Do You Dance in NYC?

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Do You Dance in NYC?"

Podcast: All Of It (WNYC)
Host: Kusha Navadar (in for Alison Stewart)
Guest: Robert Royston, world champion dancer & choreographer
Air Date: August 14, 2024

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Episode Overview

This episode explores NYC’s rich and vibrant dance scene, offering advice for newcomers, highlighting ways to get involved regardless of age or experience, and celebrating the social, emotional, and physical benefits of dance. Kusha Navadar interviews Robert Royston—a decorated dancer, choreographer, and beloved teacher—as they answer listener questions and demystify joining the city’s dance culture.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. NYC as a Dance Capital (00:52–02:14)

• Introduction to NYC's dance legacy:
  • NYC is home to a diverse array of dance styles—swing, salsa, hip hop, breaking—all with roots in the city.
  • Dance as a tool for meeting people, staying fit, and picking up wedding-worthy skills.

2. Overcoming Fear—First Steps on the Dance Floor (03:11–09:26)

• Normalizing dance anxiety:
  • Nearly everyone feels nervous or self-conscious at the outset.
  • “Things like singing, public speaking, dancing—very vulnerable, right? You kind of can't hide behind anything.” — Robert Royston [03:13]
• Early influences:
  • Robert shares formative family stories, learning to dance at an Italian wedding, and how his background challenged traditional “American” stereotypes about men and dance.
• Advice for anxious beginners:
  • Recognize nerves as a sign you care.
  • Give yourself grace to experience the “awkward stage.”
  • Try online classes for a head start and approach teachers with honesty.
  • “Being nervous usually means that you care... So to be nervous means you care about something. Well, caring's a good thing, right?” — Robert Royston [08:12]

3. Learning Dance—From Social Aid to Competition (06:00–06:36)

• Robert’s experience:
  • Danced over 30 styles, transitioned from social dancer to competitor.
  • Found competitive dance as appealing as other high school sports.

4. Listener Q&A: Practical Dance Advice

A. Wedding Dance Tips (10:01–14:26)

• Caller Lisa: Seeks advice for her son and future daughter-in-law, plus her own mother-son dance.
  • Robert’s recommendations:
    • Search for local Arthur Murray or Fred Astaire studios for specialized “wedding packages.”
    • Studios will assess skills and recommend a simple dance (e.g., foxtrot, nightclub two-step).
    • For tall/short parent-child pairings, focus on emotion, not technical perfection: “What everybody wants to see is a son loving his mom... Don't overthink it.” — Robert Royston [12:02]

B. Returning to Dance After a Break (15:53–17:03)

• Natalie (text): Former tango dancer wants to rejoin after pandemic hiatus.
  • Look up "Tango NYC" or "NYC Tango" for reputable studios and events (e.g. EPA Studio, Mariana Parma, Mariela Franganillo, Walter Leo).
  • “If you want to dance tango, it is so easy to find it in Manhattan. There's tons of it.” — Robert Royston [16:32]

C. Community Dancing & Resources (17:12–18:33)

• Sheila: Highlights Dance Long Island at Moose Lodge, and the website DanceCalendar.com for events in Nassau, Suffolk, Queens.
• East Coast swing with touches of west coast; emphasis on community and fun.

D. No Partner? No Problem (18:45–20:02)

• Chris: Wants to learn without a partner.
  • Most group classes rotate partners—singles are welcome and often needed, especially leaders.
  • “Most...are follow-heavy. So, please...go find a ballroom dance class, a salsa class, a swing class, a hustle class, whatever... We need leaders.” — Robert Royston [19:19]

E. Dancing at Any Age (20:02–21:18)

• Question: Advice for a “healthy, vibrant 70-year-old” who lost her dance partner.
  • Many studios have senior classes or open rotation.
  • “I have a student...in their 80s... who moves great...” — Robert Royston [20:54]

