The single most common mistake made by novice Rock n Roll Dancers is being too tense when they Dance. This results in stiffness and rigidity as opposed to flexibility. When we Dance, we move our bodies in unusual ways. To do this effectively, especially in time to music, we must be flexible. That means we must Relax.
Failure to Relax while dancing causes rigidity in the arms, upper body and also sometimes in the legs. Picture this:-
mentally make two human figures out of steel, complete with arms and legs. Construct them facing each other. Weld their hands together without any joins at the elbows or shoulders so they are totally rigid. Now try to turn either one in any direction. As you can imagine, it can't be done. Without any flexibility in the arms or shoulders two people joined at the hands simply cannot turn individually. This may seem extreme and indeed, it represents the extreme position. Now construct the same two figures using pieces of string for arms. Tie them together at the 'hands'. You will find the two figures can easily be turned away from each other in either direction. This again represents the extreme position. Obviously, the correct solution lies somewhere between the two extremes, but where precisely? Common sense tells us that the nearer the arms are to the 'string' end than the 'steel' end, the more easily the figures can turn.
When dancing Rock n Roll, flexibility in the arms is definitely required. This means the elbows must flex. Many women who I teach to Dance find it extremely difficult to make this happen. They keep their elbows rigid, relying on movement at the s houlders to allow them to turn. This doesn't work particularly well. I find these women have an increased tendency to throw themselves off balance when making overhead turns.
Rigid arms means that either the arms or the body won't be able to go where required. Usually it is the body. This sets up a vicious circle because when these women start to lose their balance they are inclined to tense their arms even further in the attempt to stop themselves from toppling over. The likely result is stiff, jerky and inelegant dancing.
The other major cause of rigidity is related to 'power'. Rock n Roll is usually done to quite fast music. There is a 'glitch in the software' of human brains which causes them to chronically mistake physical power for speed. A golf pro' will soon tell you that when novices try to 'hit the cover off the ball' it goes typically nowhere. Rhythm and timing are what is required as opposed to muscular strength. Successful sports-people in most disci plines will tell you something similar.
Many Dancers tense-up all their muscles to apply physical power when the music gets fast. They fling themselves hard into the moves, often quite wildly. Often with women Dancers I can feel very marked increase in the strength of their arm-work when a fast song is suddenly played. Few women who do this can Dance successfully and still feel nice to Dance with. The rest just become hard work.
There are many drawbacks to such a style:-
- it wears you out much more quickly
- it renders you far more prone to injury
- it inhibits your ability to quickly switch from one move to another. This seriously limits the variety of moves which can follow each other, thereby retarding the whole Dance experience
- with complex moves it actually slows you down and prevents you from being able to keep the pace with the music
- it can prevent you from being able to 'feel' the music, destroying your ability to keep p recise time.
To put the kibosh on a popular misconception, physical power and strength in Dance genres such as Rock n Roll is a preferred style, not a requirement. It certainly isn't necessary for gaining speed. With most people it will deliver the opposite.
Relax, ease up and become a Dancer, not a dingbat, on the Dance-floor.
Gareth Eastwood is a Rock 'n' Roll Dance instructor and enthusiast in Adelaide, South Australia. He maintains a recently created website, http://www.RocknRollDance.com/ in which he repeatedly stresses the need for Dancers to be gentle with each other rather than dancing roughly.
He also created and manages Going Places With Gareth, a gigantic singles social network revolving around a long-established website http://www.garethevents.info/ The network has been ope rating since May, 2000. Since then over three and a half thousand people have become involved in it to some degree.
Author:: Gareth Eastwood
Keywords:: Rock, Roll, Rock n Roll, Dance, Relax
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