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Dancing Shoes?


57eric
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Well I certainly do and so do many other 'serious ballroom & Latin dancers'.  It is usually  the ladies who will wear their dance shoes throughout the evening, pre dinner cocktails & dinner ( they can get away with it , as most ladies dance shoes are very elegant)  However, as a guy I don't wear mine , only because I personally feel they don't look all that good with my  evening outfits 😉   (suits/formal wear etc )  Ok on the dance floor, but I wouldn't dream of wearing them  throughout the ship. 

I'll often nip back to my cabin ( as do some other folk, and change) or ,one often sees other dancers carrying their shoes in a dance bag. 

 

Here is a Tip !

If you have been dancing  sequence (or strict tempo taped music)  earlier on in the evening, eg before dinner, you can leave your dance shoes up near the stage area of the ballroom ( on the vista class ships under the lectern from where the social host/ess usually stands by the microphone ) 

 

57 Eric I might just add here, as a dancer you couldn't be on the best cruise lines afloat for serious ballroom dancing.   No other cruise line offers ballroom dance floors and big live bands like Cunard do .The Queen Mary 2 boasts to have the biggest dance floor at sea.   ( Holland & America Koningsdam  may try to lay claim to this , however, take it from me, the Ballroom dancing on HAL is not a patch on Cunard line.   

 

 

 

 

Edited by Bell Boy
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Just off QE. We both wore ours all evening every evening. My husband (shoes dance shoes are plain Matt black leather) says his dance shoes are the most comfortable shoes he has and he loves being able to wear them for the whole evening.

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I bring and wear my dance shoes - highly polished for wear with a Tuxedo, as my normal evening footwear. 

I don't need to worry about picking up grit in the soles onboard ship - not like wearing them to dance at a folk / dance festival. [e.g. Dance Flurry in Saratoga Springs]

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9 hours ago, TheOldBear said:

I bring and wear my dance shoes - highly polished for wear with a Tuxedo, as my normal evening footwear. 

I don't need to worry about picking up grit in the soles onboard ship - not like wearing them to dance at a folk / dance festival. [e.g. Dance Flurry in Saratoga Springs]

Glad to hear that. I was worried about picking up dirt, but then I wasn't sure what to do with my street shoes once I got to the ballroom. Now I just need to decide how many to bring and which ones.

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It's a personal choice - though because on board the hard floors are generally clean and many areas are carpeted you don't generally damage dance shoes if you walk between your room, the dining rooms or the Queen's Room. My wife does wear dance shoes that match her evening outfits on board quite regularly, but I generally choose to change into dance shoes once in the ballroom.  You do have to be a bit careful walking into the toilets though as there are often wet spots around the facilities including the hand driers that blow drops of water around when drying hands. The suede soles work best when dry!

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It's water and grit that I am concerned about. I think someone needs to invent a dance shoe sole protector or something like that. I don't mind carrying my shoes, but I'm not sure about the proper etiquette for changing shoes in a ball room. Or is there some sort of cloak room facility for that.

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The floors on the ship will be clean enough that no damage will come to your shoes. I keep a pair of satin ballroom dance shoes for such occasions i.e. when I will be wearing the shoes to dinner but also for dancing  - as you would know, your satin dancing shoes become scruffy very quickly when you're dancing properly. Not wanting to wear scruffy shoes on the ship, I keep a pair aside for ships and other similar events. Latin shoes seem to show the wear less and leather shoes are different again but have no fear for your soles. In my experience, the dancing on the ship won't be very taxing on your shoes, if you know what I mean. I didn't manage to find any sequence dancing either, which was a disappointment - I don't know if there's some rule of thumb as to types of voyages on which that occurs.

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We both wore ours to dinner every evening, useful to have them on to have a quick dance as we passed the ballroom in between shows etc! We were on Queen Elizabeth and particularly enjoyed the sequence dancing each evening as we don't usually do this at home, and also the afternoon tea dances. We are not good dancers by any means but loved the big ballroom and dancing to a live band every night.

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LittleFish1976; Sequence dancing takes place at 7.45 pm three or four evening (per seven day voyage) across the fleet. Occasionally there will also be couple of sequence dance spots during the Band break  10/11pm ish. 