F. Recommended Classes & Shoes for Beginners (21:18–24:45)

• Text from Rhonda: 68, female, wants to dance swing a few times a week, asks about shoes.
  • At first: wear comfortable shoes (e.g., tennis shoes). Buy dance shoes only after deciding to stick with it.
  • Before choosing a style, identify what you want from dance (performance? fitness? socializing?) and the music that excites you.
  • For performance-feel: Broadway Dance Center, Ailey Extension, etc.
  • For socializing: match your favorite music with a suitable style—e.g., West Coast Swing for contemporary, Lindy Hop for vintage jazz, salsa for Latin music.
  • “If you don't love the music, you're not gonna love the dance.” — Robert Royston [23:44]

5. Shoutouts & Local Dance Opportunities (21:18–25:59)

• Notable community suggestions:
  • West African dance classes: Alvin Ailey Extension, Mark Morris, Kumbay Studios.
  • Barefoot Boogie—monthly freestyle dance in Brooklyn (24:45)
  • NYC salsa scene is huge—“There is so much salsa in this city. Just Google salsa classes New York City.” — Robert Royston [25:58]

6. Gender Roles in Dance: Leading & Following (24:45–26:23)

• More women want to dance than men in classes; many women pick up “leader” roles.
• “I find joy in doing both [roles]. So, like that caller—a perfect example of going, okay, I'm going to start to lead.” — Robert Royston [25:40]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On nerves and vulnerability: “Being nervous usually means that you care... So to be nervous means you care about something.” — Robert Royston [08:12]

• On emotion over perfection: “Don’t overthink that moment to where the emotion... isn’t there because you’re too busy worrying about your steps.” — Robert Royston [12:02]

• On learning as an adult: “We have to give ourselves the grace to go through the awkward stage. You have to tell yourself, 'This is okay.'” — Robert Royston [07:35]

• On NYC’s dance options: “There is so much salsa in this city. Just Google salsa classes New York City.” — Robert Royston [25:58]

• Advice for everyone: “I promise you, it’ll improve your life.” — Robert Royston [27:07]

Important Resources and Timestamps

• NYC Studios & Events:

  • Arthur Murray, Fred Astaire (wedding packages) [11:01]
  • DanceCalendar.com [18:21]
  • Tango NYC / EPA Studio (Manhattan) [16:31]
  • Alvin Ailey Extension, Mark Morris, Kumbay Studios (West African, other dance styles) [21:18]
  • Broadway Dance Center, Ailey Extension (performance/jazz/contemporary) [22:50]
  • Barefoot Boogie, Brooklyn (freestyle) [24:45]
  • NYC WCS, NYC Lindy (swing calendars on Instagram) [23:44]

• Robert's Classes & Events:

  • Tuesdays, 6:30pm, EPA (Emmanuel Pierre-Antoine) Studio, Manhattan (Intro to West Coast Swing) [26:27]
  • Swingle Bell Rock—holiday weekend swing dance event, Morristown, NJ [26:47]
  • Robert’s Instagram for updates [26:55]

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Takeaways for Aspiring NYC Dancers

• Dance is for everyone—regardless of age, experience, or whether you have a partner.
• Social and community classes abound—many are welcoming for singles, especially men willing to learn as leaders.
• Success starts with picking a style connected to the music you love.
• Start with comfortable shoes; only invest in specialized dance gear once you’re committed.
• Finding a studio, teacher, or community is as easy as a Google search or using resources like DanceCalendar.com or studio Instagrams.
• Above all: “Get out there and dance. I promise you it’ll improve your life.” — Robert Royston [27:07]

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This episode highlights just how deep and welcoming NYC's dance community can be—whether you're seeking exercise, friends, performance, or simply joy. Listeners are empowered to embrace the awkward stages, overcome nerves, and start moving.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

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[A]

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[C]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Kusha Navadar in for Alison Stewart. Today, where can you go in the city to meet new people, stay in shape, and a new skill that might make you a hit at weddings? Well, for a lot of people, the answer is a dance class. New York City has been the cradle for many of the world's popular dance genres. We're talking swing, salsa, hip hop, breaking. All can trace some of their roots back to New York. But getting into dance can be tough. What style do you pick? Can you go alone? How do you get over the fear? What stores sell shoes for two left Feet? Here to walk us through it, or maybe sashay through it is world champion dancer and choreographer Robert Royston. His accolades are many. They include eight U.S. open Swing Dancing Dancing Championship titles, six World Country Dance championship titles. He's been on Broadway, he's choreographed big names like Taylor Swift, and he's also a teacher running dance classes of all kinds, including a very fun intro to west coast swing class, which I know is fun because I've been attending it for a year. Robert, welcome to the show.

