Starting ballroom dance at 32--any tips?

Question

I'm so excited I got my husband to take ballroom lessons with me! I found a place that offers group lessons, but they don't start until January.
Which dvds are good to get started at home? Also, any good rule books? They have a few competitions around here for adults of all levels and I would love to try one out in the future, I just need to know what all is involved in getting started.
I live in Atlanta if anyone has specific tips for that...
Thanks :)

Answer 1

Congratulations on the new hobby that you share with your husbant! Married couples eventually become unbeatable in competitions. Cause they don't keep jumpign from partner to partner, and because they don't feel guilty about spending an extra hour in the ballroom - they are spening it together.
I also started ballroom pertty late.
Are you going to dance International or American style?
It is best to go to classes, this is the best source of information for you right now, because they show and explain and correct you. This is the best way to start. Get yourslef a nice pair of dance shoes, too. It will make the whole experience a lot more pleasant.

But if you really want reference materials -
There is syllabus book on Standard by Alex Moore, aka The Grey Book, this is "a must-have" for International standard. It is like a reference material, it's not a texbook with explanations. There is a similar series on Latin syllabus, but I find it less helpful because it's a bit outdated, Latin changes very fast, and not too many people dance per this book anymore. Try to take a peek at it before you buy it, so that you know what to expect.

Find USA Dance chapter new you. http://www.usabda.org USA Dance is an amateur organization that promotes ballroom dancing and organizes competitions. USA Dance competitions are usually way cheaper that NDCA competition. (NDCA stands for National Dance Council, that's another oragnization, it includes both amateurs and professionals). In my area, USA Dance have built a nice and welcoming dance community which really helps to have around when you're just starting out. This is where you can ask around about good classes and good teachers. If that fails you can try looking for a local collegiate team.

These are good websites to buy instructional DVDs and other dance related stuff:
http://www.dancevision.com
http://www.dancesport.uk.com
Those are not cheap. Cheap stuff that you can find on Amazon or any other general sourse is very likely to be really bad (teach you incorrectly). When buying a DVD, check who is the instructors. Unless they have World class title don't buy it. You can find some short samples on youtube:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=uOroZ47kj7U
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Izlxde8pUpQ (Mirko Gozzoli & Alessia Betti)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=TqwwBtSAMkM (William Pino & Alessandra Buchiarelli)
This one I just really enjoy, it's not instructions: http://youtube.com/watch?v=6FLzVxeU7bA

Don't sign up for any package deals on private lessons, especially when you're just starting out. No offence, but you probably have no idea what you'd be paying for, as a beginner. In my experience, instructors start to "dilute" the lessons once you already paid for the whole bunch of them. If you keep paying one lesson at a time, the quality is usually consistent.
When you're starting to take private lessons - specify your goals to the instructor very clearly. If you said you want to compete and they don't know how to teach competitive style they should say so and refer you to someone else. They usually will, because if they lie they end up getting fewer students. With a good instructor, you should be able to make it to Pre-Championship in 3-4 years.
Good luck and have fun.

Answer 2

You can surf through DanceVision.com and such sites, but you really won't get much out of videos. And what you do get will largely have to be unlearned and then learned again properly. It sounds silly, but posture and a proper walking step, along with frame and connection, are the places you'll want to concentrate on, and you simply won't get those without in-person instruction. If you can't wait, go ahead and schedule some of the introductory lessons in November and December. You needn't start with that series of group classes, and you should be able to schedule a private lesson within a week or two, though the privates are a bit more expensive. (There's often a steep discount for an introductory package, so it may be quite a reasonable cost.)
Don't worry about rule books. If you want to try a syllabus, you'll need to know what type of ballroom dance you're doing. If it's International style, the ISTD syllabus, "The Ballroom Technique," is good to have, and Alex Moore's classic book, titled simply "Ballroom Dancing," is still most popular. If you're doing American style, the USISTD syllabus is available online, but the franchise studios (Fred Astaire and Arthur Murray) hold proprietary syllabi that are closely guarded, and other studios may use even others, so it's best to be patient before you waste your money that could better be spent on more lesson, shoes, etc.
Also, from the tone of your question, I'd suggest you prepare yourself for this: a lot of husbands will take beginner lessons with their wives, and some really "catch the bug," but most stop as soon as their wives will let them. And it's possible you may love the Standard dances while he prefers the Latin. Your marriage may have to accomodate different private lessons at different times for each of you. But that'll come a little later, and by then you'll have been introduced to some of the rules, like not dancing with each other all the time.

Answer 3

yes, stay away from video, etc... Been dancing since age of 9. So i know a little about ballroom dancing. Ask for a recommendation as far as a teacher is concerned. There are many many bad ones out there. Too many calling themselves professionals nowadays. Atlanta dance is most tenure studio with a pretty good staff.
Plan to spend about 2K in private dance lessons to become a comfortable social dancer. So yes its an investment in yourself. Now enjoy the rest of your life.

Answer 4

My best tip to you is PATIENCE. Most likely your husband and you will learn at different rates, if you learn slower than you must have patience to keep trying. AND if you learn faster than your mate, you need to have patience to let him learn at his own pace. Be supportive of each other and remember to have a good time, enjoy the time spent together. Remember you are moving as one and just like a 3 legged race you don't get there any faster by going faster than your partner. Have fun, smile and enjoy!

There is a great Ballroom Dancing City Guide for ATLANTA on the www.usadanceshoes.com site. Here you can find places to enjoy your dancing.

Answer 5

Rule books? Slow down!

Getting your husband to take a group lesson does not mean you will actually get him out dancing. We took lessons many years ago but can never seem to get him out dancing :(

Here are some on-line tutorials if you want to take a peek a the basic patterns

http://www.dancetv.com/tutorial/index.html

http://www.ballroomdancers.com/Dances/

Good luck and have fun!

Answer 6

watch this


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20JyjX9exas


jane