Ms. Poppy Chiffon — the doyenne of dance, the baroness of ballroom etiquette, the sultana of Southern hospitality — is pleased to answer your dance-related questions. Here are a few queries that Poppy deigned to extract from her mailbag this week. If you have a question that you would like Poppy Chiffon to address, please e-mail her at askpoppy@dancestationusa.com. Ms. Chiffon regrets that she cannot respond individually to questions.
Dear Poppy,
I want to be one of those leaders all the followers are waiting in line to dance with. How do I become a strong but gentle leader?
Strong Lead Wannabe
Dear Strong Lead,
Oh sugar, all follows want strong but gentle leads. You just have to concentrate on your frame and posture and move as a unit with your partner. Use your right hand to gently guide your partner in dance position. Determining which steps to take in which direction takes practice. Start with the basic steps of any dance and don’t push your partner to do moves he or she may not know or be comfortable doing. One last thing, be sure of yourself and don’t make late, jerky leads. It can be painful for the follow.
Dear Poppy,
My husband and I have been taking dance classes for several months. We seem to dance better with others than we dance together. We stopped rotating partners in our dance classes so that we could focus on our dancing, but still we can’t seem to get together. What shall we do, Poppy?
Giving Up
Dear Giving Up,
Don’t give up. Just start dancing with other partners again. One of the best ways to learn any sport is to play with many opponents. Likewise, dancing with different partners of varying abilities improves lead and follow ability. Try to communicate with your partner and take the time to bring what you learn from the experience of dancing with others back to your partnership. It’s tricky because couples have a way of working through their issues when dancing. Remember, keep in mind what your position is in the dance partnership: lead or follow.
Hello Poppy, great post. I enjoyed it.
My friend wrote an article about weak lead.
http://www.ras-this.com/ballroom-dance-frame-and-a-weak-lead/ I guess you may find it useful