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<\/a>With so much dance gracing our television, especially ballroom dance, many think that\u2019s what it looks like when out socially. Which is definitely not the case.<\/p>\nShows like Dancing with the Stars<\/em> and So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD)<\/em> don\u2019t teach the dancers to dance; they teach them how to perform that dance.<\/p>\n At dance studios, we breakdown the dance to its most basic elements and build up from there. The dancers on these shows don\u2019t get that instruction. They are usually thrown right into choreography that is very specific to the song they are performing.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re dancing socially, it\u2019s not that structured. Your partner could lead you through whatever moves they have in their arsenal. It\u2019s not dependent on the song (besides the style of dance you\u2019re doing \u2013 you can\u2019t do a waltz to a song meant for cha cha). There also aren\u2019t as many dips, lifts, and tricks. Usually the floor isn\u2019t big enough and you can\u2019t be sure your partner knows how to execute it safely.<\/p>\n Look at one of my favorite routines from season 3 of SYTYCD<\/em>. Danny and Lacey\u2019s samba to \u201cHip Hip Chin Chin.\u201d It was such a fun routine. You can tell they were having a blast performing it. But is it a true samba? It has samba elements, but there is not a single samba basic in the entire routine. There are loads of awesome tricks and bits that go great with the music, but you could not look at this routine as \u2018how to dance samba.\u2019<\/p>\n That\u2019s the crux of the problem of ballroom becoming part of popular media. These shows won\u2019t show you what ballroom dance is really like. But at Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Eagan, we can.<\/p>\n Even so, it\u2019s still so much fun to watch!<\/p>\n