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Learn to Dance!
Step by step instruction as taught by Larry Caves
Print these lessons (click on the Lesson #) to study them sequentially and teach yourself to dance. If you have questions, email Kaye at kaye.west@csulb.edu with the subject "Feedback." After mastering Lesson 1 personally, share this information to teach someone else! Lets get the whole world dancing! Skip to Social Foxtrot - Single Swing - Waltz - Rumba - Cha Cha - Triple Swing - Other Information Refine Your Dance Knowledge - Return to Walk In, Dance Out home Partnership Dancing in GeneralThere are three basic groupings for partnership dancing: Social Dancing, Ballroom Dancing, and Round Dancing (aka Cued Ballroom or Choreographed Ballroom). All three use the rhythms and figures introduced in these lessons. The following articles provide information which relate to partnership dancing in general: • Just How Does One Learn to Dance? Describes the importance of timing and compares ballroom, line dancing, and round dance classes. Social FoxtrotThis rhythm is often taught first for several reasons:
• Lesson 1Besides describing the timing pattern and dance position, this lesson presents two figures that are much like regular walking (Walk In, Dance Out)!
Watch a video of these two figures.
• Lesson 2This lesson encourages dancers to find "internal dialogue" (words you say to yourself) which are reminders for how to move for a specific figure (each dancer may use different words, but have one word for each change of weight or each of the six counts). It also introduces three figures and a new position:
Practice each new figure repeatedly
until it is comfortable. Then dance all five figures randomly according to what the Lead chooses. • Lesson 3Introduces the notion of "components" (Side-Close, Twirl aka "Underarm Turn," & Rock which are building blocks in many figures) and some new figures:
Practice each figure separately then incorporated randomly with other figures. Want more? Advanced figures are labeled "Foxtrot" or "Slow Fox." Find Roundalab's list of standard Foxtrot figures and information about how to learn them. Single Swing & Triple Swing• Lesson 4Single Swing. Using the same timing pattern as in Social Foxtrot (SSQQ), a new position and new patterns are introduced, making 13 interchangeable figures with the SSQQ rhythm! The last component in Social Foxtrot figures (Side-Close) is substituted with Rock-Recover. Music which works well with Single Swing is "Run Around Sue" by Dion and "Burning Love" by Elvis Presley.
These patterns can also be used in the Triple Swing rhythm by substituting three changes of weight (a "triple" aka "Chassé" or "shuffle step") for each Slow, creating a pattern with three (2-count) components. See also Lessons 12, 13, and 14. • Lesson 12Spotlight on Swing
• Lesson 13Getting Clear About Triple Swing compares the basic figures in Single Swing and Triple Swing. • Lesson 14Turns in Swing Rhythms explains in greater detail the basic Underarm Turns (both to the right and to the left) in Single Swing and Triple Swing emphasizing the similarities in both rhythms. Find Roundalab's list of standard Single Swing figures, their standard Triple Swing (aka Jive or East Coast Swing) figures, and a third version of swing called West Coast Swing figures to learn more about these rhythms. Waltz• Lesson 5The Waltz has weight changes on every count in the introductory figures. The "Could I Have This Dance" by Anne Murray and "Moon River" by Andy Williams are good sources of music for these figure:
Check your understanding of vocabulary. Find Roundalab's list of standard Waltz figures to learn more about the Waltz Rumba• Lesson 6Compares timing in Waltz with that in Rumba, which is introduced here as beginning with the forward or back step (just like Waltz) so has a timing pattern of Slow - Quick - Quick, though in some traditions the Rumba Box alternates components and begins with the Side-Close with a timing pattern of Quick - Quick - Slow. Three figures are introduced. "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King and "Sway" by Dean Martin depict the Rumba timing pattern.
Find Roundalab's list of standard Rumba figures and The Character of Rumba to learn more about the Rumba. There are also links to videos which demonstrate how Rumba has evolved over the years (from 1986 to 2020), plus contemporary standard figures, and how to dance Rumba walks and Rumba crab walks. Cha Cha• Lesson 7Demonstrates how substituting components in various figures can create a whole new rhythm! Many Cha Cha figures are very similar to Rumba figures with a Chassé or Triple (like in Triple Swing) substituting for one Slow. Each of the five figures has a parallel figure in Rumba. "Besame Mama" by Pancho Sanchez, "El Ratón" by Cheo Feliciano, "Represent Cuba" by Oriskhas, and "The Slow CD" by Helmut Licht all have appropriate Cha Cha music.
Find Roundalab's list of standard Cha Cha figures and The Character of Cha Cha to learn more about this rhythm. There are also links to videos which demonstrate how Cha Cha has evolved over the years (from 1998 to 2024) plus contemporary standard figures! Other Helpful Information• Lesson 8Stressing the value of lifelong learning, the basic rhythm and foot patterns for Social • Lesson 9The rhythms of Social Foxtrot & Single Swing, Waltz, Rumba, and Cha Cha are identified by components which make up the basic figure in each rhythm. • Lesson 11Just How Does One Learn to Dance? Describes the importance of timing and compares ballroom, line dancing, and round dance classes. In addition to the above rhythms, check out the lists of figures available for the following dance rhythms used in round dancing:
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