The Elegant Waltz - Your Perfect Wedding Dance

                                                             

                                                                The Elegant Waltz



Most people dream of their First Dance and envision a fairytale waltz danced by the princess and her prince. An elegant, slow, romantic waltz has been and probably will always be the favorite dance for couples worldwide. The enchanting music and the flowing, spinning steps are the perfect combination for a wedding dance. In this blog, I will help you learn the basic steps and proper technique so that you can also enjoy this beautiful dance.

The waltz timing is a simple 3 count beat, there are no slow's, quick's or syncopated timings in the basic box step. The man starts out forward on his left leg on count 1, takes a side step with his right leg on count 2 and brings his left leg to the right leg, switching weight onto his left leg on count 3. To complete the box step, the man steps back on his right leg on count 1, side step with his left leg on count 2 and brings his right leg to left leg, switching weight onto the right leg on count 3. This will continue smoothly without breaks until your box step is a continuous movement.

The lady's steps will always mirror the men's steps. The lady will repeat the same sequence as the man and follow the same timing, starting back on her Right leg, side with the Left and closing the feet together, switching weight onto her Right leg for the 1, 2, 3 count.

To keep the box step from feeling staccato and choppy, commence moving onto the next step from the moment your weight switches from one foot to the other. The movement of weight shift should feel as though you are constantly shifting weight and moving without pausing. Practice makes perfect!

For information and illustrations on dance frame, please check out our blog on our website: www.YourPerfectWeddingDance.com

Happy Dancing!!!

Is There Such A Thing As A Perfect Wedding Dance?

Your Perfect Wedding Dance

Is There Such A Thing As A Perfect Wedding Dance?

The big day is finally here, you’ve been waiting and planning for what seems like a lifetime. One thing that is on your mind is, will everything go as planned? Well, usually there’s always something that goes astray during a wedding. It could be something as small as musical difficulties, a wardrobe emergency or etc. Keep your dancing right up there with those possibilities.

Unless you are either a devoted dancer, a professional or simply have committed many, many hours into your wedding dance, mistakes are bound to happen. I always encourage my students to work through their mistakes without stopping and finding a way to make it work. It is natural to become overwhelmed or anxious and forget the routing on the dance floor. It is also very common and the best advice I can give is, be prepared. Remember no one knows if you make a mistake or not unless you make it obvious. Keep moving, keep swaying, dip your partner or if all is lost, simply stop and kiss him/her, then resume the dancing.

Most of the time the ladies have a long gown on so their feet are no visible, thus this gives the girls a lot of wiggle room to make a mistake and hide it well. GO ladies! However this is also a very powerful tool for the men! If the audience can only see two feet and they have nothing to compare it to, how will they know if you two are not synchronizing your steps? They won’t…

With that said, it can still be obvious if we trip over a food, turn the girl the wrong way, or fall during a dip (!!!), but that is something that we try to avoid at all cost by practicing before the wedding.

You don’t need to take dancing very seriously and make your feet bleed from over practicing, but remember, the more work you put into it, the easier the dancing will feel and the more relaxed you will feel!

This is Your wedding day! Enjoy the journey and Happy Dancing!

For more great blogs and videos, please check out our website at: YourPerfectWeddingDance.com or Like our Facebook Page!

The Perfect Tempo Song for Your Wedding Dance

Your Perfect Wedding Dance

The Perfect Tempo Song for Your Wedding Dance

Many times when I have a new wedding couple coming in for their first wedding dance and they are still undecided about their first dance song, the reason is usually because the couple doesn’t know what tempo is appropriate. The first song is the more traditional, slow and elegant rhythm, maybe an oldie that is very wide known as the wedding song. Such songs are usually the Frank Sinatra’s, Etta James, maybe John Legend, or the current popular love song on the radio.

Then there is the matter of the second song. It is either a quicker tempo, a song that is not widely known or is not one that is considered a “wedding dance song”. These can range anywhere from house music to musicals from Greece, an electric slide or a rap song.

There really is no “wrong” answer here. The style of your wedding, your theme, your audience, personality and energy all play into effect. Your dance instructor can choose which rhythm to focus on and can structure that choreography accordingly. This does not mean that the choreography will be any less sophisticated or graceful. Simply put, your dance will be more uplifting and energetic, which means you can incorporate more “Fun” steps, more dips and turns, lifts and really create a storyline within your dance.

