Connection seems like the wrong word to be using here, especially after my experience at Stevenage last night where I had to explain to a taxi in the beginners class that she really mustn't grip hold of my fingers if she was dancing with me... The general level of lead and follow that i observed there was truely appalling (luckily there was trouble and double trouble there to entertain me, so it wasn't a complete disaster of an evening!).
Tension/compression/elasticity seems to be the way in which most connection is achieved in MJ, and in terms of the movement it is 'accelerate, travel, stop' so the degree of connection will change. For much of the time, the connection needs to be flexible, and sometimes it's just an offered hand acting like a magnet. Quite a lot of time, the hands may be touching but not providing part of the connection.
With beginners who end up travelling more than I expect them to, I use returns or bounces to re-establish a connection. For a follower, I guess the equivalent is to transfer their weight backwards, keeping the arm relaxed, untill the lead is supporting the weight of their arm, and then wait. Probably the most important thing is using the music to get back in sync.
One thing which might be interesting to try if it's going badly is letting the connection slip away and intentionally taking a few steps back before re-connecting. When i do this, I think I rock-step after taking hold again to get the connection back before giving any change of direction.
(Not sure that this answers the question or not)
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