a lead for every follow
“Water shapes its course according to the nature
of the ground over which it flows….” – Sun Tzu, The Art of War
And a good lead, like water, should change the nature of his lead depending on who he is dancing with. And I don’t mean simply changing your repertoire of memorized turn patterns!
Common sense, right?
Maybe. And there are many out there who probably wouldn’t want to openly disagree with me, but who harbor a hidden dislike for this philosophy. For much of the Salsa community, dare I call it the norm?
This pressure on the follow to memorize movements creates a nasty anticipation cycle that some leads may find desirable, but it will wreak havoc on any dance partner who wants to explore spontaneous dance!
One of the things we have taught and continue to teach -whether you guys listen to us or not- is that your lead is not a tool to beat your follow over the head with. Dancing with a partner means interaction.
It’s like this, when you dance with a follow she is a complete human being.
Her movements come with blocks and displacements. Think of these as the rocks in a waterfall. Over-turning, under-turning, too fast, too slow, compulsive spinner, can’t spin at all, non-responsive arm tension etc.
Leads, let’s try to be like water. Water doesn’t break the rocks, it flows down and around them, gently. We do our best to compliment her sticking points, and we do it spontaneously on the dance floor without explanation.
From time-to-time I see lame examples of leads trying to talk their follows through routines on the dance floor. Seriously, guys, unless she is begging you for an explanation, save it for the studio. Challenge yourself.
Next time your partner does something that goes against your assumption -why should we have any?- don’t talk about it, be like water and morph with it.
Related posts:
- lead is defined by follow.
- lead faux pas, volume 1…
- follow with a beginner’s mind
- if your partner suddenly disappeared …
I agree. One of my instructors often advises leads to let it go if it isn’t working. Some leads try the same more repeatedly even though it isn’t working because they are trying to teach you a move. Sometimes you just don’t know what they want or you are not comfortable with what they want.
Like you said, unless asked for an explanation, save it for the studio.
I like the idea of the lead falling over rocks like a waterfall. The rocks can/do change it just takes time.
Yep. The dance floor is not the dance studio.
Yep #2. I forgot to say that. Good point. Rocks are smoothed over through a long period of gentle “washing over”.
That is what I should have said!
To all leads: Please don’t suffocate your follows with turns. And don’t forget to dance.
