I’m so glad I found this! It’s time to get cracking on our wedding dance, but instead of memorizing maybe we’ll just spend a lot of time having fun and learning to dance together ❤ thanks so much for your knowledge!
Bravo! You're learned the secret to all of this wedding dancing!!! The more connected and fun you're having on the dance floor together, the better the dance will be for yourselves and your wedding guests. Simple and fun is 100% better than complicated and stressful.
I was at the wedding of my friends whom you taught a few years ago, and they looked so calm and natural! I really saw their connection and expression, rather than two beginner dancers.
That's so great to hear Amy! 😊 That's exactly what we are striving for... to have an easy, natural and connected time together, instead feeling stressed and awkward! 👍
HAHA!!! 😄 Glad to hear that we were able to relieve your stress. That's what we are here for! 👍 If you need more direction on dancing without choreography, feel free to book a call with us and find out how we can help you dance without stress! Enjoy your last month of engagement!
I really like that you guys are super realistic about it! My partner and I have been looking into options because we aren’t experienced dancers but don’t want to shuffle. Thank you!
Indeed, through our many years of dancing and teaching experience, we have learnt what's realistic and what's not! Instead of learning complex CHOREOGRAPHY (which is often what people think dancing is all about), we always suggest learning DANCE SKILLS. Learn how to dance a handful of steps together naturally and comfortably and you're set for your First dance, as well as for life! Because once you've learnt the skills, you can use them anytime and anyplace! ❤️
The last point is my favourite! The idea of connecting with our partner instead of being stressed about the choreo! I probably could handle like five figures...🤣
Hi Grace, love your priorities! It's unfortunate that some couples get so caught up in the "dance" and become consumed with "choreo", that they forget that the dance should be about being together on the dance floor. Your estimate of five figures falls right at the point where most couples feel most comfortable. Once your confident with those five, you can put them in all sorts of different combinations to make the dance more interesting, while keeping it easy to dance!
I soooo love this tip BIG TIME. I'm helping out my brother for his wedding and I'm in charge of giving them simple choreo. We felt your love to share your talent and skills. Cheers!
Hi Cath, so glad to hear that our tips are helping you and your brother out. Starting out with a smarter strategy goes a long way in making the experience fun for everyone, including the teacher! If you and your brother are in need of more strategy tips, check out our masterclass. We go over strategy and skills, as well as share a bunch of our student success stories. Let us know if you have any other questions in or after the masterclass! www.naturaldancemethod.com/weddingdancemasterclass
These are totally valid points, especially when the choreography is just moves and there is no connection to the music! As a wedding choreographer myself, my choreographed routines are detailed and catered to the music instead of just figure after figure which absolutely would be way too difficult to remember in a pinch! These tips are great for those who dont want a whole production, they just want to feel more confident and comfortable while adding some style and grace to their first dance. Great videos keep up the great work!
Exactly! When couples want a big production and can commit a lot of time and energy to it, then they can definitely do a well-choreographed dance, with the help of an experienced teacher like yourself. But for couples who are total beginners and just want to dance more naturally together, then focussing on partner skills rather than just choreography is the way to go!
@@jcdanceco Totally!! Also I re-read my comment and didn't mean to make it sound like tons of figures make a bad dance either. It's just that if you're not an experienced dancer, then learning all the holds and figures plus being able to really sell it like professionals such as yourselves would be too tough if the couple isn't willing to dedicate and commit to ample time and practice!
Thank You for this video😊 it helped us so much. We were practicing few dance steps and were so concentrated on them instead of us. After watching Your video on a break, we decided to improvise and dance to Formula 1 song (piano version). Immediately, our mood switched to relaxed and when we were practicing and dancing for ourselves, smiles and random kisses appeared. When we were dancing at the event, our guests couldn't believe we were improvising and dancing to heart-led choreo and not the ones from tutorials. It was so real and so warm. Thank You from Lithuania 🇱🇹💜
Slievas, we absolutely love hearing your story and transformation!!! We wish all our viewers have the same realization and therefore transition from being overly concentrated, to being connected and relaxed. Hearing that you're smiling and kissing while you're having your wedding dance makes us so happy for you, and proud as teachers. Dancing to "HEART-LED" choreo...wow, we are going to have to use your words in our future videos. We truly appreciate you sharing with us your story. We wish you a lifetime together full of wonderful dancing memories. If you'd like to share with us any pictures or videos, you can do it directly to us. Our contact information is in the description of our videos. 🥰
Thank you so much! It all started with this video then I found myself watching many of your videos. I just got married last week and the dance went well thanks to your advices! :)
EXACTLY!!! Life and dance are indeed parallel. LIFE never goes exactly as planned, so you just have to roll with the punches and go with the flow, just like you do in DANCE.
