Asking and Getting Asked to Dance

The only way to get out on the floor at a ballroom dance is to ask someone to dance, or for them to ask you. If you have a regular partner, this part of dancing is easy. However, if you are alone, you may find it difficult at first to ask other people to dance.

Many years ago, it was expected that men would always ask women to dance and not the other way around. However, things have changed. At modern ballroom dances, men and women freely ask each other to dance—and it is also not uncommon for couples who arrive together to dance with other people as well as each other.

If you do not know who to ask for a dance, or you are feeling shy and want to wait for someone to ask you, stand near the dance floor and look relaxed and happy, like you want to dance.
Sitting in a corner and looking sulky is no way to get asked to dance.

If you are brave enough to ask someone, all you have to do is walk up to them and say, "Hi, would you like to dance?"

It is considered bad dance etiquette to decline an invitation to dance. A song only lasts for around three minutes, so unless the person asking you is somehow painful or upsetting to dance with, you should accept—or avoid them subtly before they approach you so you do not to hurt their feelings. Declining invitations from beginners simply because they are boring to dance with is not very nice, everyone has to start somewhere, and later on they may become a very desirable partner.