I will never be that good!

28 Jun 2017 - by Graham

One of the main things that puts new dancers off is not the difficulty of learning the steps or finding they are less fit than they expected, it's watching an experienced couple flow across the floor like quicksilver and thinking "No matter how much I work at this, I'll never be that good." But let me let you into a dance secret that will put that thought away once and for all...

The best dances are not the ones with the most complexity or the fastest steps. No, the best dances are simple, comfortable, and fun.

When said like that it doesn't sound like much of a secret, but for some reason this seems to be something that most new dancers miss. Followers and leaders alike prefer a partner who can do three slow moves well over someone who thinks they can get through a song without repeating a single step, and insists on trying everything they know even if it means dragging their partner around the floor by their thumbs. So rather than attempting to learn every move that your teacher shows you, remember the moves you like and concentrate on getting them right before learning anything else.

And what if you do get it wrong? Laugh about it! The whole point of dance is that it's fun and relaxing, not something to get wound up over a few missed signals and hand-holds. Both LeRoc and Argentine Tango are improvised dances and this means that everyone makes mistakes when dancing them. But the good dancers, the relaxed dancers that people really want to dance with know how to say "Oops!" and carry on when something goes awry.  Unless you are in competition somewhere, dance is not about being the best or fastest. It's about having fun, and that can often be forgotten in the "classroom effect" that takes over when you come to a dance class.

So don't worry if you don't "get it" in the first week, or even in the first three months, so long as you and your partner are having fun then all is good. That is, after all, the whole point.