Dance Etiquette

Dance Etiquette

The following guidelines are gathered by several dancers from various dance communities. They are simple recommendations to make your dance experience a pleasant one for yourself and for others who share the same dance floor.

Ø If you are not dancing, it is courteous to stay clear of the dance floor

Ø If you are not dancing, avoid walking through the busy dance floor.

Ø If you are trying to show your partner a new step, move to a distant corner of non-dance area for your demonstration and discussion.

Ø Unsolicited teaching and/or correcting your partner is rarely appreciated. Therefore, we recommend working out stuff at practices or classes, not at social dances.

Ø Avoid uncomfortable accessories such as belt buckles that protrude and remove large key chains and coinage in pockets.

Ø It is dangerous to shortcut or race someone else to the person you with to dance with.

Ø Avoid apologizing for dance mistakes that did not cause personal injury. Just dance your best.

Ø Followers, ask permission before backleading.

Ø When asked to dance, there are a few acceptable responses:

§ “Yes, thank you” (if you elect this response, you must complete the dance).

§ “I would love to dance with you, but I’m sitting this one out. (If you elect this response, you must sit it out. Although not mandatory, it would be nice to reciprocate the invitation when you do feel like dancing again.)

§ No, thanks anyway but I’m sitting this one out. (If you elect this response, you must sit it out).

Ø The dance is a social interchange. It is the experience of dancing, communicating and the giving/receiving of signals and messages through movement, gestures and expressions. In the end it doesn’t matter if you succeeded in doing your own fancy steps if your partner hasn’t been lead (or followed) well and is not having a good time.

Floorcraft

The leader is responsible for protecting the follower from collision. While some small collisions are unavoidable, it is ideal for followers to feel confident their partner will not lead them into a dangerous situation. However, it takes time for beginner leaders to do this. It take an awareness of the traffic and to be able to move with that traffic. Since followers are not preoccupied with what moves come next, they can help their partner by being aware of those around. Here are a few tips:

Ø Leaders:: leave enough space in front of you in case you and your partner need to escape.

Ø Followers: If a collision is approaching from behind your partner, a slight pressure against his arm or hands will indicate that someone has not left him enough room to maneuver. Do not backlead to maneuver around the floor. Not only does it make leading more difficult, but is also makes it more difficult for the leader to avoid collisions.

Ø Leaders: When you feel as though you’ve been “cut-off”, avoid using your partner to gain additional space (battering ram technique).

Ø Leaders: the more crowded the dance floor, the more contained and small your patterns must be. In other words, the more crowded the dance floor, the more slots/lanes there will be. The more slots or lanes mean each lane is narrower and shorter.

Ø In crowded situations, both partners keep their feet and movement small. Avoid wide or high moves, and keep your “embellishments” under control such that you don’t hurt or intimidate other dancers on the dance floor.

Ø In crowded situations, both partners keep their feed under your torso and avoid wide sweeps and kicks. No one likes being kicked, run into or stepped on, so on a crowded dance floor, avoid aggressive movements, sweeps and leg extensions.

Ø West Coast moves in slot, East Coast is typically circular; Lindy has examples of both circular and slot dancing. Be aware of each potential for movement

Ø In crowded situations where there are multiple style of dances, position the slot dances to the outside edges and the circular style dances toward the center.

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