Ballroom
Social/Latin Dance
Tips:
I've going to devote a
whole new section on the
art of Ballroom, Social and Latin
dancing.
It's unfortunate
to see many "wall flowers" at dances and
parties wishing they could be on the dance floor
joining everyone if only they knew how to
dance. As a dance trainer for
thousands of students and teachers, I will de-mystify
social dancing once and for all.
If
You Can Walk, You Can Dance
There's an old adage that
says, "If you can talk, you can sing and if you can walk, you
can dance". Absolutely true. But what is required
is some guidance. Professional singers no matter how gifted
will invest much of their time on voice lessons to improve their vocal
qualities. The same is needed to develop into a better
dancer.
Dancing is nothing more than
sophisticated walking. It is beautifully synchronized
movements with a partner done to music. The important thing is to make our dancing a natural extension of ourselves
without stiffness. That naturalness
is the hardest thing to do... if you decide that it is something
that you "must" learn. Meaning that you already possess it
and don't need to help it along.
The most
mindless of activities is walking. In dance
terms, it is called changing weight. The
shift in weight from one foot to the other is a basic
requirement for mobility. Yet, this
ability reduces drastically when you first
learn to dance. Suddenly for the first time,
you'll step using the same foot twice as if you only
had one foot. Hence, the expression, "he/she
has 2 left feet!". You'll wonder why you can't
walk anymore and feel as clumsy as a baby taking his
first steps.
Using the same
foot twice consecutively is a common mistake among
beginners. The more complex the step, the more
frequent this error. The cure is to immediately
relax and not think about which foot should move but
rather, allow the body to do what it already
understands.
When the mind
focuses on too many tasks at once, it interferes with
the automatic reflexive system. The instant you
command your nervous system to act, it will
short-circuit your brain and bring about the opposite
result. For instance, while walking forward, we
instinctively alternate between one foot and the
other. We wouldn't need to tell ourselves,
"now that you've just stepped forward onto the Left
foot, go ahead and step forward on the Right one
next". This process naturally occurs on
it's own accord. The brain only needs to say,
"walk forward!" and the "how" part
is a given.
Motorcycle riders
always look where they want to go during a turn, instead
of focusing on where they don't want to end up.
The body has a capacity to grant you your wish, if you
allow it to do so. Dancing is a matter of telling
your body where you want to go and when you want to get
there, the how is seldom required.
Even at the
advanced levels when the whole body gets more involved,
it's still a matter of telling which body parts to
activate and let the activation occur
freely.
Four
Basic Elements of Dance
All dance styles
can be broken down into 2 groups. Smooth and
Rhythm dances. The traditional smooth dances are:
Foxtrot, Waltz and Tango. The traditional rhythm
dances are: Rumba, Cha-cha-cha, Swing, Samba, Mambo,
Hustle. Both groups emphasizes different
fundamentals. As you get more advanced, you'll learn
that there are no rules(but that's for much later).
There are a 4 basic
elements of dance. Mastering these elements will
facilitate learning ANY dance. There are variances
to these elements but they can all be traced back to these
primary movements.
Please practice
the following until they're as natural to you as breathing:
1) Walking Steps-
Walking Steps moves forwards or backwards. Forward
Walks simply move straight ahead with a normal stride.
Backward Walks require more thought. You need to
reach back from your hip joint as if throwing your leg
back from the waist down. A common mistake is to
reach back only from the knee joint. This allows
too small a step for your partner to step in resulting
in sore toes! You want to imagine that you're
being videotaped moving forwards, and then you watch the
movie in reverse. The size of your forward walks
should equal the size of the back ones. Take
several strides forward and back.
2) Side Steps-
Side Steps moves to your Left and Right. Side
Step to the Left- Start
with both feet together with your body facing a wall(a
mirror is better). First.
Step out to your Left side with your Left foot about
shoulder width while leaving your shoulders still facing
the wall in front. At this point you should feel
like a large beach ball could roll between your legs.
2nd.
Close your Right foot to your Left and stand with both
feet together. Repeat the exercise and you should
gradually be moving to your left. Repeat the same
exercise and move to the Right beginning on the Right
foot. Imagine that you're in a movie theater and
you're trying to climb pass everyone towards the center
of the aisle. The difference is that you're going
to steps that are at shoulder width.
3) Triple Steps-
Triple Steps are syncopated shuffles which moves to your
Left and
Right. You make 3 little shuffle steps to your
Left or Right. Triple
Steps to the Left- Start
with both feet together. 1st.
Step out to your Left side with your Left foot(1/2 the
size of your shoulder's width). 2nd.
Close your Right foot to your Left(just like the Side
Step exercise). 3rd.
Step out to your Left side with your Left foot again(1/2
the size of your shoulder's width). Repeat the
same exercise and move to the Right beginning on the
Right foot. The key is to make the 1st and the 3rd
steps small. The entire distance of the Triples
steps should equal the distance of your shoulders.
4) Rocking Steps-
Rock Steps move Forward or Backwards. They keep the
rhythm of the music by moving twice nearly in place.
Back Rock-
Start with both feet together.
1st.
Place the Right foot directly behind your Left moving
backwards very small(your Right toe should be about 3-6"
inches directly behind your Left heel). 2nd.
Barely pick up the Left foot off the floor and replace it
back down in the exact same spot it had left(in place).
Continue this rocking action back and forth until you
feel your balance point. Forward
Rock- Start with both feet
together. 1st.
Place the Left Foot directly in front of your Right
foot(your Left heel should be about 3-6" in front
of your Right toe). 2nd.
Barely pick up the Right Foot off the floor and place it
back down in the exact same spot it had left.
Continue this rocking action forward and back until you
feel your balance point. This element requires that you
only move the first step(either forward or back) and let the second one
simply pick up and land in
the exact same spot. Now return to the beginning and
start everything on the opposite foot.
After you've
mastered these elements, you'll then learn what the
arms
do to lead turns. Without these
elements, your dancing will lack meaning.
Click
Below to View the Movie Clips:
Salsa
Dance Movie
Swing
Dance Movie
Rumba
Dance Movie
3 Dance Demos with U.S.
Ballroom Dance Champion Chanitya Hardcastle
Cha-Cha
Dance Movie
A Cha-cha Demo
with the Talented Jacqueline R. Vincent
(Private Member's Section)
Bolero-Tango
Show Highlights
Highlights
from a Bolero-Tango Performance with Broadway Star
Danielle Dufore
(Private Member's Section)
