I’m a typical guy! I think Led Zeplin is the best rock band of all time, I drink beer, I watch football and my celebrity crush list includes Salma Hayek, Catherine Bell and Tanya Memme.
I am fortunate however in that I learned something very early on…Women Love Men Who Can Dance!
Knowing how to dance is like knowing several different languages. Most people understand Rock, Funk, Classical or Rap…but not many can also understand Tango, Waltz, Salsa or Swing.
My Revelation: I was aproximately 15 years old and our school was organizing a dance in which parents where invited. Parent attendance was rare so they planned to have a Waltz contest for the … ‘old folk’.
I had discovered the previous year that I liked moving around to music when a friend put on Midnight Star’s “No Parking On The Dance Floor“. I really had never heard this kind of ‘electronic funk’ before and it pretty much blew my mind.
Aware of my newly found appreciation, my friend Lilas looks to me and says, ‘We should learn to Waltz for the contest’. Understandably, most 15 year old boys when confronted with a request to ‘learn the waltz‘ would tend to shy away, if not literally run away! Fortunately, my 15 year old, puberty bent mind processed the idea of spending time in close proximity with a pretty girl..and I accepted the challenge.
Now I hardly remember the school dance, nor the contest. As a matter of fact, we may never have even attended. But I do clearly remember going to the library, finding an ‘Arthur Murray book of ballroom dance’ and learning the basic waltz ‘box step‘ with Lilas.
**Did you know that when a guy knows how to do a basic waltz box step, there are ENDLESS girls lined up wanting to be taught?? This is something I learned almost immediately.
After my schooling I ended up visiting one of those Arthur Murray dance schools in Orange County CA. The next 5 years found me teaching social dance professionally. Ultimately I grew tired of all the egos, boas and glitter and left…but the education was invaluable!
Disclaimer: I am NOT telling guys to stop everything and walk into a dance studio… God No!
I completely understand guys cringing at the thought of dance lessons. Shows like Dancing With The Stars don’t help matters at all! The representation of men who can dance in the media is piss poor.
Guys, the reality is this…telling a woman you can swing or salsa has more effect than telling her you’re independently wealthy. Being lead around the dance floor is something very few women experience anymore…and women LOVE to dance.
If you are secure enough with yourself to walk into a dance studio..do it! If you feel better with private lessons, there are plenty of teachers in most any city, simply ask their training. Most independent teachers did, at one time, work through Arthur Murray or Fred Astaire studios.
Learn from books, learn from online videos. Learning the basic step patterns is important, but utlimately I recommend working at least a little with a female instructor to build your skills in ‘leading’.
Dances I recommend learning: (in order of ease)
Rumba: it’s easy and slow. The rhythm of a Rumba works with most any slow song. (anything but a waltz song)
Waltz: the basic pattern is the same as the Rumba, just different rhythm.
Fox Trot: great casual walking around the floor dance, perfect for those Sinatra fans
East Coast Swing: (aka Jitter Bug) same rhythm as Fox Trot, just more rhythmic than smooth
This Blog will be growing with actual instruction, please bookmark it for more later.
Mental Mastication 