The Waltz Chasse is one of the most basic figures in the International-style Waltz syllabus, yet many social dancers don’t understand the dynamics of this figure. Here’s what you need to know.
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From social dancers to competitors, dancers make a number of common mistakes in this classic Latin dance. Are you making any of these errors?
Dancers are always learning technique. So how can we learn to stop thinking so that we can ignore all that technique long enough to enjoy the dancing?
A number of muscles are used in ballroom dancing to create the beautiful shapes and movement we see on the floor. Here’s a guide to preparing your muscles for dance.
The Turning Lock to Right is a complex figure that is often led incorrectly for all the right reasons. Here’s what you need to know.
You’ve walked since you were a year old, so chances are you don’t spend much time thinking about it. Take a moment to analyze how you walk. Your dancing will thank you.
Just like other dances, the Slow Waltz has phrasing that is often ignored or misunderstood. Here are some tips to use that phrasing to dance a more beautiful, conversational Waltz.
When you first learn a new activity, you do so consciously. As a result, you are slow and inefficient. Unconscious subroutines are just the opposite, fast and efficient. Here’s why it matters.
Rumba Walks are often danced poorly, especially by social dancers. This article is designed to help you better understand how to get the look that you see from top dancers.
We see the beautiful stretch that top lady dancers apply when ballroom dancing. Here’s a handy guide to help ladies better understand how to create that stretch.
The Quickstep is lively and fun. But too much of today’s choreography has lost the real beauty of Quickstep, which is in the musical contrast.
The Viennese Waltz is a beautiful dance with a long history. The basic dance consists of only three steps but is danced incorrectly far too often. Here are some insights to improve your Viennese Waltz.
A review of some of the key aspects of the character of Paso Doble, one of which in particular is becoming rare in today’s performances.
Far too many dancers use “Latin” or Ballet feet in the Standard and Smooth dances. It’s natural to move like this for stability, but it’s ugly and inefficient in those dances. Here’s how to fix it.
Ever wondered what a dance instructor thinks while watching a competition? Here’s a look into my own thought process from notes at two recent events.
Danced well, the Closed Hip Twist is a beautiful basic step with a great story to it and the potential for a variety of ending actions. But it is danced poorly so often that it’s worth a closer look.
Here are a few important concepts that we regularly share with men to make them more aware of how they can be more successful partners. And in the process, how they can become magnets for the ladies on the dance floor.
The Hand to Hand is one of the most basic Latin steps, yet I’m always surprised how often it is danced poorly. Here is some information to help you improve your Hand to Hand in Rumba and Cha Cha.
The Waltz Natural Turn may be a simple and basic step but it is danced incorrectly far too often. Here are some insights to dancing a better Natural Turn.
We hear a lot about making our dancing more “dynamic.” What does that mean, and where do we draw the line for excessive styling? Here are some thoughts.
The beauty of Slow Foxtrot is in the long, slow horizontal movement with very gradual, minimal rise that extends the smooth linear action of the dance. So how do you achieve that long, slow movement?
Whether you’re a social dancer or competitor (at any level), there are five primary things that seem to come up more often than any other. Here are some tips on how to solve them.
We all know about hip rotation in Latin, but just how much rotation is frequently misunderstood or not applied. Here’s a look at how important it really is.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University discovered that how you practice dance can double the speed of your learning process compared to traditional approaches for practicing motor skills.
This post explores six ways that music can influence your choreography. When you understand these aspects of musicality, you should be able to create more musical dancing.
All of dancing is about one primary quality. Without that aspect, all the technique in the world is empty, having no practical value. Here’s what you need to know.
Understanding the four power sources in dance can make your dancing more dynamic, with more speed and volume while at the same time requiring less effort to achieve.
Ballroom dancing is about two people moving together to music. That involves technique. Here’s how to keep technical thinking from paralyzing your dancing.
I recently came across a series of notes I had made while attending the Professional Congress Workshops at the Embassy Ball a few years ago. I especially appreciated the clarity and power of message from Barbara Ambroz, a top adjudicator and one of the presenters.
Ballroom dancers are always striving to improve their dancing, but in my observations as a teacher there is one mistake commonly made that’s more severe than all the others, and it seems to affect dancers at every level. This post explores that particular challenge.
