Many dancers talk about playing with the music, musicality, etc.
In order for that to happen, one has to do a few things:
1) Knowing the music, using the accents. How does one know the music? Keep listening to the songs! The more you listen, the more you know! Pay attention to the structure of the songs and the different types of instruments, music style, etc.
2) After you know the songs, u need to find moves to fit the music! How to do that? Learning dance moves is like learning a language, e.g. English. U need to start from Alphabets and build from there!
Learn English, Alphabets -> words -> sentences -> essays -> Poems
By the time u reach the state of being a poet, it's like being able to play with the music at will on the dance floor :)
3) For leads who worry about not having enough vocabulary (patterns), don't worry, because the girls don't really care even if we repeat some of our moves! (yes, the girls told me this). As long as you do not keep repeating it over and over again in the same dance. Mix it here and there, Repeat a few sets in different order to keep them fresh :)
Sunday 27 June 2010
Tuesday 22 June 2010
Planting
My style of lead, had been called 'planting' by my dance kakis.
Why planting? Coz I literally 'plant' the girl's foot at where I want it to land.
What's so good about 'planting'? Well, for one, you need to be VERY precise in your control.
It gives the girl NO DOUBT on where she needs to go. She in turn don't have to worry so much about guessing what u wanted her to do --> Thus she could spend more of her time thinking of how to style and look good!
This skill is also needed to execute quite a lot of advance moves, (some often classified as bastard moves due to changing of direction/momentum every count).
Planting also looks more assertive and macho in my opinion, and definitely looks better on stage and performances.
What's the opposite of planting? In my opinion, it's the soft guiding style. Just guide the girl,... and let her decide where she wants to go :) It has a very different look and feel. I've tried it out, definitely nice and smooth and very flowy. But.... usually works (well) only with advance girls.
This brings fore another advantage of planting,... it's amazing on beginner follows. They would suddenly be amazed why they can do so many wonder patterns and spin so many rounds and do such wonderfully straight traveling turns :) Get it right and all those follows will be asking you for many many more dance.
Unfortunately, planting doesn't work with one kind of follow.... those who simply want to do their own stuff :P If you meet such follows, just use the guiding style and let them do what they want, kekeke.
Now the important part... how to do 'planting'? Kekeke, I'll write that in another post :P
Why planting? Coz I literally 'plant' the girl's foot at where I want it to land.
What's so good about 'planting'? Well, for one, you need to be VERY precise in your control.
It gives the girl NO DOUBT on where she needs to go. She in turn don't have to worry so much about guessing what u wanted her to do --> Thus she could spend more of her time thinking of how to style and look good!
This skill is also needed to execute quite a lot of advance moves, (some often classified as bastard moves due to changing of direction/momentum every count).
Planting also looks more assertive and macho in my opinion, and definitely looks better on stage and performances.
What's the opposite of planting? In my opinion, it's the soft guiding style. Just guide the girl,... and let her decide where she wants to go :) It has a very different look and feel. I've tried it out, definitely nice and smooth and very flowy. But.... usually works (well) only with advance girls.
This brings fore another advantage of planting,... it's amazing on beginner follows. They would suddenly be amazed why they can do so many wonder patterns and spin so many rounds and do such wonderfully straight traveling turns :) Get it right and all those follows will be asking you for many many more dance.
Unfortunately, planting doesn't work with one kind of follow.... those who simply want to do their own stuff :P If you meet such follows, just use the guiding style and let them do what they want, kekeke.
Now the important part... how to do 'planting'? Kekeke, I'll write that in another post :P
Tuesday 8 June 2010
Spinning the girl - Start, Stop, Counter
A good lead can spin their follows beyond what they thought they could achieve :) And in the process, actually help their follows improve their spins!
What Xen teach during basic class forms the foundation of spinning. The Halo, the hook. But... unfortunately, simple as they might sound, it's often not executed properly.
Most lead still like to 'stir' with their wrists rather than drawing circular halos. Stirring works for two or perhaps 3 rounds, but it relies on the follow being good at spinning.
Anything beyond 3 rounds will be difficult. Xen's technique make it easy to spin girls for 10, 20, 30, watever. Stunt/Tricks like the coffee Grinder is NOT possible without proper technique.
The lead should also know how fast can the follow spin. Pace the speed of your spin to her comfort level (or perhaps push a bit if you are training her).
Ok, spinning girls is one thing, the other important part which many leads dont realize, is STOPPING the spin.
It's important to know HOW to stop and WHEN to stop.
We need to TIME our stop to coincide with the suitable point of music.
Also, we need PREP the follow to stop. Give her AMPLE TIME to to know that that we are stopping. Thus SIGNAL as early as you can.
For myself, I normally start to TENSE my arm at the LAST ROUND.
She will feel the difference and naturally start to tense up and prepare herself.
Stopping sharply takes skill and practice. Every girl's spinning ability is different and you'll need to understand her strength and weaknesses.
I normally do not go about spinning the girl multiple rounds right off the bat.
Start with 1 round. See how she styles (if she doesn't, probably not a good idea to go more).
