Dance lessons vs me (long)

rcj2rcd

I'm so disappointed right now. FI and I were taking dance lessons to learn for the wedding. Neither of us are great dancers to begin with. We bought a package of lessons and we were doing good. Until tonight. This thing is so complicated and cheesy (it involves lifts). I didn't want some grandiose dancing with the stars routine - just a few steps we could repeat so we looked decent for our first dance.

And to make things better, I found out the dance steps we learned aren't even for the whole song. So - exactly what are we supposed to do after our last step? Do the high-school sway for the last minute of the song? Or just stop dancing all together?

We have two classes left and I'm taking this sinking ship over. Work with what we already know...no cheesy lifts...It's my own fault for not realizing we were being taken for a ride with these classes. I might as well have just burned the $300.

:::end rant:::

emarston1

I agree get rid of the lifts.  Personally, my favorite first dances are just the very sweet swaying kind of dances.  Just very low key and intimate.

I did find the dance "lessons" we took helpful in the fact that it got Todd and I dancing in a lowkey environment.  It got some of the jitters out and let us relax when dancing together so that we could practice our first dance a few times (at home in our living room.)  We did do a dip at the end but that was the extent of the craziness.

larzhope

we are taking classes too.  we got a $56 set of 3 classes on groupon and they totally talked us into taking more classes.  We said we'd be fine with a spin and potentially a dip, but heck no to the lifts

MMRoberts11

Have you learned any other steps beyond the routine?  If so, maybe you could incorporate them into the extra time at the end or is there a section that you coud repeat from the routine?  Or, if you know the style I'd suggest looking it up on youtube and seeing if you could add in something from there.

Also, I agree, I'd remove the lifts as they can come off very cheesy if not executed perfectly and even then if it doesn't flow it can still be cheesy.  Maybe you can do a twirl or dip instead? 

I'm a former dancer and choreographer so if you have any other questions feel free to send me a PM and I'll try to help you out as best I can.

rcj2rcd

I agree Liz, the simpler the better. I want to enjoy our first dance and be thinking about FI and not worried about my next step. Right now, during our routine I have this terrible worried look on my face. Megan - I reworked the whole thing last night. It's the rumba. We know the box step and have a few other moves down pat (under arm spin, fifth position, and this really cool walking move where I spin). FI is pretty good at leading, so, we're just going to alternate with box steps, fancy move, box steps, and so on. This way we can keep dancing for the whole song by repeating what we already know. Thanks for letting me vent ladies I was in tears last night but all is better now

MMRoberts11

Your plan sounds like a great idea!  Did you ever get your dance shoes?

rcj2rcd

No, Lucy and Ethels stopped carrying ballroom shoes and I don't have time to drive up to Flint. I found a pair at DSW that actually work pretty good so I've been using those. After this whole disaster with the classes/instructor, FI is done with dancing - so no point in investing in shoes anymore

Milsey32

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_dance-lessons-vs?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:88Discussion:c3e84c4a-7260-44ee-80bb-a04777dffffcPost:20b8a3d5-2fd4-47da-8ee9-9fcfa2f7af50">Re: Dance lessons vs me (long)</a>:
[QUOTE]I agree get rid of the lifts.  Personally, my favorite first dances are just the very sweet swaying kind of dances.  Just very low key and intimate. I did find the dance "lessons" we took helpful in the fact that it got Todd and I dancing in a lowkey environment.  It got some of the jitters out and let us relax when dancing together so that <strong>we could practice our first dance a few times (at home in our living room.)</strong>  We did do a dip at the end but that was the extent of the craziness.
Posted by emarston1[/QUOTE]

This is what we plan on doing... nothing fancy, but since he's 6' 6" and I'm only 5' 3"... we wanna learn how to do *a little* more than just sway back and forth.

Also: Don't do the lifts... Unless it's a Dancing With The Stars routine, I think it'd look weird as a 'first dance', IMHO