Learning to dance with your partner should be fun, easy, and stress free. That being said, there are times where, as couples, we tend to lose sight of what’s really im-portant— having fun! There are some things you should consider when learning with your partner. I have outlined 5 of the most important rules to remember when learning to dance with that special someone.
First… Make sure you don’t find fault with each other. Remember, the teacher is there to teach. Try and avoid pointing something out that the other is doing because, remember, they are learning too.
Second… It’s not how many steps you know— it’s how you execute them! Don’t get impatient… Make sure that you are both executing the original steps well before you try to take on too much too soon. It will make you much better dancers in the long run!
Third… Ease up ladies. In teaching couples, we have learned that men typically progress slower because they have more to do and tend to be more analytical or mechan-ical. Women, on the other hand, feel movement quicker and therefore it is critical that ladies don’t get too impatient with their partner.
Fourth… Keep your les-sons as close together as possible! Using your lessons in conjunction with group classes and socials is so im-portant to ensure you make speedy progress and gain confidence as soon as possi-ble.
Fifth… Communicate with your teacher! Make sure if something is feeling uncom-fortable or you are not un-derstanding something, ask your teacher FIRST before laying blame to your partner. This will ensure that the right solutions are being utilized. 9 times out of 10 it isn’t solely our partner’s fault
— It takes two to tango…
All in all, we want to make sure that our couples have the most fun learning with each other. The most im-portant thing is that you are here to have fun. Remember, you don’t practice 9 hours a day training for a competition so you don’t want to put too much pressure on yourselves to do well. Like anything else, it will take time and it is a constant learning process. Dancing is like fine wine— It gets better with age… Just enjoy the journey because when you learn to dance with your partner, it should be fun!