Kandykane's Dance for the Wedding 婚宴舞

Wedding Dance

The ‘first dance’ should be memorable and emotionally touching. Historically, the first dance is symbolic of the consummation of the wedding vows and marks your first cooperative engagement and joint endeavor. When the bride accepts her dance with the groom, she accepts him for the rest of her life. The frame and posture of the groom when he proposes the dance to the bride speak of the source of strength, love, companionship, and guidance he offers his bride. It is no wonder that the tradition of the first dance has continued throughout history as one of the most important facets of the wedding day.

大日子上的一支舞,應該是讓人深受感動的,是讓人難忘的。西方傳統中,婚宴舞是新人締結盟誓的象徵,當新娘子接受了新郎的邀舞,讓新郎執子之手,就代表她願意把終生託付。新郎的舞姿(frame & posture)給了新娘子在舞蹈中所需要的支持與引導,代表了他願意在共度的人生中將給她的愛與支持。婚宴舞是這樣意味深長的一種舞,難怪直到今天仍然在婚宴當天擔當著重要的角色。

On your big day, though not a professional show, with family and friends, with cameras and expecting eyes, the wedding dance which is a few minutes of simple concentrated rehearsed action that in and of itself demonstrates the affections of the newlyweds and their ability to cooperate with one another, can still be show time. As the stars of the show, the first dance is like the opening production number on Broadway. The first dance is crucial for setting the tone of all that ensues.

你的大日子舞蹈雖然並不是專業的表演,可面對滿席的親朋戚友,人手一部的攝像機,與一雙雙期待的眼睛,一支短短的、包涵了無盡愛意的婚宴舞仍然是值得期待的時刻。作為婚宴的重要環節,婚宴舞就像百老匯的首映,也是揭開往後一切的序幕。

Planning for your Wedding Dance
Even though you actually are not good in body coordination, you would still like to perform well on your big day. In fact, you don’t need to be like walking like a penguin if you did some preparations before your wedding. It merely takes you one or two hours a week, four to five weeks in prior to the day. We know that planning a wedding can take up to a year’s preparation, so these eight to ten hours of preparation is very manageable.

雖然你未必有絕佳的協調能力,但肯定的,你想要在大喜日子跳出平生最好的一支舞。事實上,如果你不想要跳著硬邦邦的舞步,只要在婚宴前一個多月開始,每週抽出一兩個小時來排練就行了。試想,籌辦一個婚禮往往已經一年,抽出這短短的八到十小時實在是容易之至。

Picking the song for your Wedding Dance
There are two factors couples need to consider in general: mold ability and danceability.
挑選歌曲時,要考慮的是歌曲的切合性和舞蹈性。

Mold ability reflects the musical and emotional photograph a song imprints upon your mind. Your song’s lyrics should express special meanings of all your hopes and dreams, particularly on your wedding day.
切合性是指歌曲在歌詞上、在情感上對新人本身的意義;畢竟,婚宴舞曲應該是對自己富有特別意義的。
Danceability of music is dependent upon the rhythm or tempo, which is measured by bars per minutes (BPM) in ballroom dancing and beats per minutes (bpm) in many other social rhythms. Specific dances have unique characteristics and are tied to a music’s tempo and rhythm. Although it may contradict to most people’s perception, the fact is the slower the music the harder for the inexperienced to manage.


舞蹈性是指節奏,就是一分鐘多少拍(BPM)或是一分鐘多少節(bpm);因為不同舞種對拍子都有特別的要求。值得注意的是,不少人以為慢曲易掌握,但太慢的樂曲反倒難度較高。
Still want some ideas about the songs, click here.
需要一些音樂點子,按此

