How Are Your Lessons Going? Thread 3

[Misspendragon]

she even said sorry but I really hate it when my lesson is being interrupted

I hate it when my practice is interrupted, let alone my lesson. It's not even just about the money; I do concentrated work, and I like to stay in my zone of focus, so to speak. I'm sorry this happened to you.

 

[ProgressNotPerfection]

Outside coaching last week was even better than I’d hoped. We worked exclusively on silver smooth technique. Several of the things she pointed out were similar to what Pro has told me before, but she used different words, so they made more sense to me. These mainly related to frame, especially my arms and chest.

Other things, however, had either not occurred to Pro, or had gone unnoticed, or - most often - he knew there was a problem but couldn’t figure out why or how to fix it. She immediately identified the issues and gave us clear instructions on what to do differently. These were all related to my movement and connection with him, especially the (piss-poor) position of my hips/pelvis, the speed (or lack thereof) of my backward-moving leg, and my stubborn tendency to inadvertently cross his centerline, pretty much every time he closed me from PP. Whenever I managed to do something the new way she was instructing, Pro’s face lit up, and he said stuff like, “wow! Did you FEEL that? That’s totally different than before!”

Once she was sure we both understood the principle of a new concept enough to practice it on our own, she moved on to the next thing. “I’m only here for a short time. I want to show you as much as possible while I’m here. Of course you won’t be able to DO all of it immediately, but you’ll have it in your mind.”

Even though it was a double lesson, we covered only left & right turns & a fallaway bounce action in waltz, then left & right turns in VW. Ten minutes on my RF back step on count 1; another ten minutes adjusting my hip movement/opening on that count; another ten minutes incorporating the sweep/swing (sorry for bad terminology) of my left leg and left hip position and LF toe point at the end of count 1 in the split second before count 2; another ten minutes trying to make my upper body cooperate while all this was going on; etc.

I didn’t actually count the exact number, but I believe there were at least 6 separate instances when she said, “don’t overthink” or “you’re overthinking” or “stop overthinking” or other WTTE. Lol. She laughed when I told her about the t-shirt I gave Pro for his birthday one year (the one that says “I’M WITH OVERTHINKER” with an arrow pointing to the side, as a companion to my own t-shirt, which says “hold on. let me overthink this.”).

In a superb demonstration of the ability to give a compliment that, upon later reflection, you realize might not actually have been a compliment, she told me, “you have lovely movement. Definitely the performance aspect is your niche.” (Subtext: “it’s a darn good thing you have the performance stuff covered, since you have so, so many technical deficiencies.”)

Or maybe it was a genuine compliment. I am choosing to hear it that way.

 

[Misspendragon]

Outside coaching last week was even better than I’d hoped. We worked exclusively on silver smooth technique. Several of the things she pointed out were similar to what Pro has told me before, but she used different words, so they made more sense to me. These mainly related to frame, especially my arms and chest.

Other things, however, had either not occurred to Pro, or had gone unnoticed, or - most often - he knew there was a problem but couldn’t figure out why or how to fix it. She immediately identified the issues and gave us clear instructions on what to do differently. These were all related to my movement and connection with him, especially the (piss-poor) position of my hips/pelvis, the speed (or lack thereof) of my backward-moving leg, and my stubborn tendency to inadvertently cross his centerline, pretty much every time he closed me from PP. Whenever I managed to do something the new way she was instructing, Pro’s face lit up, and he said stuff like, “wow! Did you FEEL that? That’s totally different than before!”

Once she was sure we both understood the principle of a new concept enough to practice it on our own, she moved on to the next thing. “I’m only here for a short time. I want to show you as much as possible while I’m here. Of course you won’t be able to DO all of it immediately, but you’ll have it in your mind.”

Even though it was a double lesson, we covered only left & right turns & a fallaway bounce action in waltz, then left & right turns in VW. Ten minutes on my RF back step on count 1; another ten minutes adjusting my hip movement/opening on that count; another ten minutes incorporating the sweep/swing (sorry for bad terminology) of my left leg and left hip position and LF toe point at the end of count 1 in the split second before count 2; another ten minutes trying to make my upper body cooperate while all this was going on; etc.

I didn’t actually count the exact number, but I believe there were at least 6 separate instances when she said, “don’t overthink” or “you’re overthinking” or “stop overthinking” or other WTTE. Lol. She laughed when I told her about the t-shirt I gave Pro for his birthday one year (the one that says “I’M WITH OVERTHINKER” with an arrow pointing to the side, as a companion to my own t-shirt, which says “hold on. let me overthink this.”).

In a superb demonstration of the ability to give a compliment that, upon later reflection, you realize might not actually have been a compliment, she told me, “you have lovely movement. Definitely the performance aspect is your niche.” (Subtext: “it’s a darn good thing you have the performance stuff covered, since you have so, so many technical deficiencies.”)

Or maybe it was a genuine compliment. I am choosing to hear it that way.

You DO have lovely movement. I have said that like a year ago. And I didn't even charge for it !

Technique can be learned. But there is a natural, light, flowing quality to your movement that can be further improved upon by technique acquisition but is nevertheless innate. I'm so envious of those few lucky people who have it, and you do.

 

[ProgressNotPerfection]

You DO have lovely movement. I have said that like a year ago. And I didn't even charge for it !

Technique can be learned. But there is a natural, light, flowing quality to your movement that can be further improved upon by technique acquisition but is nevertheless innate. I'm so envious of those few lucky people who have it, and you do.

 

[ChaCha1]

Ten minutes on my RF back step on count 1; another ten minutes adjusting my hip movement/opