I am learning to dance and have the basic steps for Rumba, Salsa, Cha Cha, Waltz, Quickstep, Foxtrot and Rock and Roll. The difficulty is being confident enough to get on the dance floor outside of classes and put the correct dance to the music being played. There is a danger that by the time I have picked up the beat of, for example the waltz, the number will be almost finished. Can you give me any quick tips.

Regards
Legion Dancer

The dance store online has a set of dance music lessons at http://www.thedancestoreonline.com/ballroom-dance-instruction/ballroom-music-training-center.htm

Enjoy

Hi Legion
When you say outside of classes, Do you mean at social dances? If so, the band will almost certainly say what sort of dance they're about to play.
But if they don't, you will very quickly pick up the beat and the mood of the music.
Slow waltz is the only 3 beats-to-the-bar of those you listed. That makes that easy to spot

I would start at first with the Waltz. At home I would count 1 2 3 - 1 2 3 with the music right through the whole disk. There will be on most correctly played dance recordings 64. 1 2 3's. Not including a four bar introduction which you should pick easily. Put a tick on a piece of paper for every bar of music that is every 1 2 3.
Not at first but later you will need to know that each 1 2 3 is like a page in a book. There are eight paged to a chapter. and on a disk in most cases there will be eight chapters which is 64 bars of music. Also look for something which says, on European recordings 28 BPM that is bars per minute. After a while you will be able to count when neccesary in bars which will go like this 1 2 3. 2 2 3 .3 2 3. 4 2 3. up to 8 2 3. which completes what is called one phrase of music. After a while you will also be able to count as above for 15 seconds with the music x that by 4 will give you the speed the music is being played at. If over the 15 seconds you count seven bars thats fine. If you find a count of 32. I would ask the music presenter to slow it down a bit.
At first be satisfied with counting in threes. Later you can tranfer all of this to 4/4 music as in the Foxtrot where the count will be 1234. 2234. 3234. through to eight which ends one phrase. The choreography you have been given should be designed to fit the music. All of this might sound a bit complicated but it isn' t. This is what you have been listening to all your life without knowing it.

All the teachers here and our local Ballroom Dance Society put on monthly dances. We all produce a single sheet playlist listing songs and type of dance. We put several copies on each table for just that reason.

Dances in your area might do the same.

OB

Both former winners at Blackpool Richard Gleave and John Wood say that in training, dancing to music, they and there partners both count aloud. This ensures they are both doing the same thing at the same time. If your studio doesn' t do something along those lines I pity you.
Another must that seems to be a forgotten art is that whatever is learnt on this side of the floor should be taken to the other side of the floor and repeated.