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Chef · 4th-January-2005, 02:50 PM

Clive, You are already doing the very best thing that you can, and that is to ask questions. So many dancers are dissatisfied but are prepared to go on for years being poor intermediates because they will not ask questions and when given instruction in classes will not put any effort into putting it into practice.

Since you are asking the questions here is my own bit of advice (which of course you can take or leave as you desire). In no particular order

1) Learn to dance as a follower as well as a leader. I know it will take a lot of guts and you will have to run the gauntlet of unhelpful jibbing from the blokes in a class. Tell the teacher what you are planning to do and get them to explain it to the class that you have no other agenda apart from getting better at dancing. So how will this help your dancing? For a start it will get you started on the ability as a man to be able to spin (which will add texture to your dance range) and that will teach you about balance. Secondly, only when you have experienced from the followers side what bouncy, floppy, waggly and violent carnage is meted out by many leaders can you recognise those things that you are responsible for in your own leading. Lastly you will find that to follow you must let go of any desire to anticipate, even a bad lead. You will find that you are wholly dependant on your leader and how much trust that follower is putting in you to not push them off balance. Once you understand that level of trust that is being placed in you, you become much more careful not to abuse that trust.

2) Go to classes that teach you technique rather than moves. Since you live in London that means Nigel and Nina, and Amir Giles. Find their websites and email them to get them to inform you when they are specifically teaching technique classes. Attend each of the classes at least three times because you will not pick up everything the first time. Once you have the techniques then you become a human sponge for moves. You will learn many moves and forget ones that you don’t like.

3) Find some of the more interesting music (PM me for suggestions if you like) and learn to tap you finger (only your finger – we don’t want you developing a bouncy anything else) along to the music in the car. The most important thing to gain from this is to understand the structure of the music – how long an introduction might be, where the breaks occur, how long the breaks are, and how to be able to recognise the beat of a piece of music. Once you can do this then you will find it difficult to dance out of time with a piece of music. NEVER dance through a break. If you dance through a break then you are just not listening to what the music is saying. Once you begin stopping for breaks you pick up an instinct about when the music is signalling to you that a break is coming.

4) Learn to stand up straight. Think you do? Press you bum and shoulders up against a wall and if the back of your head doesn’t touch the wall then you aren’t up straight. If your vertical axis is not straight then every time you turn or spin you will be disorientated and you will then have to deal with that before starting anything else. Look around many dance floors and see the number of hunchbacks out there. It looks dreadful and it doesn’t help you do anything apart from checking your shoes are clean.

5) Learn to rock step. Take a piece of string 30cm long and put a blob of blu tack on a wall at your waist height hold one of the string and stick the other end to the blu tack. Do a rock step. Did the string stay tight and is it still connected to the blu tack? If not, then you have just pulled you follower off balance (good followers will not throw themselves backwards and need you hand to hang onto). Do what you like with your body during a rock step but leave your hand where it was. You are inviting your partner to do something, not physically moving her.

6) Learn new dance moves as if they are Ti Chi. Do them slowly and on your own. When you learn a dance move slowly you just have to do smoothly and you understand that smoothness and flow are important so that you can dance the move and only the move. When you come to do the move with your follower then your lead is smooth, seamless and contains nothing to confuse them.

7) Dance with the best women that your courage will allow and ask them for feedback on your dancing at the start.

Sorry it has been a long post but I can touch type and I just got carried away with all the things that I know now that I wish someone had told me 5 years ago.

Happy dancing.

4th-January-2005, 02:50 PM	#5 (permalink)
Chef Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Mayfield, East Sussex Posts: 919 Status: No Status Rep Power: 2 Rep.: 1212	Re: Moving on up Clive, You are already doing the very best thing that you can, and that is to ask questions. So many dancers are dissatisfied but are prepared to go on for years being poor intermediates because they will not ask questions and when given instruction in classes will not put any effort into putting it into practice. Since you are asking the questions here is my own bit of advice (which of course you can take or leave as you desire). In no particular order 1) Learn to dance as a follower as well as a leader. I know it will take a lot of guts and you will have to run the gauntlet of unhelpful jibbing from the blokes in a class. Tell the teacher what you are planning to do and get them to explain it to the class that you have no other agenda apart from getting better at dancing. So how will this help your dancing? For a start it will get you started on the ability as a man to be able to spin (which will add texture to your dance range) and that will teach you about balance. Secondly, only when you have experienced from the followers side what bouncy, floppy, waggly and violent carnage is meted out by many leaders can you recognise those things that you are responsible for in your own leading. Lastly you will find that to follow you must let go of any desire to anticipate, even a bad lead. You will find that you are wholly dependant on your leader and how much trust that follower is putting in you to not push them off balance. Once you understand that level of trust that is being placed in you, you become much more careful not to abuse that trust. 2) Go to classes that teach you technique rather than moves. Since you live in London that means Nigel and Nina, and Amir Giles. Find their websites and email them to get them to inform you when they are specifically teaching technique classes. Attend each of the classes at least three times because you will not pick up everything the first time. Once you have the techniques then you become a human sponge for moves. You will learn many moves and forget ones that you don’t like. 3) Find some of the more interesting music (PM me for suggestions if you like) and learn to tap you finger (only your finger – we don’t want you developing a bouncy anything else) along to the music in the car. The most important thing to gain from this is to understand the structure of the music – how long an introduction might be, where the breaks occur, how long the breaks are, and how to be able to recognise the beat of a piece of music. Once you can do this then you will find it difficult to dance out of time with a piece of music. NEVER dance through a break. If you dance through a break then you are just not listening to what the music is saying. Once you begin stopping for breaks you pick up an instinct about when the music is signalling to you that a break is coming. 4) Learn to stand up straight. Think you do? Press you bum and shoulders up against a wall and if the back of your head doesn’t touch the wall then you aren’t up straight. If your vertical axis is not straight then every time you turn or spin you will be disorientated and you will then have to deal with that before starting anything else. Look around many dance floors and see the number of hunchbacks out there. It looks dreadful and it doesn’t help you do anything apart from checking your shoes are clean. 5) Learn to rock step. Take a piece of string 30cm long and put a blob of blu tack on a wall at your waist height hold one of the string and stick the other end to the blu tack. Do a rock step. Did the string stay tight and is it still connected to the blu tack? If not, then you have just pulled you follower off balance (good followers will not throw themselves backwards and need you hand to hang onto). Do what you like with your body during a rock step but leave your hand where it was. You are inviting your partner to do something, not physically moving her. 6) Learn new dance moves as if they are Ti Chi. Do them slowly and on your own. When you learn a dance move slowly you just have to do smoothly and you understand that smoothness and flow are important so that you can dance the move and only the move. When you come to do the move with your follower then your lead is smooth, seamless and contains nothing to confuse them. 7) Dance with the best women that your courage will allow and ask them for feedback on your dancing at the start. Sorry it has been a long post but I can touch type and I just got carried away with all the things that I know now that I wish someone had told me 5 years ago. Happy dancing.