Dancing: The Ideal Exercise
Exercising by jogging (outdoors or on treadmill) is an unattractive alternative for many people. Dancing is a mild form of aerobic workout and dance lessons make exercise a fun and enjoyable social event any night of the week. Your dance “workout” is beneficial in many ways:

• Olympic athletes often include dance in their training to sharpen control, agility, speed and balance.
• Dance contributes to good posture and body alignment
• Dance encourages gentle stretching
• Dance increases your flexibility and stamina
• Dance benefits your cardiovascular system as you swing and sway from hip to shoulders

Dancing: A Romantic Alternative
The romantic properties of dance are a secret that all good dancers enjoy: Men feel confident when they recognize which dance is being played and have the ability to walk across the dance floor and ask a lady to dance. Women will enjoy being asked to dance knowing they have mastered the grace, poise, styling and important following skills of a trained dancer. TODAY'S WOMAN LOVES BEING WITH A MAN WHO CAN DANCE. Couples can add the romantic skills that come with the holding, touching and moving to the music that dancing provides. Single people can meet new friends as dancing provides a natural icebreaker and becomes a common denominator in any crowd. A tailored program at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio is all you need to turn your dancing and romantic life around.

Start your special night with a romantic dinner and then surprise her with a visit to your local Arthur Murray Dance Studio. We guarantee she'll be delighted, thrilled, impressed and touched that you did something she loves to do! At Arthur Murray Dance Studios you'll find a comfortable atmosphere, professional instructors who are experienced in teaching couples, a dance floor with lots of room to move, state of the art sound system, soft lighting and what could be better - your partner, dancing with a smile, in your arms. Experiencing the joy of moment together during time that has been set aside solely for each other demonstrates a level of caring and devotion that is missing from many couples' lives. The dance floor is a wonderful place to rediscover each other.

Their First Dance: Not what you might expect from today’s bride and groom
If you think that most young couples today dream of their first dance at their wedding as a graceful waltz across the floor, think again! Most of today’s soon-to-be newlyweds are abandoning slow, romantic ballads in favor of something that would have been considered quite shocking not too long ago… A sultry Tango – perhaps one of the sexiest dances in ballroom – or a high energy Salsa are more likely to be that special dance. One Midwestern couple astonished their guest with a slow, romantic waltz that suddenly transformed into a professional style CHA-CHA, taking everyone by surprise. And, while the dances changed, one thing that stays the same: it takes three to four months to master the basics to look great on the dance floor for that special first dance and the entire celebration. If a couple’s honeymoon includes a cruise, their memories of dancing on deck will be even better. There’s even an unexpected bonus to learning how to dance for your wedding. “Many couples come back to the studios after their weddings and tell us that they were able to enjoy dancing with uncles and aunts and grandparents for the first time,” says Tony Cardinali, first Vice President of Franchise Relations for Arthur Murray International. “While they know that many different age groups will attend, couples don’t realize that the musical range is enormous. When they know the basics, they can really enjoy dancing to all different kinds of music.”

For the brides and grooms planning a wedding now is the time to start working on that special first dance. Captured on videotape, photographed and sent today by video email to friends who can’t attend the wedding, those first steps will be memorialized for many years to come. Here’s what the dance experts at Arthur Murray International say will help today’s bride and groom look their best:

• Practice in the shoes you’ll be wearing. If you learn to foxtrot in a pair of flats but wear heels for your wedding, the difference may take you by surprise.
• Start as early as possible. More than one Arthur Murray Dance Studio has stories of couples that come in three days before the wedding. Three to six months is better.
• Practice often – in the living room, kitchen, poolside or when you go out with friends. Whenever the opportunity to take a turn on the dance floor presents itself, practice, practice, and practice.
• If you can include parents and other members of the wedding party in dance preparations – it’s a lot more fun and relieves stress for everyone.
• Select a song or dance you want to use. Make sure that band or DJ can get the music or learn the song if it’s one they don’t already know.
• Consider what you’ll be wearing - Trails and a floor length gown will be great for the Waltz, but not for Salsa or Swing.
• Select a band or DJ that can provide you with a variety of music and dance styles.
• If your honeymoon involves a cruise or resort, have your lessons include a variety of different dance styles so you’re ready for anything!

How to take a vacation without leaving town… and make it a sizzler…
You can’t multi-task on the dance floor! There’s no way to get email, your cell phone is tucked in a handbag or jacket pocket in the coat closet and the music from a cutting edge sound system drowns out even the most insistent beeper. This is a great way to take a dance vacation: steal an hour away from the hectic, over-scheduled lifestyle without leaving town. In the summertime, there’s nothing like a hot night in a cool dance studio for a get-away. “In the summer months, work schedules lighten up, kids are in camp, and that’s when people love to feel like they’re grabbing some personal, fun, private time without the hassle of actually going anywhere,” says Tony Cardinali, Vice President at Arthur Murray International. Here are a few tips to make the most of your summer dance vacation:

• Summer dancing is hot – so drink lots of water before, during and after a dance vacation.
• You won’t need sun block, but your feet will sweat more in summer- so powder your favorite dance shoes and let them air out between trips.
• Music captures so many memories in our lives. Don’t wait for summer to be over to buy your favorite dance recording - it’ll warm you up when winter comes.
• Bring a camera and take pictures of your summer travel friends!
• Before you set out on your summer dance vacation, make a list of all the dances you ever wanted to learn.
• For many, a summer vacation experience is a starting point for a career change or a hobby that becomes a way of life. If the dancing bug bites, remember that dance-sport is now an Olympic event – and you could be a contender. You might even decide to teach dance, and give yourself an "endless summer."