The Touch Blog

Okay, so we all know that the man or should I say LEADER, has probably the toughest job on the dance floor. The LEADER has to:

· Lead the follower

· Keep the timing

· Think of patterns

· ..and police the dance floor to be sure his partner does NOT end up another casualty on the floor.

So now, my question to you is….do you think the FOLLOWER should know and understand the timing just as well as the LEADER?

I say…YES!!!! Timing, in my eyes, is EXTREMELY important for ALL DANCERS to understand (no matter if you are a LEADER or FOLLOWER). So many times I see followers, mainly females, who don’t grasp the concept of timing. Instead they are shuffling around with no clue as to what beat they are on. Again, in my personal opinion, FOLLOWERS should MATCH their LEADERS. Whether the LEADER is on 1, 2, 3, 4, or 16, FOLLOW THE LEADER!

Now, please don’t get me wrong, I do not condone staying off beat JUST because the LEADER may still need some education as far as timing. If the FOLLOWER has the ability to “style” their movements to the timing of the music in such a way as to bring the LEADER back on beat…by all means do it! At times, your LEADER will thank you =) But please, please, please do NOT style so much that you throw your LEADER off timing. (This also happens more often than not)

Nonetheless, the reason for this blog is this….I have seen FOLLOWERS dancing to what I call “the beat of their own conga”. What I mean by this is, the LEADER, no matter how well of a dancer he is, and no matter how much he grasps the concept of timing, the FOLLOWER is simply NOT FOLLOWING! I see LEADERS dancing on2, and the FOLLOWER dancing on 3 ½. How is this possible? Unless…the FOLLWER is simply NOT FOLLOWING.

Again, please don’t get me wrong; when I began dancing Salsa, timing was the LAST thing on my mind, so I am not saying beginners MUST be on the right beat at ALL TIMES. However, what I AM saying is that dancers who would like to call themselves “advanced” must at the very least understand timing. Period. No advanced or master dancer can receive such a title without understanding one of the most quintessential elements of dancing….timing!

Please be sure to check out any timing CDs or Musicality Workshops/Timing Classes in a city near you. Timing plays a very crucial part in dancing, please take the time to learn it.

“There is no problem with dancing to the beat of your own conga, just please be sure that your conga MATCHES your partners.”

Love…Peace…and LOTS of Cross Body Leads!!!