All about the "Social" part of Dancing
Every time I write an article on taking care of your partner on the dancefloor, I get a response that goes something like this: “When I dance with a lady, I take care of her. It is a man’s job to take care of a lady, because she is the fairer sex. On a dance floor, I must therefore make her safe and comfortable, because I am responsible for protecting this fragile gender.”
Many leads I’ve met are frustrated by a paradox they see in the dance world. It can often seem that follows say “I want a guy who leads solid, connected basics – not advanced patterns”. Yet, the same follow is completely smitten by a lead with really, really cool moves that challenge the follower. Obviously, this can lead to a fair amount of frustration. Leads *really really* want to be a great partner dancer and give their follow an amazing time. They want to look good on the floor, and be that lead that the follows can’t wait to dance with.
Pinball Lead: a lead who does not let the follow finish a movement before launching into the next one. I have come across many Pinball Leads in my time. They can be a newer or older dancer, outgoing or shy, kind or snobby, and many other things. The unifying factor: they usually think that they’re doing the movement really well while they are pinballing me around.
In dance, we have very often heard the analogy about driving a car. Usually, it’s in reference to leads ‘driving’ their follows. I’ve used the same metaphor for both leads and follows in respect to ‘test-driving’, and I’ve made allegories about driving in relation to a follow’s role.
A Note from Laura Riva: I don’t normally post guest articles on my blog, but for Trevor Copp I make an exception. For those who don’t know, Trevor is one of the people behind the Liquid Lead Dancing Tedx Talk that took place a short time ago. He is also one of the people I met in my early dance days – before I even knew what Zouk was! So, when he said he wanted to write an article for TDG, how could I refuse…
Floorcraft: being aware of your surroundings while dancing to maintain safety and comfort for you, your partner, and couples around you. It can include watching for potential collisions, respecting the flow, direction, or slot on the floor, and troubleshooting out of dangerous situations. The general rule preached in many dance communities is that it is the lead’s job to watch the floor during a dance. I would argue that it is actually a shared responsibility: the follow has a great deal of control in managing floorcraft, as does the lead.
We know how awesome it feels to dance with a great lead or follow. We know that it’s important to be able to assess your partner during the dance to maximize your positive experience. We know that attitude plays an important part, and that there are some things you just shouldn’t do.
I love social dancing. I love the variety, I love the musicality, I love the connection. I love being challenged by new movements. Usually. Every once in a while, it seems there arises some sort of new move that has managed to crawl its way out of the list-of-things-that-should-never-be-done onto the list of things-some-leads-absolutely-love. The good intentions are certainly there, but oh-my-gawd some of these moves just…
A few days ago, I published an article about how a leader I danced with managed to turn a really rough and scary dance into an amazing one. It was meant to show how respecting and communicating with your partner can lead to amazing dances – and rescue them when something is going wrong.
I recently arrived home from one of the largest Zouk congresses in the world. It was full of all kinds of social dance partners, but there are a few that truly stick out in my mind. One was a dance where, after the first 20 seconds, I became very scared for my safety. But, unlike every other rough dance I’ve had, the leader managed to transform this dance into one of my most memorable of the weekend.
So, you’re on the social dance floor. You’ve just asked a partner to dance. This can be someone that you have never danced with, or it can be your first dance of the night with a great friend. Maybe it’s a dancer who you think is really advanced, and you are SUPER excited to go wild! But wait: you haven’t test-driven the dance yet.
You may hear us follows from time to time admire our favourite leaders. We may call them strong leads, but when we say ‘strong’, it may mean something different.
Part of the thrill of being a lead in dance is being able to create the framework and shape the dance into something beautiful and creative. With a good follow, you can create magic on the floor. Better yet, you can do so effortlessly. But sometimes, leaders get so wrapped up in doing what they want that they forget about their follow.
Lead and Follow: two opposite sides of the same coin that are necessary for the perfect partner dance. Historically, these roles were called the “male” and “female” role, but luckily in the modern dance world the two roles hold greater fluidity. So, in lieu of describing the roles with a masculine and feminine narrative, how do we define them?