My mum sent me to toddler dancing classes in the 60s from which I begged tearfully to be removed stating the owner/teacher was "a rotten lady" She never found out, and I can't remember what caused these very strong words (she was genuinely shocked)

Then when I was 10 I tried Saturday morning ballet classes, never got as far as an exam although I did "perform on stage" in the little local dancing school's performance. I was hopeless: clumsy, lacking in confidence, absolutely unable to remember sequences of steps and found this so mortifying that I gave up once more.

I got called into school once as my son had told his teacher she looked like a fish, didn't know what to say, she really did.

How does one tell off a child for telling the truth ? I settled on it wasn't kind and then sniggered behind my hand for years afterwards. I was a bad mother !

I always find that strange because I never had a problem adapting to latin movement despite the ballet training. It could be down to the fact that I went from classical ballet to flamenco (learning how to stamp and look down to 'Mother Earth; was weird!) so maybe that transition helped. I studied salsa in Cuba with Cuban pro dancers who just drilled me until everything clicked into place. I do love a real Latin rhythm, using that floor and dropping down into the movement.

On the other hand it could have been all those hours in night clubs (reggae and soul freak) showing off with my fellow dance teachers that loosened up my hip action!

If you mix Chopin with Marvin Gaye maybe it makes you looser?

Just that very recently you told me that i was mistaken in thinking that you'd taught latin and ballroom.

Ballroom may require different things from ballet, and it may be easier (in the same way that piloting an aeroplane is easier than piloting a spaceship) but it is still one of those "lifelong" dances that you dont just totally nail in a few sessions then move on from. Whether you have a background in ballet or contemporary or whatever.

Oh no!

No. You were mistaken in that you claimed I had only taught for two years and I said you were wrong. Have no idea why you feel obliged to stand in judgement or question another poster about their lives. Very odd.

And you really are very, very wrong about ballroom. It really is not that complicated for a very good dancer with decent training - although ballroom dancers always claim it is. It might be for those who want to dance competitively ( you are then up against the rest of the world) but that is quite another matter.

AT is the one that takes years to learn. Ballroom really doesn't help in that case. They rarely get it right. Not dancing in sequences kills them, as does the 'embrace'

That is absolutely true Ivan.

I believe my exact wordage was that you'd "spent time" teaching it and the reason i asked was that i was surprised you had considering you dont like it or respect it at all as a form of dance. I dont judge you or your life at all but i do wonder why you are so vocal about your disdain for it as a former teacher of it.

Basically ballroom dancing is easy... unless you want to do it well. So not radically different to other kinds of dance then.

This is rather interesting Sofakat, as I am teaching ballroom to a ballet dancer at the moment, and she finds the lowering and heel leads, soft legs, soft knees etc extremely difficult to master, because of the ballet training. People are different of course, but this particular lady is having to try and unlearn "habits" from her ballet training.

I never learnt AT as a fixed sequence of steps. As someone who does ballroom dancing, I did not find it to be a problem. Nor did I find the embrace a killer.


Absolutely

You clearly have some kind of agenda, but I am really not interested in pointless discussion. It's a forum. It's supposed to be fun. Yawn.

This is quite true, I had a few lessons then gave up. I actually preferred the structure and discipline of ballroom, but I did enjoy having a go. I do love watching it, but it wasn't for me.

I feel like you're the one with the agenda, so let's just agree to disagree.

Must be the way you are teaching her. It's not the ballet training, it's being a good enough teacher to teach in a way that makes sense to each individual.

Ballet training is not a 'habit'. It's a discipline. You need to be a bit more creative perhaps? Perhaps the rigidity of ballroom is hampering your efforts?

It certainly is not the way I am teaching her. perhaps I used the word "habit" incorrectly and should have used the word discipline as you correctly pointed out. But there is nothing wrong in the way I teach not her, or any others. I don't think the word "creative" is applicable either. I was not trying to have a go at your post,or prove you wrong, I was merely mentioning the fact that one of my ladies, a former ballerina, has difficulty getting into her legs after years of not. I meant no more than that, just a fact.

