Dance, Lose Weight, Have Fun, Meet People

Dances You Can Do

Jitterbug and Samba. Tango and Foxtrot. Cha Cha and Zydeco. Hustle and Waltz. Two Step and Twist. Dancing is fun and it’s easy to do. Dancing is a fantistic way to lose weight, have fun, meet people, and stay young.


Here's How
Walk, run, skip, jump, but find your way to the nearest dance studio and sign up for lessons. Don’t go for private lessons as they are too expensive. Group lessons teach you everything you need to know to do social dancing (you’re not going to compete, are you?). You also have the benefit of meeting others. No, you don’t need to bring a partner. Both men and women go to group dancing lessons by the truck load.

Social Dancing
Most studios have social dancing events ranging from a couple of times per week to once a month. Go to the studio that has the most social events. That gives you lots of practice and you meet lots of people – many of whom having been dancing for years. They’ll also tell you where all the hot spots in town are. They’ll probably also invite you.

Easiest Dance to Learn
The easiest dance to learn is Jitterbug. Another version of it is Lindy Hop. Baby Boomers go for Jitterbug and 20 somethings go for Lindy. Country Two Step, or Night Club two step,) are the easiest slow dances to learn. Merengue is probably the easiest Latin dance to learn. After your first month of those steps, you’ll be good enough to take the next steps. Now learn Salsa, Cha Cha, Bachata, Fox Trot, Waltz, and Hustle. Give yourself two months on those, and then notch up Tango (either American or Argentine), West Coast Swing, and Samba.


Let Me Make You a Promise
Once you know how to dance this way, you will never be alone again. Fitness will come naturally, because you will lose weight if you go dancing two or three times a week. And as you get to know the dance crowd, there’ll always be places where they hang out. After a while, you will get to know so many people that you will have no problem going to certain venues because there’s always be friends there. And you’ll just love the music and the mood!

Three Divisions
Essentially, social dancing is divided into three sections. They are Latin, Ballroom, and Swing.

Swing
Swing dancing consists of dances like Jitterbug, East ad West Coast Swing, Hustle, and Lindy Hop. Sometimes, something like Zydeco doesn’t quite fit in anywhere, but if you can do any of the swing steps, you’ll pick it up in half an hour.


Latin Dances
Latin dances include Cha Cha, Rumba, Samba, Salsa, Merengue, and Bachata. From a personal point of view, I never really liked Latin music that much until I started dancing these steps. Now you can’t keep me away. Sometimes, music only really makes sense when you feet tap in rhythm to it.


Ballroom Dances
This is the most formal and the most intimate of the social dances. It includes Foxtrot, Quickstep, Waltz, the Viennese Waltz, America Tango and Argentine Tango. The Viennese Waltz is very fast but great fun. The America Tango does the traditional circle around the floor while the Argentine Tango is a pretty stationary sort of dance.