Many thanks to everyone who's replied so far
All the comments are immensely useful - keep them coming!
First of all, what do you mean with regression? What made you think that? If you felt it yourself, then you must know which aspects of your dancing went worse.
As a follower I spent something like 3 years working on my connection and felt (and my teachers agreed) that it improved quite a lot. I also worked on my balance (which I feel is one of the biggest difference between good followers and myself) and was starting to "get" it when I left Japan. Now I feel I'm slipping back in both regards, with all the old issues resurfacing.
As a leader my main issue is a lack of practice. There are tons of things I need to work on, but I have nobody I can practise with in my new scene, and I don't have anywhere near as much floor time as a leader than I used to.
You are sometimes leaning to left or right while spinning ladies but it's something to do with arm and core muscles. I don't think that you wanna start weightlifting to improve that. Just never mind
The only thing I did notice was the leaning thing that someone else mentioned. I can't remember when exactly it was happening though. So, on the basis of that, I think keeping your frame might be the thing to work on.
The lean problem goes deeper than dancing. I'm always leaning sideways when I think I'm standing straight, or even when I'm lying down. My pelvis is tilted to one side, so my lower body and upper body are not lined up straight. Apparently (according to my physiotherapist) it's caused by muscular tension and imbalance. Working on my core didn't improve it much, and the physio gave up after working on the problem for about a year
- Basic step (which includes smoothness of body movement, timing, balance etc).
To improve:
- Work on smooth basics with no bouncy movement or leaning. You know the drill ; practice each step slowly in the mirror. Try to retain the smoothness when you practice shines to music.
Yes, the bobbing up and down is very obvious when I see videos of me dancing with a partner, both when following and leading. Oddly, not so much when doing the basic on my own. I'm guessing the bobbing may be a symptom of back-weightedness - sinking/falling into the back break then springing back up? Any pointers welcome. Another thing I see in videos is how much I bend my knees when partner dancing. The basic step is one area I still haven't made much improvement in after all these years, and I'd probably benefit from getting back to the drawing board and starting from scratch with a good teacher.
Doing the Pachanga probably hasn't helped. :wink:
Hey, I refuse to accept that! It was rubbish even before I picked up pachanga :lol:
IMO, you are definitely not a heavy follow but followers can always be lighter than they are. So maybe you can improve your dancing by trying to be lighter. I have no idea how to do that though.
When I lead I have a clear idea of the connection I want from the follower (not heavy; not too feather-light; not springy: not damp; always consistent), but I have no idea where I am myself. I wish I could lead myself so I could understand exactly how I feel to the leader! :lol: I think I definitely fail at the "consistent" part though. I do have a tendency to tense up mid-dance.
You’re a great follower, technically and aesthetically but perhaps you’re too ‘nice’, by this I mean everything was very smooth and pretty. But (and I hope this makes sense) there is a hardness, an edgy dynamism to salsa which I (and perhaps only I?) enjoy. I hope this makes sense - your dancing has nice rounded corners, but maybe it could use a few jagged edges?
Interesting - never thought about that. Something to mull over...
I found your lead to be quite strong compared to the only other two people I ever followed. It wasn't uncomfortable but it did slightly put me on edge. Of course I have no doubt that this strength was necessitated by my tardy following.
I find controlling the momentum of followers who are physically a lot bigger and heavier than me (i.e., majority of male followers) quite a challenge, and I probably tend to try to compensate for the lack of my core strength by using force, which explains why you felt that and Caroline didn't. Let me work on that when I see you next. In the meantime, I should find a local gym as I've lost a lot of core muscles during the last six months of inactivity.
I wish you had brought up this topic before we danced as I enjoyed our dances and would have to really nitpick to give you a critique of your following.
Go on, nitpick away - I'm sure I will be back in York soon enough
- Work on using the correct muscles to produce a smooth connection in the arms and between the arms and body. Both in partnerwork and spins.
I'm surprised that with all the congresses and social dancing you do that you haven't made your BIG breakthrough yet.
I'm not :roll: I'm a late starter with lots of deeply ingrained bad habits. I am still working on it and hopefully I will get there eventually...
LOL. I have known Mac for years, since she was a beginner. So I hope she won't mind me being straightforward.
Right 8) Next time I have a chance to dance with you (hopefully before Scottish Congress 2012), feel free to critique!
do you have access to many instructors? it might be benificial to get a new perspective from someone totally new. i'm finding out that after being with the same teachers for over a year and a half, there really isn't anything new they can tell you that you haven't heard before. change stimulates growth.
the first place i'd start is with a new instructor, if possible.
That's a problem - the town I've moved to has one salsa school, and so far I'm not massively impressed by the teacher there. I'm thinking about signing up to their course anyway when the next block starts to see what their classes are like, but I may need to starting commuting to another city for classes
In the meantime, I'm thinking about arranging a few privates during my future road trips.
