Mr. Corn and I had our first dance lesson over the weekend. I am proud to say we aren’t all that bad. I will say, I am SHOCKED that Mr. Corn doesn’t even grasp the concept of a down beat (I really had no idea that that was a concept for the musically inclined only) so I found myself having to try NOT to correct his lead. But other than that, we did pretty well.
Coming back to Mr Corn from an outside turn…pretty good shot of my wedding shoes, too.
BTW…we’re not giants…I mean, we are tall, but the dance instructor has a studio in her basement with a raised dance floor.
At our request, our instructor is teaching us the basics…nothing too choreographed. We don’t want to look like we are trying too hard any more than we don’t want to look like two lost eighth graders at a Jr High dance. As Mr. Corn explained it to the teacher: ’this could very well be the only three to three-and-a-half minutes we get to ourselves the entire day, so we want to keep it intimate while at least looking like we know what we are doing’. The dance instructor practically swooned at that last bit, and then she taught us to sway, do an outside turn, an inside turn, travel across the floor and how to begin the dance. Next class we will clean it up a bit and learn a dip for the end.
Anyone else taking lessons? How’s it going for you?
We are taking lessons too! We only have 2 more lessons left. doin a simple waltz, just some basic steps (exactly the same moves you mentioned). I think it will look nice with a swishy wedding gown, although it might get in the way, and then i might trip and falll…. crap. =)
You guys look great! Its nice to finally get a glimpse of Mr. Corn! I have been dancing for years: salsa, waltz, tango, fox trot, swing. The FH is an avid non-dancer, so usually when we “dance” he just stands there and I dance around him!
I think I have him sold on going to a few lessons with me right before the wedding!
i bought my how-to dvd on amazon the other day… oo that reminds me, gotta check the eta.
good luck, im really looking forward to the dancing part myself 
can’t wait to learn!
we’ve been taking lessons and have gotten pretty good. we enjoy salsa dancing a lot, but we’d rather just take our first dance moments to just look at each other googly-eyed and relish the feeling of being in love. then later on, when the party gets started, we can show off what we learned in our advanced salsa class. that’ll be more fun and relaxed. and i just didn’t want to have such pressure during our first dance. so nothing fancy, maybe he’ll dip me in the end, that’ll be nice.
Glad you explained the ceiling height! Have fun dancing!
We took our first dance class yesterday… my poor, poor FI I was trying to be encouraging, but we have a LOT of practice ahead of us LOL.
I can really see us ditching the “moves” at the last minute and doing the googly-eyed thing as well. I want to enjoy our first dance, and not worry about when to do the next turn…
Sarahdoo - what video did you get? And can you let us know if you like it? I don’t have the money in my budget for lessons, but I might spring for a video if it’s good…
We’re not taking lessons but I also wanted to say that my fiance can’t hear the down beat also, whether it’s dancing or just tapping to the song.
We took lessons, and I’m so glad we did! We learned something nice enough to impress everyone but not complicated or forced-looking - and not hard enough to stress us out! It was great, and we had so much fun doing it!
We take our first class next week!! Yay!!
Mrs. Corn, Newport, RI
Age and Occupation in '07: 31, HR for public accounting firm
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Consultant for public accounting firm
Engagement Date: October 7, 2006
Wedding Date: September, 2007
Blogging Since: June 1, 2007
Venue: North Lawn of Fort Adams State Park
About Me: I am a lazy scrapbooker who loves the instant gratification of making cards and I am very easily distracted by all things shiny. In honor of my childhood nights spent hibachi BBQing on the beach with my family, we are hosting a traditional New England Clambake for our reception.
Heh, i love to dance and i’ve been dancing (ballet, ballroom, lindy, etc) for years. My FH? not so much. He used to insist that he couldn’t dance. He can’t say that anymore! Since we got engaged in January, we’ve taken two 8 week courses, one for intro ballroom and one for Lindy Hop. I’m not trying to build up his self confidence when I tell him he’s the best lead in the class - because it’s true. The couple of times we’ve fooled around with me teaching him how to dance the first thing I did was teach him how to lead.
Anyway, we’re going the half routine route. It’s easier for him to do automatically do something he’s practiced is easier for him than making it up as we go along. But if we miss a step it’s okay because no one will know. He’s already going to be nervous because everyone will be watching us.
We’re also going to local dances to get used to dancing with other people aren’t around in a non-instruction setting. I think that will help him get over his nervousness too.