[Described is an imaginary person, but some features most dancers have from time to time.]
Symptoms:
Her body is tense. Eyes are shifting. She's rushing ahead of the beat, charging forward as soon as I move out of slot, or turning as soon as I lift the arm. May be following the beat or might be rushing. Often there are much more steps than needed.
The problem:
I start to tense up as well. I can't groove to the music. To maintain slot I sometimes need to wrestle her. If I let her go direction can become tangential, including disappearing behind my back. This stops to be enjoyable soon. Feels that song is wasted and I might not ask her again for a long time. Shorter if she's a total beginner.
Solutions:
Parody. Works for dancers who are usually better than me, they laugh and we dance. For some the message does not connect.
Slowing down. Inhaling, exhaling slowly. Swinging from side to side on the down beats. Works for most people who dance salsa well. From newbies I get questions like "Is this salsa" "I don't dance bachata" and looks for when there's gonna be forward-backward basic and turns. I tell that turns will come in time. Some think that I'm just weird and reaction is opposite to relaxation.
Offer to follow in stead. Almost no one takes me on this offer, but this works for salsa teachers. They laugh and relax.
Don't offer, but go on and follow anyway. This is for autopilot dancers, you guess their routine and try to match it. Not fun and can be waste of dance, but it also could get them to relax. When everything is closer to expected people tend to get more comfortable. For some people it means give them space to style. For others, don't let them go, just keep turning - inside, outside, inside, outside.
It could be that I'm part of the problem, not solution. Is sometimes happens I get asked for the song, I don't like. Or I want to dance with someone else. Or I'm worried, hurt or something else on the mind. Still one side project for me is to be able to dance with most good dancers and have a good time. When salsa groupies start to ask me, I think I'm doing all right.
They don't line up, like they do for Terry, but they also don't mind if I cut in the line and steal for a dance.
Asking. There are follows, with whom I know I can have very good connection. I ask, what's wrong. Sometimes the answer is - "nothing". Also sometimes later in the night she asks me and is warm, relaxed and springy. Maybe it's the warm up thing, I know I need time to get in shape.
Nevertheless there are quite a few dances each night especially in the scared newbie crowd, that carry the unneeded tension.
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On the other side I also do tricks, misdirections and surprises, to keep some follows from falling asleep. That's the opposite direction, but it actually works for some - you can't be ready for each misdirection and be tense at the same time.
Also sometimes it's just the wrong song. Too slow, too fast, too many breaks, clave changes and so on.
Symptoms:
Her body is tense. Eyes are shifting. She's rushing ahead of the beat, charging forward as soon as I move out of slot, or turning as soon as I lift the arm. May be following the beat or might be rushing. Often there are much more steps than needed.
The problem:
I start to tense up as well. I can't groove to the music. To maintain slot I sometimes need to wrestle her. If I let her go direction can become tangential, including disappearing behind my back. This stops to be enjoyable soon. Feels that song is wasted and I might not ask her again for a long time. Shorter if she's a total beginner.
Solutions:
Parody. Works for dancers who are usually better than me, they laugh and we dance. For some the message does not connect.
Slowing down. Inhaling, exhaling slowly. Swinging from side to side on the down beats. Works for most people who dance salsa well. From newbies I get questions like "Is this salsa" "I don't dance bachata" and looks for when there's gonna be forward-backward basic and turns. I tell that turns will come in time. Some think that I'm just weird and reaction is opposite to relaxation.
Offer to follow in stead. Almost no one takes me on this offer, but this works for salsa teachers. They laugh and relax.
Don't offer, but go on and follow anyway. This is for autopilot dancers, you guess their routine and try to match it. Not fun and can be waste of dance, but it also could get them to relax. When everything is closer to expected people tend to get more comfortable. For some people it means give them space to style. For others, don't let them go, just keep turning - inside, outside, inside, outside.
It could be that I'm part of the problem, not solution. Is sometimes happens I get asked for the song, I don't like. Or I want to dance with someone else. Or I'm worried, hurt or something else on the mind. Still one side project for me is to be able to dance with most good dancers and have a good time. When salsa groupies start to ask me, I think I'm doing all right.
They don't line up, like they do for Terry, but they also don't mind if I cut in the line and steal for a dance.Asking. There are follows, with whom I know I can have very good connection. I ask, what's wrong. Sometimes the answer is - "nothing". Also sometimes later in the night she asks me and is warm, relaxed and springy. Maybe it's the warm up thing, I know I need time to get in shape.
Nevertheless there are quite a few dances each night especially in the scared newbie crowd, that carry the unneeded tension.
--------------------------
On the other side I also do tricks, misdirections and surprises, to keep some follows from falling asleep. That's the opposite direction, but it actually works for some - you can't be ready for each misdirection and be tense at the same time.
Also sometimes it's just the wrong song. Too slow, too fast, too many breaks, clave changes and so on.
