Creating Foot Speed in Ame. Rhythm
- Thread starter Dream314
- Start date
I believe others may have a better answer, but I'll give it a shot. In our coaching sessions, we work a lot on (1) body action and placing the moving foot WITHOUT taking weight on it--followed by (2) taking weight on that foot. Body action and placement of foot without weight, THEN settling on that foot, and so on. Without that body action, I believe that your next step does not have that "head start".
This body action includes ribcage motion and "Figure 8" hip motion...
Again, that's just the way that I think it goes, and maybe someone else has a better idea...
This body action includes ribcage motion and "Figure 8" hip motion...
Again, that's just the way that I think it goes, and maybe someone else has a better idea...
madmaximus
Forum Master
MissKitty
New Member
Sounds like a pretty good answer to me! This is exactly what our teacher does with us in latin technique class - international though, I would imagine its the same as far as this question is concerned? I know nothing about American style sorry
Good deal, MissKitty! Ditto for me as well when we switch our work from American to International... :cheers:
madmaximus
Forum Master
Very well then...
As you would know, a key factor in speed is muscle strength---and that contrary to our instincts, the more relaxed you are, the faster you can move.
The way to develop it is, to learn and practice the movement at its slowest possible, practice it with the nuances of the step, along with the breathing and posture that goes into it.
It is not sufficient to simply practice the speed---you also have to practice the nuances of that speed, understanding the sequence of muscles that get activated along the way (eg the way you speed up and slow down and speed up again, or the way you accelerate/decelerate the movement) all contribute to the quality and speed.
The next key factor is structural leverage.
The ability to take advantage of the standing leg, gripping down and holding the floor whilst moving the free leg very fast, whether the weight is recommitted or not, is essential.
How the ankles and the foot grips the floor and releases it needs to be practiced slowly like eg how the weight will settle (and understood well) before attempting
The last and mostest-key-factor is not so obvious and difficult to pull-off---and that is stillness.
In order to showcase speed, it must be done against a backdrop that is relatively slow or still compared to the speed of the leg.
This might take the form of a quiet body/torso, a slower arm movement, etc... (this is why in Modern Viennese, the foot/leg speeds are not even, or metronomic, over a measure---otherwise there is nothing but blinding speed)
It needs to be there so visually, the audience has something to compare the speed with.
m
Dream314
New Member
this is going to help considerably!! i know that speed created in ballroom is mostly illusion starting off with the slowness...i thk one of the issues I have is that one complaint that I've heard when I dance is I'm not over my foot but then the way they describe it is it's actually split weight before transferring the weight onto the front foot with a bent knee..but this is difficult to do to fast music...
fascination
Site Moderator
thank you Max
madmaximus
Forum Master
As we advance in ballroom (Modern or Latin, Smooth or Rhythm), we realize that the obvious (in this case, split-weight) is often the result of something underlying the preceding technique---and best achieved through the correct application of that preceding technique.
In advanced levels--the issue of split weight is seldom about weight, but rather is a result of how you leverage the standing leg and the arriving leg.
If you study and focus on the dynamics of "pushing" or "pulling" from the leg in use, then weight distribution will come automatically (because being over your foot becomes a result rather than an intended action).
Change your perspective away from the obvious, then try practicing (slowly) the nuance of leverage to understand how the muscles involved work.
m
madmaximus
Forum Master
ajiboyet
Well-Known Member
I love Dance Forums.
When I started learning latin, I couldn't jive fast enough. I could do the moves to WCS-ish music though. It took a lot of practice, because before I started dancing, there was absolutely no sport/intense physical activity I was into. So you can probably say my muscles weren't there yet. But now I take some small frantic-flicking groups from Sergey/Melia or Franco/Oxana jive routines and learn. Partially for the exercise, and partially to make myself think they have nothing on me (yeah right). And no, I can't do any of those annoyingly high developpes that Slavik and Sergey do.
When I started learning latin, I couldn't jive fast enough. I could do the moves to WCS-ish music though. It took a lot of practice, because before I started dancing, there was absolutely no sport/intense physical activity I was into. So you can probably say my muscles weren't there yet. But now I take some small frantic-flicking groups from Sergey/Melia or Franco/Oxana jive routines and learn. Partially for the exercise, and partially to make myself think they have nothing on me (yeah right). And no, I can't do any of those annoyingly high developpes that Slavik and Sergey do.