Tips and Tricks

[DavidB]

Over the years I've heard about a lot of different exercises to improve particular things in my dancing. I've forgotten most of them - these are the few I can remember.

• Leading whilst holding a cup of water in your hand - to stop it bouncing up and down
• Leading/following using a £5 note for the connection - so you don't get too strong or weak in the lead
• Leading/following using a rubber band for the connection - so you don't get too jerky in the lead
• Followers closing their eyes - helps stop the lady anticipating, and makes the man realise what he has to lead
• Air leading - Leading without touching. (Can also do it without the arms as well.) Teaches you how much your body can be used to lead. Don't try it at the same time as the previous exercise!
• Keeping your feet together, and moving your body in a first move. You can get some wierd body positions to play with - good for 'funkier' music.
• Doing moves in reverse - gives you twice as many moves without learning anything new.
• My favourite is "following your own lead". A strange idea - trying to get the man to move his body as a reaction to his own lead, and the connection with the lady. The aim is to get the man to make his leads smaller and smoother, but still definite enough to be followable.

Like all tips - they may work for you, or they may not. Anyone got any others???

David

[TheTramp]

I think that when you've reached a competant level doing either the lead or follow thing, it's useful (and fun?!?) to try the other role. I think that it helps to have an appreciation of what it's like from the 'other' side.

I'm always on the look-out for people to lead while I follow these days.

Steve

[Lou]

Originally posted by DavidB

• Followers closing their eyes - helps stop the lady anticipating, and makes the man realise what he has to lead
• Air leading - Leading without touching. (Can also do it without the arms as well.) Teaches you how much your body can be used to lead. Don't try it at the same time as the previous exercise!

Unless you're a Jedi.

[TheTramp]

Use the force Lou-k

Steve

[Franck]

Originally posted by DavidB
Over the years I've heard about a lot of different exercises to improve particular things in my dancing. I've forgotten most of them - these are the few I can remember

Brilliant tips there David!
I use quite a few of these in workshops, and they do make a difference!
My favourite is the 'air dancing' one. Not only does is make the man think more about his leading and forcing him to be clearer without using physical strength, but it also helps the women to relax and to use their own balance / momentum instead of relying on the man to pull / push them in place. Great for lady beginners who need to relax their arm!

Dancing blind is also very useful, most men, when they start, have no idea how much they have to communicate to their partner when leading.
I like to describe it as not so much moving your partner where you want her to be, but closing all other options, leaving a very clear path for her to follow.

I was discussing new workshop ideas with Lisa and Lorna yesterday in Aberdeen (great music by the way Curtain ), and while there are a lot of tips / tricks to improve leading, there are very few to improve musical interpretation and improvisation!
I was thinking it would be interesting to dance the same track over and over, concentrating on different instruments in the track: ie follow the main drum beat first, then the bass line, then the actual melody / words, etc...

Would be interested in more thoughts / suggestions.

Franck.

[Graham]

Originally posted by DavidB

• My favourite is "following your own lead". A strange idea - trying to get the man to move his body as a reaction to his own lead, and the connection with the lady. The aim is to get the man to make his leads smaller and smoother, but still definite enough to be followable.

I don't quite follow ( ) this David - can you explain a bit further?

[Gadget]

Originally posted by DavidB
[*]My favourite is "following your own lead". A strange idea - trying to get the man to move his body as a reaction to his own lead, and the connection with the lady. The aim is to get the man to make his leads smaller and smoother, but still definite enough to be followable.

I don't get this one - Isn't that called 'Dancing' ?. {or am I missing something ?}
~Edit~
Snap!!

[DavidB]

Originally posted by Graham
I don't quite follow this - can you explain a bit further?

You would pick the hardest to explain! It was shown to me by an American dancer called Angel Figueroa - he is one of the best West Coast Swing, Hustle and Salsa dancers in the world.

I used to have a big problem when dancing Hustle that my lead was too big and harsh, and it made it very uncomfortable for Lily to follow. He explained that the lady's main responsibility when following is to 'follow' her hand. Wherever her hand is led, her body should follow. The problem is that you can move your hand far faster than the lady can move her body, and she struggles to catch up. You lose the connection, it feels bad, and it looks bad.

So he suggested the idea of 'following your own lead'. Any time you lead anything, you have to move your own body in response to the lead. If you are leading a first move, you start by leading the lady back. You step back yourself not because that's what you normally do, but as a reaction to your own lead. Same with the twists - you apply pressure in your hands to twist the lady, and you use the same pressure to twist yourself. (If you are dancing with a lady who has particularly good connection, like virtually all the ladies I danced with in Glasgow, then you should be able to feel a 'lead', because she will match the pressure you give her.)

If you lead too fast, you can't react quickly enough, so you have to slow your lead down. If you lead too big, then you can't move enough, so you make things smaller. But the key thing is you feel it yourself, and can react to it. You are not relying on the lady saying you are doing something wrong.

If you are leading something at a speed and size that your own body can follow, you give the lady far more chance to do the move as well. Then she can concentrate on enjoyment, rather than survival.

Hope I've explained it ok. It took me 6 months to understand what he meant in the first place.

David

[Franck]

Originally posted by DavidB
The problem is that you can move your hand far faster than the lady can move her body, and she struggles to catch up. You lose the connection, it feels bad, and it looks bad.

Great explanation, and I will have to try that tonight in Glasgow (any willing volunteers? )

I became really aware of this at the last Ceroc teachers update (where we learnt the latest moves to be added to the Ceroc list). When learning the moves, we first learn as leader, and then swap roles to become followers.
I was very conscious that some leaders were just rushing their hand lead, not allowing my body to complete its momentum in one direction prior to abruptly changing the direction of travel (I realise it is possible to change direction quite quickly, but usually with extra help, from a spare hand etc...).
It seems to me the exercize you mention would be a big help for many of us out there.
Once again, it comes down to being aware of your partner, where she is, how fast she is travelling and in which direction...

Yet another great thread!

Franck.

[Rachel]

Originally posted by Franck
I was thinking it would be interesting to dance the same track over and over, concentrating on different instruments in the track: ie follow the main drum beat first, then the bass line, then the actual melody / words, etc...

Brilliant - I love that idea!!! Can I steal it, please, to tell Marc for his teaching?

[Franck]

Originally posted by Rachel
Can I steal it, please, to tell Marc for his teaching?

Of course, that's what the Forum is for, sharing ideas, and hopefully, with all the great dancers who contribute here regularly, we can develop new ideas!

Great to see you back again, you had disappeared for a while! Coming back to Scotland soon?

Franck.

[Gadget]

......let me see if I am understanding this right: Every time you push your partner's hand, you should move backwards and every time you pull, you should move forward - trying to keep equal pressure in the lead?
I take it that you try to keep your "center" and pivot if the lead is to the side, and advance/retreat if the lead is more central?
So in the 'first move' example, the "open out" would result in almost going back to back with your partner?



{BTW Rachel, which thread did you pick up that quote of Francks ?}

[DavidB]

Originally posted by Gadget
Every time you push your partner's hand, you should move backwards and every time you pull, you should move forward

For the purposes of this exercise - yes. Remember this is an exercise designed to improve a particular area of a man's dancing - namely wild leading. Some people might include it in their own style when they dance freestyle, but the aim is to develop a feeling that you try to recreate no matter how you dance.

trying to keep equal pressure in the lead?

Not quite - the pressure constantly changes, but the lady should match whatever pressure the man gives. Ever noticed that when you dance with a good lady, you always know where she is and what she is doing. It's because she maintains the connection, even when you are not leading anything.

I take it that you try to keep your "center" and pivot if the lead is to the side, and advance/retreat if the lead is more central?

That is what the ladies do when they follow.