Our wedding song is Come What May from Moulan Rouge. We dont want to stand and sway, what is a simple but more ballroom style to glide across the floor with this beautiful song? more of a quick step.
awesome video! this made me reconsider, luckily I have two years before my wedding day so even I go the choreographed route me and my partner will have plenty of time to learn it.
Glad you enjoyed the video! With 2 years to go, you definitely have time to go either route. Just make sure that if you want to do choreography, that you start early, as it does take a lot of time to be rehearsed enough to take away the stress! If you want simple, natural and fun, let us know, as we can definitely help you out in that department! 😊👍
Great thoughts here! My fiancé and are novices so this was good insight. I would have loved the movie scene feel but at the same time you make a good point about authenticity and having fun. Good reminder that the wedding is about US, not just doing cool stuff to entertain our guests.
Great that our approach resonates with you! 👍 To each their own of course. If couples would like to put on a show for their guests, by all means, go for it! But hope you have a tonne of time and money to prepare and are willing to undergo added pressure and stress. I think for most couples, they just want to have a connected and intimate moment together to celebrate their love. And in the end, he guests will appreciate that authenticity between the two of you so much more. ❤️
A good dance teacher should adapt the choreography to the student´s ability. Obviously not everyone is able to do your first example with 60 different movement. But my partner and me were able to do a much simple dance and we got beautiful results. Our choreographer cut our song up to 2 minutes (longer is boring) and designed and entrance to cover the 30 first seconds. The rest of the dance is adapted to the song and our ability as dancers. Also, we only needed 3 hours to learn it (plus practice of our own)
You are totally on point! A good dance teacher should definitely adapt choreography to the ability of the student and provide good advice on how to structure the dance. You were lucky to have gotten a dance teacher with that experience and mindset! 👍 If you can find that kind of teacher in your area, then consider yourself lucky! However, a lot of people don't have access to those type of teachers and instead go online to search for complex choreography that they can "copy", instead of learning "dance skills" to be able to move together. Our sincere hope is that we can shift the focus more on CONNECTION rather than CHOREOGRAPHY, so that people can have a simple dance with beautiful results, such as yourself! 😊
Great tip. Wondering if I want th stress of it.. I dance but my partner doesn't. I may show her a sequence of 5 or 6 steps that we can do on a loop that will fit to the music. But to be honest, we will probably be tipsy by then and being our silly selves doing funny moves to crack each other up 😂
If you are comfortable leading, then knowing a handful of figures and using them throughout the dance will be great! If you're not really used to leading, we would suggest doing a basic HomeBase pattern in between the moves, so that you can reset and gather yourselves before going into another pattern. Either way, being silly and cracking each other up is a great way to express yourselves! We always encourage everyone to be natural and have fun together. That way, your guests will appreciate it and enjoy themselves too! 😄
Ok there are a few things that bother me about this as a dance instructor and wedding choreographer. I will agree, though, that 3+ mins of choreography is too much, but I actually find that couples really appreciate choreoghy because of the following: 1. Good teachers cater to what the couple wants and use the KISS principal too (Keep it Simple, Stupid). We make it easy for them to learn and take pressure off by showing them how to improvise too. We make it a fun learning experience they both have, so they can make memories together while doing this. It takes pressure off and makes it more of a bonding experience. 2. As a professional dancer, I know what goes through a leader's (and follower's) mind when dancing. Most guys, especially those who are not dancers, actually PREFER a "checklist" rather than making decisions on the fly when they don't have a lot of dance experience or knowledge, and lady's like to know what's coming. Teaching choreography is so much easier for new dancers than teaching them how to lead and follow (how to move your body to get her to do a specific thing, and how to react to his body to do a specific thin) under pressure, especially if I only have a little time to work with them. Even for a long time too, because muscle memory kicks in a bit more when it's more "rehearsed". I find the bigger mess ups are actually when they free style because they get embarrassed, get discouraged and they stop or just start swaying. choreo actually gives a lot of students confidence they can dance, and something specific they can practice rather than free styling. If you mess up choreo, you know what comes next, you can get back on track. Improvising is actually really hard for people who don't normally dance together like this. 3. A good teacher should make it authentic by personalizing it to THEM. I actually listen to their song, constantly ask what they want, if they like something, and how it feels. If you find a good dance teacher they should make it good and fitting for the couple. I realize this was probably for couples trying to replicate online wedding dances, but it wasn't really made super clear here. If you're a wedding couple wanting to dance and not just sway at your wedding, don't write chereo or a simple "checklist" off before you try it. If you hate it, then invest time in learning to lead and follow for freestyling, but either way you'll be a bit nervous and need to spend time on it to make it feel comfortable.
