"What if I forget the steps or mess it up in the middle of a dance?"

It will to happen, and it’s going just fine! This happens even with experienced dancers from time to time. The secret is: don’t stop in panic. Keep moving, even if only with the basic step, until you get back into the rhythm or remember the next figure. Smile or laugh it off – most partners don’t care much as long as you’re having fun. If you’re a driver and suddenly forget what you were supposed to do: go back to something simple (basic step, a simple right spin that everyone knows, or just dance on-the-spot). If you can’t find where you were in the music, you can nod apologetically and quickly say “I messed up a bit – we’ll take basic”, then your partner will know why you suddenly went to basic. If you follow and lose it: follow the basic steps and keep the rhythm, your partner will usually pick it up and simplify the lead until you are in sync again. Remember that a dance is just a few minutes of your life – it’s allowed to improvise and joke around a bit too. No judges hand out grades on social dance, and the audience around is mostly concerned with themselves. So don’t fear the “catastrophe” – it’s never as bad as you think.