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Followers, have you ever had a mediocre dance night? What about nights that needed to have a really great dance with a really great lead to get back on track, or nights with “not enough (good) leads”? What if there…
There’s been a trend about celebrating people who dance outside of the traditional roles. Whether it’s male follows, female leads, or ambidextrous dancers, it’s a great thing to see so many people stepping outside of the traditional. I started leading…
Over time, dance communities are moving towards a greater focus on follower empowerment. We are becoming more aware of the value followers bring to a dance, and the need to teach to both followers and leaders. But, some people are still…
Have you ever been told that you were a ‘heavy’ follower, attempted to become lighter, and were then told that you were too disconnected or floppy? Or, have you been told your connection was too “light”, attempted to adjust, and…
Each great dance we will ever have comes down to a few foundational building blocks. If all the blocks are there, a dance will be more successful and pleasant. But, if we prioritize certain building blocks over others, we end…
In partner dance, we have two (typically) well-defined roles: leader and follower. Each of these roles has its own set of responsibilities. The leader is the director, who has a vision for what happens next. They create the requests, which are…
Have you ever gone to an event, and seen that girl? She’s hot. She’s dressed sexy. Her make-up is all done up. To top it all off, she gets asked to dance by all the desirable leads… all night long. There’s only…
I hate to break it to you, but this post isn’t going to be where I give you a magic formula that works with every partner. There’s no universal ‘great dance’ formula. However, every social dancer has their own personal ‘great…
Hands are magical. They’re one of the most sensitive parts of the human body, and can even feel large microscopic molecules on a flat surface. We also generally rely pretty heavily on the hands for social dancing. Of course, it…
Have you ever eaten (or even seen) an Oreo cookie? Two chocolate wafers, containing a glorious cream frosting in the center. Some people eat them as a sandwich; some take them apart to simply eat the cream. When you social…
Have you ever felt like your leading is a bit ‘boring’ and is stuck on autopilot? Do you default to the same movement set, regardless of music? Follows, do you ever find yourself just ‘going through the motions’ on a step?…
When I started dancing, I really wanted to move my body. I saw advanced dancers moving effortlessly around the floor, and I emulated them. So, when I went to class, I moved my body. A lot. I took giant steps….
Follows: have you ever said you didn’t do a move because the lead ‘didn’t lead you properly?’ Then this is for you. It’s time to take charge of your own dancing.
A week or two ago, we looked at what follows really want from leads… now it’s time to look at the other side of the equation: What do leads really want from follows? Do they want the follow who looks…
Every lead has encountered the Backleader. Very much the follow version of a Pinball Lead, the Backleader goes where he or she wants – without regard to the partner. It doesn’t matter if the lead has another idea or if…
