How to make your booty dance

Whatever you do, your attention should always be focused on feeling the partner's arms, and in a close embrace - his entire body. You know, there is such an expression - "turn into one big ear." Here is the same thing, only you need to listen to your tactile sensations.

Almost all movements in a pair are accompanied by some kind of tactile sensations for the partner. The point is to learn to wait for them, to understand and respond specifically to them, and not to the brave pacing of a partner next to you. If you have any doubts, ask the teacher what exactly you should feel when performing a particular movement. This is very important, do not leave these questions unattended.

I think of a comparison with a trolley bus that only travels by connecting its "horns" to the wires carrying current. The trolleybus does not travel without contact with the wires. If there is no current in the wires, it does not go either. Connect and wait for the current - it will lead you.

There are moments when the partner is allowed to "free float" for a while and her hands are freed, but in these cases the visual connection remains, and this is also very important.

4) Mirror the partner's body direction

This is more of a basic technique rule, but it significantly affects the connection in a pair. If the partner's body is turned towards you, then your body should be exactly opposite. You turn sideways to your partner only when he leads you to it.

Mistakes often occur at the exit of turns and rotations, when the partner spontaneously turns away from the partner and opens up somewhere in the wrong direction.

Fragment of an individual with Kadu at the Prague Congress, July 2012

5) Remember all this as often as possible. Practice makes the difference.

Try to consciously focus on your tactile sensations. Practice as much as possible at parties. Dance with as many partners as possible, ask them to tell you when you are walking without a lead. Invite teachers to dance, take indivs.

It is important to practice at parties and sampo, because in a group lesson your attention is occupied with other things, and there you know what to expect. By attending only group lessons and ignoring parties, you will not learn connection.

The more partners of different levels, the better. The more diverse the partner dances, the more attention he takes to himself - the more effective it is for you. Dancing with a teacher or an experienced dancer at a party is a great option if he gently leads, uses different speeds, changes direction of movement, knows how to do all sorts of tricks to lead, if he knows how to subtly return your attention to himself.

That's what I mean. Fragment of an individual with Jorge at the Prague Congress, March 2012

The bad news is that there are very few such partners. Dancing mostly with guys who don't connect and pinball you on the dance floor, you'll never learn it. You just won't realize that can be different , and you won't have practice.

Congresses, festivals are always a big step in development. If you have the opportunity to go to the congress, do not miss it!!! It will sound unpatriotic, but I always recommend choosing foreign congresses: there the MF ratio is about 50/50, and you will not be bored at the wall - at least for this reason. The rest you will understand later.

6) A very effective way to improve your connection is to dance with your eyes closed.

Even the simplest movements and hugs will open up to you from a new side through the prism of sensations. That's how it should be! You must do all the movements because you feel them with your body, and not because you see how the partner steps aside and raises his hand , like spin come on.

But be careful: the party format is not suitable for this practice! At a party, both dancers must look around and keep each other safe. You can practice like this at sampo, but on the condition that the partner understands his responsibility for your safety.

Specialized "blind" seminars for dancers are periodically held in Russia "IN THE DARK" (organizer - school "Art of play"). From 2 to 4 hours you spend with blindfolds doing different exercises and dancing with each other. Feedback suggests that many are rediscovering dance and connection during the workshop. I myself was at such a seminar, and I really liked it. Highly recommend attending this event the next time it is held.

7) Do not complete the movement for a partner if he does not lead.

Sometimes partners forget to give part of the impulses when performing a movement. They mark its beginning, but they don’t take it to the ending, supposedly the partner has already understood what is required of her. This is an incorrect position, because the movement can change at any moment, and impulses must be given from beginning to end. Or they just have not yet learned how to lead correctly and clearly. It happens very often.

I recommend not doing anything if you don't feel led, because otherwise your body gets used to not waiting for a partner and, when given the first impulse, to do the learned movement from beginning to end. It does not develop connection skills at all.

This is not a binding rule, this is my position. In the article on the link above, I described in detail the problem and my point of view on this matter. You can listen to her or not. I was surprised, but the article caused a great resonance among partners who want to see their joints in the dance.

8) Eliminate distractions

Uncomfortable clothes, uncomfortable shoes, embarrassing jewelry take your attention to themselves and are very distracting. If connection is important to you, then your appearance is chosen for it, and not vice versa.