Actually, I had a wedding couple who practiced their dance for a couple months before their wedding and they didn't do the choreography correctly on their wedding day (the dj also played the wrong version of their song), and they told me after that they just improvised and eventually got back on track with it, but they told me it was such a fun memory, and something they did together that they could look back and laugh at (because no one else knew except them!) And I just remember the memories and fun they had taking lessons and getting to do their dance. Part of learning the dance is the bonding and memory building. I also had two couples very recently come to me originally and said "we're good with freestyling." And then two lessons later go "maybe a checklist/choreography wouldn't be bad" and now they love their choreo and know it better than me!
Hi Bri. Thanks for your input! You’re right. Good teachers will keep it simple and make sure that the couple is enjoying the experience together. 👍 However, there are countless couples that insist on doing complex wedding choreography that they’ve seen on RUclips. Often, they will come to us with a video that they’ve seen online, danced by professionals like ourselves, and want to replicate that in just a handful of lessons. 😳 Trying to dance like a pro that has been dancing for the past 20 years is unrealistic. It’s going to create a lot of friction between the bride and groom, and they are not going to end up having fun. This is what we are trying to educate the public on, and hope that couples will change their focus to CONNECTING and ENJOYING their dance together, rather than memorizing fancy choreography. In order to ‘FREESTYLE’ successfully, our experience has told us that it depends on three main factors: 1) the lead’s ability to use his body to direct the lady into free space 2) the follow’s ability to respond and be in the moment; and 3) the overall approach or system that supports the couple to dance, by focussing on connection and communication through body weight. We actually teach all of our couples to improvise from the very beginning, which can be surprising for many teachers. Our approach, teaching communication through body movement, results in an interaction that is AUTHENTIC and NATURAL, which has worked tremendously well for almost two decades now. We also implement our HomeBase method, which gives a bit of direction, but at the same time allows for flexibility. That way, even if mistakes are made, it still looks REAL and ORGANIC. 🥰 However, of course, to each their own! If couples need CHOREOGRAPHY, then by all means, go ahead, prepare a script and follow a SET ROUTINE of choreographed moves. We honestly wish those couples all the best in those situations, and hope that they have committed enough time and energy for the process. However, if couples want to dance more naturally without strict choreography, then learn the SKILLS of communicating and have an organic CONVERSATION on the dance floor. In our experience, the latter works much better, looks and feels more natural and is less stressful. 👍
That’s awesome! We’ve had that happen to our couples a few times as well, where the DJ played the wrong version of the First Dance song! 😬 For some, getting back into the routine (if it is strictly choreographed), is very challenging, especially if they don’t have experience. But it sounds like your couple definitely learned the skills of communicating with each other, so that they were able to get back on track. So good job!!! 👍 Indeed, when mistakes are made and you have the skills to recover from them, it is a fun memory, rather than a dreaded panic moment! Yes, sometimes couples need a bit of a CHECKLIST to go through. We definitely encourage that as well, for people who need it. But that is very different from strict choreography. Items on a checklist can happen whenever the lead decides to do it, whereas memorized choreography (like those that you see danced on RUclips) can only happen at a certain time and in a particular sequence. Adhering strictly to choreography makes it very stressful and awkward when mistakes are made, whereas with a checklist, you really can’t go wrong! As we tell our students all the time, there is no right or wrong, there's only TOGETHER! 🥰
What I do not understand is why even people who can actually DANCE go for the choreographed first dance... The reasons given in the video are quite valid. I was once in a position where I found myself discussing my own wedding arrangements. We had both a few years experience dancing choreographed stuff and improvised social dancing. Had it come to fruition, we would have just winged it. WHY, oh why risk ruining a light, fun moment by using someone else's vision of what YOUR dance should be ?
The thing is... a lot of people don't even know what improvisation or freestyle dancing is! They immediately think of the First Dance as being a performance and therefore needing to be choreographed. Well, we are here to tell everyone that there is another, better way! :)
Glad you enjoyed it! We wholeheartedly believe in our approach and hope that more couples can relax, knowing that choreography is not the ONLY way to go!
YES! We've had so many couples in that same position! The girl often has dance experience, while the guy has none. Our approach to partner dancing has been extremely successful for these couples, putting them on the same playing field and allowing them to dance together naturally and without stress. If you are interested in our approach, feel free to register for our webinar to learn about our Proven 3-step system to dance together with ease and confidence.
It’s us! I don’t have close to 20 years, but enough ballet (and jazz, tap, musical) experience to be confident in my ability to learn and execute some of the moderate difficulty dances I see… my FH fall overs if he tries to do the most basic spin humanly possible. 😂
Exactly! People need to realize that being less in their heads will allow them to be able to enjoy the dance. Of course you need to learn the skills, but once you understand the language of dance, you're good to go!
