When it feels so wrong

[dancin_feet]

Thought I would post this in General as it could apply to any style of dance, though I am relating it to ballroom.

Not being a girly girl, I am having a rather uncomfortable time at the moment styling my dancing to add that extra "flair". Specifically arm styling. I just feel like a spasticated chook, flapping my arms around for effect. I know with time I will get used to it, but at the moment it is really uncomfortable. :?

How do you get past these moments? When something that will make your dancing better just feels completely against your nature?

Maybe guys could give me a bit of insight here. I've often been described as a blokey chick, never been into the pink, frilly, lacey stuff. :wink:

[Purr]

Not being a girly girl, I am having a rather uncomfortable time at the moment styling my dancing to add that extra "flair". Specifically arm styling. I just feel like a spasticated chook, flapping my arms around for effect. I know with time I will get used to it, but at the moment it is really uncomfortable. :?

How do you get past these moments? When something that will make your dancing better just feels completely against your nature?


I know exactly how you feel.

[Chris Stratton]

Maybe guys could give me a bit of insight here. I've often been described as a blokey chick, never been into the pink, frilly, lacey stuff. :wink:

Okay, I'll spill the secrets...

Guys' survival guide to ballroom:

Get someone to explain to you EXACTLY what to do, without any "just feel it" hand waving (pun intended). Then do it.

[dancin_feet]

Get someone to explain to you EXACTLY what to do, without any "just feel it" hand waving (pun intended). Then do it.

Thanks Chris. My instructor was trying to do this last night, making me stop in front of the mirror, adjust, do it again, stop, adjust. I just felt like such a twit. Also the analogy of the hand puppet shape didn't help. We ended up having hand puppet fights in the middle of the floor! :shock: :lol: At one point we were doing arm styling for balance steps in waltz and I forgot to do the arm movement. He just stopped and waited, waited. I wondered what he was doing until I remembered "oh that's right stick the arm out!" :lol:

He's determined to turn me into a lady, at least on the dancefloor. I've told him that's OK, as long as I can go home and have my beer and pizza afterwards! :lol:

[Chris Stratton]

He's determined to turn me into a lady, at least on the dancefloor. I've told him that's OK, as long as I can go home and have my beer and pizza afterwards! :lol:

Seems we need to locate a sensei who can explain the "bottoms up/remote with dying battery" school of arm styling

(Come to think of it, there actually was a very practical "in terms of what you already know" dance lesson in one of those movies...)

[dancin_feet]

Seems we need to locate a sensei who can explain the "bottoms up/remote with dying battery" school of arm styling

Now I'm scared! :shock:

I can do arm styling to a certain extent (past ballet training) but anything I do is subconscious, like with open breaks or new yorkers in cha cha, it's just natural to stick your arm out. But from a closed dance position? It's just weird at the moment, that's all.

[JohnK]

Lots of new stuff in dance feels "weird" because you've not done it before, there are no moves in "muscle memory" anywhere close. (The dying- battery-remote-backhand-flick does come close tho :D )

Just give it time, keep repeating, it may feel awkward for awhile, then your brain catches up and it begins to flow. It's called neuro-motor training. Got nothing to do with girlie-girl or perceived lack thereof.

[salsachinita]

Lots of new stuff in dance feels "weird" because you've not done it before, there are no moves in "muscle memory" anywhere close.

Just give it time, keep repeating, it may feel awkward for awhile, then your brain catches up and it begins to flow. It's called neuro-motor training. Got nothing to do with girlie-girl or perceived lack thereof.

Boy, am I glad to hear that :shock: :D !

I'm not a frilly, lacy (ok, I wear them!) girl either (nor am I a Tom boy), so I simply cannot bring myself to do all those L.A. signature stylings :roll: . Which, I imagine, would be a disavantage if I ever wanted to compete (not that it's gonna happen :wink: )!

For a long time I've been walking/dancing around thinking I have NO styling. Until I got told otherwise :shock: .

While it may not help you in ballroom medal/comp scenarios, finding your own style where your body/muscles are comfy/happy with doing would be helpful.

Watch how others play with the music. Experiment. Something will come to you (at the very least you will have fun.......socially).

[dancin_feet]

While it may not help you in ballroom medal/comp scenarios, finding your own style where your body/muscles are comfy/happy with doing would be helpful.

I think I have already been doing this, as in keep it simple. But now getting into the high bronze levels, I have been told if I want to maintain my exam average, this is what is required. :roll: If given the option of two or more versions, though, I'll still take the simpler choice. Best to keep it simple and well done than complex and half rate.

On top of that is the fact that at the recent national studio comp, we got our butts kicked by the southern studios because they had added this "flair" where it is not strictly a part of the studio syllabus. They went the extra mile and we were left in their dust. Not going to happen next year! :twisted: Thankfully I have almost 12 months to work on it so that it no longer feels uncomfortable. I need to make my body comfy with it!

You know what I'm going to be doing in front of the mirror tonight! :lol:

[salsachinita]

Best to keep it simple and well done than complex and half rate.

8) Absolutely! I wish more people would be doing this so we don't end up with so many robots out there :roll: !

[Chris Stratton]

You could always take up a style where you don't have much choice about what to do with your arms...

