Standard (Waltz) Basic Technique Points

Weight distribution in standard dances: the center is 'heavy', it has half of Man's and half of Lady's weight. So it is especially important to not lean to right and becomes 'right heavy'. Example:

Natural Spin Turn:

• Step 1: Lady LF back, CBM - upper body turning to R to open up for Man to pass. Hip is pretty straight, stays with Man. Head stays left.
• Step 2: Lady RF to side - this "side step" is actually more forward to "keep up" with Man, otherwise, Man and Lay will gap. Hip turns, but upper frame stays as previous, This is where "body turns less" comes in.
• Step 3: settle, collect.
• Step 4: Lady RF forward (hips forward Man, so it doesn't gap), CBM - upper body turning to R, really keep left side up and forward. Think about following left elbow. This is a pivot step, the LF doesn't track to RF, it stays where it is and pivot.
• Step 5: Lady LF back, slightly to the side and give enough room for Man to step forward in between Lady's legs. RF brushes to LF as a result of rising.
• Step 6: Lady pushes off LF, RF forward. Hip follows the Man, don't gap here.

Reverse Turn, Progressive Chasse to Right:

• These are all reverse turning figures. Step 1: Lady RF back, rotate upper frame to L (CBM), keep spine to left and avoid leaning to right and become 'right heavy'. It's very easy to tip toward center. Avoid that. Think about head following L elbow.

Top frame: 

• A lot of how it looks at the top is driven by what the legs are doing.
• If we are standing straight at each other, the top will be close. Now, bend the legs, top will appear to be bigger.
• Lady: stand more to the left which will give even more room. (Don't turn foot to avoid bumping knee. Move to left.)
• Lady: the right side should not "crunch up". As a matter of fact, it should stretch with the right arm that's connected to Man.
• Lady: tight up diagonally from left shoulder to lower right side, this makes the left shoulder forward toward Man. But pay attention to keep hip position and not have R hip rotate away from partner.
• Neck: no wrinkles in all directions. Think about long neck.

Waltz Technique Notes

Tips for today:

• [Waltz, Lady] Double Reverse Spin: step 1, straight back, don't turn hip either or turning foot to side which will be in partner's way.
• [Waltz, Lady] Chasse From PP: pay special attention to stay on Man's R side, not drift to center or R side.
• [Waltz, Lady] Lady's left hand should stay at the same place on Man's R arm, especially after whisk.
• [Waltz, Lady] Back Whisk: Step 1 and 2, really drive, as Lady is on the outside.
• [Waltz, Lady] Natural figures: after step 1, the shoulder should not stop, it needs to keep rotating and continue the flow.
• [Waltz, Lady] Whisk: Promenade Position: lady should not pull her R arm back, leave it to Man, tuck R shoulder under and in.
• [Waltz] CBM/Torque: when hips turn with body, it's not CBM anymore.

More tips at http://www.dancecentral.info.

Waltz technique: Frame and Movement

Frame:

• Instead of putting arms strictly to the side to make frame wide, think of making it round, holding a big ball in front of you using the arm and body. Keep it that way throughout the figures.
• Coming into frame: Lady starts with R arm in front, keep that position when Man draws his L elbow back, i.e. lady should not move upper body forward making R shoulder/upper arm start going back. Keep upper body back and allow lower body to connect with partner, bend knees forward.
• Be light on Man's arms: think of dancing holding a cup of water, hold your own arm/weight, body absorbs bounces.
• Counter balance: 
• In order to go more left (left arm), the muscle on left side of the body is crunching sort of diagonally to the right. "counter arms going left"
• To go up, let free the lower body, bent the knees and stretch upper body up.
• To "bend back" more, counter balance by moving knee, lower body forward.
• Head:
• Look 1/8 to left, do not overturn, that won't look natural. The eyes should be able to see the tip of the right fingers. Otherwise, either R arm is too far behind, or head is turning too much to left.
• Because the upper body is bending back, the head should follow that bent line to create more volume, (neck straight with the line, don' break/bend neck, don't do straight upright either.)
• Leg: Lady's R leg should be more close to Man's R leg (than to Man's L leg) - in general, move to left to allow more free movement.

