Frequently asked questions
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Wear comfortable casual clothing that you can move around in. Dancing is a physical activity and you might break a sweat! You are going to be dancing with others so please to observe good personal hygiene!
What do I Wear?
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Bring a pair of comfortable shoes with a flat, smooth, non-marking sole that will stay securely on your foot. Keds, Toms, or Converse are great options. Shoes that are grippy will make it more difficult to execute moves and spins (and put a lot of extra stress on your knees!) Avoid sandals, flip-flops, open-toed shoes, or any shoe without a secure heel.
What should I expect in my first class?
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For our beginner classes we always start with a warm-up, followed by detailed break-down of the basic steps used in partnered swing dancing. You'll get lots of practice doing these steps on your own before you try them with a partner. Our monthly series always start with fundamentals and build upon a topic throughout the month. We recommend beginners start with the first class in a series.
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No partner? No problem! In all of our classes, we rotate partners throughout the class. This means that all students will get a chance to dance with everyone in the class and no one will be left out because they can't bring a partner. This is a really fun aspect of a social dance class: meeting new people!
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Are you attending a group class but only want to dance with your partner? No problem, we want you to feel comfortable and will allow you to stick with one person if you'd prefer. However, we recommend rotating partners because you'll pick up the content much quicker by dancing with different people of varying skill level.
What do "Lead" and "Follow" mean? Which role should I choose?
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We teach vintage partner dancing, but we don't have vintage ideas about gender roles commonly associated with partner dancing. We want students to choose the dance role that most appeals to them.
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In a simple definition, the lead constructs the outline or overall shape of the dance, thinking ahead to communicate ideas to their partner; and the follow reacts in the moment to interpret the nuanced cues given by the lead. But as the content gets more advanced, the follow role has a lot of influence on the dance as well. Partner dancing is a conversation - both roles play a vital part in the partner dance experience and are uniquely exciting!
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Many dancers in the CFSDS community commonly switch roles. For beginners, we advise sticking with one role as you learn the fundamentals. But feel free to experiment with the other role as you see fit!