partners in group class is an important part of learning how to ballroom dance.

Rotating is an excellent learning tool to get a feeling for the issues and benefits of various partners. There is a range of ability levels in a ballroom dancing class—some people can barely figure out which foot to move and others expertly help their partners through the steps. Dancing with an excellent partner is always a nice change of pace. Dancing with someone who is struggling forces you to really know your own part. Changing dance partners can also prevent you from developing bad habits. For example, couples who only dance together may develop incorrect lead/follow techniques or the woman may start back-leading the man.

Changing partners is good for both men and women. Women improve their ability to follow by adapting to the different styles and leads of partners in a ballroom dancing class. Men develop better lead skills by recognizing that some women require more precise timing, clearer signals, or a firmer or gentler lead than others in the ballroom dancing class. Even though there are prescribed patterns the dancers perform, the order of these patterns is at the discretion of the leader. Therefore, the follower doesn’t know exactly what the lead is going to do until he does it. This means the leader needs to be very clear with his leads and his partner needs to pay attention in order to be sensitive and responsive to those leads.

When two dancers learn to dance only with each other, they do not develop the understanding of leading and following that they would when they change partners in a group ballroom dance class. Not rotating partners may seem fine if the couple plans to dance only together for the rest of their lives. However, their ability to lead and follow each other will be diminished because they did not learn thoroughly. They may eventually become frustrated with each other and with learning how to ballroom dance.

After rotating partners, when you go back to your friend or significant other, you will be more accomplished and make an even better couple. Your knowledge of how to ballroom dance will have improved because of the variety of lead/follow styles you’ve been exposed to. By changing partners in ballroom dance class, you meet new people. Dancing is a wonderfully social activity. Why not take advantage of the social possibilities to enjoy your ballroom dance class and become the best dancer you can be?

This is a very interesting article about dance from the Harvard Medical School.  Dance allows females to discover the quality of a male’s genes through dance,  demonstrating his health, stamina and neuromuscular control.

Ah, courtship. That crazy time when you’ll do almost anything to show off for your potential mate: drink too much, fight with rivals, play chicken with cars, and generally behave in ways that make you shudder in later life.  The courtship rituals of suburbia are complex enough…more

Spring has sprung and soon to come is summer and some very hot weather. Treat your body right by getting enough water!  We all have heard that you should have a minimum of eight glasses of water a day but the key is to stay hydrated and drink enough.

With hotter weather and all of the exercise you are getting dancing, don’t put yourself at the risk of dehydration.

Unfortunately many times our body can get out of sync and when we think we are hungry our body just might need some water. Try drinking a glass of water when you start to feel hungry, wait a few minutes and see if the hunger goes away.

Here are a few tips that can help drinking all of that water a little easier:

Buy a fun water bottle

Just like drinking a martini out of martini glass is more fun than drinking it out of a coffee cup, drinking water out of a fun water bottle that you love makes drinking water that much easier/fun.  The taste of water in the metal bottles always seems off to me so I got a new water bottle – more expensive than most water bottles – but it is glass and comes in many colors.  (If you want to check it out, it is the Lifefactory water bottle.)

Mix your water up

While drinking plain water is great it often can get boring. The best way to fix this is to use the powdered drink mixes like Crystal Light or the new Gatorade mixes. Keep a packet in your purse/bag with your water bottle and spice up your daily glasses! I think lemonade in the summer is great.

Part Three: The Cool Down

This is our final post in the three part series: the importance of Warm-ups, Stretching and Cool Downs. The cool down is another very important part of every exercise routine and should not be skipped. Just as the warm up helps reduce soreness, prevent injuries and keep your muscles in good condition so does the cool down.

Suggested Cool Down Plan (7 minutes):

-       Start with any slow movement, you just want to make sure you don’t stop your exercise abruptly. Doing so can put you at a higher risk of injury. The goal is to slowly lower your heart rate.

-       Some ideas to slowly lower your heart rate and cool your muscles include: Yoga, Ballet plies, a slow Waltz or a slow Rumba.

Another part of a proper cool down is to do some light stretching. As stated in the last post muscles are able to stretch and bend best when warm, and usually after a work out your muscles are going to be quite warm. Here are some stretching ideas:

-       Leg stretch: sit with your legs spread apart, legs turned out, knees straight and your back sitting straight up. Stretch down and try to touch each of your toes and in towards the middle.

-       Arms stretch: cross each arm across your body and over top of your head.

-       Body stretch: Roll body down starting with head all the way down and back up. Repeat to each side.

To learn more about the Warm-Ups, Stretching and Cool Downs try an Adult Stretch class.

Part Two: Stretching

As stated in the last blog post it is important to warm up your muscles before stretching. Now that you have learned how to warm up your muscles let’s move on to the next step: stretching.

Stretching allows you to get your kicks higher and your corte lower, reduces muscle tension and soreness and also decreases the risk of activity-based injuries.

Suggested Stretching Plan (7 minutes):

-       Head/Neck: Look down and to the right, and then switch to the left. Roll head slowly in both directions.

-       Arms: Swing arms forward in a circle and then backward. Stretch each arm across body and overhead.

-       Body: Stretch to the Right with the Left arm overhead bending your body to the Right.  Stand up and bend and straighten your legs twice. Then stretch to the Left with the Right arm overhead bending your body to the Left and repeat the bending and straightening of your legs.

-       Legs:

o   Lunge with the Right leg forward and bend the knee keeping the Left leg straight. Stand up on the Right leg and lift the Left foot towards your chest and nose. Switch legs. Re-bend the Right leg and lower the Left knee to the floor. Raise your Left arm up for 10 seconds and lower. Repeat on other side.

o   Stand up and bend the Right leg and grab the Right foot behind body. Repeat on the Left leg.

-       Feet: Stand up lift the Right heel to create 25-degree angle between floor and foot. Then raise heel to a 45-degree angle and then to 90-degrees leaving toes on the ground the entire time. Lower heel and repeat on Left foot.

Look for “Part 3: Cool Down” in our next post!

Part one: The Warm Up

A great way to get the most out of your dance class is to warm up, stretch and cool down.  This are great activities to do on your own.

Give yourself 10 minutes before and after class for warm-up, stretching and cool down.

Stretching is a very important part of any physical activity and is often forgotten.  Frequently, when it it is remembered, people don’t do it well.  One of the most important rules when it comes to stretching is to warm up the muscles and the body before stretching.

Suggested Warm-up Plan (7 minutes):

Great ways to warm up for all activities: Jumping jacks, a slow jog, joint rolls (ankles, wrists, knees, ect.), skips, crunches and lunges.

Ballroom Dances: The best dance to use as a warm up is a Foxtrot. The movement of the Foxtrot is quick enough to warm the body up but slow enough to reduce the risk of pulling something.

Ballet Barre: Pliés, Ronds de Jambe, Tendus and ballet jumps in first and second positions. (To learn more about these attend an Adult Ballet workout class).

-Jazz Warm Up: Slowly fold your body in half by rolling your head down to your toes and then pull your body up right starting with your lower back and repeat to the sides creating a fan motion with your body. (To learn more about these attend a Broadway Jazz class).

Look for “Part 2: Stretching” in our next post!