Movement:

• CBM (i.e. Torque): for turns, shaping: when hips turn with the body, it's not CBM anymore. 
• Whisk, ending promenade position: Lady: pay attention not to pull R arm back, leave it to Man, tuck R shoulder in.
• Natural Turn: 2nd half, step 4: CBM; step 5: really drive, big step.
• Double Reverse Spin: keep body contact with Man throughout the figure, stay left.
• Back whisk: count "2": need to really drive, big step, otherwise, the ending alignment will be funny and Man needs to use Chasse from PP to adjust alignment. Preceding half of Natural Turn could over turn, ending Man backing DW.

Daily exercises that will improve your dance

Dance exercises: 

1. [Practice, Standard] The 13-step position and shaping practice is a good warmup routine.
2. [Practice, Standard] CBM: Step toward mirror with CBM, soft knees, shoulders and hips flat. Do not turn foot.
3. [Practice] Using WF: Step back with tip toe, slip weight, roll down onto ball of back foot till two feet are even, lower heel.
4. [Practice] Using WF: Step forward, slide heel fwd, split weight, roll fwd onto front foot, bring back foot fwd, settle, repeat.
5. [Practice] Lead and follow with only body contact, shoulders parallel. Move around room and change body orientation.
6. [Practice, Lady] Lie face down on floor, lift head and bend back.
7. [Practice] Stand in front of wall with some space, then try to fill the space, make contact with wall, while keeping head and foot position.
8. [Latin, Practice] Do rib cage exercise everyday.
9. [Latin, Practice] Practice by stepping on paper and moving paper under foot.
10. [Latin, Practice] Squat on toes, keeping upper leg parrallel to floor.

More tips at DanceCentral.info

Ballroom Tip: Going through your partner

In many turning figures, instead of thinking of going around, the technique will improve if one thinks of going through one's partner. On a natural turn, for example, the man steps straight through, stepping toward the lady's right shoulder, while using CBM to make room to get past her. Similarly, on step 5 of the natural turn, the lady steps straight at the man's right shoulder, where CBM creates room for her to get past. He goes, then she goes.

More notes on standard technique.

International Standard: Contra Body Movement (CBM)

Contra Body Movement (CBM) is usually used to initiate turns. Here are some technique that would help to dance CBM correctly:

• CBM on a forward step: the person (either Man or Lady) that does the forward step is on the outside of the turn and travels more. The step itself should be straight on the line. The opposite shoulder would be turning toward the moving foot (remember to keep shoulder level, no dipping).
• CBM on a back step: the person would be on the inside of a turn. Instructor often says "toe slightly turned in" - in fact, the hip and foot are "connected" together. The hip should also turn. Foot is always perpendicular to the hip. Man should always do a straight back step on the line. Lady follows the Man. (If Man does his forward step correctly, Lady would step back straight with CBM.)

Lesson on Waltz (Bronze Level)

Bronze Level Waltz, including a routine for practice.

Some practice exercises:

• Step toward mirror, soft knees, keeping shoulders and hips flat, with CBM. Our coach said one of his coaches wanted him to practice this 10000 times between sessions. (Well, he only sees his coach in English once every few months.)
• In partnership, practicing all the possible leads, from man's perspective:
  
  
  
  1. Step forward straight, LF
  2. Step back straight, RF
  3. Step straight left
  4. Step straight right
  5. Lower on right leg
  6. Step forward, LF, turn frame right
  7. Step back, RF, turn frame back to straight
  8. Step Left
  9. Shape Left
  10. Shape Right
  11. Step Right
  12. Shape Left
  13. Straighten up
• When stepping through a routine, step back and forth through the steps, particularly on steps that require CBMP.

Some points of technique that are called out:

• The hips need to remain flat. Do not tilt the whole body forward, including the hips. This is as opposed to keeping hips in the right position, and bending forward at the waist. Through the hips and the lower spine the body is erect. This is especially important when turning the frame, as it is not possible to turn the frame properly at the same time it is tilted.
• When stepping back into a turn, the instructor cautioned us that the step back should be straight, toe is only turned in a little if called for in the figure. When one tries to make room by stepping to side while turning, it defeats the purpose of CBM, and if the forward stepping partner does their step correctly, it will also result in losing connection between the partners as they drift apart.

