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in a different direction to their arm. While an 'arm lead' without the transfer of weight (or movement of the body) on the part of the leader is often a marker of an inexperienced or poorly taught dancer, the process of leading and following, particularly at an advanced level, often involves the contrasting uses of weight transfers and 'arm moves'. As an example, a leader may lead a follower back onto their right foot through the leader's own weight transfer forwards onto their left foot; yet at the same time turn the follower's torso to the left from above the hips.
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587:). Hijacking requires experience and good connection, since without proper timing it may look like sloppy dancing. A signal for hijacking is typically an unusually changed (mostly, increased) stress in the connection from the follower's side. "Unusually" meaning more than typically required for the execution of the current step (by these partners). For a follower to hijack, they must be sure that the lead will understand or at least guess the follower's intentions.
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Backleading sounds similar to "hijacking", and indeed it is often used in place of "hijacking". However the two terms have significant differences, stemming from intentions. The first difference is superficial; hijacking is usually an occasional "outburst" from the follower, who otherwise diligently
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this movement (though they may choose not to). This process can be described as involving the initiation of momentum or 'energy' (by the leader) and then the subsequent maintenance, exaggeration, decreasing or dissolving of this momentum by both partners. This momentum or energy may be manifested as
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The leader has to communicate the direction of the movement to the follower. Traditionally, the leader's right hand is on the follower's back, near the lowest part of the shoulder-blade. This is the strongest part of the back and the leader can easily pull the follower's body inwards. To enable the
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A body lead occurs where the leader initiates a lead by moving their body, which moves their arm(s), and thus transmits a lead to the follower. 'Body lead' means much the same as 'weight transfer'. An arm lead occurs where the leader moves their arm(s) without moving their body, or moves their body
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In another example, for a leader to have their follower walk forwards while connected, the leader begins by taking his or her center back, indicating a backward walking move. As the partners' arms/points of contact move away from each other, they develop tension, which the follower may either break
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to help the leader initiate movements for their follower. These points of balance include the front-facing side of the shoulders, the front facing side of the hips, and the follower's center (the abdomen). If the leader wants to bring the follower close, the leader is to apply tension and draw the
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An important leading mechanism is the leader's left hand, which usually holds the follower's right hand. At no point should it be necessary for any partner to firmly grab the other's hand. It is sufficient to press the hand or even only finger tips slightly against each other, the follower's hand
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In many partner dances, the leader's steps differ from the follower's. In face-to-face positions, the follower generally "mirrors" the leader's footwork. For example, if the leader begins on their left foot, the follower will begin on their right foot. In choreographed pieces and other situations
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are designations for the two dancers' roles in a dance pairing. The leader is responsible for guiding the couple and initiating transitions to different dance steps and, in improvised dances, for choosing the dance steps to perform. The leader communicates choices to the follower, and directs the
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Partner dancing requires awareness and clear communication; this is essential both for safety and for the overall success of the dance. If following in the dance, it helps to maintain a centered readiness to the leader. This helps the follower be ready for cues both visually and physically. The
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For the leader and follower to interact with each other, communication needs to occur between the dance couple. Dancers take cues through physical connection, with the follower using it to communicate feedback to the leader just as the leader uses it to suggest moves to the follower. The most
402:) it is very important to recover the feet match. To recover, leaders may initiate a well-known (i.e. basic) step with slightly exaggerated sideways shift of weight to force the follower to free the required foot. For example, in waltz or foxtrot one might end a measure in the open
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follows the lead, while a "backlead" may refer to a consistent habit. The second difference is more significant; hijacking is an actual reversal of roles, meaning that the hijacker leads the leader and takes control of the dance, while backleading only takes care of the follower.
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Leverage (where one partner – usually the leader – exploits the development of compression or connection to shift their follower's weight or to 'ground' (develop 'compression' downwards, with the contact their feet make with the floor) themselves more thoroughly before initiating
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A general rule is that both leader and follower watch each other's back in a dance hall situation. Collision avoidance is one of the cases when the follower is required to "backlead" or at least to communicate about the danger to the leader. In travelling dances, such as
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danced in the Madrid style where women lead and men follow (although this is not totally true: during the dance there is an exchange of roles, the leader becomes the follower and vice versa). Many social dance forms have a long history of same-sex (e.g.
341:, common follower signals of danger are an unusual resistance to the leader, or a slight tap by the shoulder. In open-position dances, such as swing or Latin dances, maintaining eye contact with the partner is an important safety communication link.
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where the follower is in a tandem position or shadow position, the leader and follower will use the same footwork. Usually both partners move together as a unit, but in some dances the partners move in opposite directions - together and apart again.
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because of partner separation, hip contact is a harmonious and sensual way of communicating movement to the partner, used primarily in
Standard or Ballroom dances (English / slow waltz, European tango, quickstep etc.) and Caribbean dances.
