Learn the basic principles common to all music and dance, enabling you to walk onto any dance floor and perform an admirable dance, with any partner, to any music, with confidence and grace.

This book is for non-dancers, newbies and beginners. Part guerrilla manual and part cotillion handbook, this book is an insider's guide to social dancing:

• Learn a foolproof method for hearing the beat of the music
• Learn to count music (they don't teach that in dance classes)
• Learn the correct way to count step patterns (i.e., dance figures)
• Learn dance rhythm: single, double and triple rhythm, the building blocks of all dances
• Learn three simple rhythm patterns (i.e., the pattern of weight changes) that will get you through any song
• Learn the basics of leading and following
• Learn slow dancing, survival dancing, surviving the wedding dance and how to fake a dance
• 17 easy exercises (most you can do without a partner)
• Free instructional video clips at ihatetodance.com

Whether you fear dance, can't dance or hate to dance; or whether you're rhythmically challenged or just new to dance; or whether you've finished dance classes more confused than when you started, this book has the tools a guy needs to know to make his partner happy. (Ladies, despite the title, 95% of the book's content will help you too.)
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This book does not teach specific dances. It's a foundation book focusing on the basics. It's a book to read before your first dance class or if you're struggling through your first year of classes. What you will learn is the rhythm pattern for 18 common partner dances because knowing the pattern of weight changes for a specific dance before you step into the first class will give you a head start--and help you survive.
James Joseph used to hate to dance. He struggled to learn dance so he simplified the process and that's reflected in how he teaches. He took his first beginners' class in 1984. Since 1996 he has trained under Skippy Blair, a Swing Dance Hall of Fame member, and who is considered by many the teacher of teachers. He's now a GSDTA certified dance instructor.