How to Dress for a Date

Your first date is a thing of beauty – and incredible stress. Do you dress up? Will you look like you’re trying to hard? Or should you dress normally and risk looking sloppy? It can be tough to pick the perfect outfit, but relax – you can do it.

Determine Location

Location is the single most important factor on a date. If you’re going ice skating, you want to be prepared and not be the only one in a mini skirt on the ice. Likewise you’ll want to skip the skinny jeans on the beach. Speak to the lucky guy to determine where you’re going to go on this date. If he acts like you’re stressing him out or putting him on the spot, make a gentle suggestion that you keep things low key – and then dress for dinner and a movie.

Pick an Outfit

Start combing through your closet looking for something to wear. You want to pull together an outfit with the following criteria:

• You know its flattering, so you feel your best.
• You are comfortable in it so you’re not pulling at your skirt or trying to make your buttons stay closed.
• You have flexibility in case you wind up riding horses or bowling rather than dancing the night away.
• You are dressing for the middle road – not too casual and not too fancy.
• It’s clean and not stained.

Get Dressed

Pull your outfit on to make sure it feels right. You should be comfortable without worrying about bending too far in your skirt or getting blisters from your shoes. You want to wear something that’s normal for you so that you’re not more uncomfortable than a typical first date should be, but you want to look nice. Pants and a nice shirt, a cute sundress, or jeans and a sweater are good, middle-of-the-road choices.

Check the Details

Before you head out the door, you’ll want to be sure you’ve got the details covered. Check for any stains or dirty spots. Lint removers will help take care of any stray cat hairs, and you’ll want to cut (not pull) any loose threads. Are you pulled together? Do you feel good? Then go and have a great time!

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How To Buy Ballroom Dance Shoes

Buying the right Latin shoes can be tricky. There are so many different types to choose from and different shoes for different levels. There are a few guidelines that will help any one who is interested in buying dancing shoes. Buying the right shoe makes a huge difference in how you dance. It is amazing what the right shoe can do for you. Here are a few steps to help in purchasing Latin shoes.

1. If you are a beginning dancer buy a shoe that has a lot of support. NEVER buy shoes with a heel higher than two inches. This changes where your center is and unless you are skilled this will ruin your center and balance.
2. Don’t buy an expensive pair at first. When you are learning, it doesn’t really matter what brand of shoe you have.
3. When fitting for ballroom shoes make sure they are a little snug. They stretch out and you want your big toe to be at the very edge of the shoe or slightly over.
4. When you improve and are ready for the skinnier/higher heal the type of shoe you get is very important.
5. It is important to get a shoe that is more flexible because you are doing more difficult steps.

Here are some brands that I feel are high quality shoes that look great.
Supadance is one of the top brands. They are based out of England are a little more expensive. There are local vendors but it is cheaper to buy directly from them and pay the shipping costs. These shoes are very flexible but they wear out very fast so expect to buy them often.

International Shoes is another great brand. Their shoes are a little stiffer than Supadance but they last longer. They have more support as well. Ray Rose shoes are great. They are the most flexible of all the brands and they have a great feel and support. This is my favorite brand. There are many other brands but those are the top three that I have tried.

HOW TO BUY STANDARD SHOES

Buying standard shoes is different than buying Latin shoes. Latin shoes have an open toe and standard shoes are closed toe. This is very important in how you dance each dance. You can’t have the same shoes for both styles. There aren’t as many tips for standard shoes as there are for Latin shoes because you don’t need as much flexibility as with Latin.

There are a few things to be aware of how ever.

1. When purchasing standard shoes always get them so the fit tight. They will stretch out.
2. They now offer shoes with buckles. These are great because the shoes in the past could fall off. I recommend this type of shoe.
3. Get shoes with the flare heal. This adds balance and it looks more professional.
4. Never buy and open toe shoe. Standard shoes have to be closed toe.
5. The brand that I loved the most was Supadance. I tried other brands but they didn’t come close in the way they look and feel. I would only buy Supadance standard shoes.

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How To Become a Real Ballroom Dancer

Dancing has always been one of the most under appreciated art forms in the world. In recent years however, it has started to get more attention. There are dancing reality shows, music videos, dancing movies, street dancing competitions and a host of others types of dancing. One of the forms of dance that has exploded into the public is Ballroom dancing. It is amazing what has happened in just the past year.