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leader to communicate a step forward (backward for the follower) the follower has to constantly put a little weight against the leader's right hand. When the leader goes forward, the follower will naturally go backwards.
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accomplished dancers use connection as a line of communication which allows the leader to incorporate the follower's ideas, abilities, and creative suggestions into their own styling and selection of moves.
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Backleading is when a follower is executing steps without waiting for, or contrary to the lead's lead. Both are considered bad dancing habits because it makes the follower difficult to lead and dance with.
279:) and role-crossing partnerships, and there have been some changes to the strict gendering of partner dances in some competition or performance contexts. An example is a "Jack and Jack" dance contest.
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Sometimes a miscommunication will occur between the leader and follower. Techniques of the recovery of connection and synchronization vary from dance to dance, but below are a few common examples.
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A more experienced leader may realize (if only on an unconscious level) that the most effective execution of even this "simple" step is achieved by preparing for movement before the step begins.
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The amount of direction given by the leader depends on several factors, including dance style, social context of the dance, and experience and personalities of the dancers.
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hand in and down toward the leader's own hip; to send the follower away, the leader would guide the hand toward the follower and add compression, signaling the move away.
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In partner dancing, dancers seek to work together to create synchronized or complementary movements. The leader is largely responsible for
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Compression (where each partner 'compress' the energy by bending joints and moving towards or 'into' their partner, to varying degrees);
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ED: a framework for teaching Swing and Blues dance partner connection".
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The meaning of tango : the story of the
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DeMers, Joseph Daniel (2013). "Frame matching and ΔP
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679:. Editorial Punto Rojo. 2014.
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491:. You can help by
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658:. Ballroom Basics
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1537:Dance awards
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1139:Dance theory
1129:Choreography
1041:Contemporary
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82:Please help
77:verification
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1422:Philippines
1407:Netherlands
1397:Middle East
949:Table dance
914:Go go dance
894:Competitive
559:Backleading
272:Schottische
1489:Uzbekistan
1257:Azerbaijan
1166:Musicality
1134:Connection
1091:Postmodern
1061:Historical
944:Striptease
939:Pole dance
889:Ceremonial
844:slow dance
662:2020-06-04
603:References
316:movement);
301:initiating
202:March 2010
186:improve it
140:March 2010
110:newspapers
39:improve it
1494:Venezuela
1457:Sri Lanka
1452:Singapore
1412:Nicaragua
1342:Indonesia
1247:Australia
1116:Technique
1014:formation
929:Lap dance
730:cite book
722:212430157
642:144054392
581:hijacking
575:Hijacking
421:Body lead
396:quickstep
389:free spin
190:verifying
45:talk page
1622:Category
1509:Zimbabwe
1462:Thailand
1387:Malaysia
1372:Kiribati
1282:Cameroon
1277:Cambodia
1267:Bulgaria
1242:Assyrian
1211:national
1206:Regional
1186:Spotting
1181:Sequence
1159:glossary
1106:Two-step
1051:Flamenco
1036:Breaking
1031:Boogaloo
1009:Ballroom
954:Twerking
919:Grinding
904:Ecstatic
591:See also
424:Arm lead
305:maintain
257:physical
1519:Related
1499:Vietnam
1472:Ukraine
1382:Kurdish
1352:Ireland
1332:Hungary
1322:Georgia
1307:Denmark
1297:Croatia
1262:Belarus
1252:Austria
1237:Armenia
1227:Albania
1191:Turnout
1076:Lyrical
1056:Hip-hop
899:Concert
824:Partner
793:Outline
456:Cha-cha
400:foxtrot
184:Please
124:scholar
1467:Turkey
1447:Serbia
1442:Russia
1437:Romani
1427:Poland
1392:Mexico
1357:Israel
1327:Greece
1312:Europe
1287:Canada
1222:Africa
1213:dances
1171:Pointe
1144:Graham
1124:Ballet
1081:Modern
1004:Ballet
991:Styles
976:Street
971:Sacred
909:Erotic
881:Social
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854:contra
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1402:Nepal
1377:Korea
1367:Japan
1362:Italy
1337:India
1292:China
1196:Turns
1154:Moves
1096:Swing
1086:Polka
1071:Latin
1026:Belly
1019:waltz
864:round
788:Index
777:Dance
638:S2CID
452:Rumba
339:waltz
277:tango
131:JSTOR
117:books
1417:Peru
1347:Iran
1302:Cuba
1232:Arab
1176:Pole
1066:Jazz
999:Acro
961:Folk
859:line
819:Solo
736:link
718:OCLC
708:ISBN
681:ISBN
411:Lead
250:and
248:lead
103:news
1101:Tap
981:War
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