Dancing

One of my favourite forms of exercise is ballroom dancing, the quickstep being my favourite dance, followed by the waltz.

My main tip for these two is to dance close! This isn't meant to be smutty, but it's what it takes to make the movements and the balance of the dances work properly -- ideally the partners should be locked together, in effect leaning gently against each other so they move as one unit.

When people are starting ballroom, they usually keep quite a distance apart (pretty much at arms' length -- and often looking down into the gap to see what their feet are doing), and this really doesn't help -- they can't feel what the other is doing.

However, once they become comfortable with body contact -- and after all, it isn't particularly intimate, no more than a hug -- and have danced with good partners a few times, then they can start to feel where they should be going at each point in a sequence.

As well as torso contact, there should also be thigh or knee contact -- if one partner steps the wrong way, they will either lose contact or get shoved by the other's knee! -- and their feet should ideally move together (for most parts of the steps in many dances).

Assorted tips

Don't look down at your feet
In jive spin turns, don't move far from your partner -- keep it compact

Dancing

Assorted tips

Links