Connection

Something you'll hear over and over again throughout your dance journey (and out in the non-dance world!) is the importance of a good connection with your partner! Connection is one of those soft and fuzzy things that means different things to different people, but for social dancing there are some important concepts to understand for leaders and followers

For leaders, being clear in your intent and instruction are critical when followers describe their 'ideal lead'. Think of driving a car, using the indicators at the wrong time will lead to confusion, and twisting the steering wheel at the wrong time can be disastrous! The hand holds and amount of force you use with your partner have a direct impact on their comfort (and safety!)

For followers, your frame is everything! Having a good frame allows you the confidence to follow steps you may not have yet learned, and for your leader will feel like you're either floating like a feather, or dragging them down like a tonne of bricks. Having too-soft arms, or lacking tension in your hand holds may make you feel "safer", but can cause an unintentional side-effect of leaders using more force to drag you through steps! Actively listening/feeling your leader's connection is the difference between truly following in a dance, versus memorising and backleading steps.  Think of your arms as being the antenna and your body as the receiver. If your antenna aren't connected well back into the receiver, you'll never get a clear signal and will instead be getting lots of confusing static.

Confidence

You've completed your class and are keen to try your moves out on the dance floor, but the moment you start trying it everything gets into a jumbled mess!

Paraphrasing one of Bruce Lee's most famous quotes "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times", the more you practice and polish your fundamental steps, the more confident you will feel as these steps get built upon, or incorporate variations as they are expanded into progressively longer routines.

Being able to break down routines back into their constituent steps is difficult at first, but a very important skill as you move up your levels. Routines are great for teachers to convey blocks of information, but may not be suitable to be executed over and over again on the dance floor. To gain mastery of the steps or concepts they are intended to deliver, see if you can break apart routines into single steps which are easier to practice and master. You'll feel much better about practicing a double spin repeatedly, versus a 40-count routine with the double spin nested in the middle of it!

Think of each step you master as LEGO blocks that you progressively build a collection from. As you master each individual step, the more complex and different structures you will be able to build!

Charisma!

While it's easy to get lost in your thoughts with the many things involved with partner dancing, don't forget a simple smile goes a long way! You'll put your partner at ease, look better in any candid photos, and even trick your own brain into having a better time!