SuperDance Studio

Ballroom dance, refers collectively to a set of partner dances, which originated in the Western world and are now enjoyed both socially and competitively around the globe. Its performance and entertainment aspects are also widely enjoyed on stage, in film, and on television. While historically ballroom dance may refer to any form of formal social dancing as recreation, with the eminence of dancesport in modern times the term has become much narrower in scope, usually referring specifically to the International Standard and International Latin style dances (see dance groupings below). In the United States, two additional variations—"American Smooth" and "American Rhythm"—have also been popularized and are commonly recognized as styles of "ballroom dance".

If you lose the beat and find yourself out of step with the music don't try to catch up. It will make things worse and confuse your partner. Instead just close your feet to return to the start position (do nothing). Wait for the second beat of the next bar of music and start again (step forward or back).
Guys be considerate of your partner. You might want to perform some fancy move but she might be on the wrong foot, not ready or someone has got in the road making it hard or even dangerous for her to do the move. Be aware of what is around you and always lead the girl into an open space before you do a move and most importantly, before you do a move, wait until you are both obviously in the correct position. She'll appreciate it and consider you an above average dancer.
Girls you can't both lead! So let the guy lead. After all it is his job! If he is having trouble be considerate and show him what you are expecting but be warned, he might be leading you into a move you haven't learnt yet, so before getting too helpful, see what he has to offer.
Guys and Girls: a lot of moves have been invented from people making mistakes. If either of you does something the other didn't expect and it felt or looked good - assume it's a new move. If you started to do a standard move and something happens where you have to modify the steps (eg: you forgot what to do) - fake it (innovate), you might have just invented a new move!
Dance is about partnership and team work - a marriage of two minds, if not bodies. Guys you might be leading but you are not the center of attention (nor are you girls). Co-operate with each other! Your partner doesn't have eyes in the back of their head. So if your partner is stepping backwards, and something will obstruct their step, its your responsibility to prevent them from stepping back. Guys, be prepared to accept a lead from the girl, it might save you from injury!

There is no intentional hip movement in any of the Latin dances. The hip motion is a natural consequence of changing weight from one foot to the other. Sub-consciously we do this when walking backwards. We feel for the first back step with our toe, roll onto the small of our foot and place our weight onto the leg, as we lower the heel.
The Roll of the foot
Unless the music is really slow (Bolero/Rumba) always take small steps. If the music is really fast (Salsa/Cumbia), max it at just a half foot length! When you step, whether forward, backward or side, step onto the inside ball of your foot (big toe), roll your foot onto the small ball (little toe) and imaging you are squashing a grape under your heel, place the foot flatly onto the floor, straightening the leg. If you have done this correctly, your body weight is now on the foot you have lowered and you should be able to stand on one leg without falling over.
Knee Bends
You shouldn't need to consciously bend your knee. Relax! As you change weight onto one leg the other leg should naturally bend at the knee and the heel of the foot raise. In the Latin dances whenever one leg is straight (bearing weight), the other should be bent. If this hasn't happened then your weight is probably centered. Simply shift your weight onto the appropriate leg. It may take a bit of practice to co-ordinate your movements. Try not to think about the isometrics, just let your body do what comes naturally.
Hip Isolation
Your weight should be focused into the middle of the foot. Sorry about the analogy but if you are in the correct position and I drove a pike through the middle of your skull, it would come down your spine, come out at the base, then penetrate the mid thigh, follow the leg skeleton down and come out the middle of your foot. If your weight was centered (incorrect position) the pike would come out between your legs. Simple fact of physics, center your weight and you won't be able to move either foot. To help isolate the hips and increase hip roll, turn your feet out in a V shape (heels closest together) and as you straighten your leg (change weight) bend the other leg toward the straightened leg. The hip roll looks more exaggerated if you keep the upper body steady (don't bounce around or sway the upper body about - it looks nerdy). There shouldn't be any perceivable rise and fall in the body. If there is, you are raising on the ball of the foot, instead of rolling the foot and lowering the heel - probably means you are not changing weight fully onto the leg. If you are swaying the upper body, it will throw both your timing and leads out (or in the case of the girl the acceptance of a lead), not to mention, probably annoy your partner. Girls seem to think they look sexy if they sway about but it looks really bad and is a mega turnoff for the guy. So don't do it!
Leading and Following
Its helpful to think of the Latin Dances as being sexual pantomimes. Even though the man leads the whole dance, the idea is that the man is trying to seduce the lady, he is pushing forward and she is pushing him away. So maintain a slight forward pressure with your body. If you are in hand to hand position the man keeps his hands/arms at the lady's hip height. If you are in closed dance position - the man's right hand should be just below the shoulder blade (thumb on the back bra strap), and his left hand gently takes hers in his - the lady must never place her right hand above the man's shoulder, if he is short she places her thumb on the intersection of the muscles just below the shoulder (he should have a little slot where it fits naturally), if he is tall then the lady positions her hand lower down the arm. Her aim is to have her elbow slightly above his. That way he can lead her. A simple rule for the man: if the girl is much shorter than you, stand further away from her. If she is much taller than you, stand closer. The cardinal rule is hold each other comfortably. Under no circumstances should you stretch to reach your partner.
Arms and Elbows
Try not to thrash your arms and elbows about. You'll look silly and probably cause an accident on the dance floor. The man should use his arms to tell the girl when to go back or come forward or whatever. Both need to keep some tension (pressure) in the arms, so the man can lead. A common problem is girls complain that guys can't lead. These girls should consider that maybe they aren't allowing the guy to lead. Typically, they, are the ones that sway their body about too much, flap their arms, bounce around, fake their hip movements and do not sustain hand/arm pressure when dancing. A guy can't lead dead fish, seagulls or bowls of jelly. Guys, even if you are a beginner, you can dance effectively, if you stand erect and keep a firm forward pressure on your partner.
Stand Erect
Although its useful to imagine the Latin dances as sexual pantomimes, that doesn't mean the man should be sexually aggressive. The dances should be performed with a hint of sexuality but remember, children maybe watching. Guys keep your upper body erect (that means from the waist up) and be gently aggressive. Girls and Guys, stand up straight, look at your partner. Enjoy yourselves!