What a beautiful song! Definitely keep it simple and natural to match the mood of the song. If you need advice on how exactly to structure your dance, download our Free Natural Dance Method Checklist. It's a blueprint of how to do your First Dance, which we've developed through working with 100s of couples over the years. And if you're still struggling and would like to learn more about our step-by-step online program, book a call with us to see if you're a good fit! All the info is in the description.
Finally I found this video!!! I'm totally against choreos for your wedding dance. It doesn't look natural. Looks like i'm in a movie scene!!!!! I've been looking for natural moves for a specific song but couldn't find any inspirational videos....till got this
Great! 😊 Glad that you found us and that you agree with our approach! Simple, natural and connected is by far what your guests will appreciate and what you yourselves will enjoy together. If you need a step-by-step program with direct coaching from us, feel free to sign up for a call so that we can see if you're a good fit for our online program. Building a few solid skills will get you through not only your wedding dance but also beyond! 🥰
So true! People don't realize that dancers, like musicians and other artists spend countless hours working on their craft... and the better they are, the easier it looks!
This is such great advice! I am stressing out about what to do for my first dance. The song we chose is Nobody but you by Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani and I am absolutely lost on what we should do that way it’s not just swaying (we both have two left feet as well).
Hi Maranda, we understand your pain as we work with couples just like you around the world who find themselves lost with their wedding dance preparations. Once you have a plan your stress will definitely subside! We have a number of free resources you can access with links in the description below our videos to give you more direction. More importantly, there's a link to jump on a free consultation call with the both of us. We can chat about where you are in your preparations, what you're currently struggling with and then give you some personalized advice based on your own situation. It's casual, and the absolute fastest way to feel more confident about your dance. No need to be shy. We're here to help! Here's the link: calendly.com/jcdanceco/zoom-call
@@jcdanceco I want “Rock With You” by Michael Jackson. Cause I wanted a fun wedding dance :) And if we forget the steps, we just have to remember the connection and we could do freestyle moves :)
@@yangluvslyf17 Great choice! What a classic! :) For that tempo, we'd suggest a bachata basic (without the hips) for your home base pattern. To put together a fun dance, just learn a handful of easy-to-learn but fancy-looking moves and then put them together by dancing freestyle! You're totally on point: focus on CONNECTION rather than CHOREOGRAPHY and it'll be natural, comfortable and fun!!! If you'd like to download our free "Natural Wedding Dance Checklist", go to our description for the link!
Hi Faith. The song is a good tempo, not too slow or fast. The beat is also pretty clear with the strong drum beat in the background. Tough to share specific tips in the comment section. We suggest watching our free masterclass to learn about some strategy and connection tips in a more in-depth way. The registration link is in the description section of this video. Looking forward to hearing from you afterwards!
My wedding is coming up this month our song is making memories of us by Keith urban. I’ve been trying to find some examples of a few dance moves to try and there’s been nothing😭 do you guys have any ideas?!
Hi Carly. What a great song! A box step would suit this song perfectly. Then all you need are a couple different spins and possibly a dip for the ending and you're good. Remember that the ideal song length is around 2.5-3min, so don't do the whole song! Unfortunately, our online course probably needs a bit more time than what you have, but if you need some SOS help, feel free to book a call with us. calendly.com/jcdanceco/zoom-call
5 moves are perfect! Do an easy side basic for your Homebase and randomly throw in your 5 moves and that will be enough variety for a 3 minute dance. As well, if you turn the basic and do your 5 moves in different DIRECTIONS, that will add more interest. And if you're really comfortable with the 5 moves, you can start working on COMBINATIONS to add even more interest and complexity. We cover all of this in our online course, so if you're interested, check it out in the description! Here's also another of our videos that might help: bit.ly/31Oo0ju.
Alright Brides & Grooms, let us know how many dance moves you're confident dancing in your wedding dance? Love to hear from you!
I’m so glad I found this! It’s time to get cracking on our wedding dance, but instead of memorizing maybe we’ll just spend a lot of time having fun and learning to dance together ❤ thanks so much for your knowledge!
Bravo! You're learned the secret to all of this wedding dancing!!! The more connected and fun you're having on the dance floor together, the better the dance will be for yourselves and your wedding guests. Simple and fun is 100% better than complicated and stressful.
I was at the wedding of my friends whom you taught a few years ago, and they looked so calm and natural! I really saw their connection and expression, rather than two beginner dancers.
