You’ve decided to start partner dancing. Congratulations!!! We love to dance and encourage any one who has the notion to get up and shake their tail feather. Here are some basic rules to get through and have a successful group class experience.
Rule Number 1, the golden rule, when attending any dance group class: Be Humble. I don’t care if you competed at Blackpool, I don’t care if you are a jitter bug champ, be humble or get out of the rotation. You are not wanted here. Maintain your humility and you will get much more out of the group class then you ever thought. Added bonus people will like you more. No one likes a know it all.
Rule Number 2: Show Respect. Make eye contact. Absolutely no eye rolling. Say, “Thank you.” after you dance with your partner. Unless the person you’ve found yourself dancing with is Hitler’s corpse, you will be polite and execute the step to the best of your ability with said partner. If the person that you are dancing with thinks that they know better than you and they are wrong, it doesn’t matter. Politely ask for the teacher to come over or be humble and let them get it wrong again with the next person in the rotation. Eventually they will figure it out, but respect their learning curve.
Rule Number 3: Pay Attention to the teacher, know which way the rotation is, know who your next partner is or isn’t, sometimes, there is a blank. Yup, this sucks but it happens. That doesn’t mean that you are special and get to just go to the next person knocking someone else out of the rotation. You are an adult and can wait your turn. Nothing amazing is going to happen while you are out of the rotation. (Side note: Do not leave the rotation once you’ve committed to it. To do so is disrespectful to the students and the teachers.)
Rule number 4: Good Hygiene. Breath mint? Check. Deodorant? Check. Got Dandruff, use dandruff shampoo. Do yourself and others a solid and think of these things, as you are going to be in very close proximity to others. But don’t go overboard. I do not want to wreak of Axe Body Spray just because you do and women, one or two sprays of perfume is sufficient. Really. (Side Note: Following basic hygiene rules will get you a lot more dancing on the floor time. You will be asked to dance and invitations will be accepted more frequently if you follow the good hygiene rule.)
thespinningdancer 