I Want To Put On My Boogie Shoes
October 23rd, 2007 @ 5:02 pm by Mrs. Hummingbird
(Yes I secretly love KC & The Sunshine Band - I can’t help it! It’s catchy!)
When I was younger, like almost every other little girl, I had the completely deluded life goal of being a ballerina when I grew up. Although it didn’t seem a likely career path considering my other pursuits (climbing trees with my friend Jimmy and building tree house forts) around my sixth birthday, my mind was made up. I would be small and delicate-looking, I would wear tutus and I would be so elegant and graceful that I would some day become the world’s most famous dancer.
When I expressed this idea to my mother, she went down to the local community centre and signed me up for beginner’s ballet, fuelling my fire and leaving me to count down the days until my premiere as Clara in the National Ballet’s yearly production of The Nutcracker.
I continued with this fantasy right up to the day I went to my first dance lesson. I felt completely out of place, an oversized brunette tomboy amidst a sea of miniature blonde girls in delicate petal pink leotards. A little unnerved at the uniformity of their appearance - had I missed some sort of wardrobe memo? - I took my place at the end of the line and waited to be instructed in the ways of dance.
However, when the music started and the line of girls took off across the auditorium, I discovered that it wasn’t as easy as I had anticipated. My feet were too big for dainty little toe shoes, the twirling made me dizzy, and my big floppy arms created such a wind resistance that I was always a few beats behind the tiny platinum-haired whirling dervishes in my class. Instead of looking like Karen Kain dancing gracefully to Mozart, I looked more like a trained bear clomping along to circus music.
Despite my best efforts, after my first major recital, I knew it was time to throw in the towel.
I was not a good dancer.
And for years, I have known and accepted this and things have been okay. Working in publishing, my ability to cut a rug rarely ever comes into play. Unfortunately, with the wedding coming up, more and more, I have been thinking about my rythmic abilities and frankly I am a little bit frightened for the public at large.
When it comes to dancing, at my current skill level, I have two options. Go full-out gawky white girl and dance with legs kicking out and elbows akimbo or do the slow 8th grade shuffle, shifting my weight from one foot to another while rotating slowly in a circle. Neither of these options work for me since I really don’t want to hurt people and I really want the dancing to be special, especially my dance with my grandfather.
Since I was a little girl, my grandfather and I have talked about our dance at my wedding. In fact, when I got engaged, I called him up and said “Brush off your dancing shoes!” and he automatically knew what I meant, so while the bumbling around like I’m in junior high is fine for some things, I really want to do a good job with this.
Anyway, recently, Mr. Hummingbird and I were talking about the whole dancing debacle and, in what I can only assume was a moment of weakness on his part (seriously the only song he dances to is The Time Warp and only then because the dancing instructions are IN the song), he agreed to take dance lessons with me.
So, ladies, as some of you have gone through this yourselves, I’ve got questions:
1) Do any of you suffer from being terminally uncoordinated when it comes to dancing?
2) Did any of you take dance lessons leading up to your big day?
3) What did you enjoy learning/what is good to learn in terms of dance?
4) Did it help at all?
The idea of heading back to the classroom after my terrifying ballerina experience has left me a little spooked so, honestly, any advice/encouragement you can give would be of great help.
Related Posts
18 Responses to “I Want To Put On My Boogie Shoes”
Yes! We bought a package of 5 private lessons and learned a simple waltz. We didn’t intend to have a choreographed dance, but we wanted to know the basic steps. Somehow we came up with our own routine (based on the steps we were taught) and it turned out great!! SO glad that we took lessons!
I also took dance as a child, and I must not have gotten the hint like you did. I am a little bit awkward (even though I definitely looked the part- petite little blond thing), but I stuck with it for a good 14 years. Now I have a little one of my own and I secretly hope that she is MUCH more coordinated than I am. She just started ballet classes this year (at 3 years old). We’ll see how she does! She seems to love the whole thing so far!
Sorry that this entire post is soooo off subject!
I am uncoordinated not only when it comes to dancing, but to life in general- I have constant bruises on my thighs from bumping into things.
Mr. Dahlia and I have been taking lessons with some regularity since the summer, and they have been fabulous. We’ve been learning a lot of basic steps- foxtrot, waltz, rumba, swing and salsa. Knowing more than one dance (and how the different dances fit together) has made going to weddings a lot more fun- since we are now way more confident on the dance floor, and know what to do if a slow song comes on, or a fast song, etc.
