I was watching Hip Hop instruction. There were like 20 people. Some were good, others were not as much, a few were...unique. Doesn't matter who's good or not. They were having fun, and I was enjoying watching happy dancers.
Hip Hop is a very visual dance. Learning is basically imitating the instructor. "One and two, three and four, step step, sway, hop, punch, and slash, left walk, right walk, hop, heel, heel,....." these call outs were learning aid, but you wouldn't know how the moves would be by the call outs alone.
Then came Tango. They taught a modified basic 8 counts. 1-2-3-4(cross/pause)-5(uncross/walk forward)-6(side step)-7 and 8 (in place weight shift).
It was amusing to see a good Hip Hop guy (sort of) struggled in the partner dance.
Maneuvering his own body is one thing, maneuvering partner as a couple is another. Actually it's entirely different business. Lead-follow-based partner dance has very different working principles from solo dances.
To get the Tango to work, a helpful tip for the leader is, "imagine her skeleton".
Lead-follow in partner dance is done through frame, a structural connection between the lead and follow (putting the visual lead aside). And her structure is mainly supported through her bones and skeleton.
Thus, I say "Imagine her skeleton".
By doing it, you are visualizing her power train, and imagining an effective way to drive her body.
A major part of Tango lead is axis specification, then rotation/pivot of the axis. From a Tango lead's standpoint, the flow is like, "specify her axis, support and stabilize the axis, and pause, suggesting her to do her embellishments, then move on to next step,...".
Right. It can be mechanical.
Don't get me wrong. I am all for emotional, great feeling dance. But I am also a firm believer for skills and techniques. And if you want to be good in a relatively short time, taking your time in focusing on skills and techniques is necessary.
This "imagine her skeleton" can work with many smooth dances, in which you hold her closely. In Latin dances, sure it can work, but not as much as in a smooth dance.
Her bones and skeleton are very much involved in good body coordination and good looking posture.
Leaders. Next time you try Tango, imagine her skeleton. It may sound so un-romantic, but you'll learn how to drive your partner faster.
