5 Ballroom Dance Moves Designed to Save the Day
You just might be an unlicensed driver.
Even worse, you may be driving without brakes, a steering wheel, and your social dance insurance premiums are about to skyrocket.
Unless you’ve got these moves.
Foxtrot – The Magic Left Turn
Other than its proper name, dating back to the glory days of Arthur Murray himself, this Foxtrot maneuver is commonly referred to as, “The getting out of trouble step”.
Foxtrot is the perfect compliment for any social dance occasion, but without a Magic Left Turn, there’s a high risk of Floorcraft problems, and bumping your partner into someone is a near certainty.
Compare this to: Think of this the same way you’d perform a three point turn in an automobile. You pull forward, back out in reverse, and then move forward again at a different angle.
Waltz – The Side Hesitation
It’s easy to overlook the side hesitation in Waltz because it is such an easy pattern. That is, until you find out how vital it is in social dancing, and that that same movement is performed by the top ballroom dancers in the world.
The side hesitation is not only an important move mid-dance when there isn’t enough room to advance forward, it is also the absolute best pattern to begin with. This is due to the fact that it is a side to side (east/west) movement, and therefore, the leader can get established with his/her partner in neutral territory – instead of straight at their partner on step one.
Cha-Cha – the Cuban Basic
Latin dancing can be a challenge based on agility alone, so a crowded dance floor is about as welcomed as a police chase on a driver’s test.
Cha-Cha is considered one of the most challenging latin dances. It moves North, South, East and West, set to a quick tempo, and timing, poise, and footwork can deteriorate rapidly.
Enter the Cuban Basic.
Essentially, this version of the basic takes away the North and South rock steps, and they are replaced with rock steps in place. This allows the dance couple to take up less space on the dance floor, conserve energy, and regain composure.
Tango – The Tango Rock
While there are plenty of great patterns to enhance your Floorcraft in Tango, the Tango Rocks is one of the first patterns on your dance program to introduce the subtleties of Leading and Following.
This is done by transitioning from large walking steps into more compact rocking steps.
When done well, this pattern feels like downshifting from 4th gear gradually into 2nd gear.
Rumba – The Cuban Walk
For the record, Rumba is a Latin dance. That means, most of the dance will be done in the same general vicinity – which is why a Cuban Walk is a great pattern to know if you need to make a (slow, quick) quick getaway.
In addition, the Cuban Walk enhances the sensitivity and clarity to North and South movements for leaders and followers.
Final Thought
At some point, there will be a minor collision on the social dance floor. These 5 moves won’t stop those collisions entirely, but they can develop your floorcraft, timing, leading, following, and overall enjoyment of the dance.
So that way, when someone does bump into you, you’ll have the skills to get back dancing like an experienced dancing “motorist”.
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