Ballroom Beginners

What is taught?

We aim to teach at least two Ballroom dances and two Latin American dances over the duration of the course.

The two Ballroom dances are Social Foxtrot and a basic practice Waltz. Social Foxtrot is an elementary Ballroom dance useful for dancing to slow Frank Sinatra type music. The practice Waltz (sometimes referred to as a `wedding Waltz') is a stepping stone to the full English Waltz which is too complex to teach in a six to eight hour beginners course -- we teach it in the contination courses.

The Latin dances are Cha cha cha (Cha cha) and Jive. Jive is the lively, energetic international dance that goes with music related to Rock 'n' Roll. Cha cha refers both to a musical style and the dance that goes with it. The musical style is derived from Cuban Son (the root of Salsa). The dance is the cheekiest of the international Latin dances and good fun. A modification to Cha cha cha produces Rumba, which we introduce as well if there is time.

All the dances are taught in the modern 21st century form. You learn the beginners moves that form the underlying basics of what you see on Strictly Come Dancing and of what you would expect to see a professional demonstration or competitive couple dance today. We don't teach older dances, such as Square Rumba, that are no longer widely danced today.

Change partners?

Our classes are oriented towards pairs of students attending together, in the expectation of learning to dance with each other. We do not expect you to change partners in our classes. On the odd occassion we may offer you the opportunity to try out your skills with someone unfamiliar, since this is a useful exercise.