Step back in time to the roaring 1920s and master the fun, upbeat moves of the Charleston with our Solo Beginner Charleston Course! Starting Sunday 17th November at 6pm, this exciting course will have you tapping your feet and swinging your arms to the infectious rhythms of jazz. No partner needed—just bring your enthusiasm and get ready to dance!

Solo Beginner Charleston Course Details:

• Start Date: Sunday 17th November
• Time: 6 PM
• Duration: 4 Weeks
• Location: Learn To Dance, Cherry Orchard Pavilion, Britwell Road, Burnham, SL1 8DL
• Cost: £35 per person

The Charleston is a lively and energetic solo dance that will get your heart pumping and your feet moving! Perfect for beginners, this four-week course is designed to teach you the iconic steps and techniques of the Charleston. Whether you’re looking to improve your dance skills or just want to have some fun, this course is a fantastic way to experience the joy of dance.

Why Learn the Charleston?

The Charleston is not only a great way to have fun, but it’s also a fantastic workout. It improves coordination, balance, and stamina, while the upbeat tempo keeps your energy levels high. You’ll be grooving to the sounds of swing music and having a blast in every class.

Get a Cheeky Headstart!

Check out some of our online Charleston lessons in the below playlist, plus a playlist to practice some of your dance moves to.

Book Your Spot Today!

Our Solo Beginner Charleston course is a great way to learn a unique and entertaining dance style in a welcoming and supportive environment. Spaces are limited, so be sure to secure your spot by booking below, visiting our studio or contact us. To book a space for another person please visit our full booking system.

Come and learn this dynamic dance, full of character and charm, at Learn To Dance.

Join us at Learn To Dance and step into the world of Charleston, where you’ll learn the steps and create lasting memories. We can’t wait to see you there!

The post Solo Beginner Charleston Course appeared first on Learn To Dance.

What Do We Cover in the Beginner Basic Cha Cha Lesson?

The Cha Cha Basic – Closed, Open & In Place

We start the class off with the Basic in Place, using weight changes to practice our Cha Cha Cha technique and timing.

Once we’ve mastered that we then look at applying the technique to the Closed Basic, which tends to be the standard basic move. It should also be normally rotated, although most teachers (including us) would tend to teach it straight to complete beginners.

Next up is our final basic option the Open Basic. This involves taking the chasse forward and back with a locking action.

New Yorks & Hand to Hands with Spot Turn ending

Once we’d covered all the basic beginner Cha Cha options we then introduced a New Yorks with Spot Turn ending. Sometimes these are also known as New Yorkers. Here the basic movement involves turning a quarter turn and stepping across yourself from one side to the other.

A similar move is the Hand to Hands, which involves a quarter turn in the opposite direction to the New Yorks, so that you end up stepping back rather than through the middle. We’ll also finish this with a Spot Turn for the moment too.

There and Back and Side Steps

The next move introduced is called the There and Back. This involves two weight changes on the spot (like the Basic in Place) before a three step run backwards, a back rock, and then three runs forward. When danced with a partner you would mirror their movement, running away from each other before coming back in again.

Finally we introduced a move that we don’t normally teach our regular students – Side Steps to Left and Right. It’s easy to confuse yourself with these so just take it slowly and get used to whether you’re starting each section with a weight change or a side step.

Beginner Basic Cha Cha Cha Lesson Video

Want to skip ahead to particular moves? You can find the timestamps below:

[00:01:07] Basic in Place
[00:06:17] Closed Basic
[00:10:26] Rotating the Basic
[00:13:35] Open Basic
[00:18:58] New Yorks, with Spot Turn ending
[00:22:23] Hand to Hands, with Spot Turn ending
[00:25:08] There and Back
[00:27:21] Side Steps to left and right
[00:30:22] Solo Dance Routine
[00:37:16] Solo Routine to Music

Fun Solo Dance Routine

Once we’d covered all the steps we began teaching you a simple solo Cha Cha Cha dance routine to practice all the steps learnt.

