In Summer 2011, I began to learn to (social) dance.
Here, I've compiled tips and links that have been helpful to me in the process.
For simplicity, I use the terms ‘man’ for the leader,
and ‘woman’ for the follower.
After some basic dance concepts and terminology, dances
are listed alphabetically.
ONLINE METRONOME:
a useful device for practicing different rhythms
BASIC DAILY STRETCHING EXERCISES WHILE WORKING:
You can keep the exercises below open in a computer tab, and throw them in while
working throughout the day.
There are 17 exercises, that cover the whole body (arms, back, stomach, legs, etc.).
The videos automatically cycle from
one exercise to the next in the series, which is helpful. Easy
Stretching Exercises
I like this video for improving posture.
(Once you know the exercise, you can do it while you're waiting for
the ad to finish.)
She's saying: Teres Minor, Humerus
YOGA has been helpful for developing balance and frame. Rodney Yee is my favorite yoga instructor;
his DVD ‘Rodney Yee's Yoga for Beginners’ is the best I've found.
A good practice for balance and poise is also:
keep your arms parallel to the
floor, supporting a rod; move keeping the rod parallel to the floor
body contact
(note: in olden days, the woman's left hand would be holding up a long flowing skirt; now, we just need a place to put this hand!)
man's right hand
head position (don't look at man, or it will shift your shoulder position and make uniform movement difficult;
instead, look slightly up and to the left; don't look down!)
CLOSED POSITION FOR LATIN DANCES
Hint for getting the shoulders in the proper position:
Put your hands up, as if you're the victim of a hold-up—‘I surrender’;
(memory device: you're surrendering to the leader).
From here, go to the proper position.
Make sure your right elbow is slightly closer to your body than your right palm (you don't want your elbow sticking out).
FOOT POSITIONS FOR DANCING
For rhythm dances, there is more turnout than what is shown in these pictures.
First position: heels together, slight vee
Second position: widen first position (so feet are now apart)
CONNECTION:
I've had a lot of trouble finding any exercises for practicing the lead/follower connection.
Here are the best I've found: the art of leading and following connection sensitivity exercises
-- the arm is just the conduit thru which the message passages into the body
-- the message being sent by the leader is transmitted thru the arm into the follower's body
-- pressure, not tension, is desired
-- straight right wrist; pressure thru the palm
-- the elbow should NOT go behind the body; this is one simple
thing to focus on, that will help maintain the proper pressure
-- always try to MIRROR your partner, and maintain your 50% of the space between you (your hands should always be halfway between you)
-- with his leads, he's creating the space he wants between you and him; you think of mirroring this; in particular, mirror the position of his elbow relative to his body
-- high hand-holds (like for waltzes) allow for much closer body positions
RHYTHM DANCES:
Rhythm dances are also called ‘spot’ dances, because you're largely staying in one spot, instead of (say) moving all over the floor, like a waltz.
Salsa, Swing, Rumba, and Cha-cha are all rhythm dances.
KEY POINTS FOR RHYTHM DANCES:
-- make a ‘vee’ with feet, pointing slightly out; feet should stay slightly pointing out wherever they move
-- keep feet mostly on floor; slide them to new positions (like you're pushing through shallow water)
-- one knee is almost always bent, while the other is straight;
if you have trouble straightening the leg, think of ‘popping’ it straight
-- imagine you've got a hand on hip, other hip out (like you're angry at someone), to get started in the correct position for the Cuban motion
-- the right side of follower's body should be at about the center of the leader's body while dancing
-- No spaghetti arms! Keep pressure/connection, so follower knows what to do;
palms of hands should touch; sometimes, right arm is almost vertical, with
forearms almost in contact
BASIC DANCE STEPS, to get started:
The video clip below is a great way to get started (it's about 6 minutes long).
It teaches the box step, triple step, and rock step—the three basic elements used in ballroom and Latin dances in a social situation.
Then, it shows how these steps are combined to create the Waltz, Rumba, Cha Cha, and Swing.
You have to download the video clip to your own computer; it requires Windows Media Player.
