Nightclub 2 Step
Brian and Carmen
Nightclub 2 Step is a slow dance that looks great for a First Dance. Now is your opportunity to watch a short video clip of an actual dance lesson in Orlando, Florida. Brian and Carmen are taking First Dance Classes so they can learn Nightclub 2 Step. They have decided to dance to “When I say I do” by Matthew West.
Brian and Carmen have never danced together before taking nightclub 2 step dance lessons, but you certainly cannot tell by the way they are dancing together. This dance is very slow, but not a waltz. All dances that are slow are not necessarily a waltz. A waltz has a very distinctive beat. The music for a waltz is 3/4 time. that means there are three beats in every measure.
The Nightclub 2 Step is a 4/4 dance music which means there are four beats in every measure. The dance tempo is slow, but the beats dictate that Brian and Carmen’s dance is a nightclub 2 step. The leader sways his body to the tempo, and the follower mimics what she sees with her body to match the movement.
Unlike the waltz — that is a formal dance with a formal hold – the nightclub 2 step is more relaxed with a two hand hold, and has a closed position, too. The nightclub 2 step was first invented in the mid 1960′s by Buddy Schwimmer.
One of the hardest techniques to practice is that of the hips remaining forward while dancing. Most students will twist their hips to go from side to side, and that changes the entire look of the dance.
I am happy to say that Carmen and Brian never started to dance that way – - and that’s one of the reasons they look so good so early in their wedding dance lessons. I have videotaped the end of their first lesson, and they are doing remarkably well.
I added the sway on the second lesson, because it sometimes becomes too overwhelming for my students to add the basic nightclub 2 step and the sway or rock at the same time. It has proven to work well for them as they certainly look awesome.
Diana Jo Rossano was trained by Arthur Murray as a social dance instructor in Orlando, Florida.
