One important part the lady will have learned is that the gentleman always leads. In fact the lady will move a split second after the man, once she feels what the man indicates to her. That split second delay is never noticed but if she were to move exactly with the man, she would be trying to lead.
Trusting the man to lead is the hardest lesson for the female social dancer to learn. Until she learns this, the partnership will always smack of amateur. When the Unit is achieved, watch out world, the couple will be on their way to becoming champions.
Below is a video of a couple in their practice.
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resistance is futile! watching couples that achieved successfull symbosis is amasing
ReplyDeletePoke the Rock
DeleteYou said it. A more eloquent way to say Unit.
This is practice?!?!?! Wow! take care
ReplyDeletex
Old Kitty
DeleteLooks like they made it through this practice session without throwing things. LOL
It sure does take two
ReplyDeleteJohn
DeleteI guess the "Takes 2 to tango" fits for everything.
LOL... trusting a man to lead in anything important can be a very hard lesson.
ReplyDeleteTerry
DeleteWe don't have to GO THAT FAR. Hahaha
Trust has to come due
ReplyDeleteSure takes two
Guess if the right partner is found
All will be sound
In all aspects of life too
Damn, profound today at your zoo
Pat
DeleteProfound today, yes that you are
Did you get hit with a falling star?
To put my 2 cents to the fracas
Meeting THE ONE takes an earthquakas
Which is why I was a chorus line type of dancer... :)
ReplyDeleteBish
DeleteYou mean the Rockettes?
Oh man! That couple is amazing. I'd love to learn how to dance like that.
ReplyDeleteJoy
DeleteThey are accomplished dancers and I know they spend many hours at practice.
Are we to "U" all ready? Time flies. Those two are great. I always tried to anticipate which resulting in leading. Bad Patti.
ReplyDeletePatti
DeleteIf you read the earlier posts, I was almost ranting about the man's hold being the most important thing. Of course the woman has some responsibility there too but if that hold is strong, the lady feels the lead. If the man has wet noodle arms, suffer through the dance and say you are resting your feet the next time he asks you to dance. This delay is never noticed to the eye but if you slowed down a video it would be apparent.
So many men have never had any training but just a couple private lessons could set him on the right track. Most of them don't know the real leading comes from the rigid arms and moves through to the body. Most group lessons never teach this.
So, it's really not bad Patti. It's "man with bad hold." :)
Geez...the amount of practicing dancers must do. They make it look so easy...almost like it just comes naturally, but that's the sign of much work, isn't it!!!
ReplyDeleteTurquoisemoon
DeleteIn social dancing, anyone can get out on the floor and have a lot of fun, but to reach the proficiency of that couple, they have paid and are still paying their dues. Lot of hours of hard work and sweat.
Their practice session looks better than any dance time I've ever had in my life! Love this whole series!
ReplyDeleteRosey
DeleteIt really depends on the man. A lady can never be a better dancer than the gentleman. (In reality she might just be better, but her dancing ability will always be on the level of the man).
I never learned to dance :( I always feel goofy when I try. I'm sure that's the biggest part of the reason I don't dance often.
ReplyDeleteRick
DeleteI totally understand that feeling. Especially since you never danced in high school, a man feels silly when he gets out on the floor and he doesn't know what he's doing. And the truth may be, how could he know? If I lived near you, I could give you enough information to have you dancing (sans goofy) in no time. But I don't so the next best thing would be to take a private dance lesson and learn the basic hold and how to use your body in leading. It would work best to take one without Jilda at first because then a female teacher could dance with you and correct your hold when you let it go. Once you have just a few basics, you get confidence and you no longer feel silly on the dance floor.
Hi Manzanita .. I can imagine it takes hours of practise ... they are all superfit ..
ReplyDeleteCheers Hilary
Hilary
DeleteYes, it's so pleasant to watch good dancers, knowing all the work that went into making them great.
Love that video--so much trust involved in dance, isn't there?
ReplyDeleteAll this time I thought I had to move exactly in time with the guy. No wonder I stumbled and got out of step a lot. That must mean when the Husband and I are in sync and spinning and having loads of fun, I'm a second behind. Ah-ha!
ReplyDeleteSu-sieee
DeleteIf you are spinning, one would be standing in one spot and the other going around. Other than that, you would move in a split second after you know where he's going. You can't really see it, but the dancer can feel it.
I didn't know that slight step behind. Well, I don't really know a thing about dancing, so I'm learning a lot here. It is amazing that there is a whole alphabet full of dance lessons. Now I have to go and read about the Tango from yesterday.
ReplyDeleteInger
DeleteI hate to mention that slight delay because it so short that no one can see it with the eye. But it's there.
I still say it looks like the woman does most of the work and I guess it's also where they got the old saying....
ReplyDelete"It takes two to tango" :)
Mark,
DeleteIt's a lot easier to tango with a partner, but some dances, like the Latin dances are fun to do alone, too.
Luckily when it comes to dance I was always comfortable with letting the man lead. That did wonders for my dance award collection.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I can't say I am quite so comfortable with the male lead in any other arena!
Jasmine
DeleteI know what you mean. Only one can lead and it works the best when a man leads. I'm glad you won so many awards with your dancing.
If you know that your partner is an accomplished dancer, I imagine that makes it much easier to trust him to take the lead. Once again, it is all about Respect, no?
ReplyDeleteRobin
DeleteWellllll not exactly. I don't know if I understand what you mean. I think a man should always respect a lady but I don't know if that word actually
makes a difference in dancing.
In dancing there are universally strict rules about form, hold, weight shift, lead with toe or heel.... oh so many things that one must actually memorize from a book. The man leads all these moves and the lady follows. That would pertain to competition dancing.
In social dancing, the same basic rules apply because it makes moving around the floor effortless. But the couple is usually not interested in going to the lengths that a competitor would. The one rule a lady must never break is trying to lead. Not ever. Yes, I know in DWTS the professional lady often takes over the lead if the celeb makes a mistake or loses the timing but that is totally different.
As far as the word respect goes, I've danced with a lot of men that I had no respect for but when dancing, that doesn't make any difference. You don't have to respect your dance partner..... just look good on the dance floor. Yee Haw
I simply mean Respect in terms of the dance. Respect him to lead. If not, there is a battle between the two of you about who is going to lead. If you don't trust that he will lead correctly, it follows that the woman will always be fighting him for the lead. I can't see that working out well.
DeleteUnit, unified, unity, all good words. And becoming like one unit is essential with a good dancing partner.
ReplyDeleteCatherina
ReplyDeleteIf it works in dancing, I think it must also work in relationships.
Thank you for visiting.
Happy A-Z
I could see where trust wouldn't be all that easy to attain. This couple is unbelievable! Wow!
ReplyDelete