Hello Sarah. Hello.
So got a question for you makes a good connection when dancing
I've
what
a good connection with dancing?
I think for me there are three main things.
So the first one is setting your dance up for success which sounds really cheesy but I'll explain what it means.
The second is around having a good frame being responsive and also being present.
Um And the last ones around musicality.
So I'll just go for each one of the first one around setting yourself up for success for your dance.
Um What it means is just like setting those foundations.
So at the start of a dance um like whether you know someone or not like you usually go up to them and asking for a dance say hello and ask how they are maybe or maybe you'll
just jump straight into the dance either way I'm totally fine but the core of it is starting off slow getting an understanding of how your partner moves
maybe understanding what level they're at as well so you can adjust to that.
Um And also um usually music is slow at the start as well so you want to try and match removes to that rather than just going into all the crazy fun stuff.
Um You want to start slow like sidesteps maybe or a simple basic.
Um And then kind of build that up. Having that vanishing is also really important for the rest of the dance.
So if you start strong it's a lot easier to continue strong.
Um It means that if your the dance is becoming more complex and there's more energy in the song.
So
um everything kinda builds, it means that you have that strong foundation at the start even you might not have dancing them before to be able to um have a good dance for the rest of the song.
And the second one is around having a good frame being responsive as well as being present.
So the first two having a good frame and also being responsive are very interrelated by having um to be to be responsive you need to have a frame that
is not too strong but also um isn't like non existent.
So what I mean by that is um it can't be if it's too strong and you're tense to your your arms.
Um Both like your forearms,
your upper arms, your wrist and also your shoulders and your lats all tensed up.
You become very rigid and it becomes very difficult for someone to lead you in that kind of almost breaks.
It doesn't break the connection but it just doesn't like make it as good of a connection.
Um But if you relax um this this is the bottom path and then like make sure you still have any tension here and there's still energy coming through and you're holding your own arms.
Um That also helps with like it means that they can like move something or like lead something and then you will respond because the lead comes through to your body but you're
not super heavy. Um The other end of the spectrum is like when you don't give much at all.
So like you might just be here, it looks like you're in your frame.
Um But if someone decides to move my hand and pushes it back,
then my friend would break this way because I've got nothing engaged here.
The other, the other point here is to make sure you don't back lead.
So by back leading,
I mean when you try and guess what the movie is or you try to complete the move out of being led um It's it's it's really easy for it to happen because when
we get excited and we're dancing,
we're like oh this music sounds great,
this feels like a turn, I'm gonna turn um That for a lead is a little,
it feels a little bit like, like she didn't do what she I asked her to like,
she almost like hijacked my moves sometimes so um it really it can affect the connection and to maintain that good connection.
It helps a lot to wait for something to be led.
Um And then do it. Um And also there's that you can,
they can be like a slight delay um In terms of like someone like waiting for them to lead the move before you um like respond rather than like trying to anticipate and just like trying
to stay on top of it all the time if that makes sense.
And then the last part about it, this is being present.
So what I mean by this is really really just like being there in the moment like being mindful that there are other distractions.
Like maybe someone is doing like something over there or like your friends just walked in the room.
Um Like it helps if you stay present in the dance to like maintain that connection.
You can go say hi later, like see what's going on later as well.
Being present is also about like making like maintaining that connection through things like having a laugh or a smile or like a bit of eye contact or just
making sure that you are really there in the room and your focus for that song is the person you're dancing with and the lead.
The last one is a quick one.
So it's about musicality and I know a lot of people talk about musicality but the most important part about it is
matching. Making sure one that you're on the beat.
So sometimes music changes and they'll have like a half bar where it kind of sounds really funny and you end up on the wrong foot.
Um That's totally fine. Just make sure you find the right um beat again and you continue and then the other part of it is also listening to the music and adapting
the way you dance to the changes in music.
Um So examples of this are like at the introduction,
usually they tend to be a little bit slower or like they're more chill.
Um so usually your moves will be um let's say you might be doing like a simple basic or a side basic or like maybe body movement depending on what the song is,
but then as the song builds,
like through the verses, choruses and the bridges,
um then your music should adjust to those.
And then also if you are able to and you hear like the hits in the music or the brakes and the music um adjusting to those two.
Like if you hear a break, it's totally okay to just stop and hold and then continue again.
Um whatever that looks like depending on what you're comfortable with and the musicality is super important.
I think a lot of followers will say that um you can have a really simple dance as long as it's musical,
then it's an amazing dance. So yeah,
that's my three tips on having a good connection in bachata.