How to Be A Good Dance Partner Part 3: "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

So far, we have talked about making sure you don't smell bad and what you should say to your dance partner. Today, we are going to talk about listening! Dance is a partner activity. It requires an awareness on the part of both dancers in order to be an enjoyable activity. You must LISTEN to what your partner is telling you! A few tips:

1) Listen to what they say about themselves, respond, and remember! When you remember small details about someone, such as their kids or pets names, it validates that they are important to you. It also makes you a great conversationalist, which everyone loves! Try to avoid spacing out and not paying attention to the person you are dancing with. It makes you seem rude, boring, and inconsiderate, and no one wants to dance with that kind of person!

2) Listen to their body language! This is very important for 2 reasons: you can gauge their comfort level with you, and you can tell a lot about how you should adjust your lead/follow. Pay attention to whether they are dancing closely or if they are holding themselves away from you. This is a good measure of their comfort level (or interest level) in you. Please, respect the physical space boundary they set. It is never fun to feel like there is a tug of war happening on the dance floor, where she sets her comfort zone and he keeps trying to pull her closer and she keeps trying to reestablish her space. Trust me, it is not fun, and it won't help, so just accept and respect the space that your partner is setting.

Now, it is important to keep in mind that this ALSO tells you about their dance ability... Someone who sets a wide personal zone may be a less experienced dancer and may be worried about their feet stepping on yours/being stepped on or whether or not they can lead/follow you. If they seem to tense up when you try to spin them, take that as a sign and take it easy on the twirling. I once danced with a guy who literally picked my feet up off the ground and crushed me against him every time he spun us around. No matter how hard I tried, he wouldn't stop. I honestly felt like I was bruised after that song ended and I DID NOT dance with him again.

Your goal when dancing with a partner is to make sure that you BOTH are having a good time. So be a gracious and kind partner and heed what your partner is saying both verbally and physically!

3) Listen to the music! This seems like an obvious one, but don't get so caught up in counting, trying to remember steps, or zipping through traffic that you forget about the music! Relax, take your time, and have fun!

If you are interested in learning to dance, contact your local Arthur Murray Dance Studio today!

How To Be A Good Dance Partner! Part 1: "Winning By A Nose"

Learning to dance is one thing, but being a good dance partner is a whole other ballgame. You can take dance lesson after dance lesson and practice until you are blue in the face, but unless you heed these guidelines, you may not have anyone to try out your dance moves with!

Winning by a Nose: 

1) Let's first talk about Oral Hygiene. We all know that bad breath (also known as Halitosis) is offensive. Partner dancing (Ballroom, Latin, Swing, Country Western, Salsa) means you will be in close proximity to the other person's face and mouth. Your dance partner is particularly susceptible to noticing if you have bad breath. There are many things that can cause bad breath like garlic and onions, rotten or decaying food stuck in your teeth, cigarette smoke, alcohol*, or just plain old mouth bacteria. So, if you don't want your potential dance partner to pass out when you breathe "Hello" at them, here are a few tips:

- brush & floss your teeth regularly
- avoid foods that are heavy with garlic or onions for several hours before dancing
- refrain from smoking before dancing
- Buy some of those Wisp disposable toothbrushes and keep them with you in your purse of dance bag
- Gum or mints can help in a pinch, but they only mask the issue, they don't solve it.

*a note on alcohol - many ballroom dancers prefer to refrain from drinking when they are dancing as it can inhibit their physical stamina and mental clarity. Although a social drink at a dance is perfectly acceptable, just remember that moderation is key and no one wants to dance with the guy who smells like he took a bath in whiskey and is too drunk to stand up on his own. Again, moderation is key!

2) Next up, Body Odor. No one likes to talk about Body Odor, but here's the scoop. Make sure you don't smell. I'm not talking about overdosing on Axe body spray either.

- shower regularly
- use a deodorant that is strong enough (some people may need a prescription strength)
- if you are a heavy sweater, wear an undershirt, and bring a change of clothing to the dance
- don't douse yourself in cologne/perfume, that can be just as bad as B.O.
- don't forget about your feet/ dance shoes - use deodorizing pads/sprays if need be
- as mentioned above, refrain from garlic and onions for at least 12 hours before the big dance. (Did you know the smells from these foods can come through your pores for hours after you've eaten?)