Newcomer class on Tango

Progressive Link

The man steps forward in CBM. He steps beneath the lady. There is the effect of a windup before the second step. When he takes the second step, it is to the side of the left foot. This step release the tension of the CBM of the last step. 

Closed Promenade

Man's first step needs to be side, not forward, i.e., he does not turn his left foot out to point the direction he is stepping. The ladies were tending to step away from the man as they performed the figure. The lady, in promenade, should always step forward toward the man. She should always stay connected. 

Tango Frame

The book says that the man's right hand should reach to the lady's spine. Our instructor said that Man should place his hand so that his thumb touches the bottom of the lady's shoulder blade. The main point is that the point of the man's elbow should be in the crook of the lady's elbow. The lady's elbow should extend the man's frame. In the context of the Promenade close, the instructor said that the lady should stick to the man's right side at all times. If she ever loses contact with his right side, she has no lead.

Lesson on Quickstep and Rumba

Quickstep:

• Do not lean into natural turns, or leaning into the lady in the Forward Lock. In the Forward Lock it may be a matter of how much CBM one can manage. 
• Sometimes there is a disparity in how much two partners settle which causes two people to rise and fall different amounts. I settle late, and continue to go down when I should have leveled off and started to rise. Power comes either from going down, or by flexing the joints and pushing off. The four joints are the ball of the foot, the ankle, the knee, and the hip.
• Lady: when stepping backward, step back as far as her body is moving. If her body weight is behind her feet, he would feel her weight leaning away. When he tries to adjust and close the gap, her feet are in the way. 
• Man: do not lift chin in an attempt to improve posture. Instead, lengthen the neck, and keep chin parallel with the floor.

Rumba:
In a backwards walk, we need to straighten the leg before it receives weight. The motion needs to be more. Cucarachas and cuban rocks are not two-dimensional, and they need to have rotational motion. On rumba walks, we should bend the knee of the moving leg, pressing up from the ball of the foot, and down from the hips.

Lesson on Foxtrot

A Foxtrot practice routine:

1. Preparation step, facing DC
2. Feather Step  (SQQS)  
3. Reverse Turn  (SQQ SQQS)  
4. Three Step  (QQS)  
5. Natural Turn  (SQQ SSS)  
6. Repeat

The way we maintain connection is that our bodies never stop moving, at most they change speed and direction. If I carry through smoothly without stopping my body, it is easier for my partner to stay with me. From the followers side, the followers body should be moving out beyond her feet before she steps forward on her heel turns.

Regarding Foxtrot, waltz, and American versus International Styles: In International style foxtrot, the feet always pass each other, at least at the newcomer and bronze level, whereas waltz is characterized by the feet coming together and the weight settling. Because of that, foxtrot is characterized by a metronomic swing, and waltz by a pendulum swing. In other words, waltz has sway, while foxtrot emphasizes more leg swing. Contrasting American and International, our coach characterized American Slow Foxtrot as American Slow Waltz with Foxtrot timing. She also talked about a fundamental difference being that American Foxtrot allows for open holds. This came up in the context of Wrong Side Outside Partner Position, where my left foot is to the right of the lady's left foot. In American Foxtrot, in two-hand hold, it is possible to go directly from Outside Partner Position to Wrong Side Outside Partner Position. In closed hold, some intermediate positions are required.

The three step was described as feeling like tango in the first two steps. The footwork the coach gave me on the three step is H, HT, TH. This is different from the official syllabus, which says HT, TH, H. We stay flat through the beginning of the second step. The reason for this is that we need a right side lead to bring the lady back in line after a feather finish, which in turn prevents the leg swing that would naturally result in a rise. As we come out of that second step, with CBM for the third step. This understanding will probably have to evolve a bit. But needing to stay flat to bring the lady in line seems to make sense. My instructor says she hasn't yet gotten a satisfactory explanation from her coaches, but will keep asking.