That's so great to hear Amy! 😊 That's exactly what we are striving for... to have an easy, natural and connected time together, instead feeling stressed and awkward! 👍
i think you just saved my fiance our last month of engagement from another month of stress LOL thank you
HAHA!!! 😄 Glad to hear that we were able to relieve your stress. That's what we are here for! 👍 If you need more direction on dancing without choreography, feel free to book a call with us and find out how we can help you dance without stress! Enjoy your last month of engagement!
I really like that you guys are super realistic about it! My partner and I have been looking into options because we aren’t experienced dancers but don’t want to shuffle. Thank you!
Indeed, through our many years of dancing and teaching experience, we have learnt what's realistic and what's not! Instead of learning complex CHOREOGRAPHY (which is often what people think dancing is all about), we always suggest learning DANCE SKILLS. Learn how to dance a handful of steps together naturally and comfortably and you're set for your First dance, as well as for life! Because once you've learnt the skills, you can use them anytime and anyplace! ❤️
The last point is my favourite! The idea of connecting with our partner instead of being stressed about the choreo! I probably could handle like five figures...🤣
Hi Grace, love your priorities! It's unfortunate that some couples get so caught up in the "dance" and become consumed with "choreo", that they forget that the dance should be about being together on the dance floor. Your estimate of five figures falls right at the point where most couples feel most comfortable. Once your confident with those five, you can put them in all sorts of different combinations to make the dance more interesting, while keeping it easy to dance!
@@jcdanceco thanks, that makes so much sense. I love you guys I think you’re so cute and helpful - thanks for your vids!
I soooo love this tip BIG TIME. I'm helping out my brother for his wedding and I'm in charge of giving them simple choreo. We felt your love to share your talent and skills. Cheers!
Hi Cath, so glad to hear that our tips are helping you and your brother out. Starting out with a smarter strategy goes a long way in making the experience fun for everyone, including the teacher! If you and your brother are in need of more strategy tips, check out our masterclass. We go over strategy and skills, as well as share a bunch of our student success stories. Let us know if you have any other questions in or after the masterclass!
www.naturaldancemethod.com/weddingdancemasterclass
These are totally valid points, especially when the choreography is just moves and there is no connection to the music! As a wedding choreographer myself, my choreographed routines are detailed and catered to the music instead of just figure after figure which absolutely would be way too difficult to remember in a pinch! These tips are great for those who dont want a whole production, they just want to feel more confident and comfortable while adding some style and grace to their first dance. Great videos keep up the great work!
Exactly! When couples want a big production and can commit a lot of time and energy to it, then they can definitely do a well-choreographed dance, with the help of an experienced teacher like yourself. But for couples who are total beginners and just want to dance more naturally together, then focussing on partner skills rather than just choreography is the way to go!
@@jcdanceco Totally!! Also I re-read my comment and didn't mean to make it sound like tons of figures make a bad dance either. It's just that if you're not an experienced dancer, then learning all the holds and figures plus being able to really sell it like professionals such as yourselves would be too tough if the couple isn't willing to dedicate and commit to ample time and practice!
Thank You for this video😊 it helped us so much. We were practicing few dance steps and were so concentrated on them instead of us. After watching Your video on a break, we decided to improvise and dance to Formula 1 song (piano version). Immediately, our mood switched to relaxed and when we were practicing and dancing for ourselves, smiles and random kisses appeared.
When we were dancing at the event, our guests couldn't believe we were improvising and dancing to heart-led choreo and not the ones from tutorials. It was so real and so warm. Thank You from Lithuania 🇱🇹💜
Slievas, we absolutely love hearing your story and transformation!!! We wish all our viewers have the same realization and therefore transition from being overly concentrated, to being connected and relaxed. Hearing that you're smiling and kissing while you're having your wedding dance makes us so happy for you, and proud as teachers. Dancing to "HEART-LED" choreo...wow, we are going to have to use your words in our future videos.
We truly appreciate you sharing with us your story. We wish you a lifetime together full of wonderful dancing memories. If you'd like to share with us any pictures or videos, you can do it directly to us. Our contact information is in the description of our videos. 🥰
Thank you so much! It all started with this video then I found myself watching many of your videos. I just got married last week and the dance went well thanks to your advices! :)
That's so great to hear!!! Send us some pictures of your wedding dance! We'd love to see it! 😊
Wow! It's just like life, stay connected and move when ready!
EXACTLY!!! Life and dance are indeed parallel. LIFE never goes exactly as planned, so you just have to roll with the punches and go with the flow, just like you do in DANCE.
Our wedding song is Come What May from Moulan Rouge. We dont want to stand and sway, what is a simple but more ballroom style to glide across the floor with this beautiful song? more of a quick step.
Unless you're an accomplished ballroom dancer, we would suggest doing a simple box step. You can do it nice and slow to match the mood of the music. 👍
awesome video! this made me reconsider, luckily I have two years before my wedding day so even I go the choreographed route me and my partner will have plenty of time to learn it.
