Head Position

[Dreamer]

Can anyone tell me what the correct head position is? At my class, I'm told to put my head way back and to the side; which puts me off balance and looks very mechanical. When I get individual tuition with another teacher, he is very adamant that I curve my back and neck in a line and take my head back and turn it slightly to the side which is much more in keeping with the correct posture as he teaches it. This certainly feels better and looks nicer too. Who is right!!??

[Vince A]

Can anyone tell me what the correct head position is? At my class, I'm told to put my head way back and to the side; which puts me off balance and looks very mechanical. When I get individual tuition with another teacher, he is very adamant that I curve my back and neck in a line and take my head back and turn it slightly to the side which is much more in keeping with the correct posture as he teaches it. This certainly feels better and looks nicer too. Who is right!!??
Hi Dreamer . . . and welcome . . .

I assume you are talking about the Waltz here???

This is a tough call . . . I've seen both, and I would stay with what you are being taught in the individual tuition, until you feel the need to change.

However . . . I might add . . . with my Pro/partner . . . I hold the frame, very wide-backed, we are connected, and she is leaning back (very curved) and her head is way back and to the side . . . and it stays this way throughout the dance, except for those times when we change directions or the move (pattern) calls for it. She says that she stares at the point where the ceiling meets the side wall, which helps her to stay in this alignment.

Hopefully, some female members of the Dance-Forums will chime in and help you out . . .

[DanceMentor]

You should be able to attain a balanced position without much trouble. Usually, the most common problem is people try to bend their head straight back at the neck. The neck should stay aligned with the spinal cord, but the head should be turned to the right. Try to think of keeping your knees bent while stretching and growing though the back and torso.

[SDsalsaguy]

DanceMentor's advice is spot on...the "bend" of the head doesn't come from bending the head back!

Think of yourself as having to do a high jump (as in over a bar onto mats), and "pour" your upper torso up and over to your right side in exactly the same manner.

Hope that helps.

[Dreamer]

Great advice and I think I've got it now. I have quite a deeply curved back so am halfway there already.... my head falls back naturally when I curve backwards with my spine and neck. I just didn't like the way I was being urged to only move my head back without the additional curve of the upper body. Following your advice, I practised this in the mirror this morning, and turned my head more to the side - what an improvement - it sure looks good! Thanks everyone!

[Larinda McRaven]

There is some good advice here. I just want to add that there are muscles that need to be built up incrementally to get you to a good position. Aiming for a too "big" of a position at first will just end you up with a backache and pulled muscles in your neck.

I also think of keeping my chest pulled up and forward to offset the weight of my head going back. The stretch back and left tends to come from about 2 or 3 inches below my clavical. Then after I reach a back and leftward stretch I can simply rotate my head to turn and look left with no muscle strain or pinching in the muscles on the left side of my neck.

I also try very hard to never let the back of my neck shrink. All of the stretching in my neck must first come from the back of the neck pulling up.

[dTas]

i've been told to imagine a a straight line (your spine). make that line as long as possible and point it up and slightly back and to the left.

be sure to maximize the distance between your ears and your shoulders.

[standardgirl]

When I first started dancing international standard, my pro teacher always put my head way back, and creat a big curve in my body. But a few weeks ago, he started to tell me that I am over doing this, and now, he is pulling my head forward. If what I do is wrong, putting my head too far back, why did he use to teach my to do that when I first started? I never ask him the question, but my guess is that, when I first started, I was too straight, and he just me to have the curve. Now, it's time to change things around. He also said that I was throwing my balance away by putting my head too far back.

Another teacher always say that the head should by over your left niple. :D people laugh whenever he says this. But I have found it really helpful.

[jocemill]

does this advice apply to all smooth dances, or just to waltz? If not, what is the proper head positioning for the other dances? Also, where should one look in the latin dances? (I'm asking from a woman's perspective)

[Twilight_Elena]

Ballroom tango is the only dance I've done head technique, and I just have to look to the left all the time. Or something.
Oh well, I'm too much of a beginner to know for certain. My teacher says we work from the feet and go upwards, so the head is probably the last thing I should worry about.

Twilight Elena

[Warren J. Dew]

does this advice apply to all smooth dances, or just to waltz?
All smooth dances with possible slight variations in tango and viennese waltz.

[Rainbow]

Hi,
Is there a way you could lock in the head position so it doesn't move too much ? My male partner seem to move a lot during the dance. Thanks.


Rainbow ^_^

[Larinda McRaven]

Not really. No one says your head should not move.

The position of the head is not static. It changes angles relative to the body depending on direction of rotation, picture lines...etc (and of course promenade).

You should learn each of the minor changes that go with each of the moves and then be able to transistion smoothly from one to the next.

If his head "seem to move a lot during the dance" then it is not moving in the correct places at the correct time. When it moves correctly it will balance and counterbalance the shape changes between the two of you and should not be noticable. Stopping it from moving maybe the lesser of two evils but it still is not correct. I would not want to fix my head in any one position.

[Chris Stratton]

And sometimes the head actually stays constant in the room, while the body turns underneath it. For example, an outside change to promenade - the lady looks more or less in the direction of travel the whole time, but her body switches from something of a left side lead to promenade.

[Rainbow]

Hi Chris,
Feeling a little abstract in the word "constant", does this mean the head is always pointing at the direction where you're going ?

Rainbow

[Snuggles]

When i dance, my teachers tell me that my head should always remain over my shoulders and in a comfortable position.

I stand with my center on my partner and from there up i slightly arch my back backwards, my head follows this line and goes slightly to the left looking over the far edge of my partners shoulder...

Keep trying different positions until you find one right for you and doesnt feel unco.

[Chris Stratton]

Hi Chris,
Feeling a little abstract in the word "constant", does this mean the head is always pointing at the direction where you're going ?

Rainbow

No, not always and not exactly. Sometimes it might be more the direction you are coming from. But there is a strong element of the travel and swing leading the head to the appropriate position.

The outside change to promenade is an example of a step where the lady moves in close to the same general direction throughout, while the man opens off of her to promenade. Her shoulders will make around a quarter turn of rotation, but her nose and toes will continue pointing in very nearly the same direction throughout the three steps.

(Although the track across the floor changes by 1/8 turn, the lady's nose and toes orientation need not, since the direction of travel in promenade is approximately 1/8 of a turn diagonally across the feet)

[Rainbow]

To Chris,
Thanks very much.

Rainbow ^_^