RUMBA: box step; slow, quick quick; slow, quick quick; lots of hip action
WALTZ: large box step; one-two-three; one-two-three; very smooth dance
SWING: tri-ple-step [one direction], tri-ple-step [other direction], rock-step [back]
CHA-CHA: rock-step [woman: right back]; tri-ple-step; rockstep [woman: left forward]; tri-ple-step Three Basic Elements at www.learntodance.com
CROSSOVER for Latin dances:
The right foot crosses over the left; the left foot crosses over the right; hence the name.
Lead with the toe of the foot that is crossing over; this forces the foot to
land in the correct way. Ladies Crossover Break with Turn
CUBAN MOTION
Great Exercise for Hip Control to get ready for the Cuban Motion: Components of the Rumba Dance Video
(Moving hips from 1:00 to 2:00 to 3:00, all the way around!)
This same video has a great exercise for rib cage control.
Clearly, my ribs and I have not had conversations before, and need lots
of practice communicating! more Latin motion practice
I found the video below helpful in trying to get the correct hip movement
for salsa.
His talk of the ‘figure 8’ motion (which I translated to the infinity symbol) was a useful image for me. How To: Cuban Motion
This next video is good, because the woman is facing away, so you can watch from behind: Cuban Motion in One Lesson
exercises to help get the Cuban Motion
I'm documenting my (long) process towards achieving the Cuban motion
here.
BREAKING CUBAN MOTION INTO FOUR PIECES:
bend (say) right knee;
all the weight is on your left, straight, leg
move your right leg to the right, WITHOUT putting any weight on it yet
change weight from right to left, without moving your hip;
at the end of this step, your weight is entirely on your right leg
straighten the right leg, which finishes the hip movement,
and causes your left knee to bend (which is step one for the opposite direction)
KEY IDEA: WEIGHT CHANGE comes BEFORE you straighten the leg!
Emphasis is on step 2 for American style;
emphasis is on step 4 for international style.
Cuban motion is much more horizontal than vertical.
TURNING IDEAS:
there are spot turns, pivots, and chaneés (side turns)
when turning, turn whatever is needed until you're facing your partner again, then stop
to practice turns: put post-it notes at the four corners of a square on the floor
outside turns: lead raises follower's hand straight up;
follower turns to the right (away from the lead, towards the ‘outside’)
inside turn: lead raises follower's hand in diagonal up and across body; follower turns to the left (‘into’ the lead);
on inside turn, elbow position relative to body should not change much—just ‘follow elbow around’
ARM MOVEMENTS WHEN DANCING:
(like on a fifth position break, when your arm opens to the side):
ELBOW first, FOREARM second, WRIST last
arm ends slightly forward, with palm away from ‘audience’
general rule of thumb: never show your palm to the audience
to return from this position: elbow first, forearm second, wrist last
you end up making a figure eight with your wrist as you come out and go back in
RUMBA (some people prefer RHUMBA):
can be used as the springboard for all the rhythm dances
RUMBA WALK:
Start by getting the walk correct:
-- body leaning slightly forward, straight (NOT bending at the knees); this is
going to give the proper connection (pressure) to the leader;
-- lead with the CORE, not with the feet;
-- think of trudging through knee-deep water, so you're pushing; feet never leave the ground;
-- back foot comes up on the toe (pointing out) and stays in a straight line,
coming to the front;
-- Don't close your eyes!
-- Head up! Look forward! Look at the leader!
-- think Marilyn Monroe; slow and smooth; no bobbing;
-- pop that knee straight; at all times, one knee bent, and one straight;
-- the hip becomes the ‘shock absorber’ and helps to keep the body level (sink into the hip as the leg straightens)
I love to practice walking to: Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole
RUMBA DANCE STEPS:
Rumba can be danced to a 4/4 time (four beats to every measure; a quarter-note gets one beat), which is a very popular time signature.
How to Dance the Rumba Box:
The feet arrive first, the body (hip) settles after.