Glad you enjoyed the video! With 2 years to go, you definitely have time to go either route. Just make sure that if you want to do choreography, that you start early, as it does take a lot of time to be rehearsed enough to take away the stress! If you want simple, natural and fun, let us know, as we can definitely help you out in that department! 😊👍
Great thoughts here! My fiancé and are novices so this was good insight. I would have loved the movie scene feel but at the same time you make a good point about authenticity and having fun. Good reminder that the wedding is about US, not just doing cool stuff to entertain our guests.
Great that our approach resonates with you! 👍 To each their own of course. If couples would like to put on a show for their guests, by all means, go for it! But hope you have a tonne of time and money to prepare and are willing to undergo added pressure and stress. I think for most couples, they just want to have a connected and intimate moment together to celebrate their love. And in the end, he guests will appreciate that authenticity between the two of you so much more. ❤️
A good dance teacher should adapt the choreography to the student´s ability. Obviously not everyone is able to do your first example with 60 different movement. But my partner and me were able to do a much simple dance and we got beautiful results. Our choreographer cut our song up to 2 minutes (longer is boring) and designed and entrance to cover the 30 first seconds. The rest of the dance is adapted to the song and our ability as dancers.
Also, we only needed 3 hours to learn it (plus practice of our own)
You are totally on point! A good dance teacher should definitely adapt choreography to the ability of the student and provide good advice on how to structure the dance. You were lucky to have gotten a dance teacher with that experience and mindset! 👍 If you can find that kind of teacher in your area, then consider yourself lucky! However, a lot of people don't have access to those type of teachers and instead go online to search for complex choreography that they can "copy", instead of learning "dance skills" to be able to move together. Our sincere hope is that we can shift the focus more on CONNECTION rather than CHOREOGRAPHY, so that people can have a simple dance with beautiful results, such as yourself! 😊
Great tip. Wondering if I want th stress of it.. I dance but my partner doesn't. I may show her a sequence of 5 or 6 steps that we can do on a loop that will fit to the music. But to be honest, we will probably be tipsy by then and being our silly selves doing funny moves to crack each other up 😂
If you are comfortable leading, then knowing a handful of figures and using them throughout the dance will be great! If you're not really used to leading, we would suggest doing a basic HomeBase pattern in between the moves, so that you can reset and gather yourselves before going into another pattern. Either way, being silly and cracking each other up is a great way to express yourselves! We always encourage everyone to be natural and have fun together. That way, your guests will appreciate it and enjoy themselves too! 😄
Ok there are a few things that bother me about this as a dance instructor and wedding choreographer. I will agree, though, that 3+ mins of choreography is too much, but I actually find that couples really appreciate choreoghy because of the following:
1. Good teachers cater to what the couple wants and use the KISS principal too (Keep it Simple, Stupid). We make it easy for them to learn and take pressure off by showing them how to improvise too. We make it a fun learning experience they both have, so they can make memories together while doing this. It takes pressure off and makes it more of a bonding experience.
2. As a professional dancer, I know what goes through a leader's (and follower's) mind when dancing. Most guys, especially those who are not dancers, actually PREFER a "checklist" rather than making decisions on the fly when they don't have a lot of dance experience or knowledge, and lady's like to know what's coming. Teaching choreography is so much easier for new dancers than teaching them how to lead and follow (how to move your body to get her to do a specific thing, and how to react to his body to do a specific thin) under pressure, especially if I only have a little time to work with them. Even for a long time too, because muscle memory kicks in a bit more when it's more "rehearsed". I find the bigger mess ups are actually when they free style because they get embarrassed, get discouraged and they stop or just start swaying. choreo actually gives a lot of students confidence they can dance, and something specific they can practice rather than free styling. If you mess up choreo, you know what comes next, you can get back on track. Improvising is actually really hard for people who don't normally dance together like this.
3. A good teacher should make it authentic by personalizing it to THEM. I actually listen to their song, constantly ask what they want, if they like something, and how it feels. If you find a good dance teacher they should make it good and fitting for the couple.
I realize this was probably for couples trying to replicate online wedding dances, but it wasn't really made super clear here. If you're a wedding couple wanting to dance and not just sway at your wedding, don't write chereo or a simple "checklist" off before you try it. If you hate it, then invest time in learning to lead and follow for freestyling, but either way you'll be a bit nervous and need to spend time on it to make it feel comfortable.
Actually, I had a wedding couple who practiced their dance for a couple months before their wedding and they didn't do the choreography correctly on their wedding day (the dj also played the wrong version of their song), and they told me after that they just improvised and eventually got back on track with it, but they told me it was such a fun memory, and something they did together that they could look back and laugh at (because no one else knew except them!) And I just remember the memories and fun they had taking lessons and getting to do their dance. Part of learning the dance is the bonding and memory building.
