Hi people!

Haven't been here for a while, but good to see the forum is still in good shape.

I followed the thread about size difference between partners with interest, and would like to now confront you with the opposite problem: I'm considering dancing with a girl who is almost as tall as I (and might still be growing!) - 6ft - 180cm.

I haven't dared dance ballroom with this lady, only Latin so far, and there is no pressing reason for us to dance, but I'm dating her at the moment, and I thought it might be nice to share that, even though she has been a social dancer for a long time, i.e. knows all the basics, whereas I've been into the competitive side, therefore know only the best of the basics, and some advanced stuff, in technical depth.

It has been causing friction when we danced Latin, as it would, with her thinking "Can't he dance any more steps?", whereas I'm puzzled about which ones she knows and getting annoyed at her lack of technique. (Of course she objects to talking it through first - women!!!)

So if we were getting together, we should take some serious lessons, and if that's where I stand, I'd like to know that we have a chance of looking good on the floor before we try.

Thanks for your answers, and best wishes.

You'll just have to get used to lifting your arm higher if you need to take it over her head, and she may need to search a little to find good dance shoes with low heels...I don't think that the "look" is disrupted unless the man can't physically adjust his lead in some way.

Good luck finding a coach, we also are at present searching for a new standard coach. It is sometimes more difficult to find a good coach than a partner.

Thanks, David! Now I'll go and find a decent coach...

Dan Radler and Susanne Hamby of Massachusetts are almost the same height and they competed as amateurs and later as professionals with good success here in the US. They currently coach and judge. They were standard dancers. The height difference should not be a problem in latin as the ladies of several of the top latin couples in north america were taller than their partners. Not by much but noticeable if one knew it. Good luck, I hope it works out for both of you.

For latin, height is not critical. In my experience, you need to find a teacher who is experienced dealing with same-sized couples, because as others said, you need to adjust certain things to compensate for the height similarity. In my opinion, if you have a coach who competed with a same-sized partner, they would be the best, but then again, a really terrific coach can make couples of any height and size look good.

For standard, it is much harder to dance with a same size partner. I know, because I have a same-sized partnership.

Although this may not pertain to all coaches, we have found that coaches who danced with same-sized partners are the best for us, because they have experienced first-hand the problems you will encounter. We found that using coaches that always had tall partners (or male coaches dancing with shorter ladies) sometimes do not have the detailed knowledge to help a same-sized couple. In fact, one teacher who only danced with tiny ladies looked at us helplessly and said: "I don't know what to do with you anymore." Needless to say, we moved on to another coach who could help us, and he happened to have danced with same sized partners.

Good luck

I understand your frustration...but from the other end. I am in a ballroom dance club at a university where most...er...all of the males are shorter than I. Granted, I'm a bit taller than the average gal (5'10" in flats), it presents a bit of a problem when dancing smooth or standard. My current coach is about 5'6" !! To do an under-armed turn becomes a problem, too. When I dance in contact with him, his hips meet the middle of my thighs--very awkward positioning, to say the least. I don't feel as if I can take the steps as I should. There is another gentleman who is almost my height (1" difference), but as soon as I put my heels on, things become awkward also. I have had a partner who was 6'6"! The body matching between us height-wise was beautiful. When we waltzed...we could really get around the dance floor. Sadly, he moved.

What I am trying to say here is that though it would be nice not to have to worry about heights, it certainly plays a factor when it comes to competition (especially when it comes to smooth/standard). How much of a factor that it plays depends on the effort of the partners

Good luck!

Anya. My wife practices in ballet shoes,saves on her knees.