Picking the dance for your Wedding Dance
Personally, I prefer Waltz and Foxtrot. Not only because these smooth dancing are elegant and grand, but also because they lend themselves to choreography that can look highly polished in a compressed time frame, and thus you can have a strong performance at your wedding. However, couples who are planning to have a lovely performance should better consult a reliable dance instructor. Sometimes, couples may like to be different, some may like a more exciting performance like doing Samba, some may like to present their story in a dramatic Argentine Tango, some may like to feel romantic yet sexier than Waltzing and they prefer Rumba. Every genre is possible with a careful choreography, and a wise choice of music. Therefore, it is safer to consult a professional dance instructor.
個人來說,我傾向於在婚宴上跳華爾茲或狐步舞,不單是因為這兩個舞種本身優雅華麗,也因為舞種借予編舞高度的可觀性,故此短時間內也能確保有不錯的表演質素。可是,新人們還是應向可靠的舞蹈教練諮詢。有時候,新人會想要新鮮的點子,有些人喜歡熱情如火的森巴、有的愛緊張刺激的探戈、有的鍾情浪漫纏綿的倫巴,有一個好的編舞,及聰明的音樂選擇,每個舞種都是可能的。因此,還是向專業的導師請教好了。

Need some more advice? check out the Wedding Dance Ideas Part 1, 2, 3
想要了解怎選擇婚宴舞?按此

Where is the Magic?
Most popular first dance songs are at least three to four minutes long. Although three minutes does not seem to be a long time, when you are the only couple on the dance floor it can seem an eternity. If you want the magic last you probably would like to keep the moment brief: chop the piece to 2 to 2.5 minutes long and focus on some high-lighted moves. You can, if you are the show-off type, do a drop, a dip, a lift or any WOW move, but you can also have a pause upon a check, a leg line, an extension, or a lunge.

大部分的婚宴樂曲都是三到四分鐘的,雖然三分鐘看來不算多,可如果整個舞池只有你們一對的話,你可能就覺得是一輩子的漫長。如果你想要這美好的一刻深印在每個人的腦海中,最好是重質不重量:裁剪音樂為22.5分鐘,並將焦點集中於數個亮點動作。你可以來個dropdiplift或任何讓人另眼相看的動作,也可以單純的在某些關節眼上放慢,甚至略停。

Presenting your Queen?
For those who do not have much dance experience, presenting the queen on the big day gracefully seems an impossible mission. However, it does not need to be so if some pre-set routine is on hand, we may or may not follow the very traditional way of presenting, but this is very useful when you have no idea at all:

對沒太多跳舞經驗的新人們,在大日子領出他的她看來就是不可能的任務,可是只要有了一套預演的方案,這就變得輕而易舉了。縱然你想要有別於傳統的出場,傳統的開場還是很有參考價值的:

Arrange for an introductory music for the couple to come into the room and move to the edge of the dance floor. 
播放開場音樂,新人移步到場邊準備

Introductory music stops. The groom steps to the left of his bride, takes her on to his arm. With the best posture, walk forward. 
音樂停止,新郎到新娘的左邊,曲起臂彎,讓新娘搭著新郎的臂彎。兩人以最佳的姿態進場。

He escorts her to the centre of the dance floor and presents her to the guests at least two sides of the room. 
他領他到舞池中央,讓舞池兩邊的觀眾都能看到她。

After that, the groom faces his bride and takes one or two steps backward. There should be a pause and a glance of adoration and a smile from the bride.
他面向她,退後一兩步,兩人含情相視,保持微笑。

The groom offers the bride his left and while asking her to dance.
他伸出左手向她邀舞。

Music starts to play. The bride steps forward to accept this dance for the rest of her life. 
婚宴舞曲響起,她踏前,把手放在新郎手中,象徵答應託付終生。

Dance through to the end and usually ends with a dip or lunge. The groom helps his bride recover gracefully to a full standing position.
起舞到終結,通常最後的舞步是diplunge,他扶她站起來。

The couple acknowledges the wildly cheering crowd, and the groom escorts his bride to her seat offering her his right arm. 
新人向歡呼拍手的眾人致謝,他曲起右臂示意,她挽著他的右臂,讓他領著她回到席位。


Congratulations! You are a couple!
恭喜恭喜!你們以後就白頭到老了。
(Wedding Dance Class here)