In reply to Richard Smith:
Congrats on discovering skiing! I too ski at the MK centre.
Lots of good answers so far. Things I'd add:
1. Get a lesson. Worth the money to avoid early bad habits and confidence-loss
2. Speed and control are relative. You will pick up speed as you turn. Until you get comfortable with (and even learn to enjoy) that feeling, you may feel out of control. The things your body naturally does in this situation. (E.g. lean uphill, attempt to turn faster, etc.) can actually make you lose more control and skid or slide around more, and you may tense up and start to fear each turn. Get comfortable with turning by doing one at a time. Allow yourself to traverse to a halt after each turn. And for those moments you don't think this will slow you down enough, get comfortable doing ice hockey style stops. Once you feel more confident with individual turns, try to link a couple at a time. Posture is important, but confidence is the key.
3. If you are slipping too much downwards when traversing, your stance may be wrong. Your feet and knees should be shoulder width apart, and your knees both bent uphill so your weight is on your ski edges not bottoms. It's really hard to slide downhill in this position. To make this even more effective, tip your pelvis uphill a little and look downhill. Sounds contorted, but it all helps to put your weight on those edges.
34 The MK slope can be busy. Other beginners will be erratic and you're right to be conscious of them as you go. Better skiers may zoom past and make you feel nervous. Pick quieter times if you can.
Post edited at 21:57