Which dances are good for Beginners? Which one should I start with? Should I start with more than one dance?
Are you interested in starting Ballroom or Latin Dancing but unsure about which one to start with?
We get these questions quite often from our students. We understand that it can be overwhelming because there are so many options. So, here is some guidance to help walk you through it!
Too much too soon?
You might be thinking, "Too much dancing? How could that be?" With so many different styles of dance, it can be challenging to keep track of the identifying characteristics for each style. When learning several styles at once, it can be easy to confuse fundamental details such as the rhythm, frame, and styling between one dance or another. We like to recommend starting with one to three dances. Here are some suggestions that can help you decide how many dances to start with!
One dance.
Starting with one dance can be very helpful for a new dancer. Doing so allows you to gain the muscle memory for that specific dance and can allow you to grow much faster. The shortcoming in starting with one is that you are only understanding either ballroom elements or rhythm elements, and you have no other dances to compare it to. However, for a beginner that can be a good thing - to learn a dance and do it well, so that it's more about quality vs. quantity.
Two dances.
Two dances can be a nice sweet spot. If a student would like to start with two dances, we often recommend they start with a ballroom dance and a rhythm dance, or maybe a fast and a slow dance. This allows for the student to get a feel for both of the main categories of dances and giving them a little more of a variety at their level.
Three dances.
The benefit of starting with three dances is you get more of a variety and can start seeing a broader range of each dances' unique characteristics. When you are new dancer, however, three dances can be difficult to juggle. Working on three dances is where we see new students start to struggle with deciphering between the styles, but it certainly can be done! Just remember to practice and do what you can to help yourself learn to distinguish the differences between the dances. Click here to learn what you can do to get the most out of your dance classes!
Which Dance First?
We often get new dancers asking: Which dances should I start with? Which one has the least steps involved? Which one is the easiest? Although, the level of ease can be different from person to person, there are a few foundational dances we recommend starting with.
Waltz.
Waltz is your most iconic Smooth Ballroom dance. If you think of Cinderella dancing around a ballroom floor with a poofy gown, that is Waltz. Aside from how classic of a dance the Waltz is, it is also very foundational. Waltz teaches you how to hold your partner in a Ballroom frame and gives you the type of footwork, movement and connection that you need to pursue the other ballroom dances. Although the time signature of 3/4 can be more difficult to find music in, it is still commonly found in social music.
Rumba.
Rumba is a well-known and a very foundational Latin Rhythm dance. Rumba is at a slow-medium pace that is danced to a music in a time signature of 4/4. Rumba is a dance that you can easily find music to at weddings and other social events, due to Rumba music being in 4/4 time signature. Starting with Rumba can introduce you to the characteristics that are a part of many other rhythm dances such as latin frame, cuban motion, ball flat footwork and more. Starting with Rumba gives you the skills you need to pursue the other rhythm dances.
Push-Pull a.k.a. Hustle
Push-Pull or Hustle is a unique dance, often done in ballrooms and nightclubs to disco music. This dance is common first pick for beginners due to its simpler basic step. Hustle is not necessarily foundational like the Rumba, but it has fewer steps to start out with if that is what you are looking for. Push-pull also gives you a range of music that upbeat and danced at a medium to fast pace. And since push-pull is dance to music in a time signature of 4/4, it can be easy to find music to.
No matter how many dances you choose to start with or which ones you choose, there is no right or wrong answer. The main thing is to practice when you can and to have fun with it! We hope this helped you in choosing your starting dances.
Have a wonderful time dancing!
Green Bay Ballroom aims to provide the quality dance instruction to Green Bay and its surrounding areas. We offer various services and packages to ensure the satisfying results for our students.
Green Bay Ballroom
920-249-7773
525 N Taylor St.
Green Bay, WI 54303
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