At the end of this section, I will repeat once again that connection is the fundamental basis for the lightness of a partner. Without it, everything else is useless and you weigh a ton. That is why I have given so much attention to this topic here.

Absolutely everyone can develop the skill of connection, it only takes understanding, desire, regular practice and time. Everything comes gradually.

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Second component: FRAME

The frame is an elastic, one-piece structure through which impulses are transmitted in a pair (lead-follow).

Frame includes arms, shoulders, chest, abs and back. It is provided by a group of actively working muscles that fix the joints in a certain position and reduce unwanted mobility in them. The rigidity of the frame is adjusted for the current dance partner and for the movements being performed. You can read in detail about how it all works in the article at the link.

The task of the frame is to simplify and speed up the transmission of impulses due to the fact that not only the hands are involved in the process, but the entire upper part of the body at once.

If you know how to use the frame, then the impulse moves your entire body in the right direction, and not the arm, followed by the shoulder, and then the rest of the scattered parts of the body.

In addition to understanding and responding to impulses, a good frame gives you additional benefits:

- stabilization of the body and smoothing out sudden, uncomfortable movements
- improved balance
- synchronized work of your body
- movement safety (the risk of sprains, dislocations and other unpleasant things is reduced)
- the beauty of posture (partially)

a big topic that requires a good understanding of how the body works in dance. I wrote a separate, very detailed article about the frame, the link to which is in the subtitle, and I will not dwell on this in detail here.

To become lighter, you need to learn what a frame is, learn how to build it in your body and use it: receive impulses through the frame, stabilize your balance with the frame, adapt the tone of the frame to different movements and softness of your partner.

A good frame requires practice and a certain level of physical fitness. This is being worked out, although at first it may seem difficult and unusual.

In the photo, the partner has a gorgeous rigid frame, which is necessary for this movement.

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The third component: BALANCE

Balance - " balance ; the art of keeping the balance of the body or objects during any exercises, tricks ".

Agree that it is much more pleasant and easier to drive a car if it drives clearly along the road, and does not skid or lose control. It's the same in dance.

Until a certain stage in his development, the dancer does not seriously think about the ability to keep balance and cannot adequately assess his level of possession (or lack of possession) of balance. However, this is another important component of lightness. And not only for partners.

If you are carried away and staggered on some movements, if you rely on a partner to stabilize, if it is difficult for you to spin, if you cannot steadily freeze in place at any moment of the dance, even on the half-toes of one leg, you have something to work on .

Balance is another big topic that requires a separate detailed coverage, and there is a separate more detailed article on this topic.

Good balance - for the most part it's just very good control of the muscles of your body, the ability to provide them with stability of the body. This is the ability to "pull up" and fix certain muscles.

I would single out 2 main principles on which the entire balance is built:

1. Vertical axis and stretching of the body along vectors.

The vertical axis is always present. If you know how to correctly build your body through it, then you can maintain balance even in a difficult position. If not, then it will pass through you at random, and the uneven distribution of the body in relation to the axis will cause a loss of balance.

In the classical sense, the vertical axis runs through the entire body. Its base comes out of the center of gravity, which is exactly under the feet, and the top of the axis comes out through the top of the head. The axis is maintained by pulling the body up, mostly by the muscles of the back and abs (vector up). It really does, and it helps tremendously with zouk. And also a strong pulling of the body up is the basis of all rotations.

But besides this, there are many non-classical positions with body tilts, twists, etc. In these positions, the center of gravity may not be under the foot, and several vectors are used to balance the body. In the photo above, the center of gravity is located in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe toes of the supporting foot, the vertical axis passes through the supporting part of the foot and the lower press of the girl. The legs deviate slightly from the axis. She is helped to maintain balance in this position by the second vector, which runs horizontally - in this case along the spine. However, in a social dance you are unlikely to need this)

Zoo has many movements with deflection of the thoracic spine. In all such cases, the vertical axis still runs along the spine, and you support it by pulling up the muscles of the lower back and the abs. But due to the fact that the upper back leans in any direction, the axis will not come out through the top of the head, but in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe shoulder, chest or shoulder blades - depending on which side the slope is made.