[A]

Hey, what's up, Gusha? How you doing?

[C]

Great. It's great to have you here.

[A]

Great intro.

[C]

Thank you very much. It came from the heart, by the way.

[A]

I think, I feel like I think we have our hook for our millions. We're going to open up a store called Two Left Feet. Exactly. Two Left Feet Shoes by here. Exactly.

[C]

Listeners, do you dance in New York? Do you have a question for Robert? Where do you dance? What style do you like most? What does it offer to you? We're taking all questions about dancing in New York City. Call or text us now. The number is 212-433-9692. That's 212-433WN. If you are A dancer yourself. Do you have advice for newcomers or are you someone who wants to take a dance class? But, but you're intimidated and you want to ask Robert a question, give us a call, send us a text. 212-433-W NYC. That's 212-433-9692. Robert, there's, there's, there's this feeling for a lot of people that they associate with taking a dance class or getting onto the dance floor for the first time. It's like I'm nervous, right? I'm anxious, I'm unsure. For, for you, before you were a world championship champion, before you were choreographing Taylor Swift, Correct?

[A]

Right.

[C]

Did you feel that way?

[A]

You know, it's interesting. It's a societal thing, right? Like when it comes to dancing and it's a very vulnerable thing. I think things like singing, public speaking, dancing, very vulnerable, right? You kind of can't hide behind anything. So. But for me personally, I had a moment in my youth where, where I was at my aunt's wedding. Now I come from, my mother is full blooded Italian and my father is full blooded Irish. And so I grew up with both sides of my family being very new to America. And I remember being at my aunt's wedding, that's on the Italian side. And my zio, which means uncle in Italian, one of my zios zio Mario, like teasing one of my cousins about not being able to. And I was very young, I was like 8. Teasing one of my cousins about not being able to get up and move a girl, that he was like less of a man if he didn't get up and, and have the ability to dance. So like very early on I, I thought men danced. I thought it was a thing you did and if you didn't, you were like less manly. Which is kind of crazy, right? Yeah, that kind of goes against like the American culture, right? As, as it, as, as it's perceived for men dancing. So for me, I never had a fear of dancing. Like I was just like, okay, I'll just get up and dance now. I didn't formally take dance lessons or any of that kind of stuff until I was 15. I was 15 years old and a friend of mine's mom said, let's go line dancing. And we both went and she taught us one dance and we did. The second dance of the night was the one she taught us. So then the rest of the time we're just sitting there, right? And this lady walks up to me. Her name, her nickname was Grandma. Mary. Mary Hendrix. And she said, do you know how to swing dance? There was a swing song. And I said, no, ma', am, I don't. And she said, well, I'm gonna stand you up and teach you how to swing dance. So she taught me how to swing dance, taught me single time, you know, kind of an east coast jitterbug type thing. And I was like, well, that was fun. And then she taught me the next song was a slower song. She taught me how to do swing to that song, and it was more triple steps and far more of a pretty traditional east coast swing. And of course, I didn't know that that's what it was called at the time. And then I sat down and I was 15, but I'm Italian, I had a mustache. You know, I looked older. And there were some girls there that were like 17, 18 years old. And there it was kind of like at an Elks Lodge. It was a Swiss Hall. And so the, the age range was like really young or really old. Right. Like relative to me being 15. And everybody else was at bars, and this was not a bar. So. But then these 17, 18 year old girls walked up to a friend of mine and I. And said, hey, do you know, I saw you know how to dance? Do you know how to do two step? Do you know how to waltz? Do you know how to cha cha? And our answer to each one of them was, no, but you can teach. That's right, exactly.