Speak with the social Host/ess  during your next cruise and make a request if you don't see it advertised in the daily program.  

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12 hours ago, kmerlin14 said:

It's water and grit that I am concerned about. I think someone needs to invent a dance shoe sole protector or something like that. I don't mind carrying my shoes, but I'm not sure about the proper etiquette for changing shoes in a ball room. Or is there some sort of cloak room facility for that.

No etiquette needed ( or facility ) when it comes to changing into dance shoes, dozens of other guests do this each evening ( no different to going out to a tea dance at home)  Just store other shoes beside or under you seat . 😉

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7 hours ago, Bell Boy said:

 

Obviously you are not a serious  Ballroom Dancer. 

I wrote, " Wear yours to dinner if you wish.  Frankly, no one cares."  I was referring to the people at your table and the wait staff.  What shoes one wears on either casual of formal nights don't receive noticed.   

Bell Boy, I don't know how you could possibly infer from two sentences that I am not a "serious ballroom dancer."  Such a statement is quite an assumption.  Here are a few facts to inform:
1.  I began studying ballroom dance at age 14. 

2.  I first competed as an amateur at age 16 with multiple trophies won with my partner, Natalia Alexandra Ivanovna.  

3. I began teaching ballroom dance at age 18 and continued throughout my university years.

4. I began competing as a professional at age 22 and retired a decade later after military-related injury in 1981. 

5. I was a qualified adjudicator for nearly two decades, though long-since retired, and retain a great many friends in the professional ballroom dance community both in the USA and in the UK. 


Thus, the question of "serious" is rather laughable to me. 

More to the point of the topic, though, some people leave dinner quickly to change shoes in their room and not miss the first dance, but on the QM2 you are only about 100 feet away from the Queens Room when dining in Britannia.  Thus, it makes little sense to go back to your room simply to change shoes.  You can change shoes in the Queens Room, but that is also where the stretching and yoga classes are held daily.  I have never seen the crew clean either the carpet or the dance floor in the Queens Room, so unless you are really careful and don't touch the floor as you change your shoes, you are inviting lots of germs, something I prefer to avoid by wearing my dance shoes to dinner.     

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Outer decks can also be wet but you can bypass those. No grit unless it's been tracked in from a port stop. There are many, many souces of germs, including hand rails and elevator call buttons.

My dance shoes work just fine as dress shoes, nobody cares. Your cabin is not really far away. It's the ladies with the groups, "doesn't match my dress" or "they look so nice but they hurt my feet" who change not just their shoes but also from dinner dress to a dance dress.

Note that BellBoy doesn't provide any facts (definition of a dance floor, as-built dimensions, hours of actual dance music played) to support his claims.

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6 hours ago, Dancer Bob said:

 

 

19 hours ago, ddgarner1 said:

I wrote, " Wear yours to dinner if you wish.  Frankly, no one cares."  I was referring to the people at your table and the wait staff.  What shoes one wears on either casual of formal nights don't receive noticed.   

Bell Boy, I don't know how you could possibly infer from two sentences that I am not a "serious ballroom dancer."  Such a statement is quite an assumption.  Here are a few facts to inform:
1.  I began studying ballroom dance at age 14. 

2.  I first competed as an amateur at age 16 with multiple trophies won with my partner, Natalia Alexandra Ivanovna.  

3. I began teaching ballroom dance at age 18 and continued throughout my university years.

4. I began competing as a professional at age 22 and retired a decade later after military-related injury in 1981. 

5. I was a qualified adjudicator for nearly two decades, though long-since retired, and retain a great many friends in the professional ballroom dance community both in the USA and in the UK. 


Thus, the question of "serious" is rather laughable to me. 

More to the point of the topic, though, some people leave dinner quickly to change shoes in their room and not miss the first dance, but on the QM2 you are only about 100 feet away from the Queens Room when dining in Britannia.  Thus, it makes little sense to go back to your room simply to change shoes.  You can change shoes in the Queens Room, but that is also where the stretching and yoga classes are held daily.  I have never seen the crew clean either the carpet or the dance floor in the Queens Room, so unless you are really careful and don't touch the floor as you change your shoes, you are inviting lots of germs, something I prefer to avoid by wearing my dance shoes to dinner.     

