My daughter has been dancing all her life without a break. Ballroom is her final frontier and recently took her first private. It was only a 50 min. class and it left her sore. Huh....ballroom dancing leaving my daughter sore?
I have a newfounded respect for ballroom/latin dance.

I have also noticed that just in the few classes she has taken, she is more aware of her body. Her salsa styling has already improved and since she teaches a kids ballet class, as well as subs an adult salsa class....her teaching has also improved. She has been much clearer on explaining technique.

Whether it's salsa, swing or any other form of partnered dance...a good foundation in ballroom/latin should be a must....if you want to be a good partnered dancer.

"My daughter has been dancing all her life without a break. Ballroom is her final frontier and recently took her first private. It was only a 50 min. class and it left her sore. Huh....ballroom dancing leaving my daughter sore?"

Different physical tasks require different physical strengths.

Another issue to be aware of is that doing something the wrong way can be much harder on the body than doing it the right way. You didn't say where she feels sore, but one example comes to mind which needs special caution: Many less experienced lady dancers carry a large amount of arch in their lower back in an attempt to imitate what they think the professionals are doing to create a big shape. The situation is not helped by inexperienced male teachers who encourage this to get quick "results", or by inexperienced professional ladies who do it themselves, but it is neither proper technique nor healthy in the long run, and pain is one of the first indications that something is wrong. Proper shape has the curve distributed over the entire length of the body, and while challenging is not nearly as taxing as doing it the wrong way.

My wife and I are proud of the fact that, in our mid-50's, we remain in excellent physical condition. This is due to many good habits -- exercise -- both aerobic and fitness yoga, eating right, walking a lot, and dancing a lot. But we do feel the "soreness" from the ballroom lessons and practice sessions for a couple of reasons -- the resistance technique needed to really smooth out movements and, quite frankly, look good dancing ballroom, call for muscle tone and movement that is different from all other forms of exercise. Also, the framing of the arms and shoulders in proper ballroom style can also be taxing on those of us who would have never felt any difference 30 years ago.