Facts to Set You Straight

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You CAN'T learn well from a book or video

Imagine learning to drive by sitting down and reading a book!  Someone would be dead within your first few blocks, probably you.

Happily, dancing is a lot safer than driving, and no matter how dreadful someone is, no-one's likely to be killed by it.  Nevertheless, it's a physical skill like driving, or skiing, or playing piano, and just like all those skills, it requires personal instruction and practice to master.

Books or instructional videos are certainly useful.  They can contribute to your learning by giving you a head-start, by reinforcing your knowledge, and by giving you extra information to broaden your understanding.  But a book or a video can't feel how you dance.

The very most important aspect of dancing with a partner is the communication by touch between the two partners.  Only a person dancing with you can tell if you're being too rough, too heavy, or too unclear to dance with comfortably.

By all means, use videos or books to assist your learning - we love people to do extra practice and research.  Videos in particular are helpful to remind you of foot patterns.  But remember that your partner is your first consideration, and that you need a knowledgeable partner to take you through the finer detail of dancing effectively.

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