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The Society of Folk Dance Historians (SFDH)
Tips for New Dancers
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- You cannot learn to dance sitting down. Stop watching from the sidelines and get in there and dance!
- In the beginning, don't worry about styling and grace. Nearly every dancer started out clumsy and three- footed. Concentrate on learning the steps first.
- Buy a pocket-sized notebook and keep a list of the dances your are learning. Identify each dance in some fashion: "fast, lots of turns," or "slow and waltzy."
- Bring a portable recording device with you to class and record the music. Listen to the recording during the week. It doesn't have to be high-fidelity: the idea is just to become familiar with the music.
- During the request dancing, ask for dances you know and like, or ones you want to learn.
- If you are not familiar with a dance that's being done, don't get in the line unless you have a 'guide' (a friend who knows the dance well). Otherwise, stand behind the line of dancers and follow the steps.
- If the person next to you is not your guide, do not try to follow that person. Instead, watch a dancer four or five dancers down the line, to the left or right. Don't try to copy anyone across the circle from you until you've gotten more practiced at it.
- Use your head while you dance. As you learn a dance, try to identify the steps and say them to yourself ("grapevine... right Yemenite... turn left...").
- On partner dances, it is best to dance with someone who is more familiar with the dance than you are. Next best would be to dance with someone who is equally familiar. Don't sit out just because you don't have a partner. Stand off to one side and copy your part. (Sometimes a friendly dancer will notice you and offer to be your partner.)
- Relax. Smile. Contrary to what you may think, all eyes are not focused on you. Everyone on the floor is rooting for you because they have all been where you are.
- Be Patient. Fred Astaire wasn't all that great his first week either!
- Welcome to the folk dance family!
DOCUMENTS
- Beginners Behavior Basics, an article.
- Beginners Care and Feeding, an article.
- Beginning Non-Partner Techniques, an article.
- Loui Tucker, an article.
- Tips for Folk Dancers, an article.
Used with permission of the author.
This page © 2018 by Ron Houston.
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