[C]

So. So when you're thinking now at this point over your career, how many styles of dance do you know?

[A]

Well over 30.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

Yeah, well over 30. Wow. So I. Yeah, so that like, I. And then I kind of like. So I did that math pretty fast, right, that there was a shortage of, of men who danced. So, so I started taking dance class and then I found out you could compete in it. And I'm very competitive. I did football, wrestling, track, martial arts, all that stuff through high school and junior high school. So I was like, oh my God, you can compete in this. This is amazing. So then I got a dance partner and started competing in the late 80s.

[C]

And then the rest is history, right?

[A]

Broadway's Next Step Y retired from dancing, and six months later I got a Broadway show. Retired from competitive dancing. Right.

[C]

So, listeners, we're taking questions about dancing in New York City. We're here with Robert Royston. Give us a call, send us a text. We're at 212-433-9692. We've got some texts already coming in.

[A]

Oh, really?

[C]

We have Some questions for you, Robert. So let's go to them. Here's a text that says, I would love to learn to dance, but I've never been able to feel loose enough to do it. I get anxious that I'm being judged, and it locks my body up. I wonder, do you have any advice for.

[A]

Yeah, that's pretty standard, right? Like, most people get really afraid by this. First of all, that caller or that texter should give themselves a little bit of grace and understand that they are not alone in those feelings. Cause welcome to about 80 to 90% of everybody who ever steps into a dance studio. So the first thing, the hard part as adults is we have to give ourself the grace to go through the awkward stage, right? So as a kid, when you first learn to ride a bike, the younger you are to learn to ride a bike, the better. Because you don't care about the awkward stage, right. And you don't have any historical value of shame or fear of falling or any of that other kind of stuff. It's why kids learn skiing faster and bicycling faster. And the older we get, we attach all this historical value of, you know, social shame or pain of falling or those kind of things. And we have to understand that to learn anything, we have to go through that awkward stage. So you have to. You have to tell yourself, this is okay. It's okay that I feel these things. Right. Instead of trying to prevent you from feeling it, be okay with feeling it. You know, I tell people, you know, being nervous usually means that you care. You care about something. You care about how you're perceived. You care about how somebody else feels. You care, right? So to be nervous means you care about something. Well, caring's a good thing, right? So I kind of like, try to get my students to flip that. The intention behind the feeling, it's gonna be impossible to get rid of the feeling. But if we give a different value to the feeling, right. Then we can approach it a little differently, Right. The other thing you can do at first at home is there's so many online courses that you can take at first and kind of get a head start. There's lots online stuff to do, right? There's beginning online hip hop, beginning online jazz, beginning online ballet, beginning online west coast swing. Like, there's lots of stuff you can go and go. Let me just see how this feels. Let me get a little head start. Let me start to move a little bit. Does that make sense?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Cool. And the other thing is, I encourage every student to go up to the teacher when they start a class and say, this is my first class and I'm really nervous about dancing. I've wanted to do it my whole life, but I'm really nervous about it. Don't be afraid to speak that because I know if you come into my class and you say that to me, well, then I'm going to completely embarrass you. No, I'm kidding. No, no. I'm going to kind of keep an eye out for you a little bit. Like I'm going to be a little bit more encouraging. I'm going to make sure that you understand that, hey, this is okay, right? And we're going to get through this together. A great dance teacher is going to help you to get over that hump so that you can get to the learning part because you got to get over the awkward part to get to the learning part.

[C]

And that idea of reframing your nerves, I think is so helpful in dance and in life, 100%. Let's go to some callers. We have callers coming in as well. Natalie in Manhattan. Hey, Natalie, I understand that you like tango. Hey, Natalie, can you hear us? Okay, let's go to Lisa in Westchester. Hey, Lisa, welcome to the show.

[B]

Hi.

[A]

Hi.

[C]

Can you hear us?

[B]

I can hear you.

[C]

Hi, Lisa.

[A]

Welcome.

[B]

Thanks. Hi, Robert.

[A]

Hi, how are you, Lisa?

[C]

So, Lisa, what's your question?

