Ideal Height Difference in Standard

Yes indeed - and its not all predictable either. You can be short and prefer talller men (logical since thats what you are likely to get) or tall and like short men but we've had several tall women who prefer tall me (self included) though I don't think we've had a short woman who prefers shorter men..

come to think of it, I wonder which of the dwarves danced in 'so you think you can dance' with Snow White...

Each time I've gotten a new partner, she's been progressively shorter. My first partner was what people generally consider "the ideal hight" perhaps an inch or two shorter than me with heels.

Second partner was a few inches shorter, but still well within the "comfortable" range.

Newest partner is about shoulder height with heel.



I am most comfortable with my newest partner - anyone taller feels "too big" for me now.

All my dance partners have been approx 4-5 inches shorter than me apart from one lady who was just 2" shorter.

They have all been brilliant to dance with, however the tallest partner somehow gave a more comfortable `feel`.

Hmm. So unless you are 7' or so I suppose we are not meant for each other...

I meant, shorter than average. For me, I am 5'5" and that makes me 5'7.5" with shoes. I prefer dancing with guys between 5'7" and 5'8" which means that we are either the same height or me (the lady) is slightly taller in shoes.

I think 5'8" is ideal for me and 5'7" to 5'9" would be just great, given that the guy knows how to move and doesn't have particularly short legs, of course. I am, however, at the moment dealing with a 6'0" guy, which is not all that fun...

I'm not sure about the ideal height, well I don't go around measuring people's height anyway. For me, it's a matter of if I feel comfortable dancing with her. A couple of things I look for in terms of height match:

1. Similar hip level, so when I take a step our legs movement and stride match.

2. When I put my arm level with my shoulder, the lady should comfortably fit in the frame.

3. Something independent of height is body type, probably off the track of this thread, but I think body type is as important as height. Not to discriminate against any body type, but I have really slender body and dancing with someone 3 times the size of me despite the height is plain awkward.

It's all in the leg length...

I still think it's more than just the leg length though. I've danced with a partner who's about 6 inches taller. However, our leg lengths match almost exactly. The feeling is still not so good though. For the steps/moving part, it is OK. But I just don't like the topline we have, or more precisely, the topline I have. It doesn't matter how well our leg lengths matched, there is still this difference with the shoulder level, and I just have to say that it's much easier to shape with a shorter guy. or maybe, I am just lazy...

And here, my friends, we have an excellent example of getting the nail right in the head! Well said, Fasc.

Troo dat.

arm length matters too, maybe not as much as leg length or shoulder height

lovely cute expression!

I was taking advanced courses with a woman much shorter than me. I'm 6"0", She's about 5 '0". Last week, I stopped after 6 weeks of group classes, because it's increase the level of difficulty when learning tough variations. The others couples in my class seem to learn the variation more quickly. It wasn't the case before, when I was dancing with taller partners.

At 5' 8 1/2" (just found out about that 1/2", so I am excited about it and must mention it, lol), in my shoes (at 5' 11") I end up dancing with lots of guys just about my height, and have gotten used to that. Now I've started with a practice partner who is 6' 3", and that is a totally different feeling. Everyone says we're a perfect height match (and in those terms and build/body type, yes, we're pretty much ideal), but it doesn't feel as good as with some of the shorter guys. Like everyone has been saying, I'm not sure how exactly the extension works when you're dancing with someone significantly taller, besides the fact that most beginnner tall guys tend to hover over the follow (and he definitely does too). And what about the legs? I'm used to worrying about my knee ending up in inappropriate places (lets just say), and now my waist is quite a bit lower than his, so he is the one having that issue, partly I think because he tends to bend the knees when going forward rather than extending and pushing onto the moving leg from the standing leg. Trying to figure out how to maintain contact and yet still not get in his way is frustrating sometimes.