This confirms every fear about the convoluted and thin line between being stiffly and unnaturally standoffish and creepy that’s ever kept me from going to a dance class. I’m quite positive I would spend the first few classes being told to just loosen up a little, to not be afraid of my dance partner, finally try really hard to do that—and forever earn a reputation as a creep.
Please don’t read this as a rebuke or admonishment; I’m actually glad to know that my fears were well-founded; and learning to dance isn’t really that important to me.
As a guy, I don’t think it’s that bad. If you cannot avoid holding your partner, and you don’t feel comfortable with it, or you worry that your partner won’t feel comfortable with it, there is a well-tested set of ground rules to tell you what to do. Basically, each dance will have a standard “frame),” which is how the dancers should (according to various formal groups—the more formal the dance lessons, the more likely this is to actually be an element of the lesson) be positioned relative to each other. If this isn’t made clear, nobody will think you’re silly if you ask.
It’s really not that hard. I did not mean to make it sound complicated. Basically, any thing they teach you in the dance class is fine. If you see people blues dancing or something, don’t attempt to copy their dance moves with a random follow during a random song. Don’t get drunk.
Well, you could try learning as a follow to start with, and get a sense of how leads act. This might be awkward if you’re really tall, though, and would make it slightly more complicated to invite people to dance.
This confirms every fear about the convoluted and thin line between being stiffly and unnaturally standoffish and creepy that’s ever kept me from going to a dance class. I’m quite positive I would spend the first few classes being told to just loosen up a little, to not be afraid of my dance partner, finally try really hard to do that—and forever earn a reputation as a creep.
Please don’t read this as a rebuke or admonishment; I’m actually glad to know that my fears were well-founded; and learning to dance isn’t really that important to me.
As a guy, I don’t think it’s that bad. If you cannot avoid holding your partner, and you don’t feel comfortable with it, or you worry that your partner won’t feel comfortable with it, there is a well-tested set of ground rules to tell you what to do. Basically, each dance will have a standard “frame),” which is how the dancers should (according to various formal groups—the more formal the dance lessons, the more likely this is to actually be an element of the lesson) be positioned relative to each other. If this isn’t made clear, nobody will think you’re silly if you ask.
It’s really not that hard. I did not mean to make it sound complicated. Basically, any thing they teach you in the dance class is fine. If you see people blues dancing or something, don’t attempt to copy their dance moves with a random follow during a random song. Don’t get drunk.
That’s pretty much all it takes.
This might not fall under the “anything is easy to the person who does not have to do it themselves” rule, but it fits the pattern.
Well, you could try learning as a follow to start with, and get a sense of how leads act. This might be awkward if you’re really tall, though, and would make it slightly more complicated to invite people to dance.