If you are having or planning to attend a wedding soon, you may want to learn some wedding line dances, since they will probably be done at the reception. Wedding line dances are a great way to get everyone in on the action. Party guests love to dance and wedding line dances allow them all to dance at once as a group. They are a very social activity.
A few of the most popular wedding line dances are the Chicken Dance, YMCA, Macarena and Electric Slide. Of course, there are also many others, such as the Tush Push, Cotton-eyed Joe, Boot Scootin’ Boogie, Slapping Leather and Watermelon [Read Full Article…]
Want to learn Waltz steps and moves easily?
I cannot perform the waltz dance moves and I cannot dance despite the fact that I was in a dance class as a freshman in college. So if my daughter holds a major event such as a coming out party, a premonade, or (gasp!) holds her own wedding reception, I need to know some dance steps to get me going.
The waltz is a type of dance that has developed for sometime from an ancient folk dance from Germany, it is performed to a one-two-three beat. Many of the waltz dance moves are slowly danced and using the basic dance steps, you will survive the waltz without much problem.
1. With your partner held in your arms, in a classic kind of dance stance with the right hand on the waist of your partner and the left hand on her right hand. Place her left hand on your right shoulder. This feels very natural since you have seen it being done repeatedly. As you are dancing this waltz, she follows you while doing the exact opposite of what it is you are doing.
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Basics for the Waltz Dance Lesson
Those who have taken part in a ballroom waltz dance lesson will testify that this dance is quite easy and uncomplicated to learn. The ballroom Waltz has a rhythmic and simple pattern that blends well with the played music. The dance movements are also smooth. At first, the Waltz dance required one to take a step backward or forward, a step to the side and finally a step bringing the feet together. The dance basically involves perfect timing of the playing music’s rhythm and all the three steps. Later on, the dance transformed into a much slower style that was referred to as “Boston Waltz”. Nowadays, there is the American or International version of which is danced with hesitation and is much slower; for three beats, one just makes one step. The dance is relished more as the pace gets slower.
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Styles of Dancing Salsa
The widely used basic dance steps of salsa begin with a simple forward movement. This first movement involves a left tap with the initial music beat, then making one step forward with the left foot, a swing back on the right foot, then completing the sequence by moving back left to lock. After the forward movement, the next step is the basic back movement. Tap right, then step back right, swing forward left and lock right. The above steps are fully discussed below. In most cases, each step performed by the man is mirrored by the woman. For instance, when the man makes a forward basic movement, a back basic movement is done by the woman and so on.
Today, there are various popular dance steps of salsa with each style representing the dancer’s cultural preference. You will find that dance steps of salsa from previous times, neighborhoods, cities are very different. Individual salsa dancing style has its own unique features, with the dance style names being derived from the geographical area or people who made them popular. Those dancing salsa can do so while accenting to the different music beats. Below is a description of the dance that emphasizes the music beats “1”, “2” and “3”, commonly referred to as dancing “on 1”, “on 2”, and “ on 3”.
Step Timing Salsa Dance
Step timing or timing is the way the dance steps of salsa merges with the music. Cadence means keeping time or marking time. To achieve fluidity, the dancer must time the steeps to fit the music. Nowadays, there are various popular timings in Salsa. By accenting to the various music beats, salsa can be danced in different styles.
Just like in other music, the melody and the rhythm of the music used in Salsa competes for the attention of the listener. The melody and rhythm of Salsa Music are usually off beat or syncopated from each other. The music is usually written using the time signature, 4 beats per each measure. In the dance steps of salsa, for dancers to finish a single basic dance cycle they use two music measures, each for the body’s right side and left side.
Following the Leader
By tradition, in salsa dance the Leader is the Man, while the Follower is the Woman. The Follower and the Leader are referred to as Partners or Dance Partners. The Man directs the woman by giving her little pushes, checks or tugs known as “claves”. These “claves” are given at the appropriate time during the dance and enable the Follower to discern when to hesitate, turn, cross-body, dip, etc.
Partner Contact = Closed Position
One of the basic dance steps of salsa is performed in the European or closed position where the Man is faces the Woman.
In this dance four Contact points exist between the Partners and they are;
1) Using the Left Hand, the Man takes the Woman’s Right Hand.
2) The Man positions the Right Hand onto the back of the Woman.
3) The Woman rests her Left Hand onto the shoulder of the Man
4) Both the Man and the Woman fix their eyes on each other.
