bordelond , the type of music that would be played, perhaps, at a high school Junior Senior dance. Current alternative type, Metallica, Blink 182, Staind etc…
burundi How does it differ from square dance? (and I promise I will Google it as well)
In square dancing, you and your partner form a square with three other couples, and dance with those couples for the entire dance. In contra dancing, you and your partner move up and down a line of couples (think the Virginia reel). Musically, contra tends to be less country than square dancing, and it attracts a more diverse crowd. Women don’t wear the short fluffy skirts with the big crinolines; men don’t wear bolo ties. The atmosphere is generally more laid-back.
But burundi, what if you can’t find any Nicaraguan rebels for partners? 
Sorry 'bout that, but it was only a matter of time before somebody said it…
Hmmm … that doesn’t really sound like music to dance to. I guess you could rumba to the slow parts of Staind’s “It’s Been a While”, but then the tempo changes. Same with the Blink 182 songs I know … tempo changes get in the way.
And Metallica … I haven’t a clue. Bang your head around, I guess.
I guess amarinth’s suggestions make sense as far as modern rock goes. IMHO, it’s not really danceable. You can hop, shake, go nuts to it, but not reallt DANCE.
Some good advice can be found here.
Well, you can slow dance to “Nothing Else Matters.” Gunslinger and I have, and will again at our wedding if not before (it’s Our Song). We don’t know how to really dance, though, so it’s just “holding each other and swaying.” It’s done in 6/8 time with a couple of sections noted as 9/8 in my guitar transcription… What kind of “real” dance should we learn to do for it?
I’ve learned that with a little bit of rhythm, a little bit of luck and a lot of on-the-fly improvisation you can make subtle alterations to “The Electric Slide” to dance to any song played at a high school dance. I did it for three years, and the only trouble I ran into was with a Britney Spears song that I now forget, a Backstreet Boys song (I think the one where they keep going “Backstreet’s Back, alright!” that was popular a few years ago), and Blink 182. The Electric Slide works especially well with “Enter Sandman,” actually. And if you have goofy friends, like I did, you can get a whole bunch of people to line-dance to Metallica. It’s great fun!
“Nothing Else Matters” will make a lovely waltz (picture me, in my cubicle, trying to subtly count out the music and make sure that it actually works. It does. That’ll be gorgeous.) Never thought of it before - not sure why. Learn to waltz, now!
Lyllyan Just to be clear, I do recommend that she take more formal dance lessons - in case she does happen upon a partner she’ll look great (swing & salsa are probably the most likely things she’ll find out there) and many songs are formal dances in disguise (I hear cha-chas especially all the time and there was a tango in the top-20 last year.).
And she’ll also get the posture, the practice moving to the movement, the ability to find the beat, and the knowledge that you are always, always ready to tango should the person of your dreams with the rose between their teeth happens to walk in the room. All of which are very, very valuable. However, I just tend to doubt that she’ll actually need the specific dances at a high school dance.
Lyllyan, how did all this turn out? Did your daughter get to dance at her school dance?
Yes, yes she did. She got over that strange self concience stage fairly quickly, hooked up with some friends and is a dancing fool. She was especially beautiful the night of the dance. She wore a short velveteen maroon dress, mid-thigh black army boots, black hose and black fairy wings. She had a wonderful time!
Thanks for asking!
Wow, great outfit!
I learned most formal dances (polka, foxtrot, rhumba, tango, both styles of waltz, etc.) at a very young age, as my parents loved to dance and had a huge collection of big band 78s.
But for modern rock/alternative music, formal dancing (except for rhumba, as noted) is pretty useless. Oddly enough, jigs and reels can and are danced in clubs to Celtic beat bands! Proof to me that if you want to move, the music will lead you. Other than that, my best advice to non-dancers is to feel the music in your backbone and to learn to count the beat. Hip and shoulder isolations, as learned in aerobics and belly-dancing, are very useful also.