LIGHT embrace technique
Surround her as much as possible (body and arms), but just don’t squeeze. Then dance.
Accenting follower’s BACK-STEP during turns
When she goes into the side, sit back into your hips (whether you’re taking side-to-back or just straight back step). It helps her back-step sling all the way around.
TANK Torso Technique
The art of tanking:
- Lock down shoulder blades, upper torso weight right over your hips.
- Keeping head back is nice.
- Project the push out the rear of your lower back.
- Lats reach out and around.
- Arms have a little bit of frame.
- Where your feet lands sets the cadence.
Upper Body CADENCE
It’s fun to hit cadences in footwork or hips, but remember to hit with the upper body for the full upstairs sensation effect.
Assisting the Back Ocho RESOLUTION
Put your right hand on her left rib cage and “feel” it to help her rewind that back step. A little squeeze or subtle rub is all it takes.
Strong weight change for turns
When leading turns (whether for sacada or enrosque), you must plow your weight change into a clear linear direction.
- Strong forward
- Strong side
- Strong back
No matter what step it is that precedes it, make it strong! And really come into the step late (be patient) so you can stay there longer to sling her around.
Energy, Contrast, Sensitivity
3 elements to a fun dance that feels good.
…Straight Legs and LINES Aesthetic
The trick to getting those long leg lines is to bend one leg. That’s all it is. Bending the knee of one leg allows you to lower yourself and extend the other leg farther out, really emphasizing its reach. You can watch stage dancers and see for yourself. Anytime they show a super long leg, you’ll notice the other one is really bent!
What’s the worst way to try and get long straight legs?
- The worse way is to straighten both legs. This not only makes you look and feel stiff but also raises your hip and makes is harder (if not impossible) for you to extend the leg out further from under you.
Changing the Tempo (slowdowns vs speed-ups)
The first rule of changing speeds is to contrast as best as you can. It’s not only clearer to differentiate the lead for your partner but also enhances the visual effect for spectators. Go slow before you go fast (half-time to double-time) or go fast before you go slow (double-time to half-time), instead of going from TIME to HALF-TIME/DOUBLE-TIME.
But of course, when we first learn we do just gradual speed changes.
…Arm Energy – FAST vs SLOW movements
Your arms should always hold energy.
The challenging part is figuring out how to differential the energy in your arms between fast vs slow moments.
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