Where's your funny bone then???Originally Posted by drathzel
Lots of different moves
Simple moves, but well led
Musical Interpretation
Chance to improvise
Originally Posted by Little Monkey
I am in agreement with you! i like to be able to do the moves etc but what is most important to me is having fun!!!
Where's your funny bone then???Originally Posted by drathzel
Having been away for a while and then dancing on Saturday, I've got a clearer idea (somehow) of what I like about dancing with someone:
1. eye contact
2. smile
3. a leader
Not too much I know (!) but the first two shouldn't cost much and the last thing comes with practice. But I'm willing to be practised on i.e. I do NOT mind doing the same 2/3/4 moves over and over again in the same dance.
However, there are some instances where the dance just 'happens' and I don't know the reason, e.g. on Saturday I had a very hot "Fever" with Baldrick (thank you very much ) but it wasn't just one or two things that made that a great dance - it just was!!
P.S. Paul - it is always a pleasure and I look forward to being taken advantage of again very soon.
Originally Posted by Franck
Ladies, it has been nearly three years since Franck posted this, and there have now been a few more responses.
I really want to improve my dancing, so come on, especially you hidden browsers who do not post much.
Please, please,please, can you give us blokes some idea of what you are looking for in a dance.
I have been chatting to a few ladies about what makes a pleasurable dance for them, and have been getting responses like :-
"When I come out of a spin if the man is facing me that really helps."
or " make sure you finish one move before starting the next one"
or "keep your arm low enough for me when blocking on the yo-yo so I do not overbalance"
I would really welcome , and so would lots of other blokes, any contributions about whatever things you like, whether your desires are simple or complex, then please post them anyway.
johnthehappyguy
As one of those I thought I had better post.......Originally Posted by johnthehappyguy
I enjoy dancing and agree having fun! there is nothing worse than being asked to dance and the whole time being so nervous that you miss leads and feel that you are just there to allow the man to show off his new moves.....not that this has happened often.
I spent some time thinking back to when i first started dancing last year and it really all came down to a partner who was a enjoying the music, a good lead and having fun...........
I then feel comfortable asking them to practise a move with me ,or improvising, I always remember one gentlemen I danced with on my first or second week, now to me he is a great dancer and a lovely guy with a wicked sense of humour he would always say "there's not such a thing as a mistake if no-one else noticed" to this day I know it was me missing a lead through not having learnt the move but I think because your able to have a laugh and both improvise whats the fuss,
Both of these are pet hates, all it does is makes the woman feel unimportant!Originally Posted by johnthehappyguy
A good dance needs two things to start-both a good leader and a good follower then when mixed with good music good dance floor and lots of great fun!
Thats the recipe for A GREAT DANCE!!!!
What does this mean?Originally Posted by johnthehappyguy
Sometimes you find it happens that after being lead into a spin your partner has begun leading the next move without even allowing you to complete you spin, allow your feet meet the floor or transfer either your weight onto opposite foot for next move.
I agree with all those who say smiling and having fun is what is important in a dance. I find as a general rule, the better the dancer, the more likely he is to laugh if you get a move wrong. Or maybe it's just that the dance has been so much more enjoyable because you were having fun and therefore you think you've just been whisked around the dance floor by a dance god.
My pet hate is guys who are quite rude or sarcastic when you make a mistake. I know it must be REALLY hard to lead, but sometimes it is REALLY hard to follow and when you make a mistake and you get a sarcastic comment, I just want to walk off the dance floor.
Mind you, a few guys have told me that women can be equally rude when they get a move wrong, which I find amazing. I can honestly say the only time I get cross (on the dance floor) is when a man tries to do a drop that he is obviously not experienced enough to try yet. Or, the other day, when I bumped into somebody elses partner and tried to apologise only to be told not to apologise by my own partner because it was their own fault.
Aaah... Personally I would say that this is "Rushing" a move. The way it was put earlier sounded like you were against the blending of two moves, rather than the actual execution of the 'blend'.Originally Posted by cheeks
Last edited by Gadget; 18th-January-2005 at 06:03 PM.
Whoops posted this twice so deleted one! I am blond!
Last edited by Commis Chef; 18th-January-2005 at 07:19 PM.
It is very easy to immediately think of all those things that I don't want in a dance but not so easy to define what those things which are good.
When I experience a great dance I come away feeling excited or exhilarated by the experience. It can be for various different reasons.
To recognise the positives you have consider the negatives.
1. Positive: The man leads with his hand with a light push-pull action which guides the woman smoothly and clearly in the direction required.
