Al Pacino and Gabrielle Anwar in Scent of A Woman
On Febrary 12th and 13th, Melissa Napier and I will be performing on stage with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra for their Valentines performance: Couples that Stole your Heart.
We will be dancing to Por una Cabeza as seen in the movie Scent of a Woman staring Al Pacino.
Performances will be held Saturday, February 12th at 8:00 pm and Sunday, February 13th at 3:00 pm at Robinson Auditorium. Click here for show details.
I was never really comfortable with the terms lead and follow in dance. Are you?
I have stated in the past that lead and follow requires equality and that the follower is really in as much control of the dance as the leader.
For many people, especially ladies, The term follow is not a popular word. When people hear “Follow”, they seem to think it means do what you are told and you have no choice. Lead also tends to have similar negative impact, being perceived as command .
Following is active, not passive and Leading is part following and can only be accomplished if the leader is GIVEN authority, by the follower.
I was going to write this article myself, when I ran across the same subject written by Richard Powers. I like the way he describes lead and follow as tracking and interpreting. See what you think.
Read Richard Powers – Ultimate Partnering
As a leader, how much are you following?
Matching Resistance
Matching resistance is a critical element in creating good connection. To create this connection the follower needs to be in the man’s right hand. To create a connection with your partner in the closed ballroom position, the follower must match the resistance of the leader’s right hand with her left shoulder blade.
This is achieved by the follower pulling her left shoulder back and down pressing into the leader’s hand. With no matching resistance, the follower will simply collapse into the leader and there is no communication and no way for him to lead at this point.
How we apply our lead can have great influence on our partner’s balance. The proper 
application of Tangential Momentum in your lead will increase your partner communication and help her maintain balance.
I recently traveled to Dallas on business and while there, I was able to schedule a lesson with Beata (like the car Miata with a B) Howe. She is a three time US Open Swing Champion and an excellent teacher. Click Here for more information on her website.
Anytime I travel, I look for a West Coast Swing instructor that is considered the best in the area. Each time I do this, I come away humbled by how much I don’t know about this dance. This trip was no exception.
What is Musicality?
Webster Defines Musicality as:
For a dancer it means to make the dance fit the music. This in turn means using movement to represent and 
emphasize the tempo, harmony, melody and vocals in a song.
Adding musicality to your dance requires some understanding of the structure of the music itself. It also means you must be connected to the music.
Click Here for suggestions of good West Coast Swing music. Pick out some and see how the information in this article applies to them.
Don’t worry, it’s not as hard as it sounds. Music is not as hard to understand as many believe. In fact, equipped with just a little knowledge we can begin to identify repeating and predictable patterns within music that will allow us to connect to it and make our dance fit the music.
The more I learn about West Coast Swing, the more I find there is to learn. If you want to see how deep the rabbit hole really goes, then read on. The links below are to various writings by Skippy Blair.
Who is Skippy Blair – Click Here?
Although quite technical at times, the information in these articles is some of the most extensive information you will find. You may not have heard of Skippy, but the people you have heard of in the West Coast Swing community consider her the teacher’s teacher.
She is the creator of the Universal Unit system of annotation and has developed concepts such as Rolling Count, Centering Knob, 3-Toe base and Plusing which are fundamental to West Coast Swing today.
As men, we often ask ourselves what do women want and it seems to be a mystery to many. ….
Is it possible that what women want in life is the same thing they look for in dance? I hear over and over again from dance instructors the following statement in one form or another. “Guys, this is the one place you are in charge”. Is this really true? I wonder.
We live in a society today that has taken something critical from men. Our Masculinity and Authority. Gone are the days of strong men.
Have you ever stopped to consider how much your head weighs? On Average about 12 pounds. That may not sound like much, but when it’s sitting on top of your body it can have an exaggerated impact on your balance and the way your body moves.
Your head can influence your body in two primary ways.
Partner Communication is critical to effective lead and follow. The link is to an eHow video that gives a decent description of partner communication and a few exercises you can use to improve your lead and follow.
Partner Communication Video
In this video, you will learn the basics of partner communication techniques.
Partner Communication is critical to effective lead and follow. Maintaining connection is always a challenge. This video demonstrates the basics of partner communication techniques and a couple of exercises you can use to improve your lead and follow.