[B]

Good. My question is my son is getting married in November and he, both he and his fiance, I don't want to say they have two left feet, but they certainly need some lessons. So I wanted to get some advice from you as to where they just moved into in Long island at the Rockville Center. So somewhere close to where they are so they don't find an excuse not to go. Additionally, I will be doing my dance with my son. I do dance, but he is 6 foot 3 and I'm 5 foot 4. So we need to come up with. We need to come up with a dance where we don't embarrass ourselves. So any suggestions you have as to where to take classes or if you, if you do that.

[C]

Yeah, Lisa, such a good question about how to interact with the dreaded but lovely dance at a wedding as a mother. Go ahead, Robert.

[A]

Yeah. So first of all, I tell people this all the time when it comes. I started my career as a dance teacher when I was 18, 19, 20 years old. I started by doing wedding couples. That's where most dance teachers really get their start is by working with wedding couples. Lots of dance studios. What I would do is recommend they call Arthur Murray or Fred Astaire or, or, or any local ballrooms. There's, there are Arthur Murray's and there are Fred Astaires on Long Island. I would call them and ask for their wedding package. Most of them have a wedding package. And so it's a little cheaper than, than signing up for, for like a big package of ballroom dance classes. So wedding packages exist. Most good ballroom studios have some sort of a wedding package. Right. And then, then usually what the teacher will do is there's a number of dances from foxtrot to nightclub, two step to waltz. There's a, is just, there's a, there's something we call one step that the, that the teacher will kind of assess their abilities and then give them the easiest dance for them to do. Most, most good studios do that very, very well. I, I, I recently choreographed a wedding dance, but I don't normally do that anymore. It's not something I, I do much anymore. But there are great, there are great studios. I, I really feel like Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire have super great wedding packages. Also. I know that there are online wedding planning wedding planners that have guides that are like that, that step you through all the different parts. And there's usually a section for first wedding dance and there's links. So if they were to go to a Long island wedding planner, there's links to dance studios that they should take that have wedding packages. And then as far as your dance with your son, like, you know, look, I wouldn't worry so much about the height difference. Remember that at a wedding, what everybody wants to see is a son loving his mom. What everybody wants to see is a wedding couple who are in love with each other. That's really what they want to see. And you don't want to overthink that moment to where the emotion that's supposed to be happening between two people isn't there because you're too busy worrying about your steps. Right. So like a dance like nightclub or a nice box step for Foxtrot for you and your son would be amazing and would be perfect. Doesn't have to be anything more than that.

[C]

And the height differential you can work with, right?

[A]

Exactly. Actually, on some level it's great, cute and it's fun. Right? Exactly. And being five' eight myself, I've never had that issue.

[C]

And you know, you mentioned that you, you choreographed a couple's wedding dance recently. Just for full disclosure with listeners, I chuckled because that was my wedding dance and it was lovely. And one of the wonderful things about dancing, just to put it out there, you make friends. We made friends with Robert, my wife and I, because we started doing this dance in preparation for our wedding. So it is really lovely.

[A]

And my instinct was to say when you asked was to say I don't do that anymore. And I feel like I did say that. Like, I haven't done a wedding couple in years and years and years and years and years. Like as I went on to being more of a professional dancer because the price you pay is different, and so on and so forth. But we had just clicked so much in class. I was like, all right, I'm gonna do this.

[C]

It was very lucky.

[A]

Yeah, we just clicked as friends and my girlfriend as well. Like, the four of us, just like I think we laughed the entire first lesson.

[C]

It was so the emotion definitely did not get the steps did not get in the way of the emotion, which is wonderful.

[A]

Right? So, Natalie, my advice, go to go to Arthur Maria, Fred Astaire, look for a wedding package or go to an online wedding planner and see if they have links to wedding packages for dancing in their area.

[C]

And Lisa, thanks so much for calling. Congrats again on the upcoming marriage. A text I want to read. It says, don't forget that we have a wonderful belly dance community with teachers and dancers of all ages and sizes. Listeners, we're talking to Robert Royston, world champion dancer, choreographer, local teacher in the New York City area. If you have questions about how to get into dance, give us us a call or send us a text. We're at 212-433-9692. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, more calls, more dance advice. Stay with us.