DANCING FEELING
If you are new to dance, especially the Latin Street Dances, you need to adhere to one important rule - have fun! While knowing and understanding the technicalities of dance is useful, developing an instinct for the dance is more important. Some people call it feel. It is from this feel that you will find the correct timing for the music you are dancing to.

There are two parts to timing. The first is the static metronome beat that flows through an entire track and dictates when to move your feet. The other is the tempo of the music itself. It's the tempo, that times the length of a dance step, the duration of a pause or how fast you should make a turn/spin and it's the tempo that tells you what move to do and when. Understanding what to do with the tempo will make you a good dancer.
Becoming a good dancer is admirable achievement but why not aim higher. Do you want to become a great dancer? Then learn Rumba, Mambo, Salsa, Samba and Cha Cha. A lot of Salsa music starts with a "Son" or "Bolero" melody (Rumba), before breaking into an up tempo beat (Salsa), then the music might alternate between slower beats (Mambo) and faster beats (Salsa) or as the latest Marc Anthony single does, mix everything and break into Cha Cha Cha. At a primitive level all these dances use similar footwork, leads etc, so it isn't really that hard. Dance teachers like to teach them at different levels and differentiate them just because they are so alike. Besides, there are technical differences between these dances and to teach them all together, would probably just confuse the average student.

To make life easy for the dance student (and themselves), teachers have to formalise the dance, and teach strict timings, patterns and groups of patterns (choreography). However, while a dance teacher can show you steps and patterns, they can't teach you to dance! What they can do, is give you the confidence, to get the dancer that is a natural part of you, out onto the dance floor. The rest is up to you! To become a really good dancer you need to feel the music and vary the steps and patterns you have learnt to suit the music. So get a hold of some CDs, turn the lights off, lie on the floor, listen to the music and dream that you are the greatest dancer that ever lived. You just might be!

The reason the Latin Dances are formally referred to as street dances is because they are "made up" dances, they are not meant to have any real formality. If you read the section on the background to Mambo, Cha Cha & Salsa or even Samba and Merengue, you might have noted that these dances originated from dancers having to improvise steps and method to match the music. Sixty or so years ago, one of the dances they started with was the Rumba, speeded up it became the Mambo and faster still it became the Salsa. But the basic timing didn't change, that's why all these dances can be counted quick, quick slow. This count is the metronome beat. The component of the music that truely differentiates these dances is their tempo. The poetry of Rumba, the staccato of Mambo and the abandon of Salsa is how I describe the feel of the Rumba based dances. The ecstacy of Samba and the seductiveness of Merengue is how I describe my other favourite dances.

We do teach Argentine Tango and we were trained by a Professor in Buenos Aires. We only do private classes for Salsa and A Tango. Prices can be found on our newsletter

We have a monthly newsletter with all the rates on our website under "Newsletters" and our schedule is on our calender.

R400pp per month for Group classes.

Mondays and Wednesdays from 19:00-20:00pm

We would suggest to you to take one of our wedding packages which includes Choreography to your wedding song. Our Wedding Packages are: 5x60 min Private lessons will be R1350 10x60 min Private lessons will be R1950 If you are not interested in a specific choreographed dance then we have single lessons which are R400 a lesson for a couple. If you would like to come and see our studio and meet our instructors, you are welcome to come for a free group lesson either on a Monday or a Wednesday from 19:00-20:00. If you need any further assistance you can give us a call on 072 226 8584 Or you can email us at - admin.pneuma@absamail.com Kind Regards, Pneuma Dance Studio