Talking while dancing???

[Lou]

I used to work for one organiser - and every dance we had was spent deep in conversation about what changes he wanted me to make to his website, what new music he could get, who would be taxi-ing next week, etc....
As he was a particularly good dancer, it was a bit annoying because I could never get into the dance properly!

[MrB]

Thanks for all the replies. As I am not flirtaciously attractive, or on licking terms, or capable of singing, it looks like that I should generally shut up and dance. I will try it for a few weeks and see how it goes and whether I think I am improving.

There might be a few problems for a while though as I will now have to concentrate on the music - my sudden lack of talking and my concentration face may cause a bit of concern!

[Trousers]

. . . .and Sometimes I close my eyes and have a passionate 3 minute affair. . . . .

I think we can close the forum now.
You have just described the pefect dance in the most perfect manner,
any more words will be pointless!

[Maxine]

If it is in the blues room I prefer to let the dance and eyes do the talking so that I can get lost in my fantasy world.

In the main room where the music is up beat I am quite happy to chat, only problem being that most of my conversation is ‘sorry I did not hear what you just said’

If I am trying to do WCS the only conversation that I am capable of having is step, step triple step, triple step .

[Miss Flicts]

a typical dance conversation...

"bla bla blah..."
"sorry - i didn't catch that"
"PARDON??"
"OW my foot!"

and so on...

Spot on!

I don't like dancing and talking at the same time because it just doesn't work! It also kills the vibe. Dancing is an alternative form of communication to talking - for me it's all wrong doing both at once.

I'd rather dance on the dancefloor and chat off the dancefloor.

[Agente Secreto]

Spot on!

I don't like dancing and talking at the same time because it just doesn't work! It also kills the vibe. Dancing is an alternative form of communication to talking - for me it's all wrong doing both at once.

I'd rather dance on the dancefloor and chat off the dancefloor.

I don't tend to talk when I'm dancing. And if I end up being engaged in a conversation then it's back to complete beginner stuff since I find it difficult to concentrate on talk and dance at the same time.

If it's someone I've not seen for ages I might have a quick chat on track 1 then keep hold of them for a proper dance afterwards.

[Moondancer]

Totally agree with Twirly and Villemo. I can’t hear a thing most of the time when I dance...and I wear earplugs most of the time because the music is always too loud and I get tinnitus afterwards if I don't. I have also probably agreed to all sorts of things by nodding and smiling!

I don't mind the odd comment from my partner mid-dance when we’re in a suitable position to hear each other, but unless I've specifically gone on the floor to have a private conversation (and those people know who they are) then I don't want the dance spoilt by being put in an endless mambo just to listen to small talk when they find I can't hear them during other moves.

I also do what someone else on this forum said they did, i.e. sometimes if someone off the dance floor won't stop talking to me then I would ask them to dance as a way so that I can politely move on from them at the end of the dance (not always the reason for asking someone to dance after I’ve been chatting to them, of course).

And I definitely don't want the guy to hold my hand at the end of a dance and continue chatting to me whilst all the other good dancers get grabbed for the next track (at least maybe there's the odd few blokes who I don't mind doing that...! )

[bigdjiver]

Sometimes a lady first timer will put to much pressure on themselves when dancing. They try to remember the moves, they are worried about how they are performing, what others think of them, and who knows what else. One way to get their mind off all that and just go with the flow is to get them talking.

[Double Trouble]

Sometimes a lady first timer will...try to remember the moves

Surely a lady/followers job is to follow, not remember moves. As Gordon Powell always says "take whatever the man offers you with your right hand"

One way to get their mind off all that and just go with the flow is to get them talking.

Or, instead of putting them off with inane chatter about the weather, maybe you could just lead them properly?

[Gav]

do I talk while dancing


just a bit

Well FWIW, I like having a little chat with you when we dance sometimes.

[straycat]

do I talk while dancing

I think you've been known to dance while talking

[bigdjiver]

Surely a lady/followers job is to follow, not remember moves. As Gordon Powell always says "take whatever the man offers you with your right hand"

Quite.

It is a tricky decision. Quite a few ladies want to be in charge of the learning process. They want to learn the move. Many of them, if left to their own devices, will then go on to anticipate it, and then take the next step to leading it. If the leader fights this, some will give up lessons very early because they were not allowed to learn in their own way.

If they can be so distracted by chatter that they forget to try and do what they have been told, and the lead is good enough so that it is all working without any significant input from them they should find at the end of the dance that they have done it all, with little idea what or how they did it, or how to do it again. The one thing that they will come away from the dance is knowing that they can do it, it is not as difficult as they thought it was going to be.

Or, instead of putting them off with inane chatter about the weather, maybe you could just lead them properly?