2. Joint control

The most stable support is the fixed support. That is why, in order to build a good balance, it is necessary to eliminate excessive mobility in the joints, which in one way or another hold our weight (serve as a support). And the mobility of the joints is regulated by the muscles adjacent to them. The tension of certain muscles allows you to fix the joint.

Well, that's it, for a general understanding. Let's add some specifics.

"Dance is the back". I have heard something like this many times, and there is truth in it. The spine is a very mobile part of the body. If the back is relaxed, then it will bend in its weakest and most mobile places under the weight of the upper body, head and under the influence of physical movements in the dance (hello, lower back pain). There will be no balance, or rather it will be purely random from time to time. So that the spine does not bend when it is not necessary and does not destabilize the balance, it must be made as straight and motionless as possible. This is what we get when we stretch our body up. The work of the back muscles and the press allows you to bring the spine into a stable position. The better the tone of your muscles, the more often you make them work, the easier it will be for you to manage the stability of the spine and your balance in general.

The back is very important for the balance and the whole dance. But that's not all, because there are many more mobile joints in our body. And here we can't help but talk about the favorite joints of all zuckers - the hips)) The hip joints can move in all directions, and how much the girls destabilize themselves with them in the pursuit of beauty!

Remember. Butt is the anchor. A retracted buttock effectively limits unwanted mobility in the hip joint. It won't let you take too many steps, it won't let you swing your hip so far that your balance is out of your foot. When you feel that the shifted balance is carrying you around the dance floor, drop the anchor - pull your butt in.

Ass and back. Back and butt. This is the first level in mastering the art of balance.

Next level is the understanding that in addition to the back and priests there are at least knees and feet. Stretched knees are not a requirement of a boring teacher for the sake of beauty, this is, first of all, the same stable support. If you get into some difficult position, then it will be much easier to resist with a knee extended. And weak feet tend to collapse and tuck. And even if the entire upper part of the body is harmoniously built, then a weak foot that has fallen in or out will spoil you. I speak by myself))

What conclusion can be drawn from all this?

Strengthen your body. Learn to control your muscles consciously and safely.

If you only do social dancing, you won't be able to do it enough. To learn how to keep a good balance, build an axis, control your body, you need to load several times more, and social dances do not give such a load.

The best way to get your muscles to work is solo work with your body weight. No supports, partners, simulators. Your body, gender and movements. The more uncomfortable and unusual the position of the body to find balance, the better. For the first time I felt what it means to reach up when we were forced to do all the exercises in the middle of the hall, without a barre at the ballet. It was then that I was surprised to discover that some new muscles in my back were getting tired. The understanding of balance was then divided in my life into "before" and "after".

The photo shows an element from the adagio on modern jazz.

WEIGHTING FACTORS

All weighting factors are associated with the absence of one or another component of lightness. All of them were found in themselves.

• Too hard or too soft sinking hands. Dancing with outstretched arms or pulling your arms towards you. - No frame.


• Movement guessing - no connection and bad frame.


• Steps too large. - Poor balance. Taking big steps, you move relative to the vertical axis: after all, your partner’s arm does not stretch along with your steps, and your legs are much further than your head - this is no longer vertical, this is the Leaning Tower of Pisa.


• Back leg settling. - Poor balance. In this case, your center of gravity is under the heel or even behind it, and you are pulled back. To balance and move you, the partner has to apply more force. The farther the center of gravity, the more difficult it is to shift it.


• Hips going forward of the body or excessive swinging of the hips to the side. - Poor balance. In this case, the center of gravity constantly walks from side to side and goes beyond the foot, you deviate from the axis - see the previous paragraph. There are movements in the dance that start from the hip, but these are one-time stylistic movements, and not a general way of moving. In general, the secret is that when one hip is turned off, the second must be pulled up and fixed very well, then the support will be stable. (thank you jazz modern)


• Too much style. The partner diligently tries to make every dance as beautiful as possible and... ceases to feel her partner. Attention to the partner disappears, because. the beauty of the dance is a priority. - Very bad connection.


• Psychological factors: nerves, embarrassment, distrust, narcissism, attempts to assess the reaction of others to themselves in the dance, attempts to impress those sitting nearby, looking for a partner for the next dance "on the spot", looking for teachers at dance floor.

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