You might want to think about wearing a short-sleeved shirt, instead of sleeveless. You'll be in dance position with your instructor (and the men in the class, if you are taking a group class). Their hand will be on your shoulder blade with their forearm under your arm. I personally try to avoid direct arm-to-armpit contact until I know someone pretty well!

I go for a breathable short-sleeve shirt and the new Degree deodorant- even short sleeved, your armpit might get on the gent's long-sleeved (if he's wearing one) shirt, and I found out the hard way- the wrong deodorant will actually turn a black jacket purple. Get the good stuff from Degree.

I don't know what No-Name's thinking about the jeans. Reasons why jeans could be unacceptable: People "abuse and misuse" jeans. They wear them to funerals and weddings, nice clubs, etc. when jeans really shouldn't be worn, but rather trousers or a skirt instead. If it's a comfortable, laid-back studio (like ours), jeans would be fine.

Jeans might be "unacceptable" because many jeans just don't stretch or give, and they can be very hot. Gloria Vanderbilt Jeans are nice, stretchy jeans (sorry, I refuse to wear hiphuggers until... hmm... maybe next summer. I should be ready for them by then!), and they don't "sweat ya". Lots of comfortable give, and they're nice-looking, too. There are different shades of them, too. I have a lighter pair and a darker pair.

Other than that, don't listen to 'em.

I agree, though, either wear athletic wear (Adidas makes some really neat capris now) because it's actually suited FOR the job, or something breathable, movable, comfortable.

On your shoes- just make sure they don't "flop off your heels". If you have to, get straps, or I can show you how to, in a pinch, rig Rubber bands on 'em, BWAHAHA (yes- they DO look VERY VERY DORKY that way, but sometimes, desperate measures are in order!)

Ellen and whosoever. To have any hope of dancing correctly your left arm pit will have to be on the mans right wrist. Find your way around this site to the learning section. You will see there what you can wear as well as the correct stance.

Exactly, Anonymous. That's why I recommended a shirt with sleeves. It's BARE armpit-to-arm contact I'm recommending against. Sorry if I wasn't clear, but I thought the context made it plain what I meant.

Don't wear jeans man or lady. Any slacks or trousers that pull at the knees as are not good espcially in Jive. If you can lift your leg bent at the knee with your thigh horizontal to the floor without any pulling thats fine. Wide bottoms are out also, they destroy the leg line. This is also for the man as well as the lady especially
in Latin training. One teacher i went to used to insist that the lady wore black tights and a top with something like a scarf around the hips. The idea being he wanted to see what the legs and feet were doing and only wanted to see a shilhouettet. But then this was very serious stuff and costly.

My first class is this evening at 5:00 and I'm so excited!

I bought some shoes during my lunch hour at work, they are from a company called So Dance. The heal is 2.5 inches and they are comfortable! I've been wearing them around the office to get use to them. haha!

I decided to wear my gauchos and I brought along a shirt that won't leave my arm pit bare (thanks for that tip, I would have never thought of it that way!).

I'll let yall know how it goes tomorrow! :) And thanks again for all of your comments!

xo,
niki

Congratulations! Have a great time!

... Anyway, as I was saying- they make stretchable, breathable jeans now, so that they move when you do. They're nice jeans, and "technology" has come a long way to create jeans for people to wear even when doing moderately athletic exercises.

Good luck- hope you have a good time, and let us know how it went!

I had an absolute BLAST. It was so much fun, I went ahead and scheduled my next individual lesson for tonight at the same time!

My instructor is a great guy with a great sense of humor, and he's been a great teacher so far.

I've gotten so into this, I'm even thinking about maybe one day competing - but we'll see. :)

My boyfriend is having a complex with all of this. Go figure! Silly southern boys and their jealousy and need for control over their "old ladies". He says he doesn't like the thought of me dancing with another guy. Pfft!

xo,
Niki

Tell your jealous boyfriend to learn to dance, then. That way you will have an amateur partner if you ever decided to compete, and along the way you will save a lot of money. With two people you can split the cost of private lessons (it's the same price for one person dancing with their teacher or for a couple dancing together with a teacher helping them). Also, amateur competitions tend to be a LOT less expensive to enter than competitions where the student dances with his or her teacher.

But best of all, you'll get to do something together! And if he thinks dancing is for sissy boys, promise him you'll never make him wear a Latin shirt open down to his navel, and show him the hot dresses that the women wear :)

Good luck!