Dancing

[misty57]

I've finally talked my husband into taking dance classes before our next cruise( 3/11):D . My dilemma is... should we take swing dance lessons or 2 step ( slower dance) lessons. Which type will be "get the most out of" on the ship? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[catmand]

Why not do both? but if you have to choose one I suggest slow. I bet it is easier to speed up the "slow" a little than to "slow" down the swing.

Seriously, if you two want to dance more wouldn't it be nice if you were comfortable with something romantic.

[critterchick]

I like swing music better than country music (isn't that what you do 2-step to?), so I'd take the swing classes. If I were going to take a true "slow" dance class I'd take foxtrot, which is very versatile and can be sped up or slowed down depending on the tempo of the music.

 

Have fun!

[misty57]

Thanks for the advise! I think you're right that it would be easy to speed up the slower dance. We start class the first of Feb. and finish 2 days before we leave for our next cruise! I can't wait!!!!

[KAWS]

I've finally talked my husband into taking dance classes before our next cruise( 3/11):D . My dilemma is... should we take swing dance lessons or 2 step ( slower dance) lessons. Which type will be "get the most out of" on the ship? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

We did the same and we've learned the foxtrot (great slow dance that will definitely be used on the cruise ship) and the swing. The rhumba is also a good one because some of the dance moves for that are used in other dances. Lots of dance places will teach you more than one dance at a time. That way you can be prepared!

 

BTW which cruise are you on? We're on the Miracle on March 11th? Are you by chance on the same ship?

 

Kim

[KAWS]

I've finally talked my husband into taking dance classes before our next cruise( 3/11):D . My dilemma is... should we take swing dance lessons or 2 step ( slower dance) lessons. Which type will be "get the most out of" on the ship? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

We did the same and we've learned the foxtrot (great slow dance that will definitely be used on the cruise ship) and the swing. The rhumba is also a good one because some of the dance moves for that are used in other dances. Lots of dance places will teach you more than one dance at a time. That way you can be prepared!

 

BTW which cruise are you on? We're on the Miracle on March 11th? Are you by chance on the same ship?

 

Kim

[hajekfam]

Based on our experience, we find that most music that they play is either fox trot (think Ginger & Fred), rumba, or swing. We found very little country music that you can do a two step to (unless there is country western or tex mex night).

[Ben James Ben]

Disclaimer: I'm more of a dancer than a cruiser.

 

By "Two Step" I assume you mean the slower Nightclub Two Step, as opposed to the faster, Country Two Step which is danced to Country music. By "Swing" I assume that you mean East Coast Swing (or Jitterbug), as opposed to Lindy Hop or West Coast Swing. If these assumptions are incorrect, please let me know!

 

You'll probably want to find out what type of music is most often played on the ship. Someone else mentioned Foxtrot, Rumba, and Swing, which would also be my assumption as the most common "dinner and dancing" type of dance music. People often dance triple-step East Coast Swing to Foxtrot music (think "Beyond the Sea" by Bobby Darin), so East Coast Swing might be the more appropriate dance, of the two you mentioned.

 

However, if you were instead thinking of dancing at the ship nightclub or disco to more contemporary dance music (Disco, R&B, or Hip Hop), then other styles of dance might be more appropriate. (Perhaps you did actually mean West Coast Swing when you said "Swing"?)

 

Nightclub Two Step is appropriate for slow songs, like ballads (think "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler). I don't think that there's any real way to speed up Nightclub Two Step.

[wraithe]

My $.02, you'll want to know some smooth, Latin and swing. Fox trot maybe, but most of the dance floors that I've seen aren't big enough for much of a traveling dance, especially if there's anyone else on the floor. Rumba is great, and you can do a bunch, cha-cha is one of the main things my wife and I did on our last cruise, salsa if you're going on a ship like Mariner of the Seas where you can go to Bolero's, they had a fabulous Latin band while we were on her last year. Swing works for a lot of more modern music, specifically as Ben James Ben said, East Coast (Jitterbug) or triple step swing. We did a few hustles as well, but got more applause for a waltz than anything else. Waltzing on the marble landings of the Grandeurs Centrum staircase felt like we ought to be in a movie. If you're going to take lessons, try to get a basic overview of several, you'd be amazed at how great you'll look with only a little bit of training, since the average person knows nothing, I was surprised at how many people asked if we were professionals, just because we had 10 months of training, and could do a pretty decent cha-cha. Have fun!

[Seabee]

No question about it...learn the East Coast Swing and the Rhumba. They will be the two most used on a ship. cha cha would be next.

[wraithe]

No question about it...learn the East Coast Swing and the Rhumba. They will be the two most used on a ship. cha cha would be next.

 

Sorry to everyone else, OT!

 

Hey Seabee!

 

1) Whereabouts are you in AL? I have family in Gadsden and Birmingham.

 

2) When were you in the Navy? I retired in 2004 as a nuke ETC(SS). Miss it sometimes, wish I was back.

 

Nice to make your acquaintance.

[RoofingPrincess]

My roommate on my last cruise (Explorer of the Seas, June 06) was my favorite ballroom dance partner.

There was one lounge with great ballroom music but the dance floor was the size of a postage stamp - so any "travelling" dance was out of the question (we were really disappointed 'cuz I'd just learned quickstep). So if you learn waltz or foxtrot you may be stuck doing just the simple box-in-place for the most part.

We ended up using cha-cha, rhumba, and swing (some people call it East Coast) most of the time. Rhumba can be VERY romantic. You can even do these to the more contemporary music once you learn how to pick out the appropriate rhythm. For some songs, we'll listen to them, look at each other and ask "slow cha-cha or fast rhumba?" or "cha-cha or swing?"

Plus if you're on a Caribbean cruise, there will probably be a Latin flavor to a lot of the music.

[misty57]

Thanks to everyone for the advise. I personally like swing dancing, but I think my husband will be more comfortable with the nightclub two step, so I will sign up this week! Our cruise is on Freedom of the Seas 3/11. Hopefully DH will like dancing so much that we will dance instead of eat for 7 days!:D