[A]

Awesome.

[C]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Khushan Avadar, and we are talking about dancing in New York City. Whether you're a beginner or an amateur or a seasoned dancer and you're looking for ways to get involved in the dance community in the city. If you have question, we've got Robert Royston here, world championship dancer, local teacher. Listeners, if you have a question for Robert, give us a call or send us a text. We're at 212-433-9692. That's 212433, WNYC. Robert, we had a question from a caller, Natalie. We can't get to Natalie right now, but I want to preface what she said and kind of hear your perspective on it. She's a tango dancer. She danced tango for 20 years, but after the pandemic, she hasn't danced for four years. Any suggestions for her on how back into it?

[A]

Well, there's great studios in Manhattan that teach tango. Some of the greatest tango in the world happens in Manhattan. So I know Emmanuel Pierre Anton. There are great tango teachers there at. We call it EPA Studio. And you know, if you were to. I think there's a Tango nyc. Like, if you were to Google Tango nyc, you could see lots of great teachers. So like Mariana Parma and Mariela Frangonillo. Right. Just like there's incredible tango teachers. Oh, God, Walter. Leo. Like, you're. You'll. You'll find them, right? If you go Tango, Tango nyc.

[C]

Tango nyc.

[A]

Yeah, I think. I think there's an Instagram for it. I might. It might be NYC Tango. Tango. It's one of those, right? But look that up. There's it. I. I think if you want to dance tango, it is so easy to find it in Manhattan. There's tons of it. Right. So I would look to those people, Mariella and Mariana, who I mentioned earlier, we produced a show together many years ago called Swango, which was a fusion of Argentine tango and west coast swing. We did it at Queens Theater in the Park. And so I got really into the tango community and. And it was. It's really quite impressive.

[C]

So good luck with that, Natalie, and finding your way back into tango. Let's go to Sheila in Huntington, Long Island. Hey, Sheila. Welcome to the show.

[B]

Hi.

[C]

Hi, Sheila.

[B]

Let me just. Can you hear me?

[C]

Yeah, hi. What's your question?

[B]

Oh, okay, good. I'm a member of Dance Community. For a long time. I used to take city lessons and they were all great. And now I'm part of nonprofits from Dance Long island that meets every Tuesday night in Greenlawn, Long island, on Pulaski Road at a Moose Lodge. It's a lot of fun. The people are friendly, so I'd like to put a plug in for that. But I also wanted to mention there's dance calendar.com that anyone that lives out in Nassau or Suffolk or maybe Queens too, I think can look up where there's teachers or dance. And it's a great way to find anything in the dance community. There's a website and they have it once a month. It comes out online now.

[C]

Oh, wonderful.

[A]

So when you say. When you say swing dancing, is it just a general swing dancing? Is it more east coast swing? Lindy hopping? Is it just kind of like a swing in the big umbrella of all things? Swing dancing?

[B]

Yeah, it's. I'd Say it's more east coast. We have a once a month west coast lesson from Ellen McCleary who just sadly moved. We have a little bit of every ballroom but it's mostly a swing kind of evening. Super fun and mostly yeah wonderful.

[C]

Sheila, thank you so much for making that plug. Dancecalendar.com is what I heard might be helpful for folks out there. Got another caller Chr in Fairfield, New Jersey. Hey Chris, welcome to the show.

[B]

Thanks for taking my call. My question is what do you do.

[A]

If you don't have a partner but.

[B]

You want to learn to dance?

[A]

So can you still go? Yes, absolutely. So in my classes on Tuesday nights in Manhattan at EPA at 6:30 on my classes we rotate and actually most couples dance classes rotate and usually they're follow heavy. So we are usually desperate for leaders to show up to class. So most whether it's salsa or tango or swing or ballroom or you know, social ballroom, most the time they're all follow heavy. So and I would say into the high 90 percentile classes rotate. So we encourage singles to come for sure and, and especially single leaders. Right. That's almost always, always needed. I've been teaching. I started teaching in 1988. I was 2. That's a joke. But like so I started teaching in 1988 and I don't think, I think less than 20 times in my entire teaching career have I had more leaders than followers. Like it's always follow heavy. So please Chris, get out there, go find a ballroom dance class, a salsa class, a swing class, a hustle class, whatever it is that you're into and get out there. We need leaders and a great way.

