Changing Lives through Dancing by David Woodbury
Arthur Murray Santa Monica
Even if you are a seasoned dancer, there is always a question about what dances you should learn, perfect, and perform. About 20 years ago I finally found my favorite dance, the Viennese Waltz, and have stayed with that one. Did you know that the sister dance of Viennese is SAMBA! Many of the same steps work in both dances!
My next choices for favorites are Tango and Bolero and Argentine Tango. Argentine is addictive and Tango and Bolero are similar dances. What is the sister dance of Bolero? It’s Waltz. Both have rise and fall, sway and swing. These are all truly close in many ways.
Then there are the Latin brothers, Salsa, Cumbia, Bachata and Merengue. These four are always together and all are present every time you go Salsa dancing.
Your crazy rhythm dances are Cha Cha Cha and the Latin hit dance, the Mambo. My friendliest dance is the Rumba. She is always there for me. She greets me on good days, bay days, days I am hurting and days I’m celebrating. I can always count on Rumba to be the first and best dance for me physically, mentally and musically.
Swing, have we all gone crazy! We teach over 25 types of Swing, Jive, Hop, Bop, Lindy Hop, Push, Texas Push, West Coast Swing, Rock, Rock n’ Roll, Country Western Swing to just name a few and we teach all of these in three tempos, Slow, Medium, and Fast! You get to dance to the best music in the world with Swing. From the oldies to the most current of all the new songs in the Top 100 Playlist! Swing is just plain fun for everyone!
“Get up and Boogie”. The Hustle is still king for many dancers and the music never gets old. I’ve been on the dance floor dancing the Hustle and noticed the floor full of fantastic dancers (many who were seniors) and I realized that I was in their same age group. We were all young again! When it comes to the Hustle, time had stopped for us. Our bodies aged, but our minds, hearts and souls stayed young. Hustle is it baby!
We have the International Dances of Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Quickstep and Viennese Waltz. Also, the International Latin Dances of Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive. All so much fun and so challenging at the same time!
Ye haw, all the Country Western dancers. Don’t knock them until you have tried them. They will perfect your timing skills and once you have danced County Swing, there is no going back. Polka dancers, you are in luck here!
For those so inclined, there is the choice of Theatrical Dancing that includes lifts and drops. So exciting and dangerous if you are not up to the task. These are for the brave hearts. Take care of your backs!
So, returning to the name of this blog, what dance should you learn and perform. My answer is this, first find your music that grooves you. Then find the partner that makes you rock and then learn the dance together. If your partner is a pro, they can do it all. Are you an amateur couple, then ask your teacher the best dances for you to learn as a team.
How did I learn all the dances? My coach would come up to me and say, you are dancing a Viennese Waltz in the pro show of the next Showcase. I did not even know what that dance was. Well, I learned, perfected and performed that dance! It made all my smooth dances get much better. I learned all my dances through performing them!
For rhythm, pick your worst dance and then learn a routine in it and perform it. It will take your worst dance and make it your best. Also, all your rhythm dances will improve. After a while, make sure you compete in ALL the dances and learn groupings in all of them.
Make friends with a rhythm and a smooth champion couple. Get to know them and ask them advice. Then, meet a 10-Dance champion couple. Find a Theater Arts Couple. Ask them advice of what you should do.
You will always have your best dance and your worst dance. You’ll always have something new in your repertoire and something that is always polished.
Enjoy the journey. For me, I love it all. I did not mention social dancing which is a true skill and art form. I’ve seen the World Champions out dancing the night they won the world championship, and their social dancing was unbelievable. Always have fun and keep learning and dreaming.
Did I forget your favorite dance? Let me know please. Enjoy your holidays!
Thanks for reading!
Here’s to dancing in 2024!
David Woodbury