- “Move your hips more!” Club style dances — Salsa, Bachata, Country, or Merengue — look best when the hips are relaxed. When you are at a practice session, you can focus on fluid, continued movement.
- “New steps!” Variety keeps both the leader and follower engaged. Syllabus steps are great! But sometimes you can feel limited. By never stopping while you are at a party, you will start to create your own feel for creativity.
- “Connect with your partner more!” When you are in the studio with your instructor, we work on a very nice BIG frame. It is very rare in the real world that you would have that much space. Practice parties simulate the environment so you can dance more closely with your partner and FEEL what is happening in your partner’s body. The change may be more subtle than we expect, so it should take half the effort.
- “Be spontaneous!” Social Dancing requires the lead and follow to constantly be adapting — the song, the location, other people on the floor. Everything affords the opportunity to improve your response to the unexpected. Recover gracefully the next time you bump in to someone, but make it part of the dance as well.
- “Work on timing!” You never know what music the DJ or live band is going to play. As such, we have to train the ear to listen to different styles and tempos. The more comfortable you become in listening to musical cues, the more you will be able to express different parts of the song through dips and explosions.
- “You need to practice!” The point of a practice party is just that: to practice. At Arthur Murray, it is guided. We take away some of the pressure for identifying the song and can even step in and help you in a pinch. But remember, it is not a lesson. You are there to practice — so never stop moving!
- “Talk to me!” Social dancing is social — whether you are resting in between dances or with a different partner ever song, you need to become so comfortable with your movement so you can respond when asked a question, or hold general conversation. You never know who you will meet on the dance floor!