[C]

To meet folks too because of that rotation. We've got a text here. It says hi, I have a talented older friend, a healthy, vibrant 70 year old used to couple dance and compete. Her husband and partner died. Any suggestions for seniors?

[A]

Yeah, same exact, exact same that what I was just saying to Chris. Right. You the there are senior only like ballroom classes and stuff at certain studios they will have senior specific classes. Most of those are the are the franchise studios not necessarily the independent studios don't always have that rec like I don't know so much about in the city but like rec centers like sometimes the, the woman earlier said the Moose Lodge right You like sometimes Elks Lodge, Moose Lodge VFW halls. They have a calendar a lot of times of what they're doing right for seniors but I don't think, I mean 70 I would like to say is not old right. So and if you're a good mover. You know, you're 70 years old and you're a good mover. I. I have a student in my Tuesday night class who comes, who's in their 80s and moves great and rotates with all the people that are in their 30s. And so you get to a class, whether a leader or follower, they will rotate. So that's what I would recommend that they do.

[C]

There's a text here that says shout out to West African dance teachers in the metro area. Alvin Ailey Extension, Mark Morris and Kumbay Studios all offer amazing classes. Oh, interesting question here for a text, very practical. What classes should I sign up for? I'm a beginner, 68 years old, female, alone. I would love to dance a few times a week and learn swing dancing. And what shoes do I need? Thanks, Rhonda.

[A]

That shoes element, right? At first, at first, I tell people, wear comfortable shoes. Don't worry about getting specific dance shoes until, you know, if you're really, really into it. Once you really get into it. Because dance shoes sometimes can be expensive. So. And wait, wait and find out if you like it. Just wear a comfortable shoe. I have plenty of people in my beginning class on Tuesdays that are wearing tennis shoes, you know, so one of the things I wanted to touch on today is when we talk about dancing in New York, and I want to get involved in dancing, and this will go to her question is, what type of dancing do I do? Right? So it really has to be, what are your goals? So like with the West African dancing, the shout out that happened, you know, when it comes to that, like, do I want dance Because I want to feel like a performer even if I'm never going to perform, right? Do I want dance for fitness? Like, so if I'm taking, you know, from Michelle Barber at Broadway Dance center, who's an amazing. There's many, many Stacy Webster, many great teachers at Broadway Dance Center. But if I'm with Michelle Barber in her class, at the end of the class, I'm dancing this, you know, contemporary piece or this jazz piece, and I get to feel like what I see when I watch a Broadway show or when I watch a piece at Lincoln center or something like that. So I'm never gonna be on stage, let's say, as a, as the hobbyist, I'm not gonna be on stage at Lincoln center, but I get to feel what they feel like. And it's a very internal, very like expression, self expression. I get to feel that. So in that instance, that's very, very me so if I go, all right, that's what I want. That's what I wanna feel. Well, then you should go to studios, like Broadway Dance Center. You should go to, you know, some of the open classes to the public at Ailey.

[C]

How about for somebody like the texter that we just got who says, I would love to dance a few times a week, right?