So in the 'first move' example, the "open out" would result in almost going back to back with your partner?

Sort of. A lot depends on the relative size. With a big man leading a small lady, the energy in the lead would not result in the man moving as much as the lady.

The whole idea is to realise how long it takes a body to actually move, and how large that movement is, whilst still being comfortable.

(The first move is interesting. As I understand it, the 'official' Ceroc way in the twist is that the man and the lady both twist away from each other. I do the opposite - I twist in the same direction as the lady. This is a completely different type of lead - I start it my moving my body, and keeping my frame. You don't get many of these 'body leads' in Ceroc. I prefer the look of it, and hopefully the lady shouldn't feel any difference.)

David

[Rachel]

Originally posted by Franck
Of course, that's what the Forum is for, sharing ideas, and hopefully, with all the great dancers who contribute here regularly, we can develop new ideas!

Thank you - that's very generous of you! I only wish I could think of some wonderful tips to contribute to this thread myself, but I'm afraid my head is blank ... (nothing new there, then!)

... that's what the Forum is for

So you mean there's a practical reason to all this forum lark, as well as it being just a hugely entertaining waste of time??

Great to see you back again, you had disappeared for a while! Coming back to Scotland soon?

Ah, thanks, that made me smile - it's nice to be back. Had a couple of days with a broken down car which meant working from home (and you wouldn't believe how much more I can get done there with no internet access!).

And, after that, I was actually here in the office - even looking at the forum. But I've decided to come back in a slightly more reduced way than before - I really do need to start cutting back on my forum addiction and, occasionally, even try doing some work for a living.

As for coming back to Scotland - believe me, I would absolutely love to and I'm working on it very hard!!!
Rachel

[Rachel]

Originally posted by Gadget
{BTW Rachel, which thread did you pick up that quote of Francks ?}

Um, it's here, isn't it? Franck's first reply to this thread ...
R.

[Gadget]

{Doh! missed this one; thanks Rachel :sorry}

Originally posted by Franck
My favourite is the 'air dancing' one. ~snip~ Great for lady beginners who need to relax their arm!

But unfortunatly, no good for men like me who need to develop a stronger lead - any excercises recommended for this particular ailment?

I was discussing new workshop ideas with Lisa and Lorna~snip~

Like the idea, interesting to work out how you could teach people to listen for/anticipate breaks and changes in the music.
For dancing to the beat, base, melody, lyrics, ... it would be nice if you could get a multi-track and fade out all but the bit you don't want, then fade them in again - don't know how much of that is poss - ask the DJ's.

Would be interested in more thoughts / suggestions.

Regarding types of workshops:
Style taster - one move, done in several different styles; standard, blues, hip-hop, latin, disco...

Fancy Footwork - show how to add style to the most basic moves with sweeps, kicks, pointing...

Flair - what can be done with the off-hand

Knots - how to get into/out of lots of double handed, twisty, pretzel things

Choreography - how to put together a routine, or semi-routine.

Telepathy - dancing to the same beat/area of the song as your partner is (poss one wearing walkman, and other trying to dance to it?)

Dancing breaks - what to do with a break in the music or given one by your partner; shimmy, wiggle, spin, stalk, stroke...

Entrance - how to get from the side of the floor to a space and start dancing without pausing for a circle

...
that's all for now - I don't know if any/all of the above are already workshops though.

[Graham]

Originally posted by Gadget
But unfortunatly, no good for men like me who need to develop a stronger lead - any excercises recommended for this particular ailment?

Have you tried the exercise with the follower closing her eyes? As she can't see what you're doing she needs to get everything through the connection, so it should highlight where you're not being positive enough. From my personal experience I find dancing with beginners is really good for this too, as they're always trying to "escape", and this helps to highlight where you're being too weak.

[TheTramp]

Have you tried the exercise with the follower closing her eyes?

I think all my dance partners do this....

I mean, consider the alternative!! (they'd have to look at me!)

Steve