jmnelson.com Dance Home Page Dance Curriculum Dance Articles

Ballroom Dance

J M (Mike) Nelson
Email:jmnelson@cloudnet.com
Phone: 612-810-0157

Providing a unique approach to social ballroom dance.

"For many years the American Style of dance was considered to be a 'poor relative' of the International Style. Nothing could be further from the truth nowadays. . . . American Style is very lovely, and far better suited to the beginning student, because it is so simple that it immediately creates confidence. It is also a natural for the social dance scene." (Ellis, Miriam. American Style of Ballroom Dance, USISTD, Nov. 2006, www.usisted.org)

Curriculum. Descriptions of Courses and Workshops

Articles. Essays, do-it-yourself instructions, recommendations, and research reports.

Principles of Social Dance. If you read only one article on this site, please read this one.

Partner Dancing: Summary Notes. Every social dancer should be aware of these critical aspects of partner dancing, and a periodic review of this brief summary will keep you confident and your partner happy. A two-page PDF version is available for printing.

So You Think You Can't Dance!
I have yet to fail to teach a couple to dance when both partners wanted to learn and have completed the first three lessons.* See So You Think You Can't Dance! for details about why my lessons are effective, efficient, and much easier to master than the traditional dance class.

*OK, so a few of the guys were a bit lacking in style and grace, but they learned to dance, and their wives were much happier for the effort. Though they might not be completely comfortable on the dance floor, they are immeasurably more confident than they were when they were struggling with traditional dance lessons and the consequences thereof.

jmnelson.com Dance Home Page Dance Curriculum Dance Articles