Strictly Steps

Most people fall into one of the following levels of dance experience:

a) Never danced with a partner,
b) Wiggled around the dance floor like a fish out of water,
c) Enrolled in a dance class, became disillusioned and dropped out,
d) Took a dance class several years ago,
e) Took dance classes, even recently, but rarely practiced away from class,
f) Completed at least one dance class but need a refresher,
g) Able to dance some dances but would like to know more,
h) Able to dance several dances well.

You need not read further and may go back to being emersed in your "smartphone", if you: 1) fall into categories a, b, or c, given above, or 2) claim no need for any of the wellness benefits from ballroom dancing or 3) find it a challenge to read a road map.

However, if you are serious about learning ballroom dancing or recalling steps you had once learned, it is suggested that you first complete at least ten hours of group-type lessons before attempting to follow dance step diagrams as presented in this book. Classes will also teach the other body part movements, such as arm, hip, and head, that are necessary to dance with style.

This book provides approximately 200 patterns covering 12 popular ballroom dances.

Part A includes diagrams, corresponding instructions for basic patterns, and for ranges of tempos (beats per minute, bpm). Part A may be used to ease the reader into following the more complex movements in Part B

Part B provides diagrams for more beginner and some intermediate-level patterns.

Joe Sidor, Dance Instructor, Redlands, California, May 5, 2022