On the wedding day, every moment is special - the first kiss at the altar, as husband and wife, the handshake and, of course, first wedding dance . If not so long ago we had thought of seeing mostly the waltz as the first dance at weddings, then at the moment couples choose to experiment and ultimately dance what suits their personality and nature.

About what TOP wedding dances are and how long before the wedding one should start learning them, Līgavām.lv asked Happy Dance Studio choreographers Livu Guduli.

TOP wedding dances – waltz, rumba, Lindihop

TOP wedding dances still include the slow, the Viennese waltz, and the rumba, which is always called the dance of love. dance, both jazz/contemporary dance and Lindy-hop - for couples who respect rock and roll. "But don't think that this means that the wedding dance will be, for example, a pure demonstration of the waltz or rumba.

The dance is practically always stylized and adapted to the respective couple.

As a dance choreographer, I have to quickly perceive what will be the couple's strengths and suit them, and what is the opposite - no. True, sometimes there are couples who know right away what they would like to include in the wedding dance and what - definitely not. Scenarios vary, but a dance teacher is someone who has experience in the field and whose role is to take care of your wedding dance couples, whatever their starting position - with or without dance experience, with a clear vision of dance or with complete ignorance," Līva Gudule is convinced.

Waltz - is it really old-fashioned?

Liva says that when talking to couples, she has noticed that there is a perception of the waltz as a bit old-fashioned and too classical dance. "I do not deny that there are also couples for whom a different type of wedding dance will be more suitable, but the waltz can be danced also to relatively modern music, for example, such songs as Gravity (John Mayer) or I don’t want to miss a thing (Aerosmith). Also, the waltz can be combined with various elements of modern dance - songs, where At the bottom of is a palpable waltz rhythm. We often do exactly that with couples - at first the couple learns the waltz and then we decorate the dance with various contemporary and modern steps - so that the dance becomes musically complete," explains Līva Gudule.

Which comes first – the wedding dance or the song?

There are couples who immediately know what song will be played during their first wedding dance, and there are those who first decide what the dance will be and only then find the song. Variants may be different. "A little more natural and for a wedding I think the second strategy is more appropriate - to ask yourself at the beginning if there is a song that plays in the couple's life together a special role and symbolizes something significant.

Because a wedding dance is not just a dance. It can be quite personalized to represent the story of the couple - with interweaving symbols, important key words or milestones from the couple's life together.

Such a dance, of course, requires joint negotiations and great responsibility on the part of the choreographer as well. But from my experience I can to say that these dances turn out to be very interesting and emotional, because for both me and the couple this process suddenly takes a different meaning and a different wave of energy. And as long as we create the dance according to the couple's story, we can't go wrong,” Liva shares her experience.

The slower the song, the more mistakes?

However, if the couple does not have one specific song, then it would be ideal if the couple chose about 3-5 of their TOP songs, at which I would like to stage a dance. Next, the task of the dance teacher will be to tell the couple how it could look and how easy or difficult the dance would be to each of the couple's selected songs.

"Other times it happens that a person without dance experience, when hearing a song, thinks that it is too slow, so he will be able to notice all mistakes, but at the same time, as a choreographer, I hear a quick and light wine waltz to the same song with handy and expressive accents to use in the dance. Therefore, I advise you not to give up a favorite song before that not offered to a dance teacher," Līva advises.

Advice after a song from a dance teacher

If the couple does not have their favorite song, then the dance instructor can help with that too. Professionals often have their own a list from which it is possible to offer the most suitable songs for the couple. “Any wedding dance has steps you can start learning without songs and then easily adapt it to different songs such as backswings, some trick, basic step and in general leading, following.

In such cases, I usually add different songs to the respective steps during training, so we we see which song suits the couple more, which one gives more energy and, for example, which one makes the couple feel better rhythm," says Liva.

The wedding dance changes the couple's energy!

Liva, guided by her own experience, says that the biggest challenge, which later turns into the biggest benefit, is for the couple to learn leading and following in the dance. It tends to be quite difficult for inexperienced dancers.

"I myself often see how a couple's energy changes and adjusts when learning to dance. It is often the women who initially initiates decisions more often and rushes the partner forward, while grooms are more accommodating, slower, sometimes more rebellious, minimally involved in creating the dance. But in the world of dance, these roles are different, and learning to dance something is working out in the couple's relationship. I myself have seen several times how after a few lessons my husband starts more often to take the initiative and lead, and as a woman, although it is difficult to get used to it immediately, follows and enjoys it.

Couples don't usually come to dance class with the expectation of learning how to lead and follow, but I think it's close the most important thing a wedding couple needs to learn for their first wedding dance.

So that when both dance, there is no awkward pushing and shoving, and that the couple does not do their own dance in parallel, but in common mutual harmony," says Līva.

How long will it take to study?

The professional recommends that you should start thinking about the wedding dance at least three months before the wedding. Couples who are starting to learn on time, often enjoy the learning process more, as well as protect yourself from unnecessary stress before the big event. "There are couples happier if there is time left to polish the steps so that you don't have to think about them anymore and you can more easily indulge in the common for a wedding dance, so I would recommend at least 8 lessons. Often couples want to learn more themselves.

However, of course, the number of lessons depends on the couple's preparation, learning speed, expectations about the dance, as well as opportunities to train individually," states Līva Gudule/ Happy Dance Studio.

Author of the article: LIENE PÄLĆA

Photo: MIKS SHELS , LINDA LAUVA , AIGA RĀDMANE, GATIS LOČMELIS , BAZALY PHOTOGRAPHY, LIENE PETERSONE