Dance School
Basics of dance
Connection
Leading and following is all done through that elusive thing called "connection." I talk about making the three connections: with your partner, with the music, and with the floor. Connection is a magic that happens through the physical contact between two dancers and their common interpretation of the music that makes the two individuals dance as one unit. Eventually the leads get so subtle that it seems that just a thought carries the couple through a dance, in directions neither had thought of before. Magic? No, just something that we wish we could do on every dance. Being mortal we struggle with "centering" and "inviting" and "anchoring" and "finger-tip leads" and "body leads" and all those things that we hear help to capture that magic that happens a once or twice each time we go dancing.
Have you ever been fortunate enough to feel the following while dancing?
...a partner with such wonderful connection that, without ever saying a word, you can have an entire conversation with her through your fingertips ?
...a partner who will bring a huge smile to your face almost immediately upon taking dance position, open or closed, because you can "feel" that your partner is there and moving with you; not moving on his/her own or wrestling with you ?
...a partner with who, using only one hand can lead nearly ANYTHING and have it appear in her body as if he/she was reading your mind ?
Those magic moments and feelings of connection are a big part of why people dance.