Overall, when it comes to smell, keep in mind that how you smell DOES matter! You might be the best ballroom dancer in the place, but if your breath reeks of garlic and cigarette smoke, you smell bad, and you have sweated through your clothing, your first dance with Ms. or Mr. Dreamy might very well be your last!

Dance is a social activity and requires that you take into account how you are perceived by your potential dance partners. It may not be easy to hear, or to admit that any of this applies to you, but take this advice seriously and watch your dance card fill up!

Next time: "Say what?" How you talk can make or break you as a dance partner.

Interested in learning to dance? Check out your local Arthur Murray dance studio for more information!

September Dallas Calendar

September Dallas Calendar

DALLAS CALENDAR FOR AUGUST!!

Why Should I Attend the Arthur Murray Holiday Show?

There are many reasons why you should attend the upcoming Arthur Murray Holiday Show on Sunday, December 16th at the Marriott DFW hotel. 

You will get a chance to practice your social dancing, experience what a “heat” will feel like if you have never attended one of our Showcases or Dance Festivals, and celebrate the holidays with dancing. Beyond that, you get to enjoy a relaxing holiday party, be a part of the Arthur Murray family for the holidays and we get a chance to bless you specifically for being a part of our family. 

It’s the holidays, everyone has a ton of little things to accomplish leading up to and around the holidays. So, why not enjoy a party that is relaxing and stress relieving all at the same time?! Getting the time to share moments about how dancing has changed your lives, what it means to you and to dance to holiday music in a relaxed fun atmosphere is the essence of family fun. All you have to do is show up in a nice outfit, enjoy something that you obviously love, eat and have fun! 

You should also attend the Holiday Show in order to spend time with your Arthur Murray family during the holidays. This is the time of year that people visit or entertain family. Why wouldn’t you spend some of the holidays with us? It is sincerely heartwarming to have the time and opportunity to go to an event with so many people whom we don’t always get time with at the studio, and hearing stories of life and love of dancing. 

Ultimately, we get to share our heart; we get to share the relaxation, the community, the comfort, and the blessings we get from dancing everyday. Everyone should go to the Holiday show to get a concentrated dose of anything and everything that Arthur Murray means for them and we can build memories together that bring us all closer and last a lifetime!

Don’t miss this wonderful year end event. Please see your teacher or studio manager for more details.

Ballroom Dancers Waltz Their Way to Better Health - a great story via NPR

Ballroom Dancers Waltz to Healthier Hearts

by ALLISON AUBREY

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Allison Aubrey

Italian researchers found ballroom dancing is as effective as traditional cardiac rehabilitation in improving the health of people with heart trouble.

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December 14, 2006

For those who love it, ballroom dancing beats a dull workout on the treadmill. And now, cardiologists are also realizing just how powerful the dance workouts can be.

Italian researchers have found that just 21 minutes of dancing, three times a week, can match the cardiovascular benefits from working out on a treadmill or bicycle.

Instructor Chris Thompson says ballroom dance techniques work because they automatically emphasize good health.

"It's not only aerobic, it's [also] isometric," he says. "One of the most important things we stress is posture, posture, posture."

Thompson says the movement — which helps the arms, legs and torso — is also an instant stress reliever.

"You cannot maintain a clench when your shoulders are pressed down," he says. "Your arms are extended so it's a very freeing [and] open feeling. It makes you breath a little deeper and it gets the blood flowing."

The study finding is music to the ears of 61-year-old ballroom fanatic Bob Silva.

"I don't like to exercise," he says. "I hate it. But if I'm dancing, I don't care how tired I am. When I hear the music and see the women, I can just push myself and it feels wonderful."

After two years of dancing at the Dance Factory in Arlington, Va., Silva realized that his hobby was also improving his health. He lost weight that he wasn't able to lose before, and was able to cut his blood pressure medications in half.

One of Silva's younger dance partners, Anne Marie Lund, also found that dancing improved her once-sedentary lifestyle.

"I didn't have any physical endurance," she says. "I could barely make it though one song. And if I couldn't, I'd apologize to my partner and sit down and wait until I could get up again."

Lund says the dance studio has almost become her second home. It's that much fun, she says.

"I can't believe I fell into this just by accident," says Lund. "It's changed my life. That's a big statement. I was heading towards a lot of weight-related health problems, and I've turned that around."

Not everyone who tries ballroom dancing falls in love with it. But those who do find that exercise becomes a form of play.