Glide Rite: Smooth Moves To Get Your Marriage Off To A Smooth Start

by Mia Bolaris-Forget (Staff Writer)

Want you marriage to run smoothly? Who doesn’t? Well, according to experts a good way to achieve harmony in your marriage is by first achieving harmony on the dance floor, at least metaphorically speaking.

They remind couples that dancing, usually something the bride enjoys much more than the groom can be a stepping stone for learning to compromise and working in unison “as one”.

They further remind couples, that while “Happily Ever After” can be achieved loving over a lifetime of (intense) memories and experiences, the perfect production (on the dance floor) is achieved over only a few months of intense training and practice.


The pros suggest taking your first steps toward marital bliss by choosing a song you can step out to comfortably and “in-style”, something that will wow the crowd, but will also have special meaning and sentimentality for you. And, experts “dare you to be different”, if you choose to. You may even opt for a medley of melodies to show off your individuality, personality, skills and smooth moves.

Traditional show stoppers include romantic dances such as the waltz and the fox-trot to more the more “risqué” tango. The waltz is a favoured classic because of its many dazzling and smooth twists and turns to soft, enchanting music while the fox-trot offes a show-stopping combination of eclectically orchestrated glides via both slow and quick foot movements. And, it can be performed proficiently to a variety of musical styles form Big Ban jazz to rag time and classic rock and roll. The tango on the other hand requires more precise and specific movements of closely entwined bodies that “seduce” the audience via music and song.

Most of these dances can be “mastered” at least on a basic level, even by beginners within a few professionally-instructed dance hours, though extra practice hours are essential for achieving confidence and a “flawless” performance.

Other less conventional favorites are also gaining in popularity as many couples want to dazzle the crowd with something more contemporary that reflects their generation and/or personality. Among these: The Carolina Shag (indiginous to the Carolinas and done to beach music), swing dances, and Latin dances such as the merengue.

The key to dazzling you guests out on the dance floor is finding a skilled instructor who will give you and help you polish all the right moves. And, experts suggest using someone whose “work” left an impression on you and who comes highly recommended by family and/or friends. Or, you can narrow down options by taking trial classes or one or two private lessons before making an official commitment.

Make sure that you let the studio or instructor know about your goals and ask them to be honest in their assessment or guesstimate of how many lessons you’ll need to achieve them in time for your grand event.

For couples with six or more months before the big day, group classes remain an option and tend to be less expensive. But, for couples with less than six months time, you’ll likely need that personalized and special attention offered by more “pricey” private lessons.

Finally, some couples decide to dedicate their first dance to the meaning behind the music. And, for these pairs it’s the words, not the moves, that hold more meaning and that they want their guests to tune into.

If you’re among them, consider extemporizing, simply swaying back and forth to the music, foregoing the formal and fancy footwork.

Just remember whatever song or style of dance you choose, “moving” your crowd means that you are “moved”, relaxed and moving in comfortable unison.