Guide for Wedding Dance Lessons, San Diego
The wedding dance lessons can be the start to a great partnership, where couples learn how to work together and overcome obstacles, to practice tolerance, kindness, patience and learn to cherish the success of one's partner, as well as, one's own success. The way couples learn together on wedding dance lessons is a good prediction in accomplishing goals together in the future. The wedding first dance is an essential part of a successful wedding and a wonderful start to a successful marriage.
Read more about the Wedding Day Dance here!
Questions About Wedding Dance Lessons!
1. How far in advance to start the wedding dance lessons (San Diego)?
(A choreographed routine to "Thinking Outloud" by Ed Sheeran)
The wedding day first dance is a special part of the wedding reception. It is a good idea to start thinking what you want to do for it about 6 months in advance, however, many couples are very busy during this time and wait until a few weeks before the wedding day. If you want a simple, just dancing with no routine and no choreography then it is okay to wait until weeks before, but if you are thinking of doing a routine, especially a choreographed routine then we recommend starting months before your special day! First, pick a few songs that you love; samples of Wedding First Dance Songs.
2. What is a the difference between a routine without choreography and a routine with choreography?
(Mash-up Choreographed Routine Wedding Dance)
A routine is series of movements sometimes called patterns or pattern sequences that are performed sequentially, e.g.step pattern a then b, c, d, etc. The couple dances the sequence to their song. In a choreographed routine, the pattern sequence is designed to be danced to a particular piece of music; the bride and groom's song.
Different design styles for the Wedding dance routine.
- Basic: a slow dance, easy to learn, low stress
- Lyrical:dance fits the words, for meaningful words in song
- Partial Routine: some routine sequences, some choreography
- Full Routine (unchoreographed): a complete routine sequence
- Full Routine (choreographed): a complete routine choreographed
3. Does it matter if we are newcomers to dance?
Newcomers to dance require more dance lessons to feel comfortable dancing their wedding dance routine. There is an extra step of learning some basic dance fundamentals like lead/follow technique, timing and the elements of the particular dance genre you choose. For example, if you don't currently know the basics for the waltz, then you need to spend a few lessons learning some basics before starting a routine in the waltz.
4. How many dance lessons total should we take to prepare for our wedding?
Generally, couples take between 5 to 20 wedding dance lessons depending on if they want to simply get through the dance, for instance, just do a little slow dancing or if they want a fully choreographed routine. On rare occasions, couples want to do a complicated mash-up and they are newcomers to dance, in which case, they may need to start 6 months ahead of time and may require 2 lessons a week. However, this is not the norm.
5. How many dance lessons should we take weekly to prepare for our wedding day dance?
Generally, wedding couples should take a minimum of one lesson weekly and two lessons weekly is better, especially in the beginning to learn the patterns and techniques for a routine. Once the routine is learned there is a period of practice and polish when a couple may go down to one lesson a week.
6. How many dance lessons for the father-daughter dance and/or the mother-son dance?
Here is a video of an incredible mother-son wedding day dance routine that would take most people 25-40 dance lessons, staring 6 months in advance and two lessons weekly to master, unless the mother and son were already experienced dancers.
Normally, these are not very elaborate routines since these should not outshine the bride and groom's wedding day first dance. On occasion, the father-daughter or mother-son choose to do a choreographed routine to a favorite song, in which case, the same things hold true as for the bride and groom dance routine. Often, the parent-child wedding dance is a simple slow dance, with a few turns including an entrance and exit. Consider sharing a package of wedding dance lessons for the various dances that will be done at the wedding like:
- Wedding day first dance
- Father-daughter dance
- Mother-son dance at wedding reception
- Wedding party group dance
- Dancing at wedding receptions
This Father-daughter wedding day dance routine is very impressive, this is a lot of hard work for many months to master!
7. Does the wedding couple have to take all the dance lessons together?
We recommend they do most of the wedding lessons together but occasionally the bride or groom may want a few extra lessons on a particular movement they find challenging, for instance, they may want to do some extra work on the leading or following. Individual lessons might include some extra time spent on learning to turn, spin, lead/follow or spotting, which is a way to diminish getting dizzy while doing turns.
8. Does the size of the dance floor matter?
The wedding reception hall size, particularly the part that is used for the wedding dances, is relevant as it determines the type of dance genre that is possible for the wedding dances. For example, waltz and foxtrot are designed for larger rooms, whereas, rumba, nightclub two step and swing are designed for smaller rooms. Here are some approximate dimensions to consider when choosing a wedding reception dance space.
- Small space, e.g. 20x20
- Medium space, e.g. 30x40
- Large space, 40x40 or more
9. Do we need a dance background or musical training to learn the wedding first dance?
No, these things make it possible to take fewer dance lessons since people with dance background will master a routine faster and hear the beats of the music without having to learn this on the lessons. The majority of couples that take wedding dance lessons are not dancers or musicians and are still able to learn to dance everything from a simple slow dance to a complex mash-up routine with no problem.
10. How do we hear the beats to the wedding first dance song?
Listening for and hearing the beats is something that is covered in wedding dance lessons so the bride and groom will be able to dance on time to the beats of the music. It is a good idea to choose a song that has a strong beat that is easy to distinguish if one is a stranger to listening to the beats in music.
11. What type of shoes should I wear...
