Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers
Style: 4 beat, Viennese Waltz or Lyrical
Difficulty: Easy/Hard
When I am asked to deliver wedding dance lessons using a particular first dance song, it is usually because of an association with a famous dance routine in a film; for example ‘I’ve had the time of my life’ by Bill Medley and Jennifer Williams from the famous end scene in Dirty Dancing; as well as ‘Footloose’ by Kenny Rogers where Kevin Bacon performs his famous warehouse dance, and ‘Por Una Cabeza’ from Scent of a woman where Al Pacino dances the Argentine Tango as a blind man.
There are, however, many great wedding songs for a first dance from films which aren’t associated with a famous dance, but another famous scene instead.
Righteous Brothers ‘Unchained Melody’ is such as example, and is from the movie ‘Ghost’ starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. The song plays during the famous pottery scene where Demi Moore is sculpting something out of clay, and Patrick Swayze is sat behind her with his hands interlaced with hers, helping her sculpt the piece. It is arguably one of the sexiest scenes in cinema history and combined with the amazing love story in the film, and the fact that Unchained Melody is such a romantic song, make it extremely popular for wedding dance lessons.
The song is very slow, so in your dance lessons I can teach you to dance a style called 4-beat which I created specifically for wedding dance lessons. It is such an easy, but elegant looking style, and I can usually teach you a dance routine using the 4-beat style in around 2-3 hours, and still produce a great and unique first dance.
The alternative is to learn either a lyrical dance style in your dance lessons or Viennese Waltz. Lyrical is essentially where we don’t really listen or dance to the beat, but instead dance to the lyrics. This is a very hard style to learn without at least 6 months of dance lessons, so it is a dance style for those who have the time.
Viennese Waltz is one of the most requested dance styles I get. Not just for wedding dance lessons, but dancing lessons in general because it is arguably one of the most beautiful dance styles in the world. It is, however, extremely difficult for the beginner, and again, at least 6 months of dancing lessons is ideal if you want to learn the Viennese Waltz for your first dance.
The 4-beat style also very wedding dress friendly and can be danced on a tiny dance floor, or a huge one. The moves are very elegant and smooth, so they make for great photos, and you only need to be able to count to 4 to learn to dance it!
So, Unchained Melody gives you the option of learning to dance 3 styles for your wedding, two of which are very hard, but worth it if you put the time in, and the other (4 beat) very easy and just as amazing to watch.
The Lyrics are also amazing as well as their voices, and I have listed them below. If you haven’t watched the movie ‘Ghost’, I would highly recommend you do it; it’s one of the all-time greats. Incidentally, Patrick Swayze is also an excellent dancer! (As we know)
Woah, my love, my darling I've hungered for your touch A long, lonely time And time goes by so slowly And time can do so much Are you still mine? I need your love I need your love God speed your love to me
Lonely rivers flow To the sea, to the sea To the open arms of the sea, yeah Lonely rivers sigh "Wait for me, wait for me" I'll be coming home, wait for me
Woah, my love, my darling I've hungered, hungered for your touch A long, lonely time And time goes by so slowly And time can do so much Are you still mine? I need your love I need your love God speed your love to me
If you would like to sign up for professional and highly personalised lessons for your first dance, wedding dance, renewing your vows, anniversary, or other special occasion, or you would like ballroom dancing or dancing lessons in general near you, email me on brightonandsussexdancelessons@gmail.com or call me on 07956 788 112. I look forward to your call.
Marcus Edwards
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