What To Wear When Salsa Dancing

Dancing can be a lot of fun, especially Latin American ballroom dances. I've recently started taking lessons with my partner, who has never danced before. It's so much fun!

However, before starting to take lessons, I spent a bit of time wondering what to wear. Now that I've been to some lessons and social dances, I feel more confident knowing what to wear.

What To Wear To A Dance Lesson

If you're going to a dance lesson, focus on comfort.

Ladies should wear comfortable heels - flats don't work very well for this type of dancing. However, your shoes should be the ones you've worn a number of times. Don't wear your brand new high heels! The heel height can be medium to as high as you're comfortable with.

Men should wear shoes with a stiff sole, preferably leather.

You'll definitely work up a sweat when dancing, so wear breathable clothes. Men can wear a polo shirt or a cotton shirt and slacks.

Women can wear casual clothes that they are comfortable in. For instance, some girls wear comfortable dresses, or skirts and a top. I sometimes wear a dressy tunic (or short mini-dress) and knee-length leggings, although most often I wear slacks or thin denim and a comfortable top.

Remember that you might be turning and dipping throughout the dance, so you don't want to wear something too short. Because you'll be raising your arms in the dance, it's preferable to wear a top without sleeves or with loose, comfortable sleeves.

This attire might sound too casual to a lot of people, but remember that dance lessons are really more focused on learning to dance, than actually showing off your dancing skills! You might want to wear a casual dress to the first lesson and see what others wear - in my dance classes, most men wear slacks and a t-shirt, while most women wear casual dresses or denim and slightly dressy tops.

What To Wear To A Social Dance

There are a few Salsa parties here - the main one is held once a month, so people definitely dress up! Nicer dresses for women, and shirts for men seem to be the norm. Again, each social dance will differ a bit.

Regardless of what you choose to wear, you can relax a bit knowing that when it comes to Latin American dancing, the focus is more on dancing and having fun, than wearing the perfect clothes!