Thanks ddgarner1  for your Re`sume`,   🕺 almost as good as mine. 😉

Edited by Bell Boy
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On 11/18/2018 at 12:29 AM, Bell Boy said:

LittleFish1976; Sequence dancing takes place at 7.45 pm three or four evening (per seven day voyage) across the fleet. Occasionally there will also be couple of sequence dance spots during the Band break  10/11pm ish. 

Speak with the social Host/ess  during your next cruise and make a request if you don't see it advertised in the daily program.  

Thanks, Bell Boy, shall ask next time if I don't see it advertised. There was definitely none advertised on my trip earlier this year - I was looking especially for any and all dancing-related activities! Which sequence dances are the most commonly danced on the ships, if I may ask?

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7 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

Thanks, Bell Boy, shall ask next time if I don't see it advertised. There was definitely none advertised on my trip earlier this year - I was looking especially for any and all dancing-related activities! Which sequence dances are the most commonly danced on the ships, if I may ask?

On QE last week there was sequence dancing nearly every day, including 3 teaching sessions. There were loads of dancers taking part in all sessions. It was good fun.

All of the most common dances came up - Mayfair quickstep, Sunday swing, Sally Ann Cha cha, rimba one, melody foxtrot, square tango, white city waltz, etc. Also some more unusual dances were requested. If enough dancers knew the dance then it was danced.

Some of the dedicated sequence sessions were advertised, some were put in during the band's breaks as mentioned before.

During some of the band's breaks we had a second singer singing to a pre recorded backing (which sounded like it was recorded by the queens room band). It was really good and kept people on the dance floor far more than usual. The floor was full right through to midnight every night. It was lovely to see.

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On 11/15/2018 at 1:29 PM, 57eric said:

Do people bring dancing shoes on voyages?  If so, do they wear them to dinner or change afterward?  We're new at this.

 

Thanks.

 

Certainly do.

 

In the good old days (:classic_ohmy:) when there was pre-dinner Queens Room dancing to the orchestra mine and my wife's dancing footwear never left our feet from the time we left our stateroom till we returned in the early hours.

 

And of course, they are most comfortable as well.

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4 hours ago, Camgirl said:

On QE last week there was sequence dancing nearly every day, including 3 teaching sessions. There were loads of dancers taking part in all sessions. It was good fun.

All of the most common dances came up - Mayfair quickstep, Sunday swing, Sally Ann Cha cha, rimba one, melody foxtrot, square tango, white city waltz, etc. Also some more unusual dances were requested. If enough dancers knew the dance then it was danced.

Some of the dedicated sequence sessions were advertised, some were put in during the band's breaks as mentioned before.

During some of the band's breaks we had a second singer singing to a pre recorded backing (which sounded like it was recorded by the queens room band). It was really good and kept people on the dance floor far more than usual. The floor was full right through to midnight every night. It was lovely to see.

Excuse the slight topic diversion, but 'sequence dancing' is new to me. Google provided some enlightenment.  As a solo traveler, do the dance hosts attend these to partner, or shall I assume I will be watching only?

Thanks.

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The majority of the dancing on the Queens remains International Ballroom and Latin, with an occasional Argentine Tango or Salsa. There are specific slots early evening and sometimes later in the evening when a few sequence dances are played - the most common are Square Tango, Rumba One, Mayfair Quickstep, Sally Ann Cha Cha Cha, Cindy Swing, Balmoral Blues, Saunter Together, and occasionally the Argentine Stroll if there are a few couples who can do that one - though it is a little more complex than some of the standard ones. Occasionally a couple will ask for one or other of the modern sequence dances - of which there are several thousand (!) but when that happens it is usually only one or two couples who can do those as they bring in several per month of new ones and most people don't keep up with the new varieties on a month by month basis! The majority of tea dances across the UK now are half ballroom/Latin and half sequence dancing, but there remain a number of afternoon and evening dances where traditional pure ballroom and Latin dances only are played.  There is a sense that traditional ballroom and Latin dancers will resist doing sequence dancing, and sequence dancers are sometimes sticklers for asking for numerous sequence dances to be played as they regularly seem not to want to dance the standard International 10 dances.  However although in recent years there has been a bit of time devoted to sequence dancing the majority of dancers on the ship are very happy to spend most of their time doing the 5 ballroom and 5 Latin dances - sequence dancing is a uniquely British phenomenon, and non-Brits find them bemusing though they will sometimes try their hand at it for a bit of a change and novelty value.

