{"id":963,"date":"2015-07-26T21:14:18","date_gmt":"2015-07-26T21:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/valparaiso\/?p=963"},"modified":"2015-07-26T21:14:18","modified_gmt":"2015-07-26T21:14:18","slug":"how-to-practice-ballroom-dancing-when-you-arent-on-the-dance-floor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/valparaiso\/blog\/ballroom-dances\/how-to-practice-ballroom-dancing-when-you-arent-on-the-dance-floor\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Practice Ballroom Dancing When you aren’t on the Dance Floor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even when you and your partner can\u2019t figure out a time to practice together, you can still improve your ballroom dancing a lot by practicing on your own. There are four main areas that you can improve quickly by yourself: posture, stamina, technique, and routines.<\/p>\n

Here are 21 ways to improve your ballroom by yourself.<\/p>\n

Note: none of these suggestions require a ballroom floor.<\/p>\n

Posture<\/span><\/strong>
\nPosture is one of the first things that the judges notice. It is also one of the things that distinguishes ballroom dancers from other social dancers. I can\u2019t tell you how many times I\u2019ve been salsa or contra dancing and have had the leader ask: \u201cDo you do ballroom?\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important. Fix it.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Stand up straight when walking to class<\/li>\n
  2. Sit up straight during class<\/li>\n
  3. Adjust your car mirrors so that you have to drive while sitting up straight<\/li>\n
  4. Keep your ears in line with your hips<\/li>\n
  5. Hold standard frame and practice switching head directions (slower for waltz and foxtrot, sharper for tango)<\/li>\n
  6. Take a yoga class<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Stamina<\/strong><\/span>
    \nAs anyone who\u2019s experienced rounds can tell you, ballroom takes a bit of stamina. Even when you don\u2019t have the time or space to practice, you can still improve your ballroom dancing by improving your general fitness.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. go for a jog<\/li>\n
    2. Quickstep: jump rope for 5 minutes<\/li>\n
    3. Core strength & frame: hold a plank for 30 seconds*<\/li>\n
    4. Samba: samba whisks for 2 minutes*<\/li>\n
    5. Jive: basic step for 2 minutes*<\/li>\n
    6. Frame: hold standard frame for 2 minutes*<\/li>\n
    7. Stand in front of a mirror and smile your biggest, cheesiest, most winsome smile for 2 minutes (this is harder than it sounds)*
      \n*Remember to breathe<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Technique<\/strong><\/span>
      \nPossibly the most fulfilling thing to practice on your own.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Improve body control with slooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwww rumba walks (hint: all of your Latin will improve if you do this)<\/li>\n
      2. More body control: Cucarachas<\/li>\n
      3. Gracefulness: Ankle rises (with or without a resistance band)<\/li>\n
      4. Sharpness: Tango link to promenade to promenade close<\/li>\n
      5. Improve your sense of timing: listen to ballroom music and clap the timing<\/li>\n
      6. Latin styling for ladies: watch this video of Yulia and try in the mirror<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Routines<\/span><\/strong>
        \nLadies, it helps your men a lot if you actually know what\u2019s going on stepwise. Gentlemen, obviously if you forget your routines, you\u2019re in a bit of trouble.<\/p>\n

        Two ways to cement your routines in both of your minds:<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Write your routines down in stunning detail<\/li>\n
        2. Think through your routines while listening to music<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          These are just 21 suggestions of how to practice on your own. There are many many other ways to improve your dancing.<\/p>\n

          Article Courtesy of Cornell Ballroom<\/a><\/em><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Even when you and your partner can\u2019t figure out a time to practice together, you can still improve your ballroom dancing a lot by practicing on your own. There are four main areas that you can improve quickly by yourself: posture, stamina, technique, and routines. Here are 21 ways to improve your ballroom by yourself. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,22,23,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ballroom-dances","category-dance-info-news-trends","category-lifestyle-self-improvement","category-nutrition-health"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/valparaiso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/valparaiso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/valparaiso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/valparaiso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/valparaiso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/valparaiso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/valparaiso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/valparaiso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/valparaiso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}