• Leading - Social Dancing

    From Classroom to Social: Applying a New Lead

    December 26, 2022 - By 

    Most leaders have been in a class where they learn a new combination that works on all the follows in rotation. They get excited that they’ve learned something new, head to the next social… and then watch their lead fizzle with many of the follows in the room. Some leads blame themselves; some blame the follower. Some assume that the movement is too niche for the social dance floor.  But, is it really one of those three options?  Today, we’re going to talk about why this might happen, and what to do about it. Lost in Translation When you learn…

  • Dance Discussions - Following - Leading - Social Dancing

    Why I’m not a fan of #LadyLead and #FellowFollow

    May 27, 2019 - By 

    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 and following my first dance (Salsa) from the very beginning nine years ago. I did the same thing when I started Brazilian Zouk. I worked at both roles, danced in both roles, and (eventually) taught in both roles. I did it in all dances I tried except West Coast Swing and Tango – for which I am forever kicking myself. Therefore, I…

  • Beginner-Friendly - Following - Leading - Social Dancing - Workshops & Classes

    The five W’s (and one H) of Dancing

    October 25, 2017 - By 

    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 up with an unbalanced experience. Those building blocks can be summed up as the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How of the dance. The Who: Connection Connection (the “Who”) is your awareness and understanding of your partner. It encompasses how you touch, hold, or feel your partner’s body. It is important for understanding the what of a dance, because it…

  • Beginner-Friendly - Leading - Social Dancing

    Dear Leaders: It’s not all your fault

    July 24, 2017 - By 

    Dear Leaders, You’ve probably heard somewhere that if there’s a mistake, it’s always your fault. I want to tell you that this isn’t true. As a lead, you are supposed to compensate for a follow who is struggling. This might mean slowing down, changing the moves you use, or being more clear on what you would like. But, the fact that you’re supposed to compensate for your partner doesn’t make you at fault for every mistake that happens. Compensation is a great thing. But, there’s only a certain amount you can compensate for. For example, you can’t magically turn a…

  • Following - Leading - Social Dancing

    Why every dancer should be both a leader and a follower

    May 24, 2017 - By 

    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 then processed by the follower. The follower interprets requests made by the leader, and implements the request. They create the vision the leader has set out. But, what if we blur these lines a bit? The Concept of Following while Leading The most sought-after leads have a very special quality: the ability to understand and interpret the responses given by…

  • Leading - Social Dancing

    The Anatomy of a Social Dance-Acceptable Lift

    January 9, 2017 - By 

    The idea that lifts shouldn’t be done on the social floor is well-known. I agree with this, the vast majority of the time. But, every time we mention that it’s a no-no, there’s some lead out there who knows this one person follows are happy being lifted by. And, they want to do it too. So, let’s go through all the things a leader must do in order to lift someone on the social floor in an acceptable way. If even one of these pieces is missing, you are not in a position to do lifts in a social dance-acceptable way. You may be…

  • Leading - Social Dancing

    Backfollowing: when leaders lose their intention

    December 30, 2016 - By 

    Most dancers have heard of the dreaded Backleader: the follow who doesn’t listen to their partner. But, until now we didn’t have a similar concept for leaders who don’t lead.  Therefore, I’d like to introduce the concept of backfollowing: when leaders ask the follower to take over the job of leading. What is a ‘Weak’ Leader? A weak leader is someone who lacks the skills to lead properly. There are two main types of weak leaders: the non-existent or ambiguous, and the rough, conflicting lead. The concept of backfollowing is closely linked to the non-existent or ambiguous lead, whereas the rough, conflicting…

  • Leading - Social Dancing

    Why follows either love or hate strong leads

    December 29, 2016 - By 

    I was speaking with a dancer a few days ago. She was learning how to lead, but was scared of being ‘too strong’. Part of the fear stemmed from the idea that good follows prefer ‘light’ leads to ‘strong’ leads. So I asked her about a particular, very well-loved lead. She said she does enjoy dancing with him. I asked her if she would consider him a ‘strong’ lead. Her answer: “yes.” This is, of course, a conundrum. If a follower enjoys a lead they consider ‘strong’, but doesn’t like ‘strong’ leads, there’s something that needs to be redefined. In this first…

  • Leading - Social Dancing

    Plain-Language Dancing

    December 9, 2016 - By 

    When I’m not dancing, I currently work on making plain-language legal resources. This means that I write things that are supposed to be easy to understand for people without advanced English language skills. Today, I had a thought: what if we apply the concepts of plain-language communication to social dancing? What if we had plain-language dancing? What is Plain-Language Communication? Put simply, plain-language communication is when your audience can understand something the first time they read or hear it. It’s making things as simple as possible for your audience. If you have to read something more than once to understand it, it isn’t…

  • Health & Safety - Leading - Social Dancing

    Love ’em or Hate ’em: 6 Polarizing Dance Moves

    August 17, 2016 - By 

    There are a few moves in any partner dance that inevitably divide follows right down the middle: they either love ’em, or hate ’em. So, what’s a lead to do? How do you tell whether you have a follow who absolutely adores dips – or wants you to never, ever, EVER do them? What clues are there that your follow is spin-happy, or spin adverse? What are the moves in partner dance that follows either love fiercely, or hate with a deep passion?

  • Beginner-Friendly - Following - Leading - Social Dancing

    The Magic of Hands

    July 29, 2016 - By 

    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 is possible to not use the hands in social dancing – but it is difficult. But, there are things that your hands can do in social dancing that you may not think about regularly.

  • Following - Leading - Social Dancing

    Dancing on Default

    June 28, 2016 - By 

    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? If this sounds like you, you may be dancing on default.

  • Beginner-Friendly - Following - Leading - Social Dancing

    The Art of Subtle Movement: “But it doesn’t feel like I’m dancing!”

    June 23, 2016 - By 

    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. I flung my hair around as much as I could. I stuck my arms out all the time. I tried really hard to make my hips move on every step.  In general, I was over-dancing.