Go with 2 rounds. See if she adapts to the increase in pace. Still good?
Go with 3 rounds. Still good, WHAHAHA, time for major spinning session :P
Back to stopping. When you stop the girl, PLEASE HOLD HER STEADY.
The KEY to looking good when spinning, is not just the spin alone! An important part of looking good, is to make the spin look EASY.
So when the spin is completed, she must look like she is VERY STABLE, very relaxed and READY for the next move!
The lead can do a lot to help the follow achieve a good stop when spinning. That is what STEADYING the follow at the end of spin is supposed to achieve.
Ok, besides spinning...... we should always remember, a good lead takes good care of his follow. When you turn the girl one direction for many rounds, PLEASE COUNTER SPIN the girl to help prevent her from getting dizzy!
E.g. After multiple right turns/spins, do a CBLT (which is a left turn) to counter.
Vary your patterns such that you do not keep turning in one direction :)
Ok, that's all on spinning for now :)
What Xen teach during basic class forms the foundation of spinning. The Halo, the hook. But... unfortunately, simple as they might sound, it's often not executed properly.
Most lead still like to 'stir' with their wrists rather than drawing circular halos. Stirring works for two or perhaps 3 rounds, but it relies on the follow being good at spinning.
Anything beyond 3 rounds will be difficult. Xen's technique make it easy to spin girls for 10, 20, 30, watever. Stunt/Tricks like the coffee Grinder is NOT possible without proper technique.
The lead should also know how fast can the follow spin. Pace the speed of your spin to her comfort level (or perhaps push a bit if you are training her).
Ok, spinning girls is one thing, the other important part which many leads dont realize, is STOPPING the spin.
It's important to know HOW to stop and WHEN to stop.
We need to TIME our stop to coincide with the suitable point of music.
Also, we need PREP the follow to stop. Give her AMPLE TIME to to know that that we are stopping. Thus SIGNAL as early as you can.
For myself, I normally start to TENSE my arm at the LAST ROUND.
She will feel the difference and naturally start to tense up and prepare herself.
Stopping sharply takes skill and practice. Every girl's spinning ability is different and you'll need to understand her strength and weaknesses.
I normally do not go about spinning the girl multiple rounds right off the bat.
Start with 1 round. See how she styles (if she doesn't, probably not a good idea to go more).
Go with 2 rounds. See if she adapts to the increase in pace. Still good?
Go with 3 rounds. Still good, WHAHAHA, time for major spinning session :P
Back to stopping. When you stop the girl, PLEASE HOLD HER STEADY.
The KEY to looking good when spinning, is not just the spin alone! An important part of looking good, is to make the spin look EASY.
So when the spin is completed, she must look like she is VERY STABLE, very relaxed and READY for the next move!
The lead can do a lot to help the follow achieve a good stop when spinning. That is what STEADYING the follow at the end of spin is supposed to achieve.
Ok, besides spinning...... we should always remember, a good lead takes good care of his follow. When you turn the girl one direction for many rounds, PLEASE COUNTER SPIN the girl to help prevent her from getting dizzy!
E.g. After multiple right turns/spins, do a CBLT (which is a left turn) to counter.
Vary your patterns such that you do not keep turning in one direction :)
Ok, that's all on spinning for now :)
Monday 7 June 2010
Choreo Tips - Disguising the prep for Big Moves
Borrowing from what I've learnt when I was judging Figure Skating.....
There are big moves that look impressive. And usually these big moves needs some Prep (preparation) and wind ups.
The difference between skaters executing the same moves often lies in how well can they disguise the prep and surprise the audience for Maximum impact.
i.e. slow slow slow... steady pace and regular moves.... suddenly.. BOOM, one huge move right in your face. And Audience get WOW-ed coz they didn't expect it.
The same can apply to salsa. Both in Choreo and regular dancing. Don't pack your whole dance with one big/complex move after another. It makes the dance look boring and ordinary even when the moves are advance level moves.
It's always a good idea to do simple stuff (and style), enjoy the music, until some key points in the song (so called accents or strong melody segments), then BOOM, throw in the impressive looking complex move to fit the music. Once the move is completed, don't forget to MILK IT by POSING properly (usually on count 8 if you're dancing On1).
The overall contrast by doing so can make the dance much much more dynamic and interesting to look at and more fun as well!!
There are big moves that look impressive. And usually these big moves needs some Prep (preparation) and wind ups.
The difference between skaters executing the same moves often lies in how well can they disguise the prep and surprise the audience for Maximum impact.
i.e. slow slow slow... steady pace and regular moves.... suddenly.. BOOM, one huge move right in your face. And Audience get WOW-ed coz they didn't expect it.
The same can apply to salsa. Both in Choreo and regular dancing. Don't pack your whole dance with one big/complex move after another. It makes the dance look boring and ordinary even when the moves are advance level moves.
It's always a good idea to do simple stuff (and style), enjoy the music, until some key points in the song (so called accents or strong melody segments), then BOOM, throw in the impressive looking complex move to fit the music. Once the move is completed, don't forget to MILK IT by POSING properly (usually on count 8 if you're dancing On1).