 

Hope that helps.

Edited by mcloaked
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26 minutes ago, mcloaked said:

The majority of the dancing on the Queens remains International Ballroom and Latin, with an occasional Argentine Tango or Salsa. There are specific slots early evening and sometimes later in the evening when a few sequence dances are played - the most common are Square Tango, Rumba One, Mayfair Quickstep, Sally Ann Cha Cha Cha, Cindy Swing, Balmoral Blues, Saunter Together, and occasionally the Argentine Stroll if there are a few couples who can do that one - though it is a little more complex than some of the standard ones. Occasionally a couple will ask for one or other of the modern sequence dances - of which there are several thousand (!) but when that happens it is usually only one or two couples who can do those as they bring in several per month of new ones and most people don't keep up with the new varieties on a month by month basis! The majority of tea dances across the UK now are half ballroom/Latin and half sequence dancing, but there remain a number of afternoon and evening dances where traditional pure ballroom and Latin dances only are played.  There is a sense that traditional ballroom and Latin dancers will resist doing sequence dancing, and sequence dancers are sometimes sticklers for asking for numerous sequence dances to be played as they regularly seem not to want to dance the standard International 10 dances.  However although in recent years there has been a bit of time devoted to sequence dancing the majority of dancers on the ship are very happy to spend most of their time doing the 5 ballroom and 5 Latin dances - sequence dancing is a uniquely British phenomenon, and non-Brits find them bemusing though they will sometimes try their hand at it for a bit of a change and novelty value.

 

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the details. It helps to know what is happening in other parts of the world. As you state 'couples' I am assuming the answer to my question of whether a solo traveler can participate is 'no'. I look forward to watching. 

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mef_57 I should have added about solo travellers.  The dance hosts on the Cunard ships come to all the dance sessions including the sequence dance sessions, and that is both the social dance slots as well as any teaching slots run by the entertainment team who will usually teach one or other of the popular set of sequence dances.  The dance hosts also come to the advertised dance classes, and will dance with any solo traveller who needs a partner.  In the past year or two there seems to have been a change from all male dance hosts, to one couple with a man and lady, and the others single men.  So the lady dance host will be happy to dance with any single men, or with any ladies, who want to dance with her. So there should be a pretty good availability of dance hosts to dance with you at either the teaching sessions or the social sessions, both for normal ballroom/Latin and the sequence sessions.

 

Of course single men may ask single ladies to dance as well if they are inclined to do so, though not all single  men are brave enough to do that. 

 

So hopefully you won't need to come to the sessions and just watch!

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2 minutes ago, mcloaked said:

mef_57 I should have added about solo travellers.  The dance hosts on the Cunard ships come to all the dance sessions including the sequence dance sessions, and that is both the social dance slots as well as any teaching slots run by the entertainment team who will usually teach one or other of the popular set of sequence dances.  The dance hosts also come to the advertised dance classes, and will dance with any solo traveller who needs a partner.  In the past year or two there seems to have been a change from all male dance hosts, to one couple with a man and lady, and the others single men.  So the lady dance host will be happy to dance with any single men, or with any ladies, who want to dance with her. So there should be a pretty good availability of dance hosts to dance with you at either the teaching sessions or the social sessions, both for normal ballroom/Latin and the sequence sessions.

 

Of course single men may ask single ladies to dance as well if they are inclined to do so, though not all single  men are brave enough to do that. 

 

So hopefully you won't need to come to the sessions and just watch!

Thanks for coming back and expanding on this.  I appreciate it. I will admit that due to past injuries, I am rusty, but I hope I don't fall into this recent description: ' Partners now are likely to be inactive, out-of-condition old women who want someone to hold them up while they waddle around, panting in your face. ' (which I find rather insulting - and works both ways - not all men have a strong lead).  If I can't hold my own, I won't dance, but if I can hold my own, I am not afraid to ask a man to dance....or dance with a woman for that matter. A chance to dance shouldn't be passed up.

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