[dancin_feet]

Irish dancing comes to mind Chris, but that has never really done anything for me. I think I'll stick with what I'm doing and just work through it. :wink:

[squirrel]

I know exactly how this is! Awakward... this is how I feel! To wave my arms around and do styling leg movement, or caress my body... gosh! I have just started to feel a little more comfortable... people keep telling me it looks cool... I just feel like an idiot!

[MacMoto]

I can only speak about social dancing and salsa in particular, but I used to think that arm styling was for advanced followers only -- something you wouldn't wanna do until you were good enough, 'cause it would attract onlookers attention straight away... Then I was taught that in many occasions sticking your arm out was not really styling at all but something you did out of necessity (to prevent your arm from getting trapped or to make your hands available for the lead), just done in a nice looking way for presentation. So I had to start doing it, and once I got into the habit of it, it stopped bothering me. I think it's more about confidence than girly-girlness. Once you are comfortable with your dancing and don't care if what you do will attract attention or not (and let's face it, in social dancing settings, you are watched far less than you think :lol:), it doesn't feel so unnatural.

[salsachinita]

8) Ditto!

Pararelle thing again.....sista :wink: !

[huey]

Not being a girly girl, I am having a rather uncomfortable time at the moment styling my dancing to add that extra "flair". Specifically arm styling ... at the moment it is really uncomfortable. :?

How do you get past these moments? When something that will make your dancing better just feels completely against your nature?...

I don't do ballroom, (I do Lindy Hop).

One thought did occur to me. I have noticed that I feel much more comfortable if I am enjoying the music. Seeing other people enjoying moving to the music can help inspire me too.

[MacMoto]

One thought did occur to me. I have noticed that I feel much more comfortable if I am enjoying the music. Seeing other people enjoying moving to the music can help inspire me too.
You are so right, Huey.
And dancing in a femine sort of way is much easier when the music calls for it. Dancing to a sensual music (mid-tempo salsa, cha cha, ...), you can just stop being yourself and be part of that music.

[Vince A]

I've been taught that the arms (and hands) should always "have action" in them . . . obviously the more intense the dance/music . . . the more intense the action is. Hustle, Cha Cha and others in this area are full of action, yet to me, the Waltz has the most action (for the lady), though the action is soft and light.

Stand in front of a mirror and "think" ballet . . . now get some action in the arms and hands w/o moving the feet . . . you CAN do it! Arms up and out . . . slow . . . quickly . . . come from your center . . .

Now, up tempo the music and continue the arm and had action movements . . . try some body waves and use the arms, hands, and head to inhance the action.

Over exaggerate the moves, because once you get to actually performing those actions on the dancefloor, the actions will settle down!

[dancin_feet]

Waltz has the most?? :shock: To me when you are in closed dance position your arms are there to hold the frame, not wave about! I guess that idea will change over the coming months as he continues to introduce armstyling in closed dance position to me.

I did a bit of practice last night, some in front of a mirror, some not. It felt OK, but that is alone in my living room where I'm not being scrutinised. I guess it's the "looking like a dork" thing that is the problem at the moment. I know if it is done well, it looks fabulous, it's just building the confidence that I can do it well. The only one that feels really strange is during side balance steps in waltz. I'll continue to play with it, but if it still feels awkward in a week or so, I'll ask him if there is another variation.

[Chris Stratton]

Waltz has the most?? :shock: To me when you are in closed dance position your arms are there to hold the frame, not wave about! I guess that idea will change over the coming months as he continues to introduce armstyling in closed dance position to me.


There is no arm styling in fully closed dance position!

There may be relative motion of the tops (ideally translation not rotation at least in my view) which may require arm positions to change slightly in compensation, but that's not arm styling as the arms are only moving in response to something else - if they become a visual focus something is very wrong!

[dancin_feet]

There is no arm styling in fully closed dance position!

That's what I thought too Chris, but I'm being proved wrong! It's like for example doing a backward balance step (for the lady) and you extend your upper body back and open to the left, your arm is an extension of that movement and just moves from his shoulder out to highlight the upper body movement. When the balance step moves forward again, the body movement returns to normal position and so does the arm. That one I'm OK with, it seems to flow (and looks quite good) but the side balance step one just feels wrong. I think I'll tell him that I'm going to skip that one. No point in doing something that feels awkward.

He's not going to force me to do something that I don't feel comfortable with. He's only pushing at the moment because it's ALL uncomfortable. I'll pick and choose what I want to do with his suggestions a bit later.

[ShyDancer]

Not being a girly girl, I am having a rather uncomfortable time at the moment styling my dancing to add that extra "flair". Specifically arm styling. I just feel like a spasticated chook, flapping my arms around for effect. I know with time I will get used to it, but at the moment it is really uncomfortable. :?

How do you get past these moments? When something that will make your dancing better just feels completely against your nature?



Uh-huh..this is me all over!
I feel so silly doing the arms sometimes, especially in NV when my teacher tells me "make an explosion!" Its even worse when he makes me look in the mirror while doing it. Although I adore arms in the Gypsy Tap and Tangoette, so sharp and forceful :D
Im getting a lot better at the latin arms though, and Im even using them at the end of the nights dances when there are less people on the floor.I used to despise the cha cha arms because I had this swinging motion rather than the push out motion from up high, As soon as I learnt to move properly and comfortably from shoulder to elbow first rather than just flinging my arm out like a lunatic, it helped a great deal.