Dance Etiquette

Dance Etiquette

 

Dancing is a lot of fun and great exercise. To keep it that way, follow the dance etiquette guidelines and you will dance the night away and be the perfect dance partner whether it is a dance class or social night.

 

Personal Hygiene

 
Body odour.

• Always shower if possible before your dance class or dance night.
• Wear a CLEAN shirt. If you sweat heavily, bring an extra shirt. Look for modern fabrics such as bamboo because it is cooler than cotton, naturally sweat wicking, anti-bacterial, and odour resistant and is soft and comfortable.
• Bring a small towel.
• Use a generous amount of deodorant. Go easy on perfumes and aftershave; use it after bathing not instead of!
• There are many types of moist towel wipes that you can buy which can be used to freshen yourself up.

 

Bad breath.

·       See your dentist on a regular basis.

·       Brush teeth/tongue; floss; use mouth wash.

·       Breath mints are good but only last for about 1/2 hour.

·       Try not to eat garlic, onions and spicy foods before dancing. If you do, chewing on some parsley afterwards helps. Avoid gassy foods.

·       Drink plenty of fluids. Exercising (dancing) can cause you to become dehydrated thus causing dry mouth which causes bad breath. So can dancing with your mouth open - it looks bad too.

 

Hands and Nails

·       Keep hands away from eyes/nose (bring tissue) and wash hands frequently, especially during cold/flu season.

·       If you need to use a toothpick after a meal, wash your hands afterwards and rinse your mouth out.

·       Both men and ladies, please keep the nails on your hands and feet well manicured. Broken or split nails can catch on fabric. They can also cause injury to your dance partner or other dancers.

·       Use a non oily hand cream to avoid losing hand holds with your dance partner.

 Attire

Men

·       No singlets please. Ladies do not want to have to put their hands on sweaty, hairy shoulders, arms or armpits.

·       Avoid bulky wallets and dangling keys as they can hurt someone.

·       Consider your watch; it can get caught in the ladies hair. Also avoid belts and rings with sharp or pointed edges.

 

Ladies

·       Less is always better when it comes to jewellery. It is easy for them to catch on your or your partners outfit and can be awkward and painful at the moment of getting caught up and to remove.

·       Try to avoid blouses with raglan / bulky sleeves and looped / fringe outfits. The extra fabric can catch on jewellery, fingers, and make some dance moves difficult to do.

·       Hairstyles to consider. While long ponytails look great, they don’t feel great when you are spinning and they whack your partner in the face and put him off balance. Make sure your hairstyle is in place with clips/pins etc. It is annoying for your partner if you spend most of the dance fixing your hair. However if your hair get’s messed from bad leads ......

 

The Dancing

Try to introduce yourself to and dance with one someone new or someone you haven't danced with for awhile. Introduce that new member to someone else when you're done. This should help newcomers feel welcome and less intimidated.

Say, "Yes!" to the first dance offer, no matter who it is, and keep on saying it. 

This is the most important rule!  Being picky is counter-productive.  If you're seen saying no, you'll be left alone. The point of saying yes every time is to increase your chances of meeting talented, interesting dance partners. If you do this right, good dancers will soon monopolise your time anyway.  Ask good dancers to teach you something new! They'll usually be happy to oblige and will seek you out in the future.

 

Never just say no when asked to dance.

Or say no and then get up and dance with someone else. This is rude! Please give a reason: I'm resting, visiting, take a rain check, I promised the next dance with someone else etc. Sometimes a "no thank you" is in order if the person is drunk or there is a bad hygiene issue. Also avoid eye contact if you don’t want to dance for awhile. On the other hand, if you're turned down, gracefully take "no" for an answer.

When dancing with someone, be attentive to that partner for those three minutes. Looking around at other dancers may make your partner feel like you'd really rather be dancing with someone else and can't wait for the song to be over. On the other hand, some eye contact is good - but, unless you're in a romantic relationship, staring too intently into your partner's eyes can make him/her feel very uncomfortable.

Be courteous and always apologise and give a friendly smile whenever you bump into someone on the dance floor, even if it was not your fault. It helps build dancers' reputations as friendly and courteous.

Want to be asked to dance again?

Don't criticise your dance partner on the dance floor. Don't say things like "you aren't leading", "you can't follow" or worse, "you need to take dance lessons!" This is social dance time...leaders lead/followers follow. Unless you're asked, leave the critiquing to the dance instructor during class time. Try to dance at your partner's level and not above it if you want to look good on the dance floor.

Men

When the song is finished, please escort your partner off the dance floor before asking another to dance. Also, it is rude to run onto the dance floor to interrupt another couple to ask one of them to dance. They may not be finished. Please wait until the gentleman has escorted his partner off the dance floor before asking.

Experienced dancers

Take the time to dance and give your support to the less experienced dancers. Remember how you felt when someone better than you asked you to dance? Get to know them as a person, not by how good a dancer they are. It could be the start of a new friendship.

 

Beginner dancers

Don't be shy. Feel free to introduce yourself as a new member and don't be afraid of asking someone you don't know well to dance. That's what we're all there for. Please don't be intimidated by the good dancers but rather be inspired!

 

How many dances?

It is perfectly fine to dance just ONE dance with the person you are dancing with unless you are on a date or have specific moves you are working on. In well-attended dance events, there may be many dancers looking for a chance to get on the dance floor. You can politely end the dance by just smiling and saying "thank you for dancing with me" and then motion to walk off the floor. The other dancers waiting for partners will truly appreciate having more opportunities to dance with you!