I never chat about the weather. Last Thursday I asked a beginner, first-time in freestyle, how she heard about Ceroc ("a friend brought me") then introduced myself, then praised her outfit, saying it was nice to dance with a lady wearing a skirt. (Apart from selfish male motives, wearing skirts or dresses helps with spinning). Later her friend approached me:

My friend could not believe it. She danced with you and she said she just did it, first time.

Sometimes I get it right.

[Moondancer]

Apart from selfish male motives, wearing skirts or dresses helps with spinning

??? I don't get that - how can what I'm wearing (other than my shoes, obviously) help me to spin?

[bigdjiver]

??? I don't get that - how can what I'm wearing (other than my shoes, obviously) help me to spin?

Try and spin a matchstick on its end.

Then push the matchstick a little bit through the centre of a (near). circular piece of cardboard. You have made a spinning top.

It is the same principle. A skirt, especially a weighted one, gives a better balance. (One of the things I learned from the forum, in case anybody is wondering)

[Moondancer]

Try and spin a matchstick on its end.

Then push the matchstick a little bit through the centre of a (near). circular piece of cardboard. You have made a spinning top.

It is the same principle. A skirt, especially a weighted one, gives a better balance. (One of the things I learned from the forum, in case anybody is wondering)

[LemonCake]

Try and spin a matchstick on its end.

Then push the matchstick a little bit through the centre of a (near). circular piece of cardboard. You have made a spinning top.

It is the same principle. A skirt, especially a weighted one, gives a better balance. (One of the things I learned from the forum, in case anybody is wondering)

Entertaining but true: I wrote this ages ago on the subject of skirts, and I'm sure there's been more. I still haven't worked out the exact cause of the effect, but overall it does make for a neater spin. In my case, anyway (I realise that excellent spinners don't need any help!).

LC

[Moondancer]

Entertaining but true: I wrote this ages ago on the subject of skirts, and I'm sure there's been more. I still haven't worked out the exact cause of the effect, but overall it does make for a neater spin. In my case, anyway (I realise that excellent spinners don't need any help!).

LC

I'm sorry, I'm not a physics expert, but I do find it difficult to believe this would make a scrap of difference in a real world scenario. I can see that it holds good for the matchstick, but I don't see how it would work for a person. Surely the amount of weight required in the skirt to actually have an effect would be unrealistically difficult to manage? If you scaled up the weight and size of the matchstick in proportion to the weight and size of the paper and applied that to a human, I just don't think it would work. Perhaps ballerinas' tutus are heavier than they look...Your arms makes a difference, but only if you use them properly.

I've tried spinning in a skirt and in trousers, and it didn't make a blind bit of difference (except in the sense of ventilation and a different view for my companions!) If I felt I needed the assistance of a weighted skirt in order to spin whilst jiving, I would probably give up and take up competitive knitting.

...So presumably if you wanted to become a spin specialist and wear your massively weighted skirt you wouldn't be very popular with blokes who liked doing dips and drops

[Franck]

I'm sorry, I'm not a physics expert, but I do find it difficult to believe this would make a scrap of difference in a real world scenario.

I can personally vouch for the effect of a skirt on your spinning skills as I dramatically improved my spinning, in fact started double spins, when I was wearing my kilt.

I don't think it helped my balance so much as helped me pace the speed of my spins and helped me focus my attention away from my centre (possibly similar to driving on a motorway, where it's easier to drive in a smooth straight line if you're looking further ahead your lane rather than just in front of the car?).

I am not sure of the physics either, but my experience showed a marked difference.

It also works the other way, I'm more likely to do footwork when wearing trousers (vs a kilt) and even more so if wearing light coloured trousers / shoes.

[Cruella]

It also works the other way, I'm more likely to do footwork when wearing trousers (vs a kilt) and even more so if wearing light coloured trousers / shoes.

Why would the colour make a difference? (or is it a joke I'm not getting?)

[JCB]

I'm sorry, I'm not a physics expert, but I do find it difficult to believe this would make a scrap of difference in a real world scenario. I can see that it holds good for the matchstick, but I don't see how it would work for a person. Surely the amount of weight required in the skirt to actually have an effect would be unrealistically difficult to manage?

You are right, the weight required in the skirt to create enough rotational inertia to actually (passively) correct a spin that was starting to tilt would be impractical. However, if you are tuned in to it, (as I tune in to any cues that will help me because of my dodgy inner-ear balance) you can actually feel when something is starting to go wrong. I guess it must be on a subconscious level for most folks; and I need a knee-length or better skirt for it to help. Hmmmn... I expect a heavy woollen kilt would generate a fair amount of rotational inertia, but not sure it would go with a camisole top...