Dance lessons

kaos16

So I'm a horrible dancer, it's a fact.  DH happens to be a phenomenal dancer.  He actually spent some time in college as a choreographer at his school, and DJs, so he has great musicality.  He has mentioned us taking dance classes a number of times.  I would like to, but i'm a bit apprehensive because of lack of coordination and shyness.  Has anyone taken dance classes, specifically latin.  I know that every studio will be a little different, but i'm sure looking for some help on what to expect, what to wear/bring.  The studios near me offer a free intro class to see how you like it, I'm thinking of doing that on my own to get some feedback first.  Thoughts?

Sugargirl1019

To me, it sounds fun. If DH wanted to actually dance for our first dance (not just lovely dovey sway) I would have been ecstatic. If dance lessons were required to make sure one or both parties knew what they were doing, then I would have done it.

Since you're looking for latin dances, research or call the studios. Also check with your FI specifically about which dances he wants you to learn.

labro

The last dance classes I did were in middle school for cotillion. I'd definitely do them again so I think you should give it a try! Don't stress over being "perfect" right away. As you learn the steps you get more comfortable and it is a HUGE help when your partner is an experienced dancer. Believe me when I say it makes a major difference in how you feel while dancing.

As far as what to wear...I'd wear a dress or flowyish skirt and wear comfortable shoes...heels or low heels if you're ok with wearing that. Personally I think I dance better in a pair of good heels than I do in flat shoes but I think that's up to you as the dancer. What to bring? Water! For an intro class don't expect anything crazy. I'm sure they'll just be focusing on teaching you basic steps or maybe a simple dance to one type of song that is repetitive and easy to remember. They aren't out to embarrass anyone or single any one person out for their mistakes. They want you to become a regular attendee, not embarrass you and scare you in to never coming back.

doeydo

If you want to do it for fun, sure that sounds fun.  However, if this is for your first dance, I hate choreographed first dances.  One of my favourite parts of a wedding is the first dance and seeing the love and sweetness of them just swaying back and forth kind of dancing.

phira

I'm currently taking (finishing) dance lessons with my fiancé. I'm a mediocre dancer (no natural talent, but I'm teachable). He's a TERRIBLE dancer. I love him dearly, but he really does have two left feet.

Lessons have been helpful. I wish we'd started them much earlier; we've only had time for 7 private lessons.

We've been taking lessons at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio located closest to us. We have only done private lessons; although we've got unlimited group lessons and parties we can go to, we quite simply do not have any time. We go once a week after work; my partner has time to go home first, so he changes into his shoes he's wearing for the wedding. I've danced in my wedding shoes, but since they're flats, it's not as imperative that I wear them every time. Since I'm always coming straight from work, I'm usually in riding boots or sneakers or something. Other clothing is normal.

I thought we would get chastised for not buying/wearing traditional dance shoes. I think we would if we planned to continue dancing after the wedding. But our instructor has very firmly (and kindly!) let us know that it's not necessary, that any shoes are fine.

Each lesson is 1-on-1 with an instructor, although there are usually other couples in the area. We've mostly been doing some ballroom basics, but they teach all sorts of dance styles. It's a lot of fun, and our instructor is very friendly and fun. There's ABSOLUTELY no shaming. And we really are terrible at dancing, so we appreciate that.

slothiegal

Sounds like fun!  I've never been, so I have no advice, but this reminded me of a funny story:

So for our wedding, both my and slothieguy's parents arrived like, a week early, to help with last minute details/have a vacation in Cali.  My mom had only met his parents once before, and my dad had never met them, so I was a little bit nervous to leave the four of them alone all week while I was at work.  (I turned back into high school slothie, begging them not to embarrass me.)

Anyways, I guess they were texting the day they all arrived and MIL made some comment about what terrible dancers she and FIL are.  My mother texted back, "Oh gee, not US, Papa Slothie and I have been taking dance lessons!", as a joke.

So they end up meeting up later in the day; they're chatting and my mom suggests dinner.  MIL says, "Oh, we can't stay long, we have somewhere to be."  Mom asks where.  "Dance lessons."

Apparently my mother forgot that my (then future) in-laws didn't know her and the fact that she just bullshits 75% of the time.  Also that sarcasm doesn't translate well over text.  And so MIL, bless her heart, called all around town to find dance lessons the week before our wedding.  My mom felt like kind of an ass, haha.

kaos16

doeydo said:

If you want to do it for fun, sure that sounds fun.  However, if this is for your first dance, I hate choreographed first dances.  One of my favourite parts of a wedding is the first dance and seeing the love and sweetness of them just swaying back and forth kind of dancing.

Nope, we were married 2 years as of September.  We swayed for our first dance and it was great.  This is just for a fun activity.

VulgarGirl

We've taken dance classes together just for fun. It's awesome.

kaos16

MagicInk said:

We've taken dance classes together just for fun. It's awesome.

Any wardrobe recommendations?  What type of dance were you doing?

VulgarGirl

kaos16 said:

MagicInk said:

We've taken dance classes together just for fun. It's awesome.

Any wardrobe recommendations?  What type of dance were you doing?

We've done swing dance, a salsa class, and then general ballroom.

I've got a dance background so I already own some dance stuff, I usually wear my dance heels, capri leggings, and a tank top. I don't like wearing anything too loose. Wife wears basically the same but she will wear jazz shoes or sneakers.

You can ask the studio though what they reccomend. Some places are strict, a lot aren't. Dress for comfort and bring water. Dancing can be a hell of work out.

larrygaga

I used to dance and I taught swing dance, salsa modern and belly dance for awhile. I can tell you that the less You force yourself to worry about dancing the better you will look


It will help if you just focus on fi and what you are doing.

Comfy leggings and a shirt that won't ride up is all you'll need. I dance barefoot so I can't say for shoes, ask the instructor

janbride2015

FI and I are taking a dance class through the park district.  It's 3 dances over 4 weeks.  We were told to wear comfortable clothes and shoes.  I thinks it great.  I don't expect to be perfect, but now I don't think we'll look foolish either.

princessleia22

DH and I don't dance.  So, we found a deal for 2 introductory dance lessons and thought it would be good to get a few tips.  They taught us some basic steps to go with our first dance song and timed it out for spins & a dip at the end.  After 2 lessons, we decided we needed a little more help, so signed up for 5 more sessions (all within 2 weeks of our wedding, since we started late anticipating only 2 sessions).  That was just enough that we felt more comfortable and had the routine down pretty well.  Although, at the wedding, the floor was stickier than we were used to so DH lifted his feet more, he stepped on my dress, and made us mess up our steps.  But, we kept moving and nobody noticed.  But, it made us start cracking up, so all our dance photos have us laughing, which is awesome and everyone just thought we were having a great time out there dancing together, even though we were just laughing about messing up.

phira

Just want to say, we're not really choreographing the first dance, so much as we're actually just learning the basics so we can dance. Can't do the 8th grade sway to everything.