I'm a bit confused by this. Sure, you learn the dance in certain sequences, but advanced 'open' ballroom isn't about that at all, it's about 'listening' to your partner who guides you round the floor using the dance but improvising the pace, the order, the length of step, and changing this depending on circumstance, other people, the room, whim even. The hold can also be down and close or open and back, again, depending on conditions etc.

I know some are taught 'sequence' ballroom, but I never was.

No, nor me. When | tried the AT, I did find it hard to try and adopt the closed embrace though. Never done sequence either.

Sofakat out of interest, how would you approach someone like me if I came to you and begged to be taught at least how not to embarrass myself with basic social dancing? I started singing lessons a few years ago and my teacher says I'm very musical, but I've always been hopeless at sports (the only thing I could do was climb the rope in the gym so I used to go right to the top and stay there). Is it simply that my body can't translate that musicality into movement and my brain can't deal with sequences of movement either, and there's not much to be done?

Going back to the original point (I think!) I would be terrible at learning the dances, I once joined a dance keep-fit class and we entered a local event with other groups, we were terrible, mainly because all six of us forgot the steps which we had been practicing for weeks!

I do think dance training as a child helps because they become used to following choreographed steps. My daughter went to dance from 3-16 and she can watch a film and pick up the steps after two/three viewings. A typical example was the really "naff" dance in "She's all that" - she had that off pat by the end of the film!

I'm a definite ringah. DId ballet aged 3, and stopped the entire dance on stage at the Chelmsford Civic Theatre when my hat fell off. We have it on cine film.

I'd teach you how to move in a way that made you feel comfortable - not flashy, or awkward, but easy. But first I'd have to see what music you like, what you feel dancing is for you, where you want to do it, whether you like to dance alone in your own space and do your thing, or dance with a partner.

We'd go through easy movements in front of a mirror and I'd work out where your body feels disjointed or unmanageable. I'd look at how you walk, hold your shoulders, use your legs and feet and change weight - all of that. I'd want to see what your perceived weakness was and and work with it. There are so many ways to dance and so many styles. We'd find one that fitted you!

Everybody is different. They learn differently too. I adapt to suit whoever I am teaching, tune into the way they see things. I've never lost a student, or failed to make a difference. I do get people dancing. Their confidence soars.

I have said no to some though - not because they were too hard to teach - but because they had the wrong attitude, wanted everything right now, or didn't want to work at learning.

I generally find that several double vodkas do the trick...they transform me into Beyonce, tis miraculous I tell you!

Not sure why you're getting so much stick on this thread, God forbid you should hold an opinion, one can only assume it's cause you're the absolute filthiest of ringahs in the village

Thank you Cav! Mwah!

Vodka is truly a blessing! I think much of my early club dancing was fuelled by that!

After a long day teaching on Fridays me and my dance teacher colleagues would hit the clubs and let lose. We'd go to 4 or 5 where we always got in for free and turn into the worst show-offs evah!

There is that very clever device on DS which 'switches' people off so you don't see their posts. Bit like putting a load of tantrum toddlers into an empty room. I find it a very, very useful

It's that lack of logic and consistency that gets me, Helen according to the same posters did a marvellous foxtrot,

A because she did ballet so has a natural advantage

However

B ballet is of little benefit because those who have done it can't be taught ballroom no matter how creative their teachers are because they are too stiff in their core


But in reality Helen is doing really well in this contest because of her grace and advantage from ballet and Aljaz is teaching her despite her ballet in a very creative way to dance well in a ballroom competition.

The 2 things are not mutually exclusive, ballet can be both an advantage and disadvantage, but a disadvantage does not mean " can never be done ".

Honestly I just wish for consistency and remembering what you have previously said so that you don't appear to be disappearing in ever decreasing logic circles because you want to hold onto a view which you hold dear that is being shown by your2 opposing arguments to be untenable.

I'm having a Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy moment - just you be careful on the next zebra crossing