STOP WEARING PRACTICE SHOES.
[If you're new to the ye olde R'n'F, you're about to step into the world of ballroom dancing. I'm opinionated on the subject, and usually right, but I have a lot of experience and learnin' on the subject, so be warned.)
Unless you are teaching (a lot), have an injury (of the knee or lower, not your wrist, you nerd), are over 82 years old and have vertigo and a bad hip, or are practicing for more than 3 hours at a time, please put on the proper footwear.
Wearing your practice shoes (ladies especially) does not give you the opportunity to do the proper technique. The more you wear your practice shoes, the more you are practicing the wrong technique.
Ladies, remember when you were practicing your chainné turns in your flat shoes, then you put on your high heels before Showcase and were falling all over the place? If you wore your heels the first time, you'd be twice as good at those turns by now. Grrr!
Men, you felt pretty solid on your feet until you donned those damn Latin heels. Now where is your center? FIND IT. Find it faster by pulling those man-shoes out after you pass your Bronze test.
Ladies, heel leads and toe releases are soooo easy, right? Oh wait, I have to dance in heels? Yeah, if you're going to put this on your car:
... you had better make it true.
Strangely enough, both Smooth/Standard and Rhythm/Latin shoes are made to help you do the correct footwork and leg action. It's like they did it on purpose or something.
Insider tip: several high-falutin' coaches don't like it when you wear practice shoes on lessons. They also like it when you dress up (men: button-down shirts tucked in, nice pants; ladies: skirts and nice shirt). Why take a chance? Just dress up for everyone.
Plus, by putting on the right shoes all the time, I never have to answer the question, "When should I start wearing my real shoes?"
Um, now.
One year ago: Media Frenzy, with added bonus material from today!
