I just started dancing last year. I have just receintly gotten the curage to start attending the parties hosted my by studio.
Does anyone have any tips for a beginner male who is finding this VERY intimidating?? Feels like I will never rember all the moves for so many dances!

Thanks !

I just started dancing 4 months ago, best advice I can give is... just have fun! Don't worry about remembering all the moves and patterns, those will come back once you get past the first couple dances....

Well, if you stick with it you'll get over feeling intimidated. I remember feeling the same way when I started -- so many good dancers and there I was with about 4 figures per dance that I knew which wasn't all that much either. It took a little effort for me to ask women to dance, but when I did I'd usually tell them I was a beginner and didn't know much. They'd say it was OK, just dance what I know, something like that. So try doing that if it makes you feel better; I felt better giving the women a warning in advance. After a while as you get a little better and people start to know you, you won't have to warn them anymore. In my experience, the women were pretty good about dancing with beginners and I'm sure that's one of the things that helped me stay with it. Yes, sometimes attitudes change as people become more advanced dancers, but most of us remember what it was like when we were just starting out so we're pretty good about dancing with beginners. Me, I usually don't ask beginners to dance, but I won't turn them down if they ask me (unless I don't know the dance they're asking for, then I'd turn down whoever it was). But hopefully you'll find the same thing I did, that the more advanced women are pretty good about dancing with the beginner men. One tip about that though -- try not to monopolize them. People do like to dance with others around their own level so don't ask them to dance all the time. Get them once in a while, they will be able to help you out a bit, and almost everyone is willing to give anyone else at least one dance a night, just don't monopolize them. As for other points, a few good ones were named already. Try to remember what you've learned in class and do those figures. If you get them in combinations, which you should, try to remember those combos and dance them. Basically just try to practice what you've learned. If you forget a figure or something, don't worry, just work past it and keep dancing. The more practice you get, the better you'll become at dancing your figures and remembering what figures you know and can dance. Just dance what you know to the best of your ability. But most of all try to have fun. Social dances are supposed to be fun events, so try not to take things too seriously there. Meet people, talk with them, dance with them, watch others dance, mix around and enjoy yourself. And trust me, if you stick with it, you will get over feeling intimidated. So good luck and I hope you have fun.

--
James Marshall
marshall@astro.umd.edu
http://www.astro.umd.edu/~marshall

The #1 Rule is to stay on the beat. If you don't, women will not have a good time. And that's Rule #2. Rule #3 is don't forget Rule #1 and Rule #2.

I think just the mere fact that there is always a lot more women than men at the parties should change any ladies attitude about dancing with beginners or more advanced dancers or not dancing at all.
If your studio does mixers at the party, make full use of it. Normally, only the ladies that would dance with any leader participates in the mixer.
If the leader that i dance with only knows a few steps, then i as follower can work on technique or timing or just listen and enjoy the music.

HTH
Happy dancing.

I started dancing when I was 8. Unfortunatly the school I went to closed down when I was 16, but I was able to acheive many grades and bronze star.. and I cant for the life of me find another school/club anywhere in my area to restart...

One thing I noticed about dancers (regardless of their level): some steps stick with you and some don't. Don't worry about "remembering all those steps." Eventually, you won't even think about what your feet are doing.

Dronak is absolutely right about asking a more experienced dancer. I've been dancing for 14 years. I'll dance with anyone (whether they ask or I ask) - because I do remember what it was like when I first started.

But when all is said and done, I think the most important thing to remember is to have fun!

Regards,
Hoofer

The whole point of learning to dance is to dance. From a learning perspective, the advantage of going to studio parties is that you get an opportunity to practice the steps you have learned. Most of us learn dancing best through lots of repetition. You will find that your dancing will improve a great deal just by going to the parties and getting more practice.

Keep in mind it's called a "party." It's intended to be fun, so try to have fun. Use the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. Dance the patterns you remember and don't worry about the rest. You will learn those eventually. As you gain more dance experience, it becomes easier to remember new patterns.

One problem beginners run into is that, as beginners, men don't lead well and women don't follow well. So beginners struggle when they dance with each other. So, don't be afraid to ask better dancers to dance. When I was beginning, I found the better women dancers to be very helpful for learning to lead.

Blair

Chewett-

My best advice for new leads as far as "remembering the patterns"...

1) Study your syllabus, and memorize the pattern list. It is easy while dancing a basic to say to yourself "OK I have done pattern 1, done pattern 2...hey, I haven't done pattern 3!" It is just an orderly list to go down in your head.

2) Organize new steps into amalgamations. When you are learning new steps try to put them in sequence with some you already know.
For instance (I assume you're learning international style) always practice Rumba in a set order like basic, fan, hockey stick, spot turn, new yorker...this gives you a sequence that is built into your muscle memory. You will shortly find that you can mix these steps up as you become comfortable with them. The sequence just enables you to think "fan sequence" rather than having to think "fan" then having to think again "hockey stick" then choosing spot turn" and then "new yorker". Sequences give you a set of pre-decided patterns...hence you don't have to be making so many decisions while also trying to remember your own footwork, technique, and leading for the lady.

Sequences work especially well in Standard and Smooth where alignment issues can make spontaneous dancing extremely difficult for new leads. Give yourself a lot of time in learning these dances...floorcraft is IMHO one of the most challenging things to master in all of dancesport.

Best of luck to you!

Just keep it simple. Do basic steps till you feel confortable with other steps.