Watching The Feet

(this thought is also discussed and seen in this video > Watching The Follower’s Feet)

Put simply – If you can see your partner’s feet while dancing with them…there’s a problem.

The problem ? Well actually there are several that you’re completely unaware of.

1.) We have this instinctive desire not to want to hit or hurt anyone, not to step on their toes, not to stub their toes or ours, for obvious reasons. And as a result we tend watch our feet and our partner’s feet so that we can avoid the dreaded ‘toe bashing’ that will invariably occur if we don’t keep an eye on things down there. Hence the desire to watch our partner’s feet.

2.) After a while watching our partner’s feet becomes second nature to us. While we will start the dance with our heads up, we’ll almost invariably droop our heads and then our shoulders so that we can focus on watching our feet.

3.) We have a fear of not stepping in the right places. We need to watch our partners feet and our own so that we can verify and validate that the step is in the right place at the right time. This is failure to develop proprioception. A very important skill that both roles must develop in order to dance well.

4.) We don’t realize it, but we’re actually breaking the visual vertical line of the couple each and every time we watch our partner’s feet.

and lastly…

5.) We will compromise our body position just so that we can watch our partner’s feet. We’ll turn our heads, and then our entire body, and further the Follower will move towards the Lead’s armpit (even more than they do already tsk, tsk, tsk) in order to watch the Lead’s feet. And the Lead will place them in the arm pit just so that they can watch the Follower’s feet.

Why does any of this stuff matter ? Honestly, several reasons –

a.) Visual: The visual vertical line of the couple is broken. We want to create a nice couple silhouette within the embrace construct. And each and every time we watch our partner’s feet we break that visual vertical couple’s silhouette.

b.) Position: The body position and placement of the couple creates an alignment issue that quite factually puts the Follower at a disadvantage that makes them feel as though they’re rushing to catch up.

c.) Vocabulary: At some point you’re going to want to do back sacadas, colgadas, volcadas, or any single axis turn just to name a few, and those movements require mastery over proprioception. 😉

d.) Navigational: While you’re watching your Partner’s feet, you’re not paying attention to what’s coming next, how much space you have to navigate, and the oncoming dancers.

MORE REMINDERS

Age (Women)

The fact is that the younger and prettier you are, the more physically attractive you are, the more likely you are to get dances. That’s fact. I mean we’re dealing with ‘men’ here so … well do the math! However just because said younger and prettier girl gets the dance does not necessarily mean that said Follower will keep it. A good number of better leads, will actually over look said younger and prettier girl because they know that said Follower can barely walk, turn, embrace, or for that matter breathe properly. That is, unfortunately, only about 10-20% of the available L/leads in the room.

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Lethargy (Moving Too Slow)

Lethargy is moving too slow for the intended lead’s request (‘lead’ is the action, and not the person). What this really boils down to is the reaction time of the dancer that is a.) a lag from the time at which a request was sent to the time it was received. and b.) way in which it is done (the real speed issue). Note what’s missing from this definition, the roles of the dance! There is no blame in this definition. None what so ever. However, that is seemingly about to change. It’s not, but your perception of it will until you get to the end.

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The Seasoned Dancer

The dancer who has been dancing for a certain amount of time has passed through the multiple, multiple flirtations. They’ve had the flirtations that lead to attractions, and then the attractions that turn into dalliances, and some that go beyond that.

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Tango Improvement

You say the words, “I want to get better”. You mouth them as you watch the latest performance tango video on youtube. While at the same time, the thought flashes in your mind that you should schedule a private or two with X. ‘X’ being the local variant that teaches what you ‘believe in’. This teacher is also the one that you have gone to before and from your perspective has ‘helped’ you.

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Private Lessons (Part 1)

Private Lessons, or ‘Privates’ as they’re called sometimes, can really help you, can change you. Sometimes. And sometimes not. There are several reasons why private lessons won’t help or change you. 1.) Is the teacher you’ve chosen isn’t really a didactic teacher. What’s that ? It’s a teacher that is focused on dancing with you for an hour and pointing out all your flaws with very little actual correction instead of focusing on your foundation and fundamentals, like walking, stability, balance (which are not the same things by the way), your embrace, your body position and body placement, your understanding of the beat and engaging the musical pauses, just to name a few. A didactic teacher can really change you, and up your game. 2.) You. And the thinking that private lessons can the magical fix all. They’re not. You actually have to, god forbid, work! And then here’s the hard part: Practice!

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Couples

Couples, as a pair, develop their own shorthand for communicating with each other. They remark on events in their time together as ‘that time we did that thing when that thing happened, remember ?’. They invest their emotional time in each other as caring, loving (hopefully), partners that genuinely are invested in each other’s successes (hopefully). In one respect they are to each other intimates, while at the same time they see each other as support mechanisms, and so much more.

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The Blame Game

The dance starts out on an even footing. It’s quite clear two steps later that one of you is clearly better than the other. Usually the Lead believes that they’re all that, and the Follower is just trying to survive the compressive embrace, let alone actually dance. In reality…well let’s just say that no one is perfect and leave it at that, shall we ?

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Getting Into The Encuentro

This is a FIVE step process, that you will want to follow religiously, which does not necessarily depend on where you live. If you’re an American dancer and want to break into the scene in Europe, then this is a post for you. If you’re already living in Europe then you have a slightly different pathway, but the suggestions are exactly the same.

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The Waiter Hand

Another one that you’re going to see a lot of is the Lead who places his palm upward, flat, and outwards, sometimes fingers outstretched as if they were a waiter serving drinks at an upscale bar. The elbow is dropped, and the hand is well below shoulder level.

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