As a teacher, I often switch around what the first thing I expose new dancers to.
Sometimes, I teach the rhythm in the footwork. Sometimes I teach the feel in the body. Sometimes I teach partner connection. Sometimes, I don’t tell them anything about fundamentals at all and just get them moving; “do what I’m doing” style.
Each have their advantages. As a beginner, what was the first thing you really enjoyed learning in a dance lesson, or the first thing that really clicked? As a teacher, what’s the first thing you like to expose students to, and why?
4 responses so far ↓
1 Garry // Jan 24, 2008 at 10:45 am
As a not so long ago beginner, I found everything difficult, esp when I tried to put it all togeather at once. the footwork, connection, music, then add the idea I was to link it all togeather with different moves was very overwhelming. If I was to chose as a new lead, I would like to work on the footwork and connection. to learn to lead with the body, not with my arms only. if a new dancer is comfortable and has good frame/connection, knows the basic footwork, then it will be easier to get the follow to know what you want. I dance with a lot of new follows, I find they have know idea what connection is or should be.
I have to admit my connection and lead is not real strong, lack of confidence is what I attribute it to. If I’m not confident in my dance, then my lead/connection is not as good.
One of my goals this year is to become a good better more confident lead.
I danced with a follow a while ago (have not seen her out recently) that demanded connection, when I placed my hand on her back she let me know that she liked a firm but gentle connection.
She did this without saying a word. I thanked her for the solid connection she maintained, made me want to do better.
Sorry to ramble but just my 2 cents worth.
2 Garry // Jan 24, 2008 at 10:50 am
Opps, I guess I really did not answer the question.
It would be basic footwork with learning good connection skills. all the footwork in the world wont do much good if you can;t get a follow to do what you wanther to do because of a lack of connection.
3 Matt // Jan 29, 2008 at 11:55 am
I like to start my first lessons with something that, while I rarely see it done, is an indisputably effective pedagogic tool for all disciplines: give a brief outline of not only what the dance is and looks like, but what exactly it means for to be a lead and follow.
I remember that when I was first exposed to dancing, I was told that my job was to be the leader, but no one told me what leading was. The same goes for followers. All I knew was that leads pick the moves. Hindsight tells me that’s about all the follows knew too.
I tell my leads that leading is not just “deciding and telling the follow what move to do,” but physically directing and making the follow do that. Most guys enter dancing with a fear of exerting force on a female: the first thing I do is try and stop that. I tell them that I don’t lead with hand gestures that signal where the follow should go: I make her go there.
Similarly, before actually teaching anything, I give the follows a brief overview of what a follow actually does, and tell them from the very beginning that most of the time, they won’t have any idea what’s going on, but that that’s okay: they don’t have to. I give the follows two prioritized rules to follow at the beginning. When the lead makes you go somewhere, keep going just where they made you go, and to try and face your body toward your lead generally. I warn them that when these rules conflict, the first one wins.
After that, I get into actually teaching a “move.” (I do a basic one-step if it’s a broad “swing” series and I know I’ll have some time with them down the road, or a swingout if it’s a one-timer/lindy hop class.) However, during the very first lesson, I will focus more on posture and muscle control then anything else. As a dancer, nothing made a bigger difference for me than learning about how the body’s muscles hold together and are meant to hold together - physical therapy for a shoulder condition also made a huge difference. Teaching dance technique is so much easier when you have a dancer who holds themselves together not just in a prettier way, but in the correct, proper human way. Learning to dance well with improper posture and an unawareness of muscle control is like trying to put together a complicated machine without all the necessary parts: you just can’t do it! Rather than teach them technique that lets them get up to a more intermediate level, where they can then learn the more advanced muscle business from either the best dancers/instructors in the scene or, more realistically, from top imported instructors at a workshop, it just makes sense to teach them that deeper, but critical stuff from the very beginning. I’ve seen some pretty incredible results too. I’ve gotten absolute beginner leads to have a completely relaxed and full open-position connection with me as a follower, and I’ve done smooth(!) connected swingouts with totally new followers. For me, it really is all about those back, shoulder, and core muscles.
So my ideal first lesson: I let them know what it actually means “to lead” and “to follow.” Then I show them how to hold themselves together while keeping their arms relaxed. Then I teach them the footwork pattern (the “bottom part”), then the mechanics of the lead w/o the footwork (the “top part”), then I have them put it together (the “hard part”).
Oh, and I spend a decent bit of time trying to get decent triple-steps.
4 Garry // Jan 29, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Great thoughts Matt, more food to chew on and improve my leading.
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