Another option to consider is to combine both songs into one. Start out with a slower dance, begin with a beautiful entrance, and sway with your significant other and somewhere down the line break into your second song. That will not only surprise your guests but will definitely liven up the party! This has been and still continues to be the popular choice amongst wedding couples, father/daughters dances and mother/son dances.

In the end, keep in mind that this is Your big day and you can do whatever you want. It is essential to make sure that everyone has a good time at your wedding, but you can still add your personal touch to the wedding and really make it yours!

Happy Dancing!!!

For more great blogs and videos, please check out our website at: YourPerfectWeddingDance.com or Like our Facebook Page!

How Early To Start Learning Your Perfect Wedding Dance

     There are so many things to prepare for the big day! Caterers, dresses, tuxedos, music, it’s overwhelming! Most of the time, couples start planning quite early to ensure that they reserve the best venue, band, etc. Very smart thinking! Then a week before the wedding, you realize that it would be a fun idea to learn a wedding dance. However, finding a wedding dance instructor in your area is not the issue. The issue is remembering and executing your dance on the big day.

     To learn the dance is simply to learn steps, a dip, a lift and a finale. However, executing those steps comfortably and with ease takes time and lots of practice! Your dance teacher is not a miracle worker, remember that your instructor won’t make you into a dancer, but instead give you all the tools necessary to become one. The hard work and practice has to come from the two of you.

     When there is simply no time but you really need to have something to do on that dance floor than merely swaying side to side, absolutely take the lesson. Even a simple entrance and dip will be entertaining...

                                          

     However, the more time allotted to perfecting your first dance, the better you feel and even more important, the more extravagant your first dance can be...

                                         

     Plan ahead, just as you did with the other details of your wedding. It will not hurt to learn to dance together properly...it is a romantic journey after all.

For more great blogs and information, please visit our website at: www.YourPerfectWeddingDance.com!

Ways You Can Help Create Your Perfect Wedding Dance

The time has come for your perfect wedding day. Everything is in order the way you want it to be, the color scheme, the music, the food, your dress...but what about your wedding dance? Are you truly satisfied with your dance, your routine, the whole outlook of your first dance? Think of it this way, you made your dream wedding come to life with the help of family, friends, wedding planners, but they all were aware of things you wanted and did not want. Your wedding dance should be treated the same way.

Too many times people trust in their dance coaches blindly. Just because you are not a dancer and know nothing about music, choreography and dancing altogether, does not mean that you can not have a say in it. Envision what your wedding is all about. What is your color scheme, what is the mood and setting of your wedding. Now apply that information to your dance. Perhaps a very elegant, royal wedding, or a more fun and party atmosphere is at play. This will help your wedding dance instructor help you with music selection and choreography.
So many times, my wedding dance couples tell me that they don’t want anything fancy or too choreographed for their dance. They say they are not ready to spend the time to practice or they will not be able to pull anything off that requires fancy steps like Dancing With The Stars. That’s absolutely fine and believe me, it is completely unnecessary to go that far.
Steps only appear complicated when they are first seen or done the first time. With practice and proper teaching methods, trust me, you will be surprised of what you’re capable of! Don’t try to learn everything at once, that will only confuse and agitate you. Take each lesson as it comes and use it as a stepping stone to learn more intricate routines. It really comes down to practice.
Just remember, your day is perfect and tailored to your wishes and desires in every way, your first dance should be just as unique as you are!

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Fun Dance Steps You Can Learn For Your First Dance! -- Your Perfect Wedding Dance

Fun Dance Steps You Can Learn For Your First Dance! 

    There are so many great dance instruction videos out there with countless steps and tricks. Some are legitimate, demonstrated and taught by sound professionals in the dance field. Others, merely imitating what they've seen and trying to recreate the movements and information to the best of their abilities. The reason you must be weary of those videos is once you learn a habit, it normally takes anywhere up to 6 months to break it. Be judgmental of your online instructor in a good way, make sure that you like what you see and that quite possibly, you can research about that instructor to see her/his credentials.

    Now on to the good stuff! One really great step to have your First Dance is the fan. It can be danced many ways. Some are fan positions are simple...

    Others are more complex and may not work with your style...

    However, they add volume, a depth to your dancing, shape, complexity and keeps the audience entertained!

    The basic goal of the fan step is to open up from the closed position into an open position. Usually it is best for you to begin the fan position with a spin/turn for the girl and then switch places with each other with either a simple turn towards each other, or a walk around where the man walks around and turns the girl underarm until she is standing where he used to say and vice versa. 

https://youtu.be/Dn34ZrCLHQw

    Go ahead a research some of these videos to learn more about dancing the fan position and including this great step in your first dance!

    For more videos and blogs, please visit our website: YourPerfectWeddingDance.com!

 

Proper Dance Frame for Wedding Dance Couples-- Your Perfect Wedding Dance.com

Proper Dance Frame for Wedding Dance Couples

    Typically for a wedding dance, there is no need to have the proper, yet stiff, ballroom dance frame. Most couples have either never danced ballroom in their life, or have had very little training. In any case, holding that frame and keeping the resistance between both people can get very taxing on your shoulders. As well, after a night of no sleeping, or being too anxious for the wedding, possible having a few cocktails before the dance, can all lead to a poor frame. Thus, I feel it is always best to teach the necessary basics to what a frame should feel like, why those few selected pieces of information are important and train, train, train. 

     The more contact there is between both partners, the better the communication will be. Without the lady leaning all of her body weight onto the mans Right arm, the couple should keep contact throughout Lady's left and Man's right arm.

     Next we look at the connecting hand. Man's left and Lady's right arm is crucial to not collapsing on top of one another and for the man to avoid stepping on his partners feet during the dance. This arm will allow for the leader (man) to signal to the follower (lady) when he is moving forward. He should only give her the pushing sensation when he is moving...not when he is standing still. It is here that most trouble occurs. If the follower collapses her hand, or gives no feedback, usually the leader will either over push with too much strength or not be able to lead his partner into any sequence of steps. 

    Lastly, in order for the leader to signal to his partner when to stop or when to turn, he uses his Right arm on the shoulder blade of his partner. Having the arm down too low on her back/hip, will cause for the lady to respond too late to his leads as the lordotic curve of her spine will slow down her response time.

    Think of this as a 3 points system: The pushing arm- Man's Left to Lady's Right; The supporting arm; The stopping/turning arm.

     As always, you can find more useful tips and information on our website: YourPerfectWeddingDance.com!

 

Common Wedding Dance FAQ'S- Your Perfect Wedding Dance

 Common Wedding Dance FAQ's

As a wedding dance instructor, I hear many frequently asked questions. Whether I'm teaching in Orange County or Washington, DC, the questions are most often very similar.

1- "We're not good dancers! In fact, we don't ever dance."

This is definitely one of the most popular phrases I hear on a daily basis. It's completely fine and expected that you don't have any prior dance experience. The job of your wedding dance instructor is to teach you and help put together an amazing and one of a kind First Dance. If you happen to know how to dance, whether ballroom or other types of dance, that's great, but all that would mean is that we can create a choreography that's a bit more challenging and your instructor would most likely expect more from you.

2- "Our wedding is next week, can you help us?"

Yikes! Those are difficult to do, but not impossible. Your instructor can always help whip up a snazzy routine and give your wedding dance a kick, but in the end you simply need time to rehearse with your fiance. Please keep in mind, as any coaches, we will give you all of the tools and knowledge to become a great dancer, but we can not make you into great dancers. That extra effort has to come from you. Your time, effort, energy and practice will make you shine on the dance floor. With limited time before the wedding, your mind is trying to comprehend and learn various steps, count to music and not step on your partners feet. With practice comes grace and fluidity. Please allow yourselves enough time to properly learn your First Dance and rehearse it.

3- "How many lessons will we need to be good?"

That's a difficult question to answer. People learn differently and at different rates. For some with natural ability, 2-3 lessons is just enough to not only learn the routine, but to master the rhythm and every accent in the music. For others, it is difficult to get the brain to cooperate. In those instances, I recommend at least 3 lessons to get the basics down to music. Anything more would only add to the choreography and increase your comfort level on the dance floor. If you are not sure what type of learner you are, start early. Starting at least a couple months before the wedding will help you not feel rushed and crammed to learn. You can take your time and practice, take additional lessons and relax during this dance journey!

For more great blogs and information, please visit our website! www.YourPerfectWeddingDance.com