So What’s “Mastering Social Dancing for Men” about? .. and why should I care?

Good question! 

Ok guys -- quick.  What’s the fastest way to get a beautiful woman into your arms? -- (You don’t even need to know her name.) 

Give up?

Ask her to dance!

And what do you need, once you get that beautiful woman this close?  

You need to know how to dance!  Because once you get her there, you want her to enjoy herself and want to stay, right?

That should be enough to send you running to class, but if you want more, read on.

This class is only for guys -- no women allowed.  (Well, except for me.  I’ve tried to get my husband to do this by himself, but....)  Anyway, I won’t tell. (Instead, you’ll look so good that other guys will be asking you where you learned it!)

Dancing with a partner, (social dancing), while not terribly difficult once you “get it”, can take a bit of figuring out and practice in the beginning.  Especially for the Lead -- your traditional role.  You need to coordinate several things all at once -- hopefully smoothly.  

About eight things, actually -- give-or-take.  (Remember, her phone number is only seven digits long for a reason -- that's all your brain can remember at one time.)  

So you know this can be a challenge.  In fact it can be downright daunting to step into a class full of people and take your first steps toward learning to dance.  Nobody likes to feel like they look foolish in front of others, and honestly, I think this is why a lot of men say they can’t dance, and don’t want to try. 

But wait!  Some of those eight new things don’t require a partner to learn!   Wouldn’t it be easier -- and feel better -- if you already had some of that new stuff figured out, practiced, coordinated and sm-o-o-o-o-thed out -- before you even stepped into a traditional dance class?

W-e-l-l-l that’s what this class is for.  This is a place for you to feel the music -- get it into your body and out your feet -- find the rhythm and beat, practice the timing -- unlock muscles and joints you didn’t know you had -- figure out balance and weight change, spins and turns (yours! as well as hers) -- and generally move it! -- before you ever step into one of those cool classes you see advertised in blues or swing or latin or whatever -- where those women are waiting.  (True -- women often outnumber men in those classes.)

This is a safe place to put a bunch of it together really well -- before you are faced with that “confusitron” called a “partner". You'll be welcomed and encouraged by others, both new to dance and experienced dancers, who understand that we all started at the beginning.

New Stuff for Experienced Dancers 

“Ya -- ya -- You’ve covered the beginners.  Now, what about us guys who’ve been dancing for years?  What makes you think we need this class?” -- you ask.

Well,  I could tell you a lot of things -- but I'm only going to tell you two: 

You’ll get out of your rut and un-bore yourself.

Here you can work out the kinks in new moves and styling.

So get into this class and come polish your dance moves.  This is a safe, supportive place to find encouragement to try new stuff.

Start any time. This is an on-going class, held on Sundays at Dance Underground on Capitol Hill in Seattle.  Click here for more details about this men's class and join us this week.

Linda Townsend is (un)official “dance-mother” to dancers new and old, famous and not-so, and is a dance instructor and owner of Dance! Eclectic.  She teaches Waltz, Swing, Blues and other social dances.  She also gives private lessons and teaches a Dance Movement series where students learn to go beyond the steps in social dance. She has a unique talent for connecting with people of all ages, and her passion for dance is infectious.  She's been teaching people from 9 to 90 to dance for over 10 years.    Click here to find her profile and more about her classes.