Natural turn: the heel turn and the heel pull - just like on the heel turn, Man needs to turn on his left heel, and then step side with his right foot and settle weight on that foot.

Lesson in Foxtrot and Samba

In Foxtrot,

• Precision in footwork, it's something that one tends to forget. 
• Feet need to point in direction you are moving. Do not turn out the feet.
• Rule of 1/4. Feet shouldn't be turned out more than 90 degrees. 
• Collect my feet on the appropriate steps.
• Early rise when leading a heel turn. It is difficult for the lady to do a heel turn with bent knees, so Man needs to rise enough to allow her to have straight legs. In particular, this happens on the second step of the natural turn.
• One way to practice technique is to do Man and Lady's parts separately. Man would take his steps, and Lady takes her steps to judge where she needs to step. And vice versa. Similarly we could step at the end of the figure, and check our positions.
• Do CBM properly.
• Do not lean forward (for Man), or lean back (for Lady). Leave some room between Man and Lady's feet. If they are too close, we would be forced to either lean forward or back. The correction to this possible cause is making sure our relative foot positions are correct.

In Samba

• On stationary samba walks, should bring the feet together, the slip step is very small. When the foot steps back, the hip turns with it, and can be exagerated to enhance the action.
• Use the pendulum action of the hips.
• On going from side samba walk to criss-cross boto fogos, Man needs to keep the forward motion, and get his partner to keep moving, while Man holds back, without stepping back.

Beginner's Foxtrot

Steps are simpler in Foxtrot (in the sense that there are less number of steps), so focus on technique is important. The feet are always passing, so there is less rise and fall than in waltz. On the feather step, there is CBM on the first step, so the frame turns to the right. On the three step, CBM happens gradually across the three steps, so the frame is wound to the left by the end of the figure. The motion is likened to swinging like a monkey from vine to vine.

The feet stay in contact with the ground all the time. When stepping back, the leg needs to swing back like a pendulum. The tip of the toe touches first, and then one rolls back onto the foot. The heel does not touch the ground until the feet are even.

Posture, position, and frame: Position refers to the relative position of the man and woman. Because the man is normally taller and heavier, the lady needs to shape left and back much more than the man. In addition to shaping left, while keeping contact through the body, the lady also bends back at the 6th or 7th thoracic vertebra.

More on Tango Technique

• Feet are placed. It means one will often have his/her feet turned in when placing a foot.
• 90 degree rule. When I place my feet, I should never place a foot so that they are turned out more than 90 degrees. It is OK to turn them in more than that, though.
• In the manual, in the Back Corté, the first step has the left side leading. That is not how any competition dancers perform it, they always take that step in CBMP, winding it up a bit.
• On the reverse turn, on steps 3 and 4, the shoulders stop rotating, giving the hips a chance to catch up. It was described as a hover in the orientation of the frame. When reverse turn is preceded by another reverse turning figure with many quick steps, some dancers even reverse the rotation of the shoulders a little on this step, to slow down enough for the close at the end of the pattern.
• There was some discussion of how the trailing foot is lifted on the Back Corté. Mirko Gozzoli lifts the heel and then the toe last. Marcus Hilton lifts the whole foot. But Mirko, and contemporary dancers, take much longer steps than Marcus did.

Tango Technique for Ladies

Tango (for the ladies):

• Step 1 on progressive link: CBM is very important, don't worry too much about crossing the line (the book says "on the line"). If there is not enough CBM, lady's R leg is going to block Man's leg.
• Step 1 on tango walk: CBM
• Step 2 on tango walk: keep wider two tracks, to leave room for Man's R leg to step forward. Same for LF steps in rock turn. The position feels awkward, but that is correct.
  

The hold, how to create volume (for general standard dances):

• Left curve: really need to curve more to left, don't lift R hip much (maybe a little bit), squeeze R side, extend L side to make shoulders level with Man. Head extend the curve to left, 45' degrees.
• Frontal curve: slightly bend legs forward, don't bend back the neck, flex the upper back backward, head goes with it. keep middle frame straight and connected with Man.
• Nothing that you do to create volume should disturb the center alignment. Man and Lady's center move together (L, R, up, down, forward, back).