[A]

So that's what I was gonna head to. So then if you're like, well, I want it to be social, right? So there's the me thing and then there's the social side. I want it to be social. I want to go out a couple times a week. I want to meet people. I want to social dance. Okay, well, then you should determine what music you like. Do you like. A variety of music is. What I really want is standards. I like the old stand. I like, you know, Frank Sinatra over Justin Bieber. So you got to kind of like, you know, weigh those things. I really like Latin music. So find the music that you love, because if you don't love the music, you're not gonna love the dance. So then once you find the music you love, then you can find the dance that fits to that music. So if it's swing dancing, and when you think swing, like west coast swing, is done to contemporary music and blues and some jazz for sure, but it's far more done to contemporary music where, like, Lindy Hop is going to be done more to Benny Goodman and stuff like that or some of the 50s music. So depending on what you're looking for musically, then you seek that class out. So you can call an EPA or you can call an Arthur Murray or a Fred Astaire. You can be like, hey, I really wanted to know, do you have any. You could call it retro swing if you want. You can call it Lindy Hop if you want East Coast. Or you can say, I would like swing dancing, but to more contemporary music. And then once you get in that class, you'll see at things like NYC wcs, which is the New York City West Coast Swing Instagram page, full calendars of everything that's being taught. And there's. I think there's an NYC Lindy Page, meaning you can see everything that's going on with Lindy Hop. So first determine what kind of music you like. Does that make sense? Then find the dance that fits that music.

[C]

So we got running out of the time here. I just wanted to give a few more texts that came through. It says Barefoot boogie is a monthly freestyle dance in Brooklyn. So if you like hip Hop music, if you like all different kinds, freestyle might be a good name for you. That's a great name. And then here we have. Hi, Alicia. And Queens. I love Latin dance. I lived in Argentina and learned tango and salsa. But in the US I can never find guys willing to dance. When I've taught small, informal classes. I ended up always dancing the men's part. So the all female classes were able to get the hang of it. Where are all the men at? How do you think about leading and following here, Robert?

[A]

Well, I mean, I think if you, you know, lots of times follows become leaders just out of necessity, right? Because they would like to dance, but there's not a lot of leaders. And so they're like, okay, fine, I'll just jump on over there. Right. So you get to that. That's really at your discretion, right. Whether you want to lead or whether you want to follow what role you want to play. And if you're like, all right, I'm learning a bunch of follow rules, but there's nobody here to lead me, I'm switch the other side because obviously plenty of like, I find joy in doing both, right? Like a lot of joy in doing both. So, like that call or a perfect example of going, okay, I'm going to start to lead. There is so much salsa in this at city. So much salsa in the city. Just Google salsa classes. New York City. There is tons of salsa in New York City.

[C]

And for salsa, that is a great intro dance that you would suggest.

[A]

Salsa is great. Salsa is a super good, easy dance to do. There's lots of really great lessons all throughout Manhattan and in Brooklyn and the Bronx, like in Queens. Great salsa dancers and it's a very good gateway dance. Dress wonderful.

[C]

We got about a minute left. Any other final advice you'd like to give? Anything else that you'd like to plug?

[A]

Yeah, find. Well, okay, so, yes, I have my classes every Tuesday night at Emmanuel Pierre Anton beginning West coast swing. If you've never danced west coast swing in your life, Tuesday nights, 6:30, come there. It's really, really fun. And I have a dance convention that's also super fun if you've never done a weekender or you go to a weekend of a dance convention called Swingle Bell Rock, which is a holiday swing dance party that you, that you come to. It's in Morristown, New Jersey, and we have a blast there. We have about four, 400 people that come and we do all kinds of holiday stuff for the weekend, which is great. Yeah. And follow me on Instagram and get.

[C]

Out there and dance, right?

[A]

Yeah, absolutely. Like, listen, I promise you it'll improve your life. I promise you it'll improve your life.

[C]

Well, we gotta put a pin in it there, but we so appreciate you coming. Robert Royston, world championship dancer, local dance instructor. Thank you so much for joining us.

[A]

Thank you so much, man. We'll see you on Tuesday night.

[C]

Absolute. And hopefully we'll see some of the folks listening as well. Coming up, we'll speak with indigenous artist Rose B. Simpson, whose sculptures are currently on view in Madison Square park and Inwood Hill Park. That's next after news headlines. Stay with us.

[A]

I'mma put you on, nephew. All right, unk.

[B]

Welcome to McDonald's. Can I take your order, miss?

[A]

I've been hitting up McDonald's for years. Now it's back. We need snack wraps. What's a snack wrap? It's the return of something great. Snack wrap is back.

[C]

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