The Dance Primer

You’re about to head out to your first real swing dance. You know you’ll be dancing WITH other people… actually touching strangers. Let’s hope you don’t have a severe germ phobia, or you’ll need to wash your hands after every dance… but I digress.

Some hygiene hints will be obvious, but others related to partner dancing may be new things to think about. Ok ready? Here are my hygiene tips:

• Don’t stink. Take a shower, put on deodorant… but be careful with the perfume. You will likely find yourself in a hot sticky space full of other hot sticky people. Even a nice expensive odor can morph into a deadly stink at close quarters in a balmy room. I’m not saying to rule out the pretty smelling stuff completely, just be extra careful - and go to extremes to avoid the “I’m trying to smell nice” mistakes of middle school boys after gym class.
• Brush your teeth, floss, and mouthwash. You’ll be talking to a lot of new people, so you don’t want bad breath. If you’re going out to eat before dancing, try and sneak in a bathroom toothbrushing session before the dance. In any case, prepare yourself with breath-mints or gum. Careful with the gum, though! Chewing gum on the dance floor is not recommended; you don’t want to accidentally choke on it during a spin, or chew in someone’s ear, or let a gob find its way out of your mouth and onto the floor. Ew! Chew your gum on the drive over, but discard it at the door.
• Tie down your hair. Long hair can be really pretty, and there are several options for fancy up-dos. But what you don’t want is long hair getting stuck to your own sweaty face, obstructing your ability to see or breathe. Also, ponytails can be dangerous weapons if you’re not careful. Think of spinning something in front of you with a whip attached at your face’s level. Don’t let your ponytail be that whip!
• Cut your nails. Long nails may be fancy and sexy tapping on a table, but when quickly catching and releasing the hands of others, those nails can be dangerous!

That’s it for my list. What other hygiene specific suggestions would you make?