Ladies who wriggle about...

[Chef]

Originally Posted by marko

As for a previous reply about pausing. That sounds good and there are times when the music feels right to do that. Problem is, how do you convey this to the lady without everything coming to a jarring halt with the usual scowl/comment from the lady.

It sounds like you are asking about hitting breaks. This is a question that I am frankly surprised to be a dancer of 9 weeks expereince to be asking but it does hearten me greatly. The reason that it heartens me so much is that even after 9 weeks expereince you are aware that they exist in the music. Such an awareness is not common even in people that have danced for years.

If you want to practice this then you need to choose a follower that is already comfortable with the idea of stopping during the breaks. A follower that does not have that expectation could be difficult for you to manage at the present.

So lets move onto the how it is done. If you are leading the follower out to the open position as the break is occuring the most common way to indicate the stop is to move her hand to the centre line of her body and press it down. The press down should not make her overbalance forwards. The purpose of this is to get her to place her weight evenly on both feet so that the follower doesn't have an unweighted foot with which to step on. Once she has stopped you can release the hold so that she can do some decorative stuff like wiggling, for example during the break but you must be ready to lead a rock step after the break ends.

Another way is to lead the woman into a sway and hold her in the side by side position. There are varisous poses that you can strike in this position to accent the break. You then have the task of leading her rock step from this postion to restart dancing at the end of the break.

If you find that your follower ignores your efforts to stop her and just charges at you for the next move regardless the n you have to decide wether you try to educate her to what you are trying to do or you just try to practice with someone who is already attuned to making something of the breaks.

If you are leading towards a stop and realise you will be too early you can extend the move by putting extra turns for the lady. If you will arrive too late you could accelerate the last part of the move in order to hit the break in time but I would reccommend that you only try this with a very able follower once you are very confident of the smothness and clarity of you own lead.

Lastly. Be patient with yourself and your partners. Nothing that is satisfying to master comes easy at the start.

Happy Dancing.

[marko]

Hi Chef
Thanks for the kind words. The advice is great, just what I was looking for. Having danced with the ladies at our group over the last 9 weeks I can think of some who I feel would know what the 'brake' signal meant so I will give it a try next week.

This clear respose to the signalling qustion is exactly what I was trying to get at in another thread I started abouth lead signals. Unfortunately it just resulted in a discussion of whether or not 'real' dancers should use lead signals or just convey their intentions by some form of 'feel' communication. Not very helpful for a newbie, although I do accept that the feel of the dance is very important. When it is all going right you do feel as if you are floating on top of the music. It just doesnt always work that way!
Cheers
Mark

[Chef]

Originally Posted by marko

This clear respose to the signalling qustion is exactly what I was trying to get at in another thread I started abouth lead signals. Unfortunately it just resulted in a discussion of whether or not 'real' dancers should use lead signals or just convey their intentions by some form of 'feel' communication. Not very helpful for a newbie, although I do accept that the feel of the dance is very important.

Learning to lead clearly and smoothly takes a fair amount of time as well as tutition. So to get people off and running and hooked on dance almost all organisations teach signals that certain moves are coming up because that way is easier. Most people that come ito the dance scene only stay about 6 months or less so it is pointless investing a lot of tutition in them when they are mostly there for a fun night out instead of a technical dance lesson.

Just ask yourself - How would I lead this move if my partner was blind? Things to consider might be. Is my hand conveying information that I don't intend? ie up and down bounce, side to side movement when I intend her to move in a straight line. This is what I mean by clarity of lead. Ask if your lead is taking your partner off balance - are you leading a turn when she is not on the correct foot for that turn. Are you leading changes of direction for your partner in sufficient time and smoothly enough for your partner to follow?

Remember this question that saved my relationship with my dance partner.

"What was it about my lead that made you move like that?"

Before you look to your partner for the problem, look to yourself.

Originally Posted by marko

When it is all going right you do feel as if you are floating on top of the music. It just doesnt always work that way!
Cheers
Mark

But we dancers travel long distances and work hard at our dancing in the hope of experiencing those rare dances where everything hits the sweet spot. Once you have a dance like that you will never stop searching and hoping for the next one.

Happy Dancing