by Kinley McFadden on January 15, 2010
So you’ve watched, “Dancing With The Stars”, and fell in love with the beautiful ballroom dance styles. Well, how would you like to learn how to dance just like the stars? It isn’t hard, and you will really impress others when you show up on the dance floor. In this Learn and Master Ballroom Dance review, I’m going to show you how this professional DVD course will have you dancing like a pro.
If you want to learn ballroom dance, you have several options available to you: private lessons, group lessons, books and videos. Ok, forget the books…you will never learn how to properly do the steps from them. Lessons are okay, but they can be costly, and often it is difficult to find classes that fit within your schedule. That leaves you with videos, which is the next best thing to having an actual instructor right there with you the entire time you are learning. Why pay $50-100 hour for private lessons when you can learn right from the comfort of your own home? As an added bonus, you don’t have to embarrass yourself in front of others while you are still learning the steps!
The best video lessons available when it comes to learning how to ballroom dance is the Learn and Master Ballroom Dance DVD set. This professional package comes with 13 DVDs, a 75-page instructional book filled with illustrations of all of the steps you will learn, plus a 6-Dance Along CD set containing all the music from the course. Everything you need to learn ballroom dance is right here.
The Learn and Master Ballroom course is taught by two great instructors, Mark Short and Jaimie Simon. Both have a ton of experience teaching ballroom dancing and you are in good hands with them as your teachers. The course covers the 6 popular American ballroom dance styles: Waltz, Tango, Rumba, Cha Cha, Foxtrot and Swing. New learners will appreciate the fact that the lessons are geared toward beginning ballroom dancing learners and the videos do a great job of setting the right pace for you to learn.
Each of these dance styles is taught in multiple ways to help you commit the steps to memory. First, the steps are introduced and explained. Then the Gentleman’s part is taught followed by the Ladies part. Finally, they are combined together so you can see the complete dance in its entirety. To ensure that you can follow what the instructors are doing at all times, the video uses a split screen, which allows you to see the movements of both the body and the feet.
There is tons of information packed into this Learn and Master Ballroom course and the instructors do a great job of explaining the steps in an easy-to-learn fashion. Not only that, you can go online and get any additional questions answered online. Just head over to the special student support website where you will be able to communicate with qualified dance instructors as well as other students of the course.
If you are interested in learning ballroom dance, but don’t want to pay a ton of money for outside instruction, then Learn and Master Ballroom is most likely the course for you. Not only is it a fun way to learn, but you are free to learn at your own pace. You don’t even need a partner if you don’t have one! The course even comes with a full 60 day money back guarantee so you can always return it if you don’t like it. I doubt you will have to use it however as I really enjoyed the course a lot and I highly recommend it as the best way to learn ballroom dance.
by Kinley McFadden on December 14, 2009
The Mambo is a sensual form of dance that requires much hip movement. Mambo is not only a style of dance but is also a music style and is derived from parts of Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America. The movements in Mambo consist of mostly forward and backward movements, and the Mambo is very similar to the Salsa. The rhythm of the steps performed in Mambo goes quick-quick-slow where the leader guides the partner through the steps like in most forms of Latin dance. Some of the steps in Mambo mean that you don’t move your feet as such, but rather you shift your weight onto your feet instead. There are several versions of Mambo, but only one true form of the original Mambo.
Basic Mambo Steps for Men:
The man typically takes the position of the leader and guides the follower through the dance with fierce, strong movements.
- Stand with your feet together, across from your partner.
- Right hand on partner’s waist, left hand in the air in a 90 degree angle loosely grasping your partner’s hand.
- Wait for the music to start and do not move until the second beat.
- On the second beat, step backward with your right foot.
- On the third beat, transfer your weight forward to your left foot, leaning into your partner.
- Fourth beat – step forward with your right foot, bringing your feet together, then transfer your weight to your right foot.
- On the fifth beat, pause with your weight still on your right foot.
- Sixth beat – transfer your weight to your left foot and take a step forward with that foot.
- Seventh beat – move your weight back onto your right foot, leaning back.
- Eighth (final) beat – move weight back to the left foot, and bring it back by stepping back, bringing both feet together again.
- Repeat.
Basic Mambo Steps for Women:
The woman partner typically takes the place of the follower, allowing their male partner to guide them through the dance but being sturdy enough to bring their partner back on step with her strong movements. Mambo for the follower consists of the same moves, only backwards.
- Stand with your feet together, across from your partner.
- Left hand on partner’s shoulder, right hand loosely grasping partner’s left hand.
- Wait for the music to start and do not move until the second beat.
- On the second beat, step forward with your left foot.
- On the third beat, move your weight backward to your right foot, leaning away from your partner.
- Fourth beat – step backward with your left foot to bring your feet together, transferring your weight to your left foot.
- On the fifth beat, pause with your weight still on your left foot.
- Sixth beat – transfer your weight to your right foot and take a step backward with that foot.
- Seventh beat – move your weight back onto your left foot, leaning forward.
- Eighth (final) beat – transfer weight to right foot and bring right foot up by stepping forward, bringing both feet together again.
- Repeat.
Mambo Tips for Men and Women:
- Listen to and watch Mambo music as much as possible, especially when you are first learning to do the Mambo.
- The most important thing to recognize in Mambo is the rhythm and the tempo.
- There are many different steps you can learn for your Mambo style to add some zest to your kick, try checking out some videos online and seeing other people’s Mambo moves.
- The follower should know the rhythm in case the partner messes up.
- There are many different variations of Mambo.
Mambo is very addictive and there is only way to get great at Mambo dancing: practice, practice, practice! This dance will make you want to dance your little heart out, so get out there and dance!
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