What if the lady doesn't see the signal, or hear the verbal lead?
..then she'll miss it. No biggie.
What if the lady has never been to the class where you were taught the signal?
I thought all Ceroc signals were the same...?
What if the lady doesn't speak english?
Then she won't understand, obviously.
What if the man has such a strong accent that you can't understand?
See above.
What if moves are given different names in different parts of the country, or different countries?
I thought Ceroc was supposed to be standardised?
I scratched my leg once while dancing - the lady thought it was a signal for a drop. And she did!
Poor her! I hope she was OK!!
Relying on signals and verbal leads can help beginners and intermediate dancers. They are easier to learn, and easier to teach. But ultimately they are like training wheels on a bicycle - you can't advance if you keep them on. If you learn how to lead/follow, you can dance with far more people.
Ceroc often relies on signals, doesn't it? How would you lead a tunnel or a neck break without the signal?
Actually, perhaps I need to clarify. When I said I liked an occasional hint I didn't mean someone barking the name of the move in my ear. That's no help to anyone (especially when it's got one of those ridiculous seven-word meaningless Ceroc names!!). Really I was thinking the rare occasion when a very good dancer leads a less experienced lady by telling her what she needs to do with her feet. This has happened to me a couple of times - someone clearly far more experienced than me has taken the trouble to tell me what I should be doing rather than bark names at me that I don't recognise or just lead me into moves that I don't know. Thus I get taught new moves whilst still enjoying the dance. Fantastic. It's what it's all about for me.
...crikey, I didn't mean to write an essay!! :sorry