Compensating for your partner - How do you do this ?

D

dancingirldancing

Member
We have spoken in various threads about teacher or more skilled partner compensating for the other partner's shortcomings.

I am just wondering how do you exactly do this ?

I feel like my teacher is never trying to compensate me unless it is for exam or something.

Oftentime he is either dancing hard (and causing me to slip but that is a different story) or dancing light (hence I have to adjust myself more).

I dont think he 'carry' me very often but I can see the concept to build self confidence in beginning dancers.

Now, how can you make dancing easier/compensating if you are a follow ?

I can sort of understand if you are a lead you can give a more definite leads, etc.
 
dancingirldancing said:
Now, how can you make dancing easier/compensating if you are a follow ?

I can sort of understand if you are a lead you can give a more definite leads, etc.
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This is just a guess, but I think (at a fairly low level at least) a follow could compensate for an ineffective lead by being a little more self-leading, or even back-leading her partner.

I have seen many lessons where the teacher is working with a gentleman and "gives in" to the lead (e.g. by falling over) in order to demonstrate how the lead is incorrect. The fact that this happens mostly when a teacher wants to prove a point implies that the rest of the time the teacher (or other follow) is doing something to compensate, like being balanced enough to ignore a forceful push or steady an unbalanced partner.

Of course, correct leading improves a couple's look, timing, and speed, so a couple with a self-leading lady would probably look somewhat slow and inharmonious. But depending on the gentleman's skill, that might be better than the way it would look otherwise, thus "compensating." And of course it would ultimately be counterproductive to the gentleman's learning how to lead properly, but so is a lead "carrying" his partner counterproductive to that partner's learning how to follow!
 
It seems to me that you identify something that your partner is not doing, and you simply adjust so that either (a) you stop asking for it, or (b) you cause it to happen.

You can...

  • (as mentioned) anticipate or guess what an unclear leader wants
  • increase or decrease the strength of a lead
  • lead more with your core or more with your arms (leading more from the arms tends to work better with very followers)
  • take smaller steps for someone who takes small steps
  • help someone keep their balance
  • lower your frame to match a shorter partner's height (I don't know if raising a frame would work, as it would raise your shoulders).
  • take smaller steps than your partner so that s/he doesn't overpower him/herself, causing loss of balance
  • dance waltz with slight sway, with a newcomer (this tends to keep newcomers on the correct foot)
I'm sure there's more :)
 
I've heard some of the male pros talk about things they will do that the female pros have a harder time doing for their guys. Mainly putting her on balance if she is off at all and making her move and shape.

As I've danced I've become aware of things my pro does/used to do for/to me to compensate.

Slightly embarrassing to admit list: :oops:
-Slow us down or speed us up to keep us on time
-Follow by ESP (in other words she would follow what I was thinking and trying to lead but not what was actually led)
-Dance around me when I don't get out of the way
-Stay left when I try to pull her across
-Pick up part of my frame that has dropped
-Force me to shape
-Back led
-Pull me around a spin turn

Still does and love the fact that she does:
-Holds her own frame beautifully always
-Stays left
-Stays connected
-Has her own balance
-Powers when moving forward
-Gets out of my way
-Follow exactly what I'm leading full out (I always learn a lot about my lead when she does this, and when I lead it right and she does this the clouds open and the angels sing)
 
LOL. Compensating for your partner is one thing. Compensating your partner is another.
 
Compensating FOR your partner == making up for real or perceived lacks, mistakes, etc
Compensating your partner == paying them or in rewarding them for their partnership in some nonmonetary way.
 
One is by doing something extra to make a figure "happen" esp. where your partner displays his/her weak area.

The other is paying some one to be your partner...ie: a monetary transaction.
 
I don't know if it has actually helped, but me and my FP always joked about how I had to (and did) dance harder and more expressive than him during latin so as to draw the judges' attention away from him and onto me, since he is a weaker latin dancer :P
 
I don't know exactly know if my partner is trying to dance a little weaker for me to make it work but I think what she's usually done is dance like she would usually so as to signal me to get pumping and dance harder since I'm the weaker latin dancer its actually not a good sign if the judges are fixated on her (my coach always said that most of the time the judges will look at the guy, if they start to notice the lady more you have to pump it up a little). I have to admit she has back lead me a couple of times since I still have bad floor craft (I remember during the Philippine Star Ball during cha cha, I was doing back locksteps and she pulled me forward cause I was about to crash into another couple). Another thing I've noticed (which might be her way of compensating) is simply following. Though I'm getting better at it, my worst skill is still getting my routine memorize and I've once cracked under pressure during competition and mixed matched the order of my jive figures (instead of going into a windmill we went back to our previous figure an advanced spanish arm), instead of making it look wrong she simply followed my lead and winked and went along... that saved us the gold
 
emkey said:
I don't know exactly know if my partner is trying to dance a little weaker for me to make it work but I think what she's usually done is dance like she would usually so as to signal me to get pumping and dance harder since I'm the weaker latin dancer its actually not a good sign if the judges are fixated on her (my coach always said that most of the time the judges will look at the guy, if they start to notice the lady more you have to pump it up a little).
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That is an interesting point, because i've heard different coaches talk about making the woman stand out and make every other guy want to dance with your partner :rolleyes:

back to the topic, i think in latin there isn't much you can do to compensate for your partner. You can definitly make their lives easier by doing a few things here and there but as soon as one is weaker than another, it's gonna show. For example, say if you put a guy who has lots and lots of body movement with a girl who's dance like a piece of wood, he's going to look like he's got even MORE body movements. The only way i can think of to make your partner look good.. is to... never out dance her... ;)
 
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