The terms of leader and follower are somewhat too extreme to describe the roles of both male and female dance partners respectively. This may be due partly to the gender specific nature of the Japanese culture. In the Western world, dancer are simply referred to the man and lady.
Ballroom Dancing Is Proactive
Just because Ballroom dancing involves a man and a lady, the man does not have to lead and the lady follow all the time. Lead and follow may sound too intentional, if not passive. Interestingly, a partnership should be equal in terms of the role of each partner. There should be neither a leader nor a follower.
Ballroom dancing between partners is proactive. Rather than leading and following all the time, either dance partner can be independent too.
Basically, the man dances his own steps. The lady dances her steps to match those of the partner. But it does not mean that she dances nothing until the man pushes her around. The lady dances her steps forward when there is no specific leading. The role of the man is to cut her directions by some kind of contact. This can be any type of leads: weight changes, physical lead, shaping of the body and arm, and visual lead as described in the dance syllabus.
The lady never waits for the “lead”. She is supposed to continue dancing after receiving the lead. The following is an exercise to prove this point.
An Exercise To Practice Lead And Follow
A good way to practice is to ask the lady to dance some basic Rumba Walks Forward with some arm styling. The man does not have to do much, only to touch the lady lightly on her right arm whenever he wants to change her direction just before beat 4 (or any syncopated timing he wishes). Naturally, the lady will change her course after receiving the hint. But she does not stop dancing if the man stops leading. She will just keep on dancing her Rumba Walk Forward until the next lead. The same can be repeated for the man.
The Role Of The Leader/Man
- Ballroom or social dance is born in a culture where "Ladies First " is the norm. Naturally the man’s role is to present his lady.
- A good leader is never hurried in his steps. He takes his time while following the music. He lets the lady complete all her actions before going to the next steps.
- The man leads by giving: the correct weight changes, clear signals to indicate change of direction, shape of body and arm and eye movement.
- The man must not rush the lady. Otherwise she will panic and rush herself and the subsequent choreography will be ruined.
- A good leader does not push or pull to disturb the balance of the lady. A little lead goes a long way.
- Some professionals say that the lady is like the flower and the man the vase. The leader is there to support the lady. That is, the man always supports the lady to create a line.
It is therefore not difficult to spot good leaders on the dance floor. A good leader does not push the lady around on the dance floor. He must be technically capable enough to direct the lady in the desired direction and give her the chance to present her own steps with ease. Finally, he must make the lady enjoy dancing.
References:
- Otani, Toshihiko, "Man As Leader?", p.88 Dance Fan Magazine (in Japanese) No. 283 July 2009 Byakuya Shobo.
- Imperial Society Of Teachers Of Dancing Latin American Rumba Syllabus, p. 14, 1998 Edition.
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