On The Spot Dancers
Posted by: Gareth on: 00/00/0000 Category: advice-tips
Dance on the spot and improve remarkably
Try to dance mainly on the spot instead of travelling across the dance floor. It's a great way to develop fine Rock n Roll dancing technique. To achieve it requires accuracy and compactness of movement along with economy of energy expenditure. These are the very things that great dancing relies upon.
On the spot for tidiness
Untidy dancing is not a good look. From the point of view of observers, there's no joy in watching it. Perhaps a rank beginner might think they would like to copy it, but those with some experience will be aware that there are much better ways to perform dancing, even if they can't yet do it themselves.
Tidy dancing looks classy. To make your dancing tidy, you need to practice a regimen that requires you to maintain a high degree of control over your movements. At first this isn't easy. It's repetitive practice that brings it about.
But, practice what? As a teacher, I am well aware that when I tell beginners that they can improve their dancing by making it tidy, they really don't know how to achieve that. How to begin?
The answer is to design exercises that force your dancing to become tidy. There are a number of these, but what we are concerned with here is lateral movement.
This is what I tell my students to do. Pick an irregularity or mark of some sort on the dance floor. There's usually plenty of them. Just try to stay over the top of it while you are dancing. Begin a move while you are over the top of your spot. When you return to centre after the move, you should still be over the top of it. If so, you've successfully danced on the spot. If not, keep trying until you can do it.
At first it isn't easy. You tend to travel around a lot. Getting back over your spot requires some serious brain-power and clever footwork for the man. He has to keep dancing smoothly, yet lead himself and his partner in such a way that they will end up over the top of their chosen spot after a move.
But, that's the whole idea. What the man is learning is fine control over his movements. This skill is vitally important for him to control the dance in a pleasing way. He is developing mastery over movement. That's precisely what really great dancing consists of.
On the spot for good manners
Let's face it, one of the really aggravating things about dancing on a crowded floor is getting crashed into. Sure, it will happen accidentally, though well experienced Rock n Roll dancers seem to be able to share a small dance floor among numerous couples without colliding. Perhaps they have developed a sixth sense that lets them do this. But, what is certain is that their dancing is sufficiently controlled that couples can dance close together, yet avoid interfering with each other.
Developing fine lateral control helps make dancing safe and pleasurable for all of us. It can also prevent you from acquiring unflattering nick-names. So try this technique. See how well you can dance on the spot.