Last updated 1 day 18 hours ago
The music playing during your salsa lessons has roots that spread all the way to Africa. The drums of salsa hail from the African continent, where people expressed their passion, frustration, and happiness with various drum beats. Today, these rhythms have become part of a large tradition that is the foundation of salsa music and dance. Check out this video to learn more about salsa’s roots.
Learn how to speak salsa with your body with lessons from Arthur Murray Dance Studio. We can teach you salsa and ballroom dancing, both of which you can put to good use in clubs around the world. To learn about our classes and locations, call (510) 342-5041.
Last updated 8 days ago
As you progress with your ballroom dance lessons and begin to consider yourself a real dancer, you have to put yourself in a different mindset. In the world of ballroom dancing, there are certain ideas and movements that dancers must know. Keep reading to learn about a few of them:
How to Connect
If you want your dance to come alive, you have to learn how to connect with your dance partner. You two should learn to communicate without words. In a way, the audience should understand what you are saying just from watching you move across the floor. If you cannot figure out how to communicate with your partner through movement, you cannot sell your dance.
How to Interpret the Music
Dance is an art that relies on music, another art, to tell a sort of story. If you do not understand the music, you cannot interpret it for your audience. Take the time to really get to know any song you plan to dance to.
How to Express Yourself
Though you’ll learn plenty of specific steps during ballroom dance lessons, many dancers add their own personality to the moves. Once you master the basics, you can express your inner emotions with your new dance steps and captivate the audience with your own take on the story you are telling.
How to Enjoy Yourself
One of the most important aspects of any dance is one’s own enjoyment. If you are not having fun, your steps will not flow as easily as they should. Try to remember why you fell in love with dance in the first place. When you are having fun on the dance floor, everyone will see it.
At Arthur Murray Dance Studio, dancing is a way of life. We offer ballroom and salsa dance lessons in Livermore, Hayward, Redwood City, and Walnut Creek. Visit our website or call (510) 342-5041 to start learning your favorite dances.
Last updated 15 days ago
The style and emotion of salsa has spread across the globe. Eager dancers all over the world are signing up for salsa lessons to learn how to make their hips sway in just the right way. Before salsa became so popular, it was a dance known primarily in Latin America. Keep reading to learn how salsa has made such a global impact in such a short time:
From Kitchens to Clubs
Before the 1980s, salsa was a dance style that families taught each other in their kitchens. Since there was no formal training involved initially, salsa styles varied greatly between regions. The 1980s brought a new kind of salsa music—one that incorporated romantic lyrics that were much more passionate than the previous political songs. Because of this, salsa music spread across genres, and the dance followed suit.
From Casual to Formal Teaching
Once people outside of Latin America became interested in salsa, those who already knew the dance had to discover a systemized way to teach it to others. Salsa lessons started popping up across the United States, with each instructor bringing his or her own flare. The structural salsa taught in these schools differ so much from homegrown dance styles that some people who have been dancing salsa their entire lives in Latin America have trouble with the more structured versions.
From Latin America to the World
Salsa lessons have now become popular throughout the world. With schools in the United States, Latin America, and numerous other countries, this sultry dance has truly become a global phenomenon.
If you are ready to learn to salsa, Arthur Murray Dance Studio can help. Our salsa and ballroom dancing lessons teach you the steps you need to become an expert dancer. With studios in Hayward, Redwood City, Walnut Creek, and Livermore, we make it easy to cater to your inner dancer. Call (510) 342-5041 to learn more.
Last updated 22 days ago
The Fox Trot is a unique and classic style of ballroom dance that originated around 1915, during the vaudeville era. However, this dance is in no way outdated! Learn all you need to know about the history and style of the Fox Trot with the following overview.
Where the Fox Trot Originated
The Fox Trot was first developed by Harry Fox for his vaudeville act. The original steps can be likened to the Quickstep, another traditional style of dance. However, the modern style of the Fox Trot is much slower and is usually danced to the blues and other slow forms of music. As with many dances, the Fox Trot was initially deemed inappropriate for social outings because the dancers must hold on to one another to perform the dance steps.
How to Perform the Fox Trot
Young people of the early 1900s rushed to learn how to perform the Fox Trot. This dance features two slow steps followed by two quick steps. Typically, the slow steps are performed on the first and third beats of a 4/4 measure, and the quick steps close the dance on the second measures. A slow turn is usually performed on beats five and six, and a succession of quick steps occurs on beats seven and eight. The dance is meant to be dainty and resemble the prance-like steps of a fox.
To learn more about the Fox trot, click here --
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