grr...somewhere btwn too much power and not enough

fascination

fascination

Site Moderator
okay...when I try to chill the movement goes away, when I move all hell breaks loose...anyone want to speak on where the fine line, the sweet spot, etc.... is?:rolleyes:
 
thanks L...something to ponder...I have heard tons of judges tell me that as well...and I am all good to go on it...but am finding that I am off to the races fuul throttle without the horse so to speak...and finding it difficult maintaining the power while controlling it...grr...aggressive is not a problem ...control is.....sigh....telling self again; "when you get this you are going to be really good"...bleh...going to bed and trying again tomorrow
 
Power also comes in surges. You can't be powerful all of the time. It must build and subside with elasticity. For instance, a very powerful movement or turn will usually begin with a nice walking step. Trying to burst with power from the get go without that power having a base to support it or come from is like shooting a rubber band by throwing it rather than stretching it and finding the power from the preparation.

I hope this makes sense. There are so many variables.
 
You do smooth and standard, right? Which dances in particular are you running into the problem? I don't know that I've ever danced with a partner who was "too powerful" in smooth. I have had partners who challenged me as far as ability to move, but that's OK; it makes me step my game up. I'd much rather have that than a partner that I have to push and drag around. You just want to watch that you are neither "jumping the gun" nor putting force on the lead's right hand.

(I have had too-powerful partners in rhythm, and there, it's no fun.)
 
I know how you feel, fasc...

So far in my experimentation I have been finding the secret seems to lie in having soft hips...without compromising the frame. Soft hanging receptive hips that compress and absorb and respond buoyantly to the legs. Have experienced them that way, with a strong frame, and have felt that power emerge. In peekaboo glimpses...

Tight hips, and the power goes away.
 
Easy said:
Power also comes in surges. You can't be powerful all of the time. It must build and subside with elasticity. For instance, a very powerful movement or turn will usually begin with a nice walking step. Trying to burst with power from the get go without that power having a base to support it or come from is like shooting a rubber band by throwing it rather than stretching it and finding the power from the preparation.
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That is actually a great way of explaining many dancey things, not just standard/smooth (I'm thinking of both Latin aaaand ballet and contemporary). Balance in everything. Go down before you go up. Yin and yang. :D
 
I think the frame is staying just fine...I have had that emphasized for so long that I think I can safely say that I nearly always keep an excellent right post...and I think the problem has more to do with comps...I am a very strong person and I get alot of adrenalin going and I would say that I definately tend to jump the gun...and since I am already gone like a bat out of hell in addition to being very strong and outwieghing him, well, it isn't easily covered up ...OTOH, am having difficulty toning it down without sacrificing the movement and the charisma....bottom line is that I need to get myself to dance somewhere between A and Z and it feels more like there is only one letter btwn the two...everything to the left of middle is all too much...and everything to the right of middle is all not enough.....grrrr

lol..and sam, my hips are quite soft thankyouverymuch ;)
 
Controlled breathing helps to sustain the power and the look of it without overpowering your partner.
 
Since we're using car analogies, let me give this a go: Fasc, it's sounding to me like the problem is not so much technique as it is your mental approach. Let me go through a scenario here and then you can tell me if I'm off base or not.

Consider: Over the past several years, with all of the dancing and conditioning and losing weight and so forth that you have done, you have accomplished the equivalent of building yourself a very powerful and nimble sports car. But, your approach to driving it is still the same as for the big, heavy station wagon you had previously. When you're driving a station wagon, you can't do anything subtle. If you're pulling onto the interstate from a ramp, you have to floor it to get going. If you get caught up short by a red light, you have to stomp on the brakes. Parallel parking is an ordeal of cranking the steering wheel back and forth, rotation after rotation. And heaven help you if you have to dodge something in the road; you'll be lucky to get the car back under control after that.

With the sports car you have now, you don't have to do any of that. It'll peel the tires from a standing start, in third gear no less. It'll stop on a dime at a touch of the brakes. Animal runs out in the road in front of you? No problem; a mere twitch of the wheel, and you're in the next lane over. You can go fast in this car, both in a straight line and through the tightest curves and turns you can imagine.

But you have to learn how to drive it. Don't try to throw it around like you used to have to do with the station wagon. This car doesn't need that, and it doesn't particularly appreciate it. You can accelerate quickly and smoothly by just squeezing the throttle; flooring it unnecessarily will just burn the tires up. Don't jerk the wheel around; the car will spin out. Learn to feel how the car is reacting (yes, with this car, you can actually feel what it's doing) and correct any misbehavior with firm but subtle guidance. You will be pleasantly surprised at how well it performs with minimal effort. And then, when you have learned enough to really push it to its limits, you'll blow the competition away. :D
 
Larinda McRaven said:
I still say it comes down to timing. I can be 100% full open throttle and if I just wait for a fraction of a second after he askes me to me then all is right and fine in the world. But if I am a fraction of a second too early he will complain that I am dragging him around and all hell can break loose. We are only talking two fractions of a seconds difference.

Of course I can't be 100% in control of myself or incontrol of timing if I am off balance, so that is the first issue, but after that it is just a matter of letting him do the asking before I do what I am going to do anyway...;)
Click to expand...
I suspect you are right...and the issue is rarely balance...it's patience, confidence and cooperation in all likelihood...and as i said, striking some sort of balance
 
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