Dance Partnering Basics

Dance Partnering Basics teaches partnering positions, movements, and techniques for students of all ages, levels, and dance genres. Eighteen illustrated exercises and over 40 video clips help dance educators provide expert partnering instruction for unlocking students' creativity.

Discover the incredible world of social partner dancing. Complete beginners welcome. Learn in your living room or on an enormous dance floor. This is the second edition of a book previously called the Partner Dance Handbook. It teaches a “social” style of dancing common on dance floors around the world. This is different from the “formal” style seen in shows and on television. This social style is easier to learn for beginners, is arguably more musical and interpretative and can offer variations if you are already a formal dancer. Note that most other books and videos teach the formal style. The author’s experience is that at social dances this social style is far more common; obviously though this can vary from place to place. The author, Dr Duncan James, has taught thousands of people to dance in person at his classes and thousands more to dance via his YouTube channel. You can learn with Duncan for free on YouTube with his 44 free instructional videos. However, the videos and this book were created at the same time to work together; getting this book will give you a richer learning experience. Note that this book has no illustrations as it relies on the videos which are linked for free from the text. The particular benefit of this book is that it goes into much greater depth, appropriate for keener students. This book and the videos are designed to work even if you only have a small space available for dancing. How to Partner Dance Socially will guide you from complete beginner all the way to popular social dancer in the ballroom dances of foxtrot, quickstep and waltz and the latin dances of rumba, salsa and cha cha. A unique, practical approach means you will quickly learn to navigate a crowded dance floor, feel the music, improvise and enjoy dancing with your partner. A couple who have never danced before can realistically join a social dance (and not look out of place) after only an hour of practice with one of the complete beginner lessons. Advanced dancers can use some of the simple social moves as variations, work on the connection with their partner, learn to recycle moves between dances and discover ways to improvise to the music. If you are a teacher this book has detailed teaching advice and lesson plans. Remember this book is teaching a “social” style of dancing and not the “formal” style. The 44 companion videos can be watched on YouTube for free (via links in the text) or downloaded for free as a zip file (a link to this is also included in the text; the download is provided by the author and is limited by his internet host to a certain number of downloads every month). Buy How to Partner Dance Socially now to join in the fun on the dance floor!

Social Partner Dance: Body, Sound, and Space is an ethnographic theory of social partner dancing built on participant observation and interviews with instructors of tango, lindy hop, salsa, blues, and various other forms. The work establishes a general analytical language for the study of these dances, based on the premise that a thorough understanding of any lead/follow form must consider in depth how it manages the four-part relationship between self, partner, music, and surroundings. Each chapter begins with a brief vignette on a distinct dance form and explores the focused worlds of partnered dancing done for the joy and entertainment of the dancers themselves. Grounded intellectually in embodiment studies and sensory ethnography, and empirically in ethnographic fieldwork, Social Partner Dance promotes scholarship that understands the social, cultural, and political functions of partner dance through its embodied practice.

Essential guide for dancers and teachers, and an eye-opening trip behind the scenes for balletomanes. Its practical advice for both ballerinas and partners begins with such basics as standing, walking, and taking bows, and it fully covers such topics as bearing and attitude, and lifting without visible strain. 29 black-and-white illustrations.

The Solution to Your Biggest Problem in Social Dancing "I just wanted to thank you again for your class tonight. You always get me to dance my best. You have built a simple, logical, understandable system, demonstrably superior to anything that this dancing mouse has seen." ~ Erin King, social dancer This book solves the biggest problem in social dancing. The problem is how to communicate unambiguously. Dance teachers have an enormous wealth of knowledge. However, when explaining how to communicate, they are surprisingly vague. This vagueness is not the fault of dance teachers. Until now, there was no clearly defined method for communicating. This is the most important advance since men and women started dancing together. Be the Smartest Dancer in Your Group "I have been a huge fan of your method. Thanks so much for early access several years ago." ~ Paul Hughes, ballroom dance instructor Learn the language for partner dancing. This book explains how to communicate every step in every social dance following the three laws of balance, connection, and direction. The method is so simple that the main rules fit on a single sheet of paper which you can learn in an afternoon. You learn to communicate as effortlessly in dancing as you do in speaking. For the first time, you have a clearly defined language so you know what to do without confusion. You only need to learn how to communicate once. You apply the same principles with every person in every dance. You understand more. You learn faster. Your dancing is easier. Learn To Dance Gently "We went somewhere else first, but they just tried to teach us a routine. We like what you are doing so much better. You are teaching us how to dance." ~ Tabitha and Don, new dancers You learn how to dance without the use of force. You learn to dance without pushing and pulling. You learn to dance without the use of tension and pressure. The benefits are transformative. You learn to dance safely. You learn to dance naturally. You learn to dance as one with your partner with more freedom to express yourself. You learn to dance as light as a feather.

Cross-Step Waltz is one of the newest social dance forms, spreading quickly because it's easy to learn yet endlessly innovative, satisfying for both beginners and the most experienced dancers. It rotates and travels like the original waltz, but the addition of the cross-step opens up a wide range of playful yet gracefully flowing variations. In this comprehensive dancer's guide to Cross-Step Waltz, you will learn: ● How to dance more than 250 variations of Cross-Step Waltz, including basics, turns, grapevines, pivots, Tango-inspired figures, variations in cradle and shadow position, and ways to conclude a dance with flair. ● How to become a better dance partner, whether you dance as a Lead, a Follow, or both. ● How to dance more musically, and how to create your own Cross-Step Waltz variations. ● How to dance Cross-Step Waltz to a wide variety of music, and how to transition between Cross-Step Waltz and other dances. ● Finally, in a series of essays by our students, you'll learn how dancing Cross-Step Waltz can change your life! In addition to being fully described in writing, each of the 250+ variations is illustrated by a demo video on a companion website.

Thirty-two new dance learning experiences for K-12 students of all ability levels. Wide variety of dance styles. Instructional videos and online resources to make teaching effective and smooth. Strategies in developing learning experiences and planning lessons and units.