Friday, October 12, 2012

Gentlemen, I've Got Your Backs!

Gentlemen, while our female partners have a very important role in ballroom dance, we are the ones in charge!  We are the leaders.

To be a great leader, you must become obsessed with using the correct technique to execute the pattern or amalgamation of figures with the necessary control to confidently maneuver yourself and your partner around the floor.
Exact foot placement and correct footwork, posture and poise all serve a leader well;  however, thorough knowledge of a figure is paramount to great floor craft.

When dancing socially, leaders, you must choreograph as you go, orchestrating the moves congruent with the style and rhythm of the music you are dancing to.  It is like a chess match, planning the next step and deciding what amount of turn to maneuver through and around the other couples.  Leaders be vigilant, always aware of alignment and other dancers you are sharing the floor with.
With comfort and confidence, you must know all the variations of a dance figure and what can follow it, along with the ways you can change end alignment in reaction to what is happening on the dance floor in real time around you.
Guys, next time you are in a dance class learning a figure, be mindful and have intention!  Don’t just learn the steps; get to know the technique intimately so that the woman you are dancing with can trust you wholeheartedly within your dance frame.

Where you lead, she will follow.

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