Connection is...

[Freya]

Good Point David

It can also go the other way...One girl keeps constant eye contact throughtout the dance hardly blinking and it's kinda freaky!!!!!!

[David Bailey]

Originally Posted by Tiggerbabe

Interesting point, David (although I already knew about the eye contact, or lack thereof in AT, it's the same with smiling during the dance, right? )

Possibly, although in my case, it's mainly because I'm concentrating too hard on not falling over to activate my Smile Muscles.

Originally Posted by Freya

It can also go the other way...One girl keeps constant eye contact throughtout the dance hardly blinking and it's kinda freaky!!!!!!

Again, this could be due to any number of things - concentration, nervousness (rabbit-in-the-headlights effect), or whatever.

Unfortunately, there's no "eye contact" etiquette consistently taught in MJ classes, so people don't really know what they should / should not be doing. And when you're trying to get your feet / hands to move, eye contact

There's a good "eye contact" thread here...

[ducasi]

Originally Posted by DavidJames

Note: I write this in the full knowledge that I may get Ducasi'd ( ) for mentioning other styles, but it's relevant because it highlights the differences. And it's one (rare) example of where common practice in AT may result in poor practice in MJ.

No complaints from me.

I have no problem with the occasional mention of other dance styles, where they are used to compare and contrast against MJ.

But I dislike people talking about technique in other dances styles without acknowledging any possibility that in Modern Jive things might be different.

[bigdjiver]

There are two different, but related, forms of connection being discussed here. The first is the physical, and the other mental, or even, I would say, spiritual. The spiritual is a very intense, almost overwhelming, experience. My guess is that it comes from a mix of attraction, experience and harmony. The leader and follower both feeling together that the chosen response to the music is the "right" one. The feeling of being "at one".
I wonder if the MJ ethos of "moves" works against this. Perhaps the more possible responses to the music that are known to both partners the less likely they are to agree which response is "right", and feel "as one".

[Ghost]

Originally Posted by bigdjiver

Perhaps the more possible responses to the music that are known to both partners the less likely they are to agree which response is "right", and feel "as one".

Which raises the question - should follows be concentrating on following the lead or the music? Or following the music through the lead? Or following the lead through the music?

[MartinHarper]

Originally Posted by Ghost

Which raises the question - should follows be concentrating on following the lead or the music? Or following the music through the lead? Or following the lead through the music?

As answered here:
Following the music or following the lead...

[straycat]

Originally Posted by Ghost

Which raises the question - should follows be concentrating on following the lead or the music? Or following the music through the lead? Or following the lead through the music?

Surely the music, the lead, the follow, the connection - they should all be as one? All contributing to the whole, to the harmony, rapture and sheer infinity of the moment as it stretches back and forth through ages past, present and future. There is no lead, there is no follow, there is no music - there is simply a united whole.

Two glasses of wine and suddenly it all seems so clear to me.

[Ghost]

Originally Posted by straycat264

Surely the music, the lead, the follow, the connection - they should all be as one? All contributing to the whole, to the harmony, rapture and sheer infinity of the moment as it stretches back and forth through ages past, present and future. There is no lead, there is no follow, there is no music - there is simply a united whole.

Two glasses of wine and suddenly it all seems so clear to me.

Sounds good to me

[MartinHarper]

Originally Posted by straycat264

Sheer infinity of the moment as it stretches back and forth through ages past, present and future. There is no lead, there is no follow, there is no music.

How come I only get that feeling in bad dances?

[Dorothy]

Connection to me.... is everything.
Without it we are not dancing.

[straycat]

Originally Posted by MartinHarper

How come I only get that feeling in bad dances?

Maybe you don't drink enough?

[Ghost]

Originally Posted by straycat264

Maybe you don't drink enough?

Or too much....

It's strange how alcohol affect's different peoples' connection in different ways.

[straycat]

Originally Posted by Ghost

Or too much....

It's strange how alcohol affect's different peoples' connection in different ways.

On a vaguely serious note, if I drink, my connection goes out the window - so the old adage about not drinking and jiving definitely holds true for me.

[Freya]

Originally Posted by straycat264

On a vaguely serious note, if I drink, my connection goes out the window - so the old adage about not drinking and jiving definitely holds true for me.

Yeah if you have one drink then you relax and connection improves...Two and it goes out the window!

On the other hand this sounds like a new thread!

[bigdjiver]

It is some time since I have felt "connected" when doing classic MJ. Yesterday I was singing to myself a song I wrote when I was jolted by the lines:
"In the thrill of discovery
we forget just who we are"
and it occured to me that one of the elements of "connection" for me had been, not just shared experience, but shared discovery. Some of the elements had been new partners, new tracks and new moves working properly for the first time. I gained a new insight into why some of my partners had been very obviously "connected" in what for me had been a very good dance, and a near miss.
For me it had been "Its all been said, Its all been done before".