Courtesy to Your Partner

• In lessons, you and your partner are used to helping each other's dancing by talking to each other openly about what's happening.  To be polite, refrain from pointing out what your partner may be doing wrong on the social dance floor unless they ask you.  Accordingly, feel free to ask your partner for constructive criticism, but do not expect to get it without asking.
• Don't "surprise" your partner by trying to do an aerial.  Try not to do them on the dance floor at all, but if you are in a jam circle, they can be acceptable.  If that's the case, make sure your partner knows what you're going to try - to avoid injury.
• Dance in your own space, that is, don't make your partner uncomfortable and don't make the dance itself uncomfortable.
• Clean your hands frequently, either with hand sanitizer or by traditional water and soap.  Do this especially if you are sneezing or coughing into your hands.
• Sometimes you might not want to dance with somebody who asks you.  Be polite and say you are sitting that song out, or ask if you can catch them for a different one later on.  I promise they won't hate you.
• Leads, if you see your partner headed for disaster(i.e., collision), use a move or make one up to get her out of the way smoothly without hurting her.
• Follows, don't depend on the lead to hold you up.  Make sure you have control of your own body weight.
• Have Fun!

Courtesy to Other Couples

• Don't do aerials on the social dance floor unless you are in a jam circle or performance; even then, use careful discretion.  If you start hitting other couples while social dancing you better believe there will be some angry dancers.
• Be conscious of the couples around you.  Leads, if you see your partner headed for disaster (i.e., collision), use a move or make one up to get her out of the way smoothly without hurting her.  Also, don't kick anyone.  Ouch.

Dancing Tips

• Learn the Basic Steps of the dances you'll be doing.  Practice them at home, in the dorm, in class (in your head of course), anywhere you can.
• Connection and Frame are more important than how you look dancing.  Any partner you have will have much more fun dancing with you regardless of your skill level, as long as you have good connection and frame.
• Keep those feet underneath your body.  This will help maintain your body weight and you will get less tired because you'll be taking smaller steps and traveling less.   Keep 'em small.
• Don't hyper-extend your arm on rock-steps or at the end of swing-outs.  It can be just plain painful, and throw off your dancing.

Dealing with Experienced Dancers

• Being a new dancer can be intimidating.  Don't be afraid to ask more experienced dancers to dance!  The most valuable things you'll learn for improvement will come as a result of dancing with experienced dancers in different scenes.
• Don't be afraid to ask an experienced dancer how your dancing feels, or what you can do better.  They're all friendly and knowledgeable.  The same definitely goes for any instructors you may have.