The overall contrast by doing so can make the dance much much more dynamic and interesting to look at and more fun as well!!
Sunday 6 June 2010
Treat Every dance like it's a performance
Every dance I do, I put in 100%. If I can't do 100% (like very tired), I'll politely reject the request to dance, coz it'll not be fair to her and myself.
But... why so serious?
Reason is simple, I do not ever want to 'practice' the wrong thing.
No slacking, lazy habits, etc. Otherwise, when I go on stage, if I ever forgot, or tense up or lose concentration, I'll revert to the 'slack habits'. But if every dance is 100%, then the habitual reaction will be 100% level of performance.
Another reason why I want to do this is.... personally, I enjoy watching people dance, more than dancing myself :)
Thus, when I dance, I would assume there might be people like me, watching.... so it would be good to make someone's day by putting up a nice show? hehehe.
I also enjoy pushing my follow to her limits, while making her enjoy the experience :) and make her look good at the same time, LOL. (yes, it can be done.... related to this are stuff like ladder or moves, planting, spinning techniques, pacing, musicality, etc. Now sure if I've written on them, but if I haven't it would be on this blog sooner or later)
But... why so serious?
Reason is simple, I do not ever want to 'practice' the wrong thing.
No slacking, lazy habits, etc. Otherwise, when I go on stage, if I ever forgot, or tense up or lose concentration, I'll revert to the 'slack habits'. But if every dance is 100%, then the habitual reaction will be 100% level of performance.
Another reason why I want to do this is.... personally, I enjoy watching people dance, more than dancing myself :)
Thus, when I dance, I would assume there might be people like me, watching.... so it would be good to make someone's day by putting up a nice show? hehehe.
I also enjoy pushing my follow to her limits, while making her enjoy the experience :) and make her look good at the same time, LOL. (yes, it can be done.... related to this are stuff like ladder or moves, planting, spinning techniques, pacing, musicality, etc. Now sure if I've written on them, but if I haven't it would be on this blog sooner or later)
Thursday 3 June 2010
Speed
It's important to be able to move FAST!
Only when you can move fast, will you be able to make the dance look easy and effortless (rather than a mad rush).
How do you move fast? PRACTICE! Kind of like saying the obvious right? Yah, it is.
EVERY move... if you do it many many times, u'll soon be able to execute in your sleep. But at what speed?
The key is... how do you practice? Simple... use fast songs! LOL. Another stating the obvious :P :P :P
Anyway, these days, with sound editing being so easy..... one good way to practice .... is to SPEED UP THE SONG.
This is in reference to learning a choreography. In Xen, the CD players allow us to change the pitch on the fly (i.e. adjust the speed). But nowadays people use MP3, so the speed changing will need to be done using software.
If you are practising a choreography, the best way to be able to execute it smoothly, and fast enough, is to practice to an increased speed version of the song. Once you are able to do the who choreo at a higher speed, suddenly everything will feel SLOW (sometimes agonizingly so) !! So slow that you have time to ...
A) See how is your partner doing, help her dance better or take care of her
B) Sneak glances at other couples (to ensure u are in sync with them and also adjust your position) - this refers to group performance
C) Interact with the audience or judges! :) This requires another skill.... facial expression! (which is another important topic to be covered separately)
D) Watch and clean up your mistakes (if you are practising in front of mirrors)
BTW, size is not a barrier to speed. I've seen very heavy dancers (heavier than me) move at amazing speed. So don't let your size/weight become and excuse. Just go for it.
speed up the song to practice a choreo.
Only when you can move fast, will you be able to make the dance look easy and effortless (rather than a mad rush).
How do you move fast? PRACTICE! Kind of like saying the obvious right? Yah, it is.
EVERY move... if you do it many many times, u'll soon be able to execute in your sleep. But at what speed?
The key is... how do you practice? Simple... use fast songs! LOL. Another stating the obvious :P :P :P
Anyway, these days, with sound editing being so easy..... one good way to practice .... is to SPEED UP THE SONG.
This is in reference to learning a choreography. In Xen, the CD players allow us to change the pitch on the fly (i.e. adjust the speed). But nowadays people use MP3, so the speed changing will need to be done using software.
If you are practising a choreography, the best way to be able to execute it smoothly, and fast enough, is to practice to an increased speed version of the song. Once you are able to do the who choreo at a higher speed, suddenly everything will feel SLOW (sometimes agonizingly so) !! So slow that you have time to ...
A) See how is your partner doing, help her dance better or take care of her
B) Sneak glances at other couples (to ensure u are in sync with them and also adjust your position) - this refers to group performance
C) Interact with the audience or judges! :) This requires another skill.... facial expression! (which is another important topic to be covered separately)
D) Watch and clean up your mistakes (if you are practising in front of mirrors)
BTW, size is not a barrier to speed. I've seen very heavy dancers (heavier than me) move at amazing speed. So don't let your size/weight become and excuse. Just go for it.
speed up the song to practice a choreo.
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