It’s Friday!!! The weekend starts here and it is time to P.A.R.T.Y? Because I gotta!! And so to get you in the mood here on Bride Vs Groom we’re having a dance off!! That’s right, we are throwing down some moves and bustin’ some grooves, boy vs girl, dog vs his own tail. Sadly interpretive dance is somewhat harder to interpret in literary form so we thought we’d just have an argument instead!
So, today’s hot topic is all about the Bride and Groom’s first dance: should it be a pre-prepared, choreographed routine or a free-flowing movin’ to the groovin’ freestyle? Let’s find out!
In the red dress, feeling the beat and free-styling it up, she’s no stranger to the dance-floor even if she has had to work out how to boogie with a camera strap round her neck it’s Dom “The Tog” Bride
In the pink tutu, pirouetting away to some carefully rehearsed steps, he’s often asked to be up first on the dance-floor purely to stop dads from feeling embarrassed about their own dancing it’s Matt “The Gormless” Groom.
Break it down!
Dom: It’s your first dance as a married couple, not Strictly Come Dancing! it doesn’t matter whether or not you can dance properly, it’s just a chance for you and your new husband or wife to enjoy a nice romantic dance together to a song you love.
Matt: But all eyes are still on you and you are expected to make everyone else want to get up on the dance-floor! To some degree it is a performance – everyone will be watching and will want to be entertained!
D: If you’re not a great dancer then learning a routine (and being able to remember it after a few drinks) is going to be a nightmare!
M: But at the same time if you can’t dance then learning a few moves together even if it doesn’t look like a full routine means you’re not going to be completely embarrassed and end up doing the dreaded “Dad-dancing”!!
D: No-one cares if you can’t dance – it’s just about the romance! If you pick a slow dance you can’t really go wrong, and you can always instruct your ushers and bridesmaids to get up on the dance-floor quickly so you’re not dancing on your own for too long!
M: I’ve seen some brilliant routines done at weddings, you can even have a joke with it: at my brothers wedding they started the dance with the DJ saying “Will Fred and Ginger please take to the dance-floor” and my Red-headed new sister-in-law proceeded to dance the first part with my 2 year old nephew Freddie before Martin cut in and completed a comedy dance routine!
D: But sometimes rehearsed routines can look really forced and just not come off at all which is far more embarrassing than just dancing closely together without a routine! The photographer will be there to capture that moment and a look of concentration and confusion is not the image you want captured for prosperity!!
M: But as long as you rehearse it properly you shouldn’t need to concentrate that hard and can just enjoy yourselves rather than worrying you’re making a fool of yourself! Or go for a comedy routine that deliberately makes fun of yourself a little: still a little embarrassing if you’re quite shy but at least it’s on your terms and designed to make everyone laugh!
D: If you are naturally good dancers then there’s no real need to choreograph it, you spend enough time worrying about the speeches on the day, don’t give yourself extra stress for the dance!!!
M: But if you are good then why not let your talents show with a choreographed routine? How often do you get the chance to do a full-on formal routine with your partner? Rehearsing it can also be great fun and a really nice thing to do together in the build-up to the wedding!
D: Hmm…exactly what type of routine did you have in mind Thompson?
M: Think Blues Brothers meets Britney!
D: Oh god.
FINAL REMARKS
D: Choreographing your first dance takes a little of the romance out of the moment. Your first dance, looking into each others eyes whilst moving to a song that’s special to both of you is one of the first parts of the day where you get to relax with each other and forget that everyone else is there. It doesn’t matter how good you are at dancing because it’s all about the two of you, lost in a moment, together forever.
M: If, like me, you dance like your granddad and don’t want to be embarrassed in front of all your guests, having a rehearsed dance routine can be a comfort. You can check beforehand whether you look like an idiot and correct it rather than be laughed at by the guests. A choreographed routine can also be a lot of fun and have a real entertainment value for the guests. Getting someone to mix a track together for you can also enable you to start with that romantic slow-dance then switch quickly to something upbeat to get the guests up onto the dance-floor!
And so, as the DJ plays the final song and the inevitable group hugs and clambering for an ever elusive taxi begins, so this dance-off draws to a close. But you can keep the party going in our comments section below! We’d love to hear your thoughts on choreographed vs freestyle, so don’t be shy, hit the floor and show us your moves!
I thought I was going to be with Dom on this one, I honestly did. Then I Matt got me thinking. Now I’m not saying you have to have a full routine with can-can girls, or whatever the kids are into these days, but I’ve seen the first dance look like a bit of an afterthought. If you’ve practiced a bit of a dance together and you let your ushers etc know that “at that point of the music you need to bring a load of people on else we’re gonna look like idiots” then no one has to worry about looking embarrassed and everyone can enjoy the romance.
Of course if you want to break it down into a fake emergency evacuation followed by an astounding fireworks display, well I’ve seen that work amazingly too…