Blues Dancing (and social dancing in general)

[Mr T]

What would be the easiest form of dance to learn for someone with two left feet, over 30 years old and with an allergy to country music?

 

[rdawson808]

Originally Posted by Mr T

What would be the easiest form of dance to learn for someone with two left feet, over 30 years old and with an allergy to country music?

Swing. Pretty simple steps, enjoyable music that you can easily find to practice to, and if you screw up, you wont go tumbling to the floor.

And remember, you start as a beginner, it's not like they'll have to flying down the ballroom, no matter what you do.

b

 

[Classically]

Originally Posted by Unbreakable

Ive been thinking about taking some type of dance lessons, but I'm pondering the ratio of women to men. I don't want to end up in some hotdog cart....

More like a taco restaurant!! Dances are almost always follow (female) heavy. Bit of a warning though, the taco quality varies scene to scene. I'm usually either in the college or the Glen Echo-DC scene.

 

[Classically]

Originally Posted by Mr T

What would be the easiest form of dance to learn for someone with two left feet, over 30 years old and with an allergy to country music?

I would recommend swing or rhumba. Both are easy to learn and you can impress all the foolish non-dancing mortals on teh dance floor!!

 

[Get Smart]

Met the missus at a swing event that had a 40s style full big band orchestra. Been doing lindy/jive/jitterbug for over 10 years now, mostly at rockabilly clubs. Took a bit of balboa and collegiate shag lessons too, along with attempts to learn some regional stuff like Wheeling, Madison, Big Apple etc.

 

[k9n]

I used to thoroughly enjoy salsa dancing, but havent went out in over a year. I want to take some swing dancing classes soon

 

[dshack]

Originally Posted by Mr T

What would be the easiest form of dance to learn for someone with two left feet, over 30 years old and with an allergy to country music?

Swing's a good call, but East Coast gets boring fast. Try to find a place that does Lindy Hop lessons; there's a lot more variety there.

If the music for swing isn't your thing, West Coast Swing might do it for you. It's similar steps to lindy, but smoother and more r&b/pop than jazz.

If there's a local blues scene, I'd also check that out

I've noticed that a lot of people naturally take to salsa, swing and its derivatives, or ballroom. It's worth investing the $10 and evening out to see what clicks with you.

 

[maltodextrine]

I blues dance, and I've been to the Friday Night Blues event from that first video! I know a few blues dancers up with you in Portland, too. Sadly, there's not much scene for it where I'm living currently; only a few of us here do it, and we have to travel to really get a good social dance experience outside of messing around.

I came into it from a slightly different angle from most people, since I'm a westie dancer, not a lindy dancer. It's fantastic though, subtle to watch, but dancing blues feels... really good.

If anyone here is in the Bay Area, go check out Friday Night Blues in San Francisco! It's a great time, and comes with lessons.