Topic 2: TO WALTZ OR SALSA?

-  advice from elena serra (head designer AND former competitive ballroom dancer/instructor)

Unusual and comical bridal dance choreography seems to be taking the world by storm at the moment. So do you follow the trend and opt for something non-traditional and cheeky or do you stick with the old classics? Well the choice really comes down to your personalities and what the expectations are of you on your wedding day. If you and your fiance have sole control over the day's proceedings and are free to tailor the whole experience to your own liking then why not up the entertainment factor and delight the crowd with a hot salsa number or something a little upbeat and tongue-in-cheek. If you're having a traditional type of ceremony and reception however and parents and family expect you to respect the old tradition of the bridal waltz, you may have to do just that (but remember you could always throw in a little something unexpected in the middle of it!).

CHOREOGRAPHY TIPS

In my opinion, unless the two of you are already accomplished dancers, don't make it too hard for yourselves - and be sure to make this a point with the dance instructor who is putting together your routine as they can sometimes get a little over ambitious and carried away if they think that you are picking up the steps quite easily. The last thing you want, is for your dance routine to be another stress on your mind before the big event, and you certainly don't want to be riddled with nerves on your wedding day because you're not confident with your dance steps.So it's always best to approach your first dance with the idea that it should be a bit of fun and a nice experience for you both without being stressful. Just remember, your guests just want to see you both as a happy couple enjoying each other's company on the dance floor and they want to be able to take some good pics of your moves. So make sure that you have some really simple steps that allow you to get in close to each other for those nice, intimate shots and throw in a couple of surprising, more flashy moves to WOW the audience.

If you're planning on going traditional with a bridal waltz, be warned that the actual steps for the basic waltz can be very confusing to a lot of people. There are different types of turns - called the natural turn and the reverse turn, and you will probably have a few other basic formations thrown in there too. The difficult part of the waltz is remembering to change weight continuosly from foot to foot, and the man needs to be confident in leading the lady in the right direction evey time there is a turn to be made. My advice, if you are going for a waltz is to make your steps REALLY small in size so the turns look and feel easier instead of being awkward and perhaps start the routine with something quite showy and then break it up again in the middle with something easy and effective.   HAPPY DANCING!