Can't the poll have an option for 'Both head and heart' ? Because that's what I would've voted for myself.
As others have pointed out, it all depends on a number of factors :- the type of music being played, pace of music, ambience/atmosphere of the venue/floor I'm at, how much floor space I have to do some of my more expansive/travelling moves, familiarity with the dance partner (connection, knowing what moves I can/cannot do, etc.).
As a lead I normally have to use my head to think of the moves to do ahead, such that I try to seamlessly/smoothly transition from one to the next, all the whilst listening to the music and fitting the movement.
Of course, I don't do this 100% of the time - there are times when my muscle memory and 'instinct' that takes over and I don't even consciously think of performing move XYZ - it just happens! This I believe is what others have referred to, as 'losing yourself in the moment' or 'going with the flow'.
The ladies I've danced with regularly, particularly at Glasgow Ceroc nights and both the Skegness and Southport weekenders just gone, should hopefully have noticed by now that I'm VERY big into the musicality. I love doing moves to the beat and rhythm of a song - and also interpreting the song's lyrics as best I can and the moves I come up with is a direct result of my paying attention to musicality and song interpretation. Of course I don't get it right and make blunders at times and end up doing moves out of sync with the music - but its what I strive to do wherever I can.
An example would be a recent dance I had with LuLu Baby, to the song 'Human' by The Killers - when certain phrases of the song come on, I interpreted that into the most do-able MJ/Ceroc move I can muster that fits the music phrase and execute it
Are we human?
Or are we dancer?
My sign is vital
My hands are cold
And I'm on my knees
Looking for the answer
Are we human?
Or are we dancer?
LuLu Baby, I hope you noticed what I did
Musicality, song interpretation - these things I ALWAYS try to do from the heart, and invariably I feel alive, energised and excited. And in a state like that, I always find it natural to make every effort to make it as awesomely fun as possible for my dance partner to do what a lady does best whilst dancing with me - style it, sashay, play.
Incidentally, when I dance by instinct and/or from the heart, my technique becomes sloppy at times, as I simply move to the beat/rhythm as best I can without worrying about footwork, hand signals, etc. I guess this is where it can become 'unstructured'.
Lastly, I've gotten to learn that Blues dancing is perhaps the best style for nearly 100% / pure dancing 'from the heart'. Maybe others knew of this factoid for ages, but I'm relatively new to Blues dancing (its non-existent back where I danced in Australia) - and it took me 2 weekenders' worth of 'learning by osmosis' to figure this out! .
Originally Posted by
LuLu Baby
And last, but not least, there is a very special type of dance where there is such a connection that you can't focus on anything but the feeling. And there is no words to describe it. If I am honest... really honest... with myself, I have only ever experienced this type of dance with one person, but many times... You know it must have been "something else" when dancing with them is all you can think about for days after it...
Wow - that is so well put! As a male lead, I hope to someday find myself in a dance THAT special, so much so that its indescribably good.
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