TO Valentine’s Day why not celebrate hitting the slopes with your partner? An alternative way to celebrate this day, spending quality time with your loved one. An opportunity for have fun together and, what is no small thing, improve your lifestyle. Because let’s not forget that the dancein addition to being a splendid pastime, is also a complete and perfect sport for all ages. We asked Carolyn Smithinternational dance coach and president of the jury of dancing with the StarsWhich ones are they the benefits of taking dance lessons as a couple. We met her in Rome at the Salone delle Fontane dell’Eur on the occasion of the two-day event “I Am A Woman First Live”the great annual event dedicated to the “Sensual Dance Fit” created by her and suitable for women of all ages.
Valentine’s Day: how to improve couple chemistry
«On Valentine’s Day and throughout the year, hitting the slopes with your partner has many benefits. Primarily improves the couple’s understandingso long as we need to understand each other without speaking. It all depends on how much you are willing to do listen, not to words but to body language. An attitude that, unfortunately, is disappearing in a society where everyone claims to do what they want. An attitude that is even more wrong if brought into a couple, where common collaboration is required. But establishing an understanding if both partners are beginners can be difficult. We need to proceed step by step”, explains the dance coach.
Put others first
«If both partners don’t know how to dance, when performing the steps they would focus only on themselves and this would make it difficult to dance as a couple. So, to create harmony, you have to ensure that the lesson has moments of individual dance. The teacher, whether man or woman, dances with him and dances with her and only later does he put them together, when they have already learned a few steps. At this point everyone will be able to focus on the other and thus give life to a harmonious dance”, continues Carolyn Smith.
Valentine’s Day: which dance to start with
«The dances are a little easier, then more suitable for beginners, they are the slow version of salsa, the slow waltz and the Viennese waltz. Everything else is really very difficult. But when choosing which dance to learn, the advice I can give is starting from the music that the couple loves. This is because by listening to melodies that excite you, you can follow them with a greater open-mindedness. And this is a fundamental prerequisite for dancing. Furthermore, Before enrolling in a course, it is a good idea to ask for advice. A good teacher should ask some questions to understand what the couple’s interests are: “Why do you want to dance? What do you like, what don’t you like?”. He will also ask if it is the one who pushes them desire to dance for a particular occasion, such as wedding, Valentine’s Day, special event. In this way the teacher will have offered a good service and will have taken care of his novice students. Let’s not forget that the dance is very personal, it puts your heart and soul on the floor», underlines the dance coach.
Laugh at your mistakes
«A good teacher will tell the couple to take everything lightly, without pointing fingers if the other person makes a mistake. Must also bring irony and tranquility to the track. Only in this way will we be able to have fun, learning to consider mistakes as strengths. Yet you have to be careful because, if you step on your toes too many times, after a while you risk getting nervous. There must never be judgement, always complicity. Some people look like a log of wood, but as I always say, you can make a beautiful sculpture out of it”, quips the dance coach.
Because it’s good for any age
«Any type of dance, at any level, makes you do physical activity. Even one step forward, one step back, one to the right, one to the left makes the body move and requires coordination. So It’s not only good for the cardiovascular system but also makes the brain work. In my program dedicated to women, Sensual Dance Fit, there are dancers of all ages: from 20 to 89 years old, a woman with an energy that would be the envy of younger people. The first fundamental step to take is enter a dance school and let go. I say this especially to men. The Italian ones are so reluctant. Perhaps they fear losing their virility in the eyes of women. Actually the goal is to have fun, even a disjointed dance is fine. They shouldn’t be judged anyway”, concludes Carolyn Smith.
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