I have been in ballroom dancing for 11 years. When I started people didn’t really know what ballroom dancing was. The public’s view of ballroom dancing has always been Fred and Ginger Rogers. Though they are classic dancers, and will always be the most well known dancers in the world, dancing has evolved into something much, much more. Every year the dancers are starting younger and younger. I am teaching 5 year olds how to ballroom dance! With all of this attention I think that people should understand what it really takes to be a ballroom dancer, and be competitive with the world. People think that they can take a few classes and call themselves ballroom dancers. This is not true. It takes years and years of training and commitment, money and patience to become a real ballroom dancer.

This is one of the few sports that the professionals are still taking lessons all the time. There is always something new to learn and something that can make even the best dancer a little better. It is a sport that no one will ever conquer. Once you think you have conquered it someone will always come along and do something better or new and pass you up. It is changing every day. The competition is getting harder and harder every day. If you don’t have the drive to continue working you will never make it. So what makes a REAL ballroom dancer? Well, I am going to explain the key elements of a real ballroom dancer.

First, you need the desire. If you want to take ballroom dance for fun, that is great but you need more than that. Ballroom dancers literally live to dance. They have to have that desire and drive in order to get through the disappointment, struggle and frustration that come with this sport. If you don’t have the desire there is no point in spending the money or the time it takes. You can’t teach this element, this is something that you are born with.

Second, you need time! You have to be willing to spend a lot of time on this. You need to train at least 4 hours a day and travel around the country and the world. As with any other skill it takes years to achieve the type of excellence the top professionals achieve. You will be spending tremendous amounts of time with your dance partner so it is best you get a long. You need to be willing to travel for competitions. It is important to travel and have different judges see you so you can be known. Traveling takes up a lot of time.

Third, training. It is imperative that you receive good training. You must train with different coaches and styles. Since dancing has evolved it is important to know more than one dance style. Get trained in Ballet, this will help with everything you do. Be familiar with any other dance style you can. You never know what you will need to do for a show. It is important to train with different coaches because ballroom is a political sport and a lot of time the coaches are the judges. You need to be on their good side and they need to know who you are if you want them to even look at you. It isn’t right but that is just how it is.

Fourth, MONEY! Ballroom is probably the most expensive sport around. For good training you will be paying from $80-$250 for 45 minutes! Shoes cost around $90.00 and you will need to change them at lease twice a year, probably more. Dresses will cost between $500-$5,000 per dress. You must pay for all of your travel and lodging for any competitions outside of your state or country. Even if you manage to get sponsored for dresses or shoes, you have to pay for lessons and that is the most expensive of them all. Lessons are where dancers make all of their money. There are also competition fees to even enter the competition. This all adds up very quickly.

Fifth, you need endurance. It takes a long time to get good at ballroom dance. Don’t get discouraged every one has to go through it. There will be times you dance better than other couples but get a lower score because they are more well known than you, or their coach is one of the judges, or they don’t like your dress or your hair or something about your partner. There are so many things that go into what the judges look for that you can’t control, so don’t let it get to you. You have to just do the best you can and be happy with that. Some day it will all pay off.

The last thing you need is to look like a ballroom dancer. You can spot a ballroom dancer from a mile away. This is a very vain sport and it is important to care about how you look. You need to be in shape and your hair either has to be black or platinum blonde, there is nothing in between. You need to wear expensive clothes and have great taste. Dancers are very into fashion. You need to be tan all year round and have your nails done. You need to wear false eyelashes for competition and do your makeup so that you look like you should be standing on the street corner. Your costumes need to be great and functional. Looks are important because in the competition if there are two couples that are technically the same and they both have good expression the judges will look at how they look. If one couple is better groomed and looks more professional they will get a higher score than the other couple. That is just for the ladies. The men have it easier but they still have to tan and they have to wear tight pants. Looks are very important.

Well those are the most important elements of ballroom dancing. Dancing doesn’t have to be like this. It is a great hobby for couples and friends. It is a way to meet people of the opposite sex and a great way to exercise and have fun. When you see a ballroom competition just realize people sacrifice a lot for this sport and there are many things that go into becoming a REAL Ballroom dancer.

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