(no subject)
Shaun and I have been trying to take a dance class for a little while now, so we can be not so inept at real dancing, rather than the "just move yo self to the beat" kind. It would be especially nice to have this done before our wedding next month (also, wedding next month holy cow). It hasn't worked out at all for various reasons, so we finally bit the bullet and signed ourselves up for a few private lessons.
The first was last night and it wasn't too bad! We brought our first dance music in so he could hear what kind of style we're interested in, but I think we'll be learning more than just one style. He started off by showing us some swing steps. I took a few swing lessons in college, but that was a long time ago. Shaun's never done any kind of formal dancing, but he picked it up really fast. I was very proud of him! We learned the basic step and underarm turn, cross behind and a couple of closed position things. I don't really know the official names for things, but it was probably about 6 things which is pretty good for half an hour.
For the rest of the hour, he tried to teach us some introductory ballroom stuff and that was kind of a disaster. He actually said that we picked up the swing so fast he thought that we'd get this too, but I don't know what was different - it felt much more awkward. He kept telling us to just "walk normally and put your feet where you feel like they should go." Well my feet wanted to go where Shaun's were and that doesn't work so well! We practiced the dancing-walking when we got home and I think we got better at it by the end. We'll have to practice more before next week, that's for sure.
We don't really have any good practice music though, especially for the swing. I found some online recommendations and I'm going to see what I can find at the library today.
The first was last night and it wasn't too bad! We brought our first dance music in so he could hear what kind of style we're interested in, but I think we'll be learning more than just one style. He started off by showing us some swing steps. I took a few swing lessons in college, but that was a long time ago. Shaun's never done any kind of formal dancing, but he picked it up really fast. I was very proud of him! We learned the basic step and underarm turn, cross behind and a couple of closed position things. I don't really know the official names for things, but it was probably about 6 things which is pretty good for half an hour.
For the rest of the hour, he tried to teach us some introductory ballroom stuff and that was kind of a disaster. He actually said that we picked up the swing so fast he thought that we'd get this too, but I don't know what was different - it felt much more awkward. He kept telling us to just "walk normally and put your feet where you feel like they should go." Well my feet wanted to go where Shaun's were and that doesn't work so well! We practiced the dancing-walking when we got home and I think we got better at it by the end. We'll have to practice more before next week, that's for sure.
We don't really have any good practice music though, especially for the swing. I found some online recommendations and I'm going to see what I can find at the library today.