I also had two couples very recently come to me originally and said "we're good with freestyling." And then two lessons later go "maybe a checklist/choreography wouldn't be bad" and now they love their choreo and know it better than me!
Hi Bri. Thanks for your input! You’re right. Good teachers will keep it simple and make sure that the couple is enjoying the experience together. 👍
However, there are countless couples that insist on doing complex wedding choreography that they’ve seen on RUclips. Often, they will come to us with a video that they’ve seen online, danced by professionals like ourselves, and want to replicate that in just a handful of lessons. 😳 Trying to dance like a pro that has been dancing for the past 20 years is unrealistic. It’s going to create a lot of friction between the bride and groom, and they are not going to end up having fun. This is what we are trying to educate the public on, and hope that couples will change their focus to CONNECTING and ENJOYING their dance together, rather than memorizing fancy choreography.
In order to ‘FREESTYLE’ successfully, our experience has told us that it depends on three main factors: 1) the lead’s ability to use his body to direct the lady into free space 2) the follow’s ability to respond and be in the moment; and 3) the overall approach or system that supports the couple to dance, by focussing on connection and communication through body weight. We actually teach all of our couples to improvise from the very beginning, which can be surprising for many teachers. Our approach, teaching communication through body movement, results in an interaction that is AUTHENTIC and NATURAL, which has worked tremendously well for almost two decades now. We also implement our HomeBase method, which gives a bit of direction, but at the same time allows for flexibility. That way, even if mistakes are made, it still looks REAL and ORGANIC. 🥰
However, of course, to each their own! If couples need CHOREOGRAPHY, then by all means, go ahead, prepare a script and follow a SET ROUTINE of choreographed moves. We honestly wish those couples all the best in those situations, and hope that they have committed enough time and energy for the process. However, if couples want to dance more naturally without strict choreography, then learn the SKILLS of communicating and have an organic CONVERSATION on the dance floor. In our experience, the latter works much better, looks and feels more natural and is less stressful. 👍
That’s awesome! We’ve had that happen to our couples a few times as well, where the DJ played the wrong version of the First Dance song! 😬 For some, getting back into the routine (if it is strictly choreographed), is very challenging, especially if they don’t have experience. But it sounds like your couple definitely learned the skills of communicating with each other, so that they were able to get back on track. So good job!!! 👍 Indeed, when mistakes are made and you have the skills to recover from them, it is a fun memory, rather than a dreaded panic moment!
Yes, sometimes couples need a bit of a CHECKLIST to go through. We definitely encourage that as well, for people who need it. But that is very different from strict choreography. Items on a checklist can happen whenever the lead decides to do it, whereas memorized choreography (like those that you see danced on RUclips) can only happen at a certain time and in a particular sequence. Adhering strictly to choreography makes it very stressful and awkward when mistakes are made, whereas with a checklist, you really can’t go wrong! As we tell our students all the time, there is no right or wrong, there's only TOGETHER! 🥰
What I do not understand is why even people who can actually DANCE go for the choreographed first dance...
The reasons given in the video are quite valid. I was once in a position where I found myself discussing my own wedding arrangements. We had both a few years experience dancing choreographed stuff and improvised social dancing. Had it come to fruition, we would have just winged it. WHY, oh why risk ruining a light, fun moment by using someone else's vision of what YOUR dance should be ?
The thing is... a lot of people don't even know what improvisation or freestyle dancing is! They immediately think of the First Dance as being a performance and therefore needing to be choreographed. Well, we are here to tell everyone that there is another, better way! :)
Love this video!
Glad you enjoyed it! We wholeheartedly believe in our approach and hope that more couples can relax, knowing that choreography is not the ONLY way to go!
👍🕺💃👍🕺💃👍🕺💃 Well articulated, practical advice that comes across as sincere concern.
Glad that you understand the point! 😊
20+ years of ballet for me...and my groom has 0 dance experience which is making the wedding dance stressful for the both of us...
YES! We've had so many couples in that same position! The girl often has dance experience, while the guy has none. Our approach to partner dancing has been extremely successful for these couples, putting them on the same playing field and allowing them to dance together naturally and without stress. If you are interested in our approach, feel free to register for our webinar to learn about our Proven 3-step system to dance together with ease and confidence.
Not necessarily useful for free-styling a social dance.
