Whoops, Stuart, sorry about the late reply, I had not noticed that thread...
Quote:
Originally posted by Stuart M
Anyway, the question is: how can you show a woman how to spin properly? The most common difficulty female newcomers have seems to be in spinning on the spot. I know teaching isn't the main brief of a Taxi, but they do ask these sorts of questions and I'm always struggling for a good answer.
I know there's general guidance - like don't "stir" your partner around in a return, etc. but these are more about what the guy should be doing. Are there any other things we gents could be doing to help? |
As you say, the main point for the ladies is to spin / turn on the spot, i.e. they should finish their turn / spin at the same place they started it. Most of the problem, will come from lack of balance and confidence. In effect, ladies should spin / turn on the ball of one foot (typically left foot when spinning left, and right foot when spinning right), this requires that some muscles in their leg are strong / developed enough for spinning, and therefore, only comes after a bit of practise. A lot of women will notice that they have a stronger leg, on which they find spinning easier...
To start with, beginners will often compensate by using both feet while spinning / turning, resulting in a travelling motion. (This is not a huge problem in freestyle, though it does force the men to follow their partner around the floor a bit
)
As a taxi-dancer, you should first reassure them that they will get better over time, and that they should practise spinning as often as possible. They should try to slow down their spin / turn, as this will prevent the over-enthusiastic thrust which often leads to more loss of balance.
You could also mention the Beginners workshops which usually offer some help in that area.
Quote:
Originally posted by Stuart M
On a related point, Franck, a number of new women who came along recently have been wearing soft-soled training shoes (there were 4 last night), which are a nightmare for spinning in. I could see they were getting frustrated with their problems spinning, and it may have put them off coming back. Does the publicity say anything about suitable footwear? |
With regards to foot-wear, we tend not to recommend any particular type of shoes when starting.
While hard-sole shoes might help the spin, they also can mask the other problems I mentionned above, and, my view is that women have very varied preferences in shoes for dancing, and I would rather they spent a few weeks learning to dance and finding out that way which shoes are best for them, rather than invest in a pair of shoes that might prove unsuitable for them later...
I hope this helps,
Franck.