Connection is...

[Freya]

Originally Posted by DavidJames

But my question was, how do you do this without losing your axis?

Originally Posted by Tiggerbabe

If I feel my partner's hand/arm on my back, I "give" him my back. I resist his "pull" by "pushing" my back into his hand/arm.

From a Follower's POV!

It's difficult to do...Or I find it difficult esp depending on the lead! But from what I've gathered and learnt. You don't 'lean back' into his hand which would take you off balance and lose your axis! you adjust your position so that you can maintain the contact giving reciprocal pressure!

So if the lead has the hand on your back in quite a close embrace then you maintain the close position. If he moves his hand backwards and opens up the embrace then you move to maintain the contact by taking a step backwards or out! Maybe I've over simplified it a bit, but the contact has been maintained. If you 'lean' into the hand or don't move your feet then you will lose the axis and consequently the balance.

Tiggerbabe maybe able to explain this better!

Ok from a slightly different POV...

In AT last night I think we were doing Boleo's. One of the things the teacher got us to do was for the lead to pivot the follower by walking around them! In the embrace the lead could easily take the follower off her axis and consequently she would lose balance! (Ok I'm really new to AT) If the Lead could move round me and maintain my axis then I would turn beautifuly. The main thing I noticed when doing this is that if the lead kept their body facing my body then it would work. however if they twisted their body my body twisted and I would lose balance.

If it was a good lead and I 'gave them my back' as TB said then the connection was alot better and the move felt alot smoother!

(I'm sorry really not explaining it very well!)

[Lory]

Originally Posted by DavidJames

It does, I think, but I'm not sure it's relevant to "connection" - you're talking about spinning technique I assume, which is a more specialised area...

Nope, I'm talking about connecting (in the physical sense), with all parts of your body that come into contact with your partner (I can feel the jokes coming already)

As Tiggerbabe said, if you feel a hand on your back, you should push your back into the hand, to match the pressure and make a good connection.

One example is the penguin walk turns, here we're use centrifugal force, to create the speed, by leaning back into each others arms

But another example, which is NOT spinning, is a move called a 'slingshot' where the woman travels across, in front of the man and lands with her back in his arm, (he leans the opposite way) she's then propelled back across him. And if done properly, the lady feel a whoosh

[Tiggerbabe]

Originally Posted by DavidJames

But my question was, how do you do this without losing your axis?

As Freya has said, I'm not leaning back into his hand/arm so that he is holding me up.
I feel his hand/arm and match the contact he's giving me. From this position if he moved forward I would move back to maintain the connection.

[robd]

DJ, it's a shame you didn't manage to get to Teddington on Sunday for Franck's workshops. The 'match the pressure' ethos would make a lot more sense in conjunction with the exercises we practiced there. I do have a belief, however, that different dances require different methods of obtaining and maintaining connection though I have neither time nor understanding at present to elucidate further

[David Bailey]

Originally Posted by Tiggerbabe

As Freya has said, I'm not leaning back into his hand/arm so that he is holding me up.

But how do you match pressure then? Is there some sort of Expanding Back Trick?

Originally Posted by Tiggerbabe

I feel his hand/arm and match the contact he's giving me. From this position if he moved forward I would move back to maintain the connection.

Fair enough - but if he reduced the pressure on your back suddenly, would you fall back? In other words, would you be leaning away from him?

[Caro]

Originally Posted by Freya

In AT last night I think we were doing Boleo's.

I think you might want to say volcada here

[Freya]

Originally Posted by Caro

I think you might want to say volcada here

Nope...We did them in the intermediate class...We did something else in the beginners! I think they were definately Boleo's!

You know how we did volcada's and then she add the twisty thing first to add momentum? Well that's what we did in the 1st class!

[Lory]

Originally Posted by DavidJames

Is there some sort of Expanding Back Trick?

YOu may well scoff but that's EXACTLY what Hiedi had us all doing on Weds at WCS! I joke not!

[MartinHarper]

Originally Posted by DavidJames

"Acknowledge the contact", certainly, but "match the pressure"? Sounds like a recipe for a wrestling match to me.

Well, due to Newton's laws, it's impossible not to match the pressure. But that isn't what the saying means. The point is that the follower should attempt to match pressures, rather than immediately moving to relieve pressure. This prevents her being "flighty" or "out of control". She still goes places, because the follower can never "match pressure" as fast as the leader can apply pressure, and when her hand/back/whatever does move, then she responds to that movement.

Having said all that, this is a Lindy saying and I don't know whether it applies to MJ.

Originally Posted by DavidJames

Touch is more important to connection than vision to connection.

In MJ, I'd agree, though vision still matters. In Lindy I'd say that they're equally important.
Vision is a great leading mechanism, because vision is very good at detecting asymmetry. Better than touch, even.

Originally Posted by DavidJames

OK, so how do you match a pressure on your back, without going off-axis?

By "sitting into it". The head is still above the hips, and the hips still above the feet, so all is still well with the world.

[Tiggerbabe]

Originally Posted by DavidJames

Fair enough - but if he reduced the pressure on your back suddenly, would you fall back? In other words, would you be leaning away from him?

No, if he reduced the pressure then I would give him less.
I'm resisting the "pull" by not collapsing on top of him, I still maintain my own balance.

[MartinHarper]

Originally Posted by DavidJames

If he reduced the pressure on your back suddenly, would you fall back?

If he reduced the pressure slowly, the follower would reduce the matching pressure slowly, and stay still.

If he reduced the pressure suddenly, the follower's back would move backwards. The follower would recognise this as a lead to move backwards, and would proceed to travel backwards at the indicated speed until lead otherwise.

Again, this is in Lindy. I don't hear enough MJ teachers talking about technique to make judgements on its applicability.

[Tiggerbabe]

Originally Posted by MartinHarper

If he reduced the pressure slowly, the follower would reduce the matching pressure slowly, and stay still.

If he reduced the pressure suddenly, the follower's back would move backwards. The follower would recognise this as a lead to move backwards, and would proceed to travel backwards at the indicated speed until lead otherwise.

Again, this is in Lindy. I don't hear enough MJ teachers talking about technique to make judgements on its applicability.

This is exactly what happens, Martin Thankyou.

[Caro]

Originally Posted by Freya

You know how we did volcada's and then she add the twisty thing first to add momentum? Well that's what we did in the 1st class!

that's what it was supposed to be then
none of the guys lead a boleo on me yesterday, that's for sure

[ducasi]

Originally Posted by DavidJames

But, all other things being equal, a pair of dancers will have a better connection with a closed hold than an open hold. Touch is more important to connection than vision to connection.

On the fingertip vs. ballroom grip...

It's easier to tickle with one finger than a whole hand. You can put more subtlety into your connection through fingertips than whole hands.

(Oh, and I think you'll find that Franck has done a bit of Argentinean Tango in his time.)

[MartinHarper]

A whole hand connection can lead tilt, and thus lead footwork. A fingertip connection can't. Since MJ is "no footwork", I guess there's no advantage in a whole hand connection on that score, but the possibility is there.