It might seem a given for most of you, but after frequenting dance-floors for a while, I’m telling you, it’s not. When you practice social dancing, there are a few rules to remember. Everyone make their own, and not everyone follows the same as I do. Here’s my top 5:
Be clean
I’ve danced with men who literally just came back from a run and skipped the shower. Gross. Ballroom and Latin are very intimate dances, if I’m going to be that close to you, I’m expecting that you’re going to give me the respect of making it a nice place to be. No body odor, no bad breath (that’s why there are mints floating around dancers all the time), no dirty clothes…
Be respectful
If you turn someone down for a dance, don’t jump on the next invitation for the same dance. Pass this one, have a glass of water. No need to crush anyone’s confidence, especially if they’re beginners.
Be conscious of your body
You dance, you sweat. That’s pretty normal if you’re human and there’s nothing wrong about it. Just be conscious of it. Avoid picking-up your partner’s hand and put it on the back of your neck in your next Salsa move. Once again… Gross.
Be honest
I went to a Swing dance party once and noticed an excellent male dancer. I invited him for the next dance and he bluntly told me “If you’re a beginner, I’m sorry, but I want to have fun tonight”. I told him I wasn’t and we had a great dance. But I couldn’t help but wondering how I would have felt if, indeed, I was a beginner. Most people at parties, will be happy to dance with you, even if you’re a beginner; we all went through that. So if you are, be honest. Just say so. And if someone says “sorry, not for me”, well, move on.
Have fun
You’re social dancing, not at a comp: stop checking if other people are looking at you, stop looking at yourself in the mirror, feel the connection with the music and the connection with your partner, avoid starring at the emptiness with a jaded look on your face… If you’re not having fun… then just go home.
The man of whom you see all the flaws and issues immediately but still makes your heart beat. The man who will take risks (even the risk of giving up is freedom) for you, because he thinks you’re worth it, and won’t complain about it later on.
A man whom your mother would love. A man so perfect that he leaves you wondering what can be wrong and why your heart does not beat faster as you check all the items down your list.
A man who lives for his art. Whether he’s a painter, sculptor, danser, musician or poet… his art comes first, you second and any material comfort could potentially come way down the list.
Those feet are made for walking up and down the good city of Philadelphia… and sometime out of it. My feet needed a vacation and found their way to a land that pretends to be the world… at least between June and September. On their way, they discovered the game of “handball” (pretty funny for a pair of feet), they resisted being thrown up in the air, they landed on a very interesting kind of island and they took me to the Hot Dog Eating Contest… 314 days (or so) early.