Negative: The man bounces his hand up and down, has no tone in his hand or arm, bounces his whole body or bends his knees up and down.
2. Positive: The lead is taken through a slot so that the woman moves across the man and will know that the man will have turned to face her by the time she arrives.
Negative: No slot is used and the man is in a different plane every time. The woman therefore gets dizzy trying to work out where her partner will be next. (A very common fault)
3. Positive: During a return the man keeps his arms soft and flexible so that the woman can turn herself comfortably.
Negative: During a return the man yanks the woman and her arm to get her to turn, often while keeping his arm too low (too high is also a problem). This results in pulled muscles and injured joints and never wishing to dance with that man again.
4. Positive: The man gives the woman sufficient time (we are always slightly behind due to following) to complete the move and take a rock step ready for the next. Bear in mind if we are in high heels the timing and balance is a little different to sneakers.
Negative: The man rushes the move so that the woman losses timing or balance.
5. Positive: The man is gracious in accepting an invitation to dance and is polite or complementary at the end.
Negative: The man makes it obvious that they consider themselves too good for the woman, either due to better level of dancing ability or difference in age group.
6. Positive: A beginner asks for advice from a more experienced woman. It brings out the mother in many of us.
Negative: A beginner will not listen to kindly offered advice and therefore may develop bad habits.
Lots more I am sure others can add.
Personally, I don't expect followers to step back out of a turn unless I lead them to step back -- otherwise I can't "roll" in to the next move. Another reason for not immediately stepping back is that the leader may be turning (possibly more than once) under the joint handhold -- that option gets difficult if the follower steps backwards, effectively lowering the hands as they do so.Originally Posted by cheeks
If you *have* to step back, then it somewhat suggests that either you are off balance when spinning, or have been led off balance.
I think a better formulation of your leading axiom, is that the leader shouldn't lead a new move while their follower is unbalanced. Of course, there's the corresponding following axiom -- which is that a follower should always keep their own balance during the move Add them together and you have a good recipe.
SpinDr.
This happened to me on Saturday with a man that I have danced with quite normally before.Originally Posted by cheeks
Half way through the track he said "You're dancing slowly tonight..........are you tired?"
"No" I replied "It's a slow track" I had to laugh as he continued to haul me around ever more slightly ahead of the music.
Daisy
(A Slow-ish Flower)
Hi there, I think when you dance with someone, any one, you should be giving that 3 mins to that person and be lost in the music no matter if that person is (in your eyes) gorgeous, a great dancer, a beginner or scarily a teacher or taxi dancer. Be yourself but be with your partner and interpret the music, after all dancing is body language and eye contact helps you connect with that person. If I have a particularly amazing connection with someone I always say to my partner that I enjoyed the dance. Its nice to be nice...........or am I on another planet. I hope so when I'm dancing.
Janet , for me you hit the nail on the head way back at the start of this debate. I have been dancing this dance since 1978 (please don't do the maths) so I agree 100% that a SURPRISE IS NICE.Originally Posted by Janet
But before you guys start wondering how many hundreds of moves it takes to produce a surprise - I'd like to add that the extent of your repertoire matters not one jot to me. Whether its three moves or three hundred there is only one thing I really look for in a dance.
I'm not too sure where it is I go to when I dance but I wish I could send back postcards. The Hitchhikers Guide could probably describe it far better than I could as some sort of time/ place continuum where nothing exists except MUSIC. For this reason I cast my vote in the poll and opted for "musical interpretation" as the most important thing. If the guy feels at one with the music then I can too. If I can FEEL the music then off I go to Never Never land. Sometimes I drift back to earth and think I must have been beaming a smile because at that point I might notice one coming back from my partner. But I do n't suppose I need a smile ALL the time. If my partner is too 'on my case' I start to feel shy (and maybe a bit sheepish about my trips around the galaxy).
So in answer to that crucial question - what am I looking for in a dance? well it's the magic of the music of course! What am I looking for in a partner? it's a comfortable companion to journey there.
What a lovely way to express your answer.Originally Posted by Christine Keeble
I hope we meet for a journey one day. Sounds great fun.
Under Par
Hi Christine.
I know that I have managed to surprise you in the past and I have continued to surprise a lot of ladies now!
Roger C.
Originally Posted by Christine Keeble
So, what it the Chinster surprising the ladies with?Originally Posted by Roger C
Oh yes Roger, you definitely surprised me at Jango on Sunday !Originally Posted by Roger C
ZW
Originally Posted by spindr
Dragged or yanked into a spin or yes as you described it...........led of balance....was exactly the point I was trying to make-ok so my use of terminology when it comes to dance is not the best. but hey...............
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