There are people who loves to move their body to the music, swinging their arms, etc.
Well, this is fine is you are not leading.
As a lead in partner dance, even a flick of the wrist can be a signal to the follow.
Thus excessive movements would make it confusing for the follow to pick up which is actually a lead and which is not!
It would take a very experienced and fast follow to be able to read leads that have too much unnecessary movements.
I personally advocate that leads (for salsa) keep their arms and wrists relatively still (note that 'still' does not mean stiff) while not leading any moves (e.g. when doing basic). The results are very obvious.... there were many many follows who complimented me for being very clear in my lead and easy to follow, after their 1st dance with me.
On the same note, one VERY common mistake that leads make, is to 'row' their arms while moving :) They might think it FEELS cool but most don't realize it can LOOK comical if not done 'properly'. (Many Cuban style movements rock their arms in a way but that is a separate story)
Thursday 16 September 2010
Geeky-Awkward--Silly -> Cool-Sexy
That's a damm cool phrase I learnt from Meech during the WCS workshop.
Basically, we must have the guts to embarrass ourselves and DO the moves while looking Geeky, Awkward and Silly..... before we can reach the final stage of being Cool and Sexy.
Unless you are a dance genius or a very seasoned dancer, u can't skip the earlier steps :)
Basically, we must have the guts to embarrass ourselves and DO the moves while looking Geeky, Awkward and Silly..... before we can reach the final stage of being Cool and Sexy.
Unless you are a dance genius or a very seasoned dancer, u can't skip the earlier steps :)
Monday 13 September 2010
Think of how you want the girl to move (when learning new moves)
After teaching salsa for so many years..... I've come to realize, ... the biggest mistake most learner leads make, --> is to focus on what are their own steps rather than focusing on what should the follow be doing :)
Why so?
These leads become so obsessed with their own moves, they forgot their primary role,... to lead. Without learning how to get the follow to do what they want, these leads will not be able to execute the same moves on the dance floor! They might think they have learnt the moves because it seems to work in class, but little do they know that it's because the follows already know what they are supposed to do in class!!
I've tried my best to teach the patterns in a way such that the leads will have to decide what to do and lead (by giving multiple options to exit a move). But that is still not really sufficient in most cases.
When I learn a new move, this is my sequence of thoughts
1) What steps are the follows doing (turn which way, on what count, on the spot or traveling?)
2) What are the cues to make the follow go that way?
3) What do I do while executing those cues?
4) What are the potential points where I can hurt the follow?
5) What are the styling that can be done while executing those moves (for both lead and follows)
Notice that styling comes last? Yah, no point trying to style when you can't even do the move properly :)
As most people agree that guys can't multitask very well, it's best if the guys practice their basic (own footwork, etc.) and build such a solid foundation there that they do not have to think of their feet. In this way, they can then focus on all the other things mentioned above :)
(PS: I wrote the above article after one session with a student... when I told him to focus on the girl's steps, he suddenly had that 'Eureka moment' and his progress started to accelerate from that point onwards)
Why so?
These leads become so obsessed with their own moves, they forgot their primary role,... to lead. Without learning how to get the follow to do what they want, these leads will not be able to execute the same moves on the dance floor! They might think they have learnt the moves because it seems to work in class, but little do they know that it's because the follows already know what they are supposed to do in class!!
I've tried my best to teach the patterns in a way such that the leads will have to decide what to do and lead (by giving multiple options to exit a move). But that is still not really sufficient in most cases.
When I learn a new move, this is my sequence of thoughts
1) What steps are the follows doing (turn which way, on what count, on the spot or traveling?)
2) What are the cues to make the follow go that way?
3) What do I do while executing those cues?
4) What are the potential points where I can hurt the follow?
5) What are the styling that can be done while executing those moves (for both lead and follows)
Notice that styling comes last? Yah, no point trying to style when you can't even do the move properly :)
As most people agree that guys can't multitask very well, it's best if the guys practice their basic (own footwork, etc.) and build such a solid foundation there that they do not have to think of their feet. In this way, they can then focus on all the other things mentioned above :)
(PS: I wrote the above article after one session with a student... when I told him to focus on the girl's steps, he suddenly had that 'Eureka moment' and his progress started to accelerate from that point onwards)
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