n00bdancer
Changui
Class moves that are inappropriate for social dancing
There's a reason I only stick to classical moves and their variations.
I feel that solve moves taught in class just aren't appropriate for social dancing, both technique-wise and comfort-wise.
There was a move we learned in class, that the instructor said it would be "cool" if we can lead it properly in a social dance. The instructor is great, but I tried it while social dancing and didn't really go well. Not only did only 1 out of the 5 followers I tried it on get it, but there was 1 follower who ended the dance after that move. A brief description is that move involves leading a right turn with your back by applying pressure on the follower's arm draped over your back. Though, the follower who ended the dance, I think, was pretty beginner, so I think she was a bit overreactive in a way a more experienced follower wouldn't have been. Honestly, while I think the move is a bit unorthodox, I didn't think it was dangerous, and safety is my main priority when leading a social dance.
So, I went to a social, tried the move, got feedback, and now, I am even more conscious of what moves to use that I learned in class.
Note, these classes are taught with the intention that you can use these moves in social dancing, but yeah I don't think that all class moves are good social dance moves though I still think they teach us something about technique. You just need to be able to discern what moves make sense.
Adapting to follower's level in dancing
The second thing is that I don't necessarily subscribe to the mindset that it "always the lead's fault". I do kind of subscribe to the mindset that a "lead should assume that it's their fault", but not in the sense that you should be able to necessarily lead any move with almost any follower.
The objective reality is that many follower's make a lot of mistakes. I don't say this to criticize followers, but it informs my philosophy when social dancing.
Generally, for most dances, I aim for 100 percent correctness with no mistakes. Obviously, you won't always be perfect as their might be moments where you just slightly lose focus and balance, but generally, I'm able to lead dances with out making clear mistakes or adapting quickly if a mistake is made.
Though, I'd only say that I feel that I can really dance with everything I know, in terms of figures, unrestricted with maybe ~2 out of 10 followers at most. Therefore, my mindset isn't about how I lead moves so that any followers can execute it, but more so, how do I select moves that the follower can do. As I've been dancing more and more, it's become easier to anticipate what moves will and will not work. I think now I have a fairly refined understanding of a follower's experience level within my first 30 seconds of dancing with them taking in information like balance, frame, connection, tension, etc.
What's your mentality about adapting to a follower's level?
There's a reason I only stick to classical moves and their variations.
I feel that solve moves taught in class just aren't appropriate for social dancing, both technique-wise and comfort-wise.
There was a move we learned in class, that the instructor said it would be "cool" if we can lead it properly in a social dance. The instructor is great, but I tried it while social dancing and didn't really go well. Not only did only 1 out of the 5 followers I tried it on get it, but there was 1 follower who ended the dance after that move. A brief description is that move involves leading a right turn with your back by applying pressure on the follower's arm draped over your back. Though, the follower who ended the dance, I think, was pretty beginner, so I think she was a bit overreactive in a way a more experienced follower wouldn't have been. Honestly, while I think the move is a bit unorthodox, I didn't think it was dangerous, and safety is my main priority when leading a social dance.
So, I went to a social, tried the move, got feedback, and now, I am even more conscious of what moves to use that I learned in class.
Note, these classes are taught with the intention that you can use these moves in social dancing, but yeah I don't think that all class moves are good social dance moves though I still think they teach us something about technique. You just need to be able to discern what moves make sense.
Adapting to follower's level in dancing
The second thing is that I don't necessarily subscribe to the mindset that it "always the lead's fault". I do kind of subscribe to the mindset that a "lead should assume that it's their fault", but not in the sense that you should be able to necessarily lead any move with almost any follower.
The objective reality is that many follower's make a lot of mistakes. I don't say this to criticize followers, but it informs my philosophy when social dancing.
Generally, for most dances, I aim for 100 percent correctness with no mistakes. Obviously, you won't always be perfect as their might be moments where you just slightly lose focus and balance, but generally, I'm able to lead dances with out making clear mistakes or adapting quickly if a mistake is made.
Though, I'd only say that I feel that I can really dance with everything I know, in terms of figures, unrestricted with maybe ~2 out of 10 followers at most. Therefore, my mindset isn't about how I lead moves so that any followers can execute it, but more so, how do I select moves that the follower can do. As I've been dancing more and more, it's become easier to anticipate what moves will and will not work. I think now I have a fairly refined understanding of a follower's experience level within my first 30 seconds of dancing with them taking in information like balance, frame, connection, tension, etc.
What's your mentality about adapting to a follower's level?