Dancing Blog South Africa

For the most part it would be best to dance in your wedding shoes but it is better to be comfortable and if your wedding shoes are slip ons then it is better to have another pair of steady shoes that are fully attached to your foot for when you are dancing. Alternatively you can put an elastic around your foot for the dance to keep your shoes from falling off. For more information click here.

Well I always say if you can’t choose do both. You can edit the 2 songs together which will also give you more time alone on the dance floor and allow you to show off 2 different types of dancing like  maybe the foxtrot and hustle or quickstep and cha cha cha or jive and waltz. Any dances can be combinted to make an awesome start to your wedding dancing. For more information click here.

I have done many dances that are 2 songs combined and it really makes the opening dance more interesting and memorable.

I always tell wedding couples to choose something that has romantic meaning for them, I feel very strongly about this as 10 years down the line you would like to be able to remember the song that you did for your opening dance. Here are some websites that have suggestions.

Easy weddings has a long list of appropriate love songs. There are also links so that you can listen to the songs.

If you insist on doing a waltz for your opening dance there is a list of waltzes HERE. The waltz is a beautiful dance and it is not that difficult to do the slow waltz.

If you like the words to a song but don’t like the tempo or feel of the song look for another artists that performed the same song. You light up my life is an example of this. The version by Debbie Boon is quite slow but then Westlife came along and made a faster version that is a really beautiful wedding song and a great tempo for an up tempo slow waltz. I have choreographed this a few times for couples and it turned out really well every time.

For a choreographed dance the teacher will choreograph a dance that is easy to do but looks complicated so that you look fabulous and your wedding guests are impressed.

For more information click here.

This is very much a personal decision. I prefer it if the guests join you halfway through your dance as it stays with the purpose of the opening dance in that the newly married couple opens the dance floor at their wedding. One point I would like to make here is that if you want to do the whole song with the dance floor to yourselves then you edit the music to make your wedding song shorter. 3-4 minutes is a very long time to be dancing on the dance floor. When you see couples dancing on strictly come dancing their dances are usually 1.5 minutes. When a couple comes to me that wants to be alone on the dance floor for their opening song I edit the music for them so that it is less than 2 minutes. Rather have the wedding guests wanting more than getting bored. For more information click here.

Teambuilding dance is a teambuilding activity using dance to get people to bond. Teambuilding can be a 1 hour activity during an evening function or an all day activity. For more information click here.

1 day Team-Enhancing Dance Course
This is a full day exercise that is divided into small pieces that progress into one another. In order for the project to be successful the teams must work within a budget of time. A different team leader will be chosen for each module thus affording everyone an opportunity to communicate with, negotiate with and mentor the others in the group.

Module 01a – Poetry
Module 01b – Music
Module 02a – Creative Dance
Module 02b – Ballroom Dance
Module 02c – Line Dance
Module 02d – Hip-Hop
Module 03 – Marketing and promotion
Module 04 – Performance
Module 05 – Evaluation and feedback

5 Modules are completed in a days course. Only one section on each module is excecuted and the delegates can decide on which section to complete.

1 Hour Teambuilding ice-breaker
Delegates are taught different dance moves. Some are done alone, some in pairs, some in small groups and some with the whole group moving together to make patterns. Simply by participating many skills are gained from working alone to practise the new moves to one on one communication and co-operation to the challenges of working in a large group where everyone in the group plays an equally important role. This creative environment allows most people to escape their comfort zones and let their hair down while encouraging them to be tolerant and patient of the rest of the group.

Evening Corporate Function
For Company Christmas Party’s, Awards Evenings, Celebrations etc. For these evening functions we bring some of Elise’s Ballroom Dancing students to demonstrate a dance and then she teaches the guests some moves in the dance that they have just seen. This can be done for Waltz, Hussle or the ever popular Line Dance Tango or all three dances. We can demonstrate and teach some American Line Dancing. The choice is yours and each function is different.

Strictly Come Dancing Evening
Keeping in line with the TV show we have a few rounds of dancing, eliminating couples as we go. One of the reasons everyone loves the show so much is because they get to know the contestants … well in this version of the show you will know all the contestants as they will be your collegues.

The way this works is the company sends us volanteers that come for dance lessons before the function. Those couples then compete at the function. This is lots of fun as guests like to see their work-mates doing something they have never seen them do before. They then help to teach the other guests some of the moves that they learnt. It is a great ice-breaker and makes for a great party.

I think that of the hundreds of wedding couples that I have helped with their opening dance I have choreographed less than 10 waltzes. Most people tend to opt for a foxtrot as it is the dance that fits with most love songs of today. For more information click here.

I usually say it is best to start Ballroom / Latin American dancing classes sooner rather than later. It is recommended to start with group classes and then if you would like to have your dance choreographed for you then a few private dancing lessons closer to the time would be appropriate. I would recommend that you start 4 months before your wedding with 3 months group classes and then 3 -6 private lessons the last month with your last private dance lesson the week of the wedding. Private dance lessons are more expensive so if you are on a tight budget you could do a few months of group classes before the wedding and then 1 private dance lesson just before the wedding to do the entrance and then do the dance moves that you learnt in class for the balance of the song. For more information click here.

Welcome to the brand new dancing-blog.co.za blog site. On this blog you will soon find lots of great information relating to Ballroom, Social Ballroom, Latin American and Hip-Hop Dance Instruction Lessons. You will also find lots of information relating to dance instruction lessons specifically aimed at Wedding Couples. This blog is brought to you by www.dancing.co.za