Ceroc is a very simple form of partner dancing – it’s a little bit like Salsa in look but without the complicated footwork. It’s very easy to learn and great fun to do and is also a very social night out. One of the major things about dance is that it is a great form of exercise, so it helps with weight loss and as an aerobic activity, it’s good for your heart and general well being too.

There’s no need to bring a partner as we partner people up at the beginning of the class and then rotate partners every few minutes – so you’ll get to meet lots of new people and it also means that when you want to dance you’ll be able to find a friendly face from the class to dance with when the freestyle starts. Please do participate in the classes and the moving round – as a beginner you may be tempted to want to stay with a friend that you came with, but if they are a beginner too, dancing solely with each other, will hinder your progression. This is because there are people of all levels of ability in the beginners class and dancing with as many people as possible will give you a better understanding of the lead and follow aspect of the dance.  And there really is no age restriction – Ceroc dancers come from all walks of life and we have people as young as 18 and as old as 80 learning to dance, but probably the average age range is 25-50.

For the general classes people normally come casually dressed (people get a little more dressed up for the regular Saturday freestyles) and it’s important that you try and wear footwear that is comfortable, but that also has a leather or suede sole. This is because there are a lot of spins and movement in the dance and if you wear rubber soled shoes like trainers your feet will stick to the floor! This will hinder your dancing and potentially damage your knees – so think footwear first and foremost. To begin with do the best you can and if you get hooked by the dancing bug, as many people are, you can buy specialist dance footwear very easily and relatively cheaply (don't worry, not all dance shoes are minging!)

For complete beginners we will also be running a special 20 min introductory class at 7.35pm before the main beginners class starts at 8pm – and this will be on both the regular Tuesday and Thursday nights. This class will go through the basics about how the dance is lead and followed and will teach you more about hand heights and how you respond to your partner. This is of course covered in the beginners class as well, but with so much else going on there is a lot to think about, so if you can get to this class at 7.35pm and get the basics under your belt before you start you will progress more quickly. In addition, on Thurs nights only, we will run a recap of the previous weeks beginners routine in advance of the beginners class.

For the guys it does take a little longer to learn than the ladies as the man is leading the dance – so you need to bear with it at the start. Very soon though the elements will fall into place and you will move on more quickly as the dancing starts to embed into your muscle memory. This is your opportunity to stop dancing like your Dad, so go for it!

For the ladies the most difficult aspect is realising that the man is in charge, (Just on the dance floor obviously...) So ladies you mustn’t  lead yourself or try to pre-empt  what the guy is about to do. Just relax and be mindful of what the guy is leading you to do by how he is using his hands and body movement to guide you.

The beginners class starts at 8pm and will last for 45 mins. During this time you will be taught 3 basic moves that follow on from each other and that also link back to the beginning – so you’ll be able to dance the sequence easily over and over again. We also teach each move in isolation first and then add it on, so if you struggle to begin with don’t worry - when we move onto the next move  we will still go back to the beginning when we link them together. At the end of this class we’ll have about 10-15mins of music for you to practice to (we call this ‘freestyle’) and then we stop at 9pm ready for the intermediate class that runs from 9-9.30pm (9-9.45pm on Tues). However, during this time as a beginner you’ll have another chance to go through the whole class that’s just been taught with our taxi dancers (experienced dancers that help out during the practice session) in an adjacent room.

After 9.30pm (9.45pm on Tues) we all come back together and we have freestyle dancing from 9.30-11pm where you are free to dance with whoever you want to. People will come up and ask you to dance and you are also free to ask anyone else to dance – and the general etiquette is that you don’t refuse a dance (we have deodarant in the toilets and mints for people to freshen up... so it's all good..). How many dances  you have with them in succession, or through the night, is entirely up to you and it is completely acceptable and normal to have just one dance and move on to ask someone else. The music is also very varied so hopefully you’ll find something that you want to dance to from Pop, Swing, Disco, Soul, R&B, Latin, Blues etc. etc.

Finally, as a beginner, we’ll give you a glowing band when you come in so that other dancers know that you are new – this saves you having to explain each time and means you don’t have to keep apologizing if you think you’re not doing very well! We really do understand, we were all beginners once.. Please do try and stay for the freestyles as dancing is all about confidence and that comes from improving your muscle memory – and that can only come from dancing with other people and from going through the moves and learning the process of lead and follow.

Most importantly have fun! You really will be able to dance a few moves even after your first night so just enjoy yourself. If you are worried about dancing with other people to begin with then just sit and have a drink and watch other people dancing, because that’s a great way to learn too.

Hope to see you on the dance floor soon,

David & Val

Note: there is more detailed information on beginners classes and Ceroc in general available here;

 

 Pictures: Phil Thomas