It’s us! I don’t have close to 20 years, but enough ballet (and jazz, tap, musical) experience to be confident in my ability to learn and execute some of the moderate difficulty dances I see… my FH fall overs if he tries to do the most basic spin humanly possible. 😂
Which is why I just prefer to teach them to dance socially instead. That way, they relax and dance
Exactly! People need to realize that being less in their heads will allow them to be able to enjoy the dance. Of course you need to learn the skills, but once you understand the language of dance, you're good to go!
Great video! Our first dance song is going to be Feels like this by Maisie Peters and we've been worried about how to dance to it. Any advice?
What a beautiful song! Definitely keep it simple and natural to match the mood of the song. If you need advice on how exactly to structure your dance, download our Free Natural Dance Method Checklist. It's a blueprint of how to do your First Dance, which we've developed through working with 100s of couples over the years. And if you're still struggling and would like to learn more about our step-by-step online program, book a call with us to see if you're a good fit! All the info is in the description.
Finally I found this video!!! I'm totally against choreos for your wedding dance. It doesn't look natural. Looks like i'm in a movie scene!!!!! I've been looking for natural moves for a specific song but couldn't find any inspirational videos....till got this
Great! 😊 Glad that you found us and that you agree with our approach! Simple, natural and connected is by far what your guests will appreciate and what you yourselves will enjoy together. If you need a step-by-step program with direct coaching from us, feel free to sign up for a call so that we can see if you're a good fit for our online program. Building a few solid skills will get you through not only your wedding dance but also beyond! 🥰
Thank you for the tips! :)
You're welcome! If there's anything else you need help with, let us know.
It's like listening to a violinist, thinking "wow that looks so easy". It takes years to make actions and skills automatic and beautiful
So true! People don't realize that dancers, like musicians and other artists spend countless hours working on their craft... and the better they are, the easier it looks!
This is such great advice! I am stressing out about what to do for my first dance. The song we chose is Nobody but you by Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani and I am absolutely lost on what we should do that way it’s not just swaying (we both have two left feet as well).
Hi Maranda, we understand your pain as we work with couples just like you around the world who find themselves lost with their wedding dance preparations. Once you have a plan your stress will definitely subside! We have a number of free resources you can access with links in the description below our videos to give you more direction.
More importantly, there's a link to jump on a free consultation call with the both of us. We can chat about where you are in your preparations, what you're currently struggling with and then give you some personalized advice based on your own situation. It's casual, and the absolute fastest way to feel more confident about your dance.
No need to be shy. We're here to help!
Here's the link: calendly.com/jcdanceco/zoom-call
love this :) all on point :)
Glad that our video resonated with you! What are you planning to do for your wedding?
@@jcdanceco I want “Rock With You” by Michael Jackson. Cause I wanted a fun wedding dance :) And if we forget the steps, we just have to remember the connection and we could do freestyle moves :)
@@yangluvslyf17 Great choice! What a classic! :) For that tempo, we'd suggest a bachata basic (without the hips) for your home base pattern. To put together a fun dance, just learn a handful of easy-to-learn but fancy-looking moves and then put them together by dancing freestyle! You're totally on point: focus on CONNECTION rather than CHOREOGRAPHY and it'll be natural, comfortable and fun!!! If you'd like to download our free "Natural Wedding Dance Checklist", go to our description for the link!
I am trying to figure out our first dance... We like the song johnny cash by kid rock but I'm not sure I can dance to it any advice?
Hi Faith. The song is a good tempo, not too slow or fast. The beat is also pretty clear with the strong drum beat in the background. Tough to share specific tips in the comment section. We suggest watching our free masterclass to learn about some strategy and connection tips in a more in-depth way. The registration link is in the description section of this video. Looking forward to hearing from you afterwards!
My wedding is coming up this month our song is making memories of us by Keith urban. I’ve been trying to find some examples of a few dance moves to try and there’s been nothing😭 do you guys have any ideas?!
Hi Carly. What a great song! A box step would suit this song perfectly. Then all you need are a couple different spins and possibly a dip for the ending and you're good. Remember that the ideal song length is around 2.5-3min, so don't do the whole song!
Unfortunately, our online course probably needs a bit more time than what you have, but if you need some SOS help, feel free to book a call with us. calendly.com/jcdanceco/zoom-call
what do you do if your partner is deaf?
Learn to connect together through what we dancers call "lead and follow", so that you're dancing together, regardless of what music is playing.
Only 5 moves we can
5 moves are perfect! Do an easy side basic for your Homebase and randomly throw in your 5 moves and that will be enough variety for a 3 minute dance. As well, if you turn the basic and do your 5 moves in different DIRECTIONS, that will add more interest. And if you're really comfortable with the 5 moves, you can start working on COMBINATIONS to add even more interest and complexity. We cover all of this in our online course, so if you're interested, check it out in the description! Here's also another of our videos that might help: bit.ly/31Oo0ju.