I have been regularly social dancing at least 2-3 times a week for about a year now and over the last couple of months, I have developed a code or commandments I follow when Im dancing. My list is as follows:

1 –  Never say no when asked by a girl
I dont get this honor very often but when a girl does ask me to dance, I always say yes. I feel it takes abit of courage for a girl to ask a guy to dance. After all, when I first started, it took me 2 months to build up enough guts to ask a girl to dance. (Yes, 2 months! I stood on the side of the club and just watch and try to psych myself every week to ask someone)

2 –  Dancecraft is key!
The last thing I want to happen is to get my partner hurt and speaking of accidents, I actually caught an elbow in the back of my head last night, should have worn a helmet better me than my partner I say. If possible, I avoid tight spots on the dance floor and dance around “less dangerous dancers” and in the event that we bump into someone(accidents are bound to happen) I always apologise and if Im on the receiving end of the blow, I will never hold it against anyone who bumps into me. I understand its not easy to keep track of all 5 couples dancing around you, lead, think of the next move and interpret the music(guys cant multitask! I am a living example of that)

3 – Always have fun regardless of conditions
Rain(seriously, it was flooding at my regular club, Casablanca last week) or shine or whether Im just doing basics and right hand turns or even when Ive totally exhausted every single move I have or if the music is not great or even if Im not dancing my best, I will enjoy every single dance. I might winge when Im not dancing but once I start, Im just all smiles(I might not be smiling physically but I am in my head =)

4 – Ask at least one person I have never met/seen to dance
This is the most important to me, not only do I get to meet someone new, they could be the next dance addict to hit the dance floor. Its hard for someone new to break into the dance scene and I try my best not to get into the habit of just dancing within my circle.

5 – Start slow, finish big
I try to start off slow, especially when Im dancing with an unknown. Let the girl get used to my lead and gradually increase the amount and complexity of the moves depending on how they cope and I do admit that I have a tendency of pushing girls a step further than their limit but I think it keeps things fresh and allow mistakes to happen, which is NOT a bad thing cause its fun to have a good laugh over it.

What do you think of my 5 commandments? Do you your own commandments? Let me know, Im curious?

Disclaimer: Im not forcing my code onto you and there are times when I have broken my own code by accident, so dont hold me against it =) I try my best to uphold it.