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Want to have a great wedding dance?
If you are reading this, you’re probably giving some thought to that first dance in front of all your friends and family.
The idea of being the only ones on the dance floor, with all eyes on you, can be quite nerve-wracking!
You don’t want to look silly, stupid, or like a bad dancer. You may even think dancing is something beyond your capabilities.
Does that sound accurate?
If so, don’t worry. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Even if you’ve got two left feet, with a few secret tips, you can have the perfect wedding dance that makes you look like you’ve been dancing for years.
So what are these secret tips?
My first secret is one of the easier ones…
Make sure the ending of your dance is spectacular!
Even if you make a bunch of mistakes during your dance, a great and memorable ending will outweigh everything else, and that is what all your friends and family will likely remember.
So end with a fun dip, fancy move, or something memorable and that is what everyone will be talking about.
Of course you want your entire dance to be wonderful, but if you’re short on time, put extra effort into the ending. The last thing you do will make the biggest impression.
Want help creating a spectacular ending to your wedding dance? Or help on the whole thing? Give us a call at (925) 338-7608 or request a FREE Wedding Dance Private Lesson here.
Practice recovering gracefully from mistakes.
We all make them and they’ll always be there no matter how good we get. Advanced dancers just recover gracefully so you don’t notice…but you don’t have to be advanced to do that.
To quickly learn to recover gracefully, I have my students practice making their most common mistakes and quickly adjusting back into the dance. Remember, the key isn’t to avoid mistakes, the key is to get comfortable with them. If you aren’t flustered when you make them, the audience won’t even notice them.
Next time you are practicing for your wedding (or just dancing for fun), make some mistakes on purpose and practice recovering from them so you don’t end up looking like this:
If you want some tips on what you can do to practice recovering gracefully, give us a call at (925) 338-7608 or request a FREE Wedding Dance Private Lesson here and we’ll show you how!
Pick a dance that represents your personality.
There is no rule that says a first dance has to be slow and romantic. If a lovely flowing waltz resonates with you, then definitely do that. But maybe your personality is lively and fun loving, in which case Swing might be a better choice for you. Or maybe you’d like to represent your ethnic background. I’ve worked with students from a Latin American heritage who thought they couldn’t pick Salsa because it wasn’t traditional, but that is not true! They love Salsa, and most of their guests actually dance Salsa, so Salsa was the perfect dance for them.
Look at the choices available and pick the one that says “This feels like us!” If you don’t know your options, just make sure your instructor knows enough dances that they can guide you to the one that suits your personality.
This is one of our specialties, so feel free to give us a call at (925) 338-7608 or request a FREE Wedding Dance Private Lesson here and we’ll help you out!
Get shoes that have the right amount of traction for you (or adjust a pair you already own).
The amount of traction on your shoes can make a world of difference in the success of your dance. How slippery, or how much traction, is right for you varies with each person and what you like to do. For example, if you are doing more slides, you want a more slippery shoe. Whereas, if you are doing more air steps, you want better traction. Also, if you have knee problems, less traction can help avoid further injuries. Either way, you will usually want a leather sole for pivoting, but leaders may want a bit more traction than followers and different leathers provide different amounts of traction.
At a bare minimum, make sure your shoes are easy to pivot in but have enough traction for you to feel stable.
If you need help finding the best shoe for you, or you want tips on how to turn any shoe into a dance shoe, give us a call at (925) 338-7608 or request a FREE Wedding Dance Private Lesson here and we’ll get you all set up.
This secret is specifically designed for those of you who have a hard time finding the beat in the music. If that is you (or your partner), read on.
There are two methods to overcome this problem.
Pick a song that has no beat, or at least a beat that is harder to find.
If the beat is hard to find, the audience won’t notice if you’re not on beat. They won’t be able to hear it either!
Instead, dance to the mood of the music. This is often much easier to do when you are first learning to dance, especially if you have a hard time hearing the beat. So pick a ballad, or any song where the beat is less obvious, and dance to that instead.
Here is a playlist with 2 great examples:
If you want help learning how to dance to the mood of the music, give us a call at (925) 338-7608 or request a FREE Wedding Dance Private Lesson here and let’s set up a lesson!
Learn how to find the beat.
The great thing about this method is that it allows you to dance to any song, regardless of how clear the beat is. That said, it can take more time than the first method and lots more personal attention that is not provided in this written article. That said, it can be done and it’s one of the things we specialize in.
Everyone is born with a sense of rhythm. If you’ve lost yours, don’t give up hope. Learn how to get it back with Steps On Toes. Call us now at (925) 338-7608 or request a FREE Wedding Dance Private Lesson here and let’s get your rhythm back!
Make sure your lessons are fun!
In the dance world, there is a well known saying “how you practice is how you dance”. If your teacher doesn’t know how to make your lessons fun, it will be much more difficult to have fun when you are put on the spot in front of all your friends and family.
During your wedding dance, there is really only one mistake you can make, and that is to look worried or upset during the dance. It’s fun to watch people have fun, mistakes and all.
If you enter into your dance with a spirit of joy, fun, and laughter, you can get away with anything. No one will remember your mistakes. Everyone will remember how fun and joyful it was and how your love for each other shone through.
Hire a teacher that is going to make sure your lessons are fun.
Read Cara C.‘s review of Steps On Toes on Yelp
At StepsOnToes, we know that having fun during practice is vital to having that perfect wedding dance. So if you want to make sure your teacher makes your learning fun, give us a call at (925) 338-7608 or request a FREE Wedding Dance Private Lesson here.
Fun is part of the package at StepsOnToes!
You don’t need years of dance experience to have that perfect wedding dance that all your friends and family are going to be impressed with.
Even if you have two left feet, it can be quite easy to make it look like you’ve been dancing for years!
Just use these 6 secrets and you’ll do great!
Of course, while some people can do this on their own, it is a great idea to have an expert, whose helped thousands of wedding couples, to guide you through the process.
So if you want help from an expert, to have the best, most memorable, wedding dance possible…
…give us a call at (925) 338-7608 or request a FREE Wedding Dance Private Lesson here.
Read Erin D.‘s review of Steps On Toes on Yelp
Read Stacy J.‘s review of Steps On Toes on Yelp