Dear Poppy,
Short-Term Dance Memory
I cannot seem to remember dance steps that I learn from week to week. Sometimes when I’m dancing I don’t even hear the music because I am trying so hard to remember what foot goes where when (right, left, slow, quick, quick…aargh!) What can I do to remember the steps?
Dear Short-Term,
The best way to remember your steps is to practice them, and to practice them with the appropriate music! You have to learn to listen and to enjoy the music that you are dancing to. If you don’t hear the music, honey, how can you dance? If you feel the music in the steps, you will remember them. Don’t give up! Musicality can be learned.
Ms. Poppy Chiffon — the doyenne of dance, the baroness of ballroom etiquette, the sultana of Southern hospitality — is pleased to answer your dance-related questions. Here are a few queries that Poppy deigned to extract from her mailbag this week. If you have a question that you would like Poppy Chiffon to address, please e-mail her at askpoppy@dancestationusa.com. Ms. Chiffon regrets that she cannot respond individually to questions.
