Whether it's your first one, or your first as a Silver or Gold level student, there are some essential tips to having a successful session, and understanding how to get the best value for your time.
The following tips range from practical dance tips to purpose and strategy for your program as a whole. The name of the game is to acquire confidence, muscle memory, and enjoy the community in your dance school.
Follow these tips, share with your favorite dance friends, and re-read as necessary.
What is an Arthur Murray Practice Party?
The Arthur Murray Practice Party is where dance students, new and experienced, put their instruction into practical use. These sessions are designed to emulate a night out dancing at a nightclub, a wedding reception, or an office party. What sets the activity apart is that there are Arthur Murray instructors present, to help answer questions, or offer suggestions, which makes it a supported, but fun, learning environment.
1. Aim for the Corners
Regardless of what Patrick Swayze may have told you, your job is to put yourself in the corner... baby.
When it comes to dances like Foxtrot, Waltz, or Tango getting down the floor and into the corner allows you to execute your full array of moves based on their design. Not to mention, that's where the best dancers go to maximize the dance floor real estate.
Bottom Line: Don't cut, or round, the corners like you did in soccer practice when your coach wasn't looking.
2. Work the Middle
In Foxtrot, patterns like the "Magic Left Turn" or "Swing Step" work well in the center of the dance floor - and especially if it is crowded.
Think of the center of the dance floor like a central hub where you can re-position your next set of traveling moves where things aren't as crowded.
Bottom Line: The middle of the dance floor can help you find a clearer lane to travel.
3. Switch on the Fly
Nothing can negatively affect your dance momentum quite like sitting out every other song. Instead, ask the nearest person to you to dance before either of you have a chance to leave the dance floor.
You'll get more practice, and a better workout.
Bottom Line: The early bird gets the worm, and the early invitation keeps you on the dance floor.
4. Limit the Water
Water breaks aren't really as necessary as they may seem. Sure, there are people who are dying of thirst, but most people get water to pass the time until they find a dance partner. So, understanding that little secret, consider anyone near the water cooler a prime partner candidate, and save the water until you're parched.
Bottom Line: Sometimes water breaks have nothing to do with thirst, so save the hydration for when you absolutely need it.
5. Find Your Teacher Radius
When possible, try to stay within a ten foot radius of a teacher at all times - especially if you are new.
The instructors are there to help, and you can even tell them that you're dancing near them in case they have questions. That will make it even easier for them to assist you if you need it.
Bottom Line: On an airplane, the flight crew points out the emergency exits so you always know where to go in case something goes wrong. Treat the instructors like emergency exits, but for dance problems.
6. Set the Strategy With Your Teacher
Treat your practice parties the way you might treat a softball game in a league you're playing in. The party is your game, the lessons leading up to "the game" are your practices, and your teacher is your coach. Setting up goals and strategies for your party is, in itself, a great strategy that new students can instantly benefit from.
Bottom Line: Tony Robbins said, "how can you ever expect to win a game if you don't know the rules?". So take a few minutes to establish your party strategy ahead of time with your teacher so you can create measurable results.
Remember that thing about the water?
Well, all this extra physical activity is going to cause perspiration, so dry off when you quench your thirst so you still have people who want to dance with you when you hit the floor again.
Bottom Line: Perspiration is your body's way of telling you that you're on the right track... and that you should always pack a towel in you dance bag.
In order to really extract the "practice" from your practice parties, you need to experiment.
That means putting a new skill or step you are learning into action. Treat the new skill or step like a product you're going to launch. The party is your lab, the teachers are your focus groups, and the general public, for now, are the other students.
Bottom Line: Until you've proven it will work with a teacher, don't try it on other students.
With the help of your teacher, use the parties to work on specific skills: Dance frame, hip motion, or brushing in your Foxtrot.
It's important that you get repetition with this skill to infuse it with muscle memory. So this won't be a contest to see how many skills you can pack into each dance. Just make your whole evening about one, and you'll be pleasantly surprised what a month of parties will produce.
Bottom Line: Treat each party like a dance skill secret mission. Just make sure you are receiving clearance from your contact (a.k.a. "Your Teacher").
When you are out of your comfort zone, your fight or flight reflexes are in their full, heart pumping, glory.
So it's normal to deflect the invitation to go to an activity like a party, or to go, only to leave at the first sign of dance trouble.
Let's make one thing clear - the party isn't a nightclub.
Bottom Line: You aren't attending to impress people. You're going so that way you can build and develop your skills so that eventually you can impress people.
Building confidence has this one, inconvenient, part in the process - you have to be challenged. It's like building muscles - they won't grow if you aren't constantly adding more weight.
Just like exercising, more weight can be uncomfortable, but you aren't surprised by extra weight when you're working out. "Excuse me Mr. Personal Trainer, but could we go with the one pound weights today? I think that will speed up my progress."
So why is it that when it comes to building our confidence in something, we have a tendency to bolt the moment it gets a little uncomfortable? Perhaps it's because we can see the weights, and see our progress, and confidence is difficult to measure.
If you follow the steps listed above, and check in with your teacher, your confidence will become as measurable as adding weights to a bench press. As long as you continue to show up, welcome the discomfort, and remember that it's your first indicator of progress.
Suggested Read: "Dance Progress Explained - The Arthur Murray Curve of Learning"
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