Dear Poppy,
My partner will never let me lead! She is supposed to follow and has agreed to follow, but she just can’t seem to allow me to lead. Please help us, Poppy. Maybe there is something you can say that will get it through to her to follow the leader.
The Leader
Dear Leader,
You know that most women these days feel that it is a macho thing that the men lead. Well, honey, the men don’t necessarily have to lead, but only one of us in a partner dance can lead and only one us can follow. Following is as big a responsibility to the partnership as leading! The follow is reacting to the lead through his frame and body. Following is part of the cooperation of a partner dance. To follow doesn’t mean that you are giving in to being controled. It means that you are working with the lead to make the dance move to the music. Without one or the other there is no partner dance. So follows mellow out and challenge yourselves to react and cooperate with his every move. You’ll be surprised at how pleasant dancing can be when you relax and allow the lead to lead.
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.
