What are Partner Dances?
Partner dances are dances whose basic choreography involves coordinated dancing of two partners, as opposed to individuals dancing alone or individually in a non-coordinated manner. Dance partners stay together for the duration of the dance and, most often, dance independently of other couples dancing at the same time, if any. This term is usually applied to various forms of social dance, ballroom dance, folk dance, and similar forms.
In many partner dances, one, typically a man, is the leader; the other, typically a woman, is the follower. As a rule, they maintain connection with each other. In some dances the connection is loose and is called the open hold. In other dances the connection involves body contact and imposes significant restrictions on relative body positions during the dance and is often called the dance frame. It is also said that each partner has his own dance frame.
I don't have a partner. Can I still take partner dance class?
You don't need a partner. None. Zilch. For any of our classes. Period. We rotate partners around frequently in our partner dance classes. In fact, we totally encourage changing partners since you're learning to dance a social dance!
I have a partner. Must I still rotate?
Partner dances are also known as social dances, and that's just what it is! In order to get better at it, you have to dance with different people. And what better way than to rotate in class! If you're coming with your significant other, we strongly recommend changing partners during the learning process to take the pressure off. We certainly don't want to get in the middle of a heated "discussion".