Dance Lovers

A nice exercise to practice for your ballroom dance postion: start with your arms relaxed down to your sides. Lift the arms out to the sides with the arm muscles ... not by letting your shoulders come up with tension; then simply fold the forearms in ... leaving the elbows wide. Think about pulling the shoulders down and away from the ears. You want to have a "wide back" for a nice dance frame. This is especially true in the smooth dances: waltz, foxtrot, tango, quickstep, and Viennese waltz.
Men: in a ballroom dance hold: keep the fingers of your right hand together when in the dance position so your hand does not look like a spider on the lady's back. The hand should be placed just under her shoulder blade; that allows the lady to lean back and away.
When you're in an open position ... as in Cha Cha in a crossover break, as in Bolero or Waltz in an open break ... pretend like you are holding an egg softly with the thumb and middle finger. That's a nice generic hand position you can count on.
In swing keep your fingers pointed in toward your dance partner ... not with the finger nails digging in. You need to maintain "tone" in the fingers -- and equal pull and push with your partner. You do not squeeze with the fingers; you also do not use any pressure with the thumbs as the hands have to be free to rotate in various underarm turns.
Communication throught the dance position, hands, and arms is important in good social dancing. Offer tone and strength without being rigid, tight, or too loose.