Etiquette – Page 4 – The Dancing Grapevine

Etiquette - Performance & Competition

Jack n’ Jills: Do people ‘deserve’ better partners?

March 2, 2016 - By Laura Riva

I remember my first-ever Jack n’ Jill competition in West Coast Swing. I was competing in Newcomer, but I had several years of dance experience before WCS. So, I had an ‘advantage’ over some of the people in the category. I ended up making it to finals. I drew this sweet, older gentleman as a partner. He was very, very nervous. We competed, and in the end I think we came 5th. Not shabby. Then, after the results, he came up to me and apologized for drawing me in competition. I don’t remember the exact wording, but it was something along the…

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Etiquette - Leading - Social Dancing

Trevor Copp Guest Article: The Gentle(Hu)Man’s Guide to Social Dancing

February 2, 2016 - By Laura Riva

A Note from Laura Riva: I don’t normally post guest articles on my blog, but for Trevor Copp I make an exception. For those who don’t know, Trevor is one of the people behind the Liquid Lead Dancing Tedx Talk that took place a short time ago. He is also one of the people I met in my early dance days – before I even knew what Zouk was! So, when he said he wanted to write an article for TDG, how could I refuse…

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Etiquette - Social Dancing

Controlling Your Reactions on the Dancefloor

January 29, 2016 - By Laura Riva

Probably every person on this planet has, at one time or another, reacted a little too strongly to something. Usually, it stems from a perfect storm of stress and other factors which just happen to hit that spot where it’s almost impossible for things to go right – and really easy for things to go wrong. The dance floor is not exempt from this – and that’s OK.

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Beginner-Friendly - Etiquette - Social Dancing

Do I Need to Dance with Everybody?

January 22, 2016 - By Laura Riva

I wrote an article a few days ago on being a generous dancer, and there was a question that came out of that post from several people: does being a generous dancer mean I have to dance with everyone? No, it doesn’t.

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Etiquette - Following - Leading - Social Dancing

How Much Should You Compensate for your Partner?

December 11, 2015 - By Laura Riva

We know how awesome it feels to dance with a great lead or follow. We know that it’s important to be able to assess your partner during the dance to maximize your positive experience. We know that attitude plays an important part, and that there are some things you just shouldn’t do.

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Beginner-Friendly - Etiquette - Social Dancing

A Guide to Engaging with your Partner

December 7, 2015 - By Laura Riva

At around 4 a.m. after a Saturday full of dancing, I had quite a memorable conversation with a dancer who had experienced a dance that they were hoping would go very right, but ended up leaving a negatively-tinged aftertaste because they and their partner weren’t on the same mental wavelength. It could have been one person not particularly being into the dance. It could also have been mental distress from a crowded floor, fatigue, or some sort of discomfort with the partner’s style.

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Beginner-Friendly - Etiquette - Leading - Social Dancing

Social Dance Moves You Should Probably Reconsider

November 30, 2015 - By Laura Riva

I love social dancing. I love the variety, I love the musicality, I love the connection. I love being challenged by new movements. Usually. Every once in a while, it seems there arises some sort of new move that has managed to crawl its way out of the list-of-things-that-should-never-be-done onto the list of things-some-leads-absolutely-love. The good intentions are certainly there, but oh-my-gawd some of these moves just…

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Community Building - Etiquette - Fun Stuff - Social Dancing

How to Tell Your Dance Partner that you Like Them

June 3, 2015 - By Laura Riva

Dance is a largely physical expression. Not that many of us use our words all that much. In many circles, the physicality is one of the things that overcomes the barriers created by language. But, sometimes our words can have power. Power that can be used for great good… or great evil… Muahahahahaha!!

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Beginner-Friendly - Etiquette - Social Dancing

How to Not Get Turned Down for a Dance (pt. 3)

April 15, 2015 - By Laura Riva

We’ve talked about whether you always need to say ‘yes’ to a dance. We’ve talked about what happens when someone says ‘no.’ But…

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Beginner-Friendly - Etiquette - Social Dancing

When Someone Says No to a Dance (pt. 2)

April 8, 2015 - By Laura Riva

Part 1: Are you obligated to say yes to every dance? We talked last week about how no one is obligated to say ‘Yes’ to a dance… but what happens when someone says ‘No’ to you?

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Beginner-Friendly - Etiquette - Social Dancing

Are you obligated to say ‘Yes’ to every dance? (pt. 1)

April 2, 2015 - By Laura Riva

No, you are not. I will explain. We’ve all heard it. The famous saying: “Never say No to a dance”. I disagree. There are very valid reasons to say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to a dance. All of them are completely legitimate, and within your right to exercise. By giving ourselves the power to say ‘No’ to a dance, we help to preserve the joy we gain from actually social dancing when we want to and on our terms.

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Beginner-Friendly - Etiquette - Social Dancing

6 Fixes for Rescuing a Dance

February 4, 2015 - By Laura Riva

There are several bad habits or shortcomings on the dance floor. Some – like poor hygiene – you can’t really do anything about at the moment of dance. Sometimes, the primary concern is keeping yourself safe with a dangerous partner. However, we have put together a list of some of the most common dance floor complaints, and ways that you can help make these dances fun for yourself. 1. Off time. There goes the ‘1’ again.

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Etiquette - Social Dancing

Dancer Ego Syndrome, and How To Keep Yourself Protected

October 21, 2014 - By Laura Riva

Generally speaking: the stronger a dancer gets, the larger their ego becomes. Very often, the speed of ego expansion surpasses their actual dance growth. As the ego grows, it’s also a potential side-effect that the speed of dance growth will slow, and that they will become a toxic dance presence. Who is at Risk? All dancers are at risk of developing Dance Ego Syndrome, but you may be at an elevated risk if you fall into one of the following categories: Have been dancing more than 1 year Are no longer taking dance classes Are popular with dancers of the…

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Etiquette - Social Dancing

The 2 Types of Social Dance Partners

October 15, 2014 - By Laura Riva

On the social dance floor, there are two distinct groups that a lead or a follow will fall into. At its base level, a social dance will be either “Comfortable” or “Uncomfortable”. It doesn’t matter what level you dance at, you have complete control over which of the two groups you fall into. A complete beginner can give a partner a “Comfortable” dance, and a professional can give a partner an “Uncomfortable” dance quite easily. So, what (in my opinion) is the line between the two groups? To me, there are three main differentials:

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Etiquette - Social Dancing

That Awkward Moment…

March 19, 2013 - By Laura Riva

It happens to everyone, albeit for different reasons. Because I am quite tall for a lady, often for me it involves a significant height difference between my partner and I. It’s not that I don’t enjoy close dances with men who are shorter than myself, but if your face is approximately at the same level as my cleavage… please don’t hold me in close hold.

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