The dance lessons absolutely helped, and have been one of the best things we have done, ever. It’s one of those things that will persist after the wedding- because once you learn how to dance, you won’t really forget how.
i am an awful, uncoordinated dancer, and although the FI offered to take lessons with me, i decided that i’d rather not. when we get up there to do our first dance together, i want us to be relaxed and in the moment, not having to worry about remembering steps. however, i’ve been to weddings where the bride and groom had clearly practiced and did an awesome dance, and it looked great! i just know that will never be me. : )
Great post — love your writing! I agree with amysue — dance lessons are NOT worth it unless you want to do some crazy “Thriller” type extravaganza, and and it sounds like that is not what you have in mind. As long as you and Mr. HB can do a simple two-step or, heck, even just sway to the music, you’ll be fine. Trust me, nobody will notice one way or the other, and that’s one thing you can scratch off your list of things to do.
My husband and I took dance lessons with my best friend and her husband before our wedding and it was great because a) we were not the total focus of the dance lesson, which was great because we both hate the spotlight b) it saved some money and c) it was actually fun to learn how to put together some steps. We ended up just swaying somewhat to our first song, but it was nice to know we could bust out some steps if we felt like it.
I can’t dance. OR I really can dance but somehow blocked this out and will one day discover it to become the best, most funky fresh dancer there ever was.
Or I just can’t dance.
I’ve been embarrassed about it since I was a kid. I would dance all crazy with my mom to the best 80’s music had to offer, but something happened along the way to teenhood, and I absolutely refused to do it anymore. I was pretty sure I was bad at it, so why bother? Of all the things I’ve been able to get rid of from my teen years, this hasn’t been one of them. So to answer…
1) Yes
2) No, but wanted to. We even looked into two local dance instructors, but it just wasn’t in the budget.
3) NA
4) NA
So, it was the 8th grade shuffle for us. I didn’t feel to bad though because my husband sang the song to me as we danced, so I could have been on the moon for all I cared. Plus our families aren’t dancing families.
I did attend a wedding this summer where the bride and groom took lessons. They looked great dancing but had some awkward moments getting on and off and staying within the bounds of the dance floor. There was also a long pause between them taking their dance positions and the DJ starting the music. So I say if you go this route, make sure to work on the entrance, exit and know the boundaries of your dance floor if you’re renting one of those piece together ones. Oh, and let the DJ know when to cue the music (stepping on the dance floor, grabbing his hand, he grabs your waist etc.)
Yikes…sorry for the long post.
my, my, my, my boogie shoes. and boogie with you. i LOVE kc and the sunshine boys! i grew up listening to that in my dad’s car…which came with stories of how he actually wrote the songs but they stole them. sure dad, sure.
anywho, i’m sure the dancing classes will help allay you and mr. hummingbird’s anxieties about dancing in public. it’ll be nice to have an idea of what you want to do, dancewise. definitely go for it and have fun
FI and I were debating taking dance lessons, but we realized that we wouldn’t be able to put in the time to be completely comfortable with all the steps we needed to learn, and we didn’t want to be so focused on dancing correctly, that we didn’t enjoy the moment. I’ve been to weddings where it was very obvioius the bride and groom were trying to remember the correct steps, and it just seemed akward.
We will sway back and forth. Perhaps in a circle if we want to get daring.
Don’t forget to add an occassional dip!
Actually I disagree with Shelby, sort of. Dance lessons do help of course if you want to do a crazy routine, but a few sessions of a basic ballroom class will also help boost your confidence and teach you some very basic steps - nothing complex at all. What you should do is call various dance instructors and ask if they teach you to lead and follow in their classes, or if they only teach you specific steps. Especially if you have a difficult time with rhythm, you will find dancing much easier if you know how to follow!
I have found dance lessons to be extremely helpful and would highly recommend them. A dance class should do the trick, there’s probably no need for more expensive private lessons 
on a tangent - I did consider having “Walking on Sunshine” for the recessional…
Ok, before I say anything, I gotta volunteer that I’ve seen plenty of brides doing the 8th-grade shuffle, and not batted an eyelash.
However, if that’s not what you’re looking for, I would really advocate taking some dance lessons. And I probably wouldn’t waste the money on private dance lessons, unless you want something specially choreographed. Instead, I’d start now & sign up for some smooth/American ballroom dance classes at your local JC or community dance center–even if it means hitting the floor with a bunch of retirees. And I’d start now b/c what the dance classes are really good for is giving you a feel for dancing as a couple and finding a dance rhythmn together–which takes a little time practicing.
No, I’m not uncoordinated; my FI, however, was totally NOT comfortable dancing. Anywhere. Ever. We finally took some dance lessons recently & by the end he could actually lead me rather well, was way more confident and actually seemed coordinated. And what really counted was the time we spent actually dancing together, practicing during the lessons…
I just noticed that smartl wrote basically the same thing–sorry–I 2nd her comments! 
My husband and I took dance lessons in preparation for the big day. It was a really fun experience. But three weeks before the wedding, he decided that he’d rather not be concentrating on dancing “properly,” and would rather do the aptly-named “8th grade shuffle.” (sigh)
We ended up doing the “sway” thing, though we threw in a few twirls and a dip at the end for style. I’m glad in the end that we didn’t have to worry about the steps, and could just concentrate on each other. But taking the lessons helped us add a little flair to our dances later in the evening!
At our wedding three weeks ago, we actually didn’t do any of the standard dances, no first dance, nor father-daughter, mother-son. My husband (!!!) is just not a dancer, so I wasn’t going to make him dance in front of 100 folks just b/c of tradition. We still had music and folks were on the dance floor all night, myself included at times, just not the hubby.
But I have taken dance lessons in the past with frieds,and they are just so much fun, you’ll be amazed what he, and you, can do with just a little bit of instruction (and patience!). Enjoy it and congrats and enjoy that dance with your grandfather!
Dance lessons were one of our favorite parts of wedding planning! We bought a package of 5 private lessons and we went once a week, starting 6 weeks before the wedding. It was great to have the time together and it really brought us closer at a time when people are usually arguing. We went out to dinner after each lesson and I’ll remember it as a special part of the process.
We learned a basic foxtrot, but more importantly he learned how to lead and I learned how to follow. I had taken lessons before but my DH is seriously lacking rhythm so I’m glad we did it and I would recommend it to anyone! We didn’t do some special routine, but we were confident in what we did and I even heard “wow, they know what they’re doing” while we were dancing! It was FUN and totally worth it. And we danced throughout the reception. DH wasn’t worried about what people thought once he knew a few steps and realized he COULD dance.
Fred Hinton, Dancing on King, (416) 469-3184. He’s WONDERFUL! We took an introductory class at Arthur Murray and were disappointed when after 4 30 minute lessons they told us the next package was 15 weeks and $3000, so Fred was recommended to us by a LOT of brides on a Toronto wedding board. He’s absolutely lovely. We weren’t sure we wanted a whole formal routine (which he does do) so we just learned some rhumba steps (our dance was apparently a rhumba) as well as some waltz steps just for fun. We ended up just doing the grade 8 hold ‘n’ sway, but we felt a lot more confident about it thanks to Fred (until I tried a spin, totally screwed it up, and about fell down laughing). Plus he’s pretty affordable and you pay by the class, no contracts. I highly highly highly recommend him and can give you several other names of brides who agree with me.
Mrs. Hummingbird, Toronto
Age and Occupation: 25, Publishing Coordinator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Videogame Designer/Cartoonist
Engagement Date: May 4, 2007
Wedding Date: June 28, 2008
Blogging Since: September 18, 2007
Venue: A garden wedding followed by a tented reception on Mr. Hummingbird's father's property.
About Me: I’m a pop culture loving, vintage obsessed foodie living in Canada’s biggest city with my fantastic fiancé and our lovable fluffy cat Bettie. I’m stoked to marry my best friend and to throw what I hope will be
the most fun and colourful party of our lives.
I am a tall, clumsy woman with no sense of rhythm. Dance lessons do help. It’s easier to dance when there are steps you can learn, rather than more free-form dancing like hip-hop. Your post was really funny, by the way.
I’m a big fan of salsa music, and the dance is pretty easy to learn. I also used to do swing dance back when that was more popular. Both are fun, and I can only imagine how uncoordinated I would be now if I had never taken lessons.
Just keep a sense of humor about the whole thing with your fiance and you’ll both have a good time.