The routine features all of the basic beginner steps and we’ll talk you through it as we dance, after a brief recap of the routine.

Cha Cha Cha Dance Music Playlist

We have also uploaded a Cha Cha Cha Dance Music playlist that you can use for practice. With a selection of slow and quick songs, as well as a mixture of traditional and contemporary.

We hope you enjoy the Cha Cha Cha music playlist.

About Learn To Dance

Learn To Dance is a Ballroom and Latin American Dance School based in Burnham, Buckinghamshire.

Offering regular live-stream classes, as well as useful dance uploads, subscribe to be kept informed when new videos are going live. Send us your suggestions of what you’d like to see us release and we’ll do our best!

Looking for more personal tuition on your Basic Beginner Cha Cha Cha? We provide both in-person and streamed lessons and classes. Check out https://learndance.co.uk/online for more information.

You can check out our website, or follow us online, at:

Website: https://learndance.co.uk
YouTube: https://youtube.com/learndance
Facebook: https://facebook.com/learndance
Instagram: https://instagram.com/learndance
Twitter: https://twitter.com/learndance

The post Beginner Basic Cha Cha Cha Solo Dancing YouTube Lesson appeared first on Learn To Dance.

On Sunday 14th March 2021 we held another free live-stream class on YouTube, this time a Beginner Basic Samba dance class.

In this class we started with the Samba Reverse Basic. This is a step forward with the left foot, a bounce on the spot, and then a step back with the right foot (repeating the bounce).

Some time is then spent discussing the Samba pelvic action, using a mild thrusting action by ‘pulling in’ your belly button.

Next we introduce the Samba Whisk. This is a side step with a bounced cross behind.

The Stationary Samba Walk followed which involves a close with one foot, a point back with the other, and a slip back of the front foot. When you then do the subsequent close on the next foot it is closed slightly forward (where you had originally started) to keep the overall movement on the spot.

Bota Fogos are introduced next, moving forward and backward before we start looking at the Voltas. Initially we do our Voltas in straight lines, at both half and then full speed, before looking at the Solo Spot Volta that rotates around on the spot.

Finally, just when we need a little breather, there’s a basic Rhythm Bounce.

Watch the Beginner Basic Samba Lesson

You can watch the roughly 30 minute lesson below. If you want to jump ahead to certain moves we’ve included the timestamps below it:

Lesson Timestamps

[00:01:50] Reverse Basic
[00:07:31] Whisk
[00:11:52] Stationary Samba Walk
[00:17:32] Bota Fogo
[00:23:30] Voltas
[00:26:47] Solo Spot Volta
[00:30:25] Solo Samba Routine

Solo Samba Routine Demo Video

The lesson ends with a basic beginner Solo Samba dance routine to help you practice the steps learnt.

We have chosen the song Lady De Rojo by Bassio for this routine. Before demonstrating we quickly remind you of the basic steps included too!

You can find just a demo of the Solo Samba Routine below:

If you want to check out some more of our solo routines we have a playlist over on YouTube.

Samba Dance Music Playlist

So that you can practice the basic beginner moves we’ve also uploaded a playlist of a selection of Samba tracks. The songs start off slowly then ramp up in speed, and we’ve also included songs used in some of our other lessons.

We hope you enjoy the below playlist:

About Learn To Dance

Learn To Dance is a Ballroom and Latin American Dance School based in Burnham, Buckinghamshire.

Offering regular live-stream classes, as well as useful dance uploads, subcribe to be kept informed when new videos are going live. Send us your suggestions of what you’d like to see us release and we’ll do our best!

Looking for more personal tuition on your Basic Beginner Samba? We provide both in-person and streamed lessons and classes. Check out learndance.co.uk/online for more information.

You can check out our website, or follow us online, at:

Website: learndance.co.uk
Youtube: youtube.com/learndance
Facebook: facebook.com/learndance
Instagram: instagram.com/learndance
Twitter: twitter.com/learndance

The post Beginner Basic Samba Solo Dancing YouTube Lesson appeared first on Learn To Dance.