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

 

Clean and Simple Wedding Dance Choreography! Your Perfect Wedding Dance

Clean and Simple Wedding Dance Choreography

As a dance instructor, I have seen and put together thousands and thousands of dance routines. Sometimes with time on my side and other times, it was expected in 2 lessons prior to the big day! Setting the perfect wedding dance routine can be tricky when either the expectations are unrealistic or when everyone in the lesson (bride, groom and dance instructor) have strong opinions on what the choreography should consist of. 

Now there’s nothing wrong with a simple and elegant sway, dip and spin choreography when all you really have is that 1 lesson. It beats stepping on each other’s toes or trying to awkwardly dip each other at the end of the dance. So if you’re pressured for time, I really do suggest keeping the wedding dance routine as easy as you can get it, and simply enjoy moving together in harmony to your favorite tune.

With time on your hands however, we can definitely add that touch of excitement and the element of surprise to your first dance. Music plays an important factor as it sets the tone and theme for your first dance. Once selected and cut, we begin the process of learning your basics first. Trust me, without a solid knowledge of the basics, nothing fancy or fun will be executed smoothly. 

Over the last 16 years, I’ve been exposed to some incredible, top of the line choreographers and coaches. I’ve been lucky enough to train extensively with them and pick up on key points when setting a perfect dance routine. It is quite unfortunate when I witness first time wedding couples learning to dance and their dance has no meaning, no soul, personality or feeling to it. Spins, dips and turns are entertaining but they aren’t as effective when placed just anywhere in the routine at any given time. Think of your wedding dance as this: You are creating a story with your body and executing the story to your family and friends to music. There has to be a storyline, a reason to dip the girl at this moment, following this pivot, otherwise it becomes an awkward and unnecessary move. 

Create your storyline, your wedding dance instructor will put it in dance moves and voila! You’ve got yourself the perfect, one of a kind wedding dance especially tailored to you and your fiancé!

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

 

Spicing Up the Wedding Dance Your Perfect Wedding Dance

Spicing Up the Wedding Dance

 

So you’ve already made a big effort by signing up for wedding dance lessons rather than resorting to the “bear sway” or “high school sway” dancing on your big day. A big thumbs up to you! Now what can be done to make your special wedding dance stand out and really be a hit at the party? Well first, talk to your wedding dance instructor about ideas or describe the image that you want to create within your wedding dance. Two heads are better than one and guaranteed your wedding dance instructor has some special thoughts as well.

Second, let’s take a look at the music. Are you using a traditional, romantic slow song, or a combination of slow and fast music? Maybe you’re going for a theme song from Greece or incorporating different dance styles that people haven’t seen you dance before?

There are thousands and thousands of amazing and inspiring ideas for incredible wedding dances. Just remember to provide yourself and your significant other enough time to master the routine.

Another fun idea is to change attire. You’re enjoying your wedding day in your stunning dress and slip out a few minutes before the first dance performance, slip into a costume and entertain the audience away! This is quite unexpected and will definitely, 100% keep the attention of your wedding party!

Perfection is never the objective in these situations. Remember to have fun and let yourself be the center of attention, it is your wedding day.

How about getting closer with the family by having them join in on a choreographed routine? A slow dance with your loved one, followed by a musical change that brings both parents onto the dance floor and ending the grand finale with a “united” bow? That would not only be a crowd pleaser but an unforgettable and one-of-a-kind show.

Already, you’ve made a big decision to enhance your wedding dance by taking wedding dance lessons; now let’s have some fun with it!

Call (949) 385-3857 or email us at yblinova@yourperfectweddingdance.com and let’s make an unforgettable