Think of these four-count patterns:
1
2
3
4
sl--
--ow
quick
quick
foot
sit
3
4
That is:
four-count beat; slow gets two beats
foot moves on first; then hip settles on second (you ‘sit’ into the hip); this gives a slight ‘pause’ before the hip moves
--be sure to keep a very grounded feel; feet digging into the floor; lean forward slightly
--can rotate the basic box 1/8 turn for each half, to add interest:
wall, corner, wall, corner, etc.
eight counts: one-two-three, five-six-seven (no steps on four and eight)
OR: quick-quick-slow, quick-quick-slow
-- for the salsa step back, don't go to a flat foot; heel comes close to floor,
then ‘put on the brake’ and push forward
I like this salsa basic step teaching video (the right-hand video);
the counting pattern she
uses is good for the ‘delayed motion’ of the hip settling: Salsa (level 1) workshop
I purchased the Pocket Salsa app (from www.addicted2salsa.com) for my iPod Touch, and love it;
I can download the short instructional videos, and then bring my iPod to dances with me, and review steps while I'm there.
SALSA SPINS:
-- KNOW where you want to end up, and look for that position
-- body leads, head follows; for example, if you're facing the guy,
and you want to do a complete revolution, then you want to think of looking at
the guy for as long as you can, until your head must turn; but then try
to look at him again as soon as you can
after you sweep around
-- think about rotating your hip and shoulder about a vertical line through
the leg that you are rotating on
-- the free foot should stay close to the foot that you're spinning on
-- practice first with 180° turns; then 270°; and finally 360°
-- practice balancing on the ball of each foot to develop good balance
Here is a short video of a ‘switching-partner-style salsa’ called
rueda; it's a sort of round dancing of salsa. Rueda in
Flagstaff, Arizona
TANGO:
slow... slow... quick quick slow
Think of the movement in tango as ‘skipping stones’;
the emphasis is
on the beginning and end, and not in the getting from one place to the other!
(In smooth, you emphasize the entire route from the
beginning of the step to the end.)
There ARE heel leads in tango;
the heel scrapes very lightly on the floor as
it moves forward.
(In smooth, the heels should leave ruts in the sand! In tango, the heel just barely brushes the sand.)
When practicing with a partner, try to do the same size step and timing initially;
then, you can gradually change things (e.g., increase the step size)
TANGO POSITION:
If you stand in front of a mirror with both feet parallel,
and then twist to the left,
your left foot naturally ends up in front of your right foot.
This should be your foot position in front of the leader.
In particular, make sure your right knee is slightly behind the
left knee.
After you finish the tango step, you should end up with
both feet flat.
GENERAL RULE: When a foot is directly under you (as opposed to front/back/side),
it should be FLAT.
OUTSIDE RIGHT THIGHS to INNER LEFT THIGHS:
the follower's right thigh should touch the leader's left inside thigh;
the follower's left inner thigh should touch the leader's right outside thigh
FOLLOWER'S LEFT HAND:
-- make a vertical ‘karate chop’, but with open thumb
-- to get correct arm position: hold arm out straight, then bend in at elbow only
-- index finger is placed along the line of his lower upper arm;
thumb out at 90 degrees to arm
-- follower's left upper arm has contact with leader's arm
approximately from knuckle to wrist (NOT on forearm)
-- make sure elbow to tips of fingers is a straight line
-- roughly: karate chop hand is pressing UP; left upper arm is pressing DOWN
(but not TOO much pressure either place)
TANGO BACK STEP:
right toe pointed and back until lead starts pushing;
having the toe pointed helps to keep the foot from getting stepped on
PUSH off the left foot to push the right toe far back;
good way to think of this:
first move foot to comfortable reach,
then
use the upper thigh muscle of the opposite led to push PAST this comfortable reach
(and cause both legs to be straight for an instant)
there should be an instant where both legs are straight,
then left toe comes up (heel on floor)
bring the left foot back
TURNS:
90 degree angle between upper and lower arm;
lower arm parallel to body;
‘keep the rectangle’ as you turn;
when you put your arm straight out (as in an outside, ‘arch’ turn),
don't dip in going out—keep the arm level—
and keep arm straight out until the lead touches your back
WALTZ:
--one-two-three, one-two-three
--3/4 time signature (three beats to every measure; a quarter note gets one count)
--a smooth dance; the basic step is like the rumba, but waltz uses a much larger box, and it travels
--follower looks over leader's shoulder
--can rotate the box 1/4 turn counter-clockwise (turn left, from wall to wall) each half-box, to add interest