Reaching the Full Bronze level in ballroom dancing is a significant accomplishment. At this stage, your technique and styling should be perfect. It should be polished and refined, showcasing an excellent understanding of the dance form. Full Bronze represents an excellent level in social ballroom dancing. Yet Full Bronze still does not mean mastering the … Read more
After passing the Bronze One level, to get through the Bronze Two level might take you an additional nine months to a year. This depends on your frequency of lessons (both private and group). In addition, it depends on practicing at home and at the parties. I can’t stress the value of group classes and … Read more
We last explored Associate Bronze styling and technique within Fox Trot, Waltz, Swing, Merengue, Mambo, Rumba, and Cha Cha. Now, achieving the required styling and technique skills in Tango, Samba, Polka, and Disco are equally involved. First of all, the Associate Bronze styling and technique in Tango provides learning contra body movement. You also learn … Read more
Getting to learn Associate Bronze styling and technique means you have to go through the Bronze One level first. In terms of dancing adequacy, Bronze One represents a mechanical level. At this point your dancing looks mechanical, and feels mechanical. Typically it takes about four to six months to reach this level. The biggest variable … Read more
Did you know that there are standards that exist in dance education? Each standard or level represents a certain type of dancer. These levels are accepted throughout the world. Most established dance studios follow these levels of ballroom dancing. You need to pass tests to get from one level to the next. The first of … Read more
There is an amazingly great feeling that you will experience when you feel like you belong on the dance floor. You can dance all night if you wish. As you find yourself not intimidated by any dance, and you dance non-stop, people tend to give you space to dance. Some will sit down to watch … Read more
A few years ago on the Fourth Of July, I went to the county’s fireworks show. As the crowd was waiting for the fireworks to begin, they played live music over the loudspeakers. People were just sitting there on the grass. The music was upbeat and energetic, and made me want to dance. Since I … Read more
Have you thought about where you’ll use your ballroom dancing? Some ballroom dance occasions include (but aren’t limited to) weddings, private parties, New Year’s Eve dances, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, and dancing on a cruise. At these settings, the music that gets played would be a variety of music which you would need to dance different ballroom … Read more
Many times at the start of taking ballroom dance lessons, students offer objections to learning several dances at once. The biggest ballroom dance lesson concern is about focusing on more than one dance at a time. As a part of our teaching curriculum, we will teach a student as many or as few of the … Read more
Let’s talk about different ballroom dance venues. This is the first thing that we explain to all of our new students. When you find yourself in a situation where there is dancing, you’re going to want to be able to dance. Much like traveling to a foreign land, you are going to need to be … Read more
I am sharing with you what I learned through all the years that I have taught ballroom dancing. I hope that it helps you learn something about what goes into becoming a better dancer. If you just started reading these blogs, I urge you to perhaps go to the beginning of them and read all … Read more
In last week’s blog, called “Being A Good Ballroom Dance Leader”, we talked about how it feels to be a good leader. We also explored different ways to be a strong leader. Being a great ballroom dance leader is what separates you from the amateurs. First of all, being a great ballroom dance leader means … Read more
Personally, I have never understood the aversion that men have towards learning to dance. Granted, in the beginning, the learning process is quite humbling and rough on our ego. But the rewards far outweigh the struggle. In any dance setting there are always more ladies than there are men. When a man is a good … Read more
I would like to offer my professional opinion on learning to dance from ballroom dancing instructional videos. Whether you are tempted to watch YouTube videos, or even DVDs, there are certain activities that can’t be learned only by watching someone else do it. You need feedback. You need someone who would watch you do it, … Read more
The next several blogs are written by Schain, the executive director of Now & Then Dance Studios in Maryland and Virginia (in general in the Metropolitan Washington, DC area). We specialize in teaching the American style of ballroom, social, and partner dancing. We also specialize in wedding instruction to prepare for your first wedding dance. … Read more
Over the last decade or so, ballroom dancing has made resurgence. Whether you’ve seen it on t.v. or in the movies, ballroom dancing is as popular as ever. Believe it or not, even throughout this pandemic we had people interested in taking ballroom dance lessons. There are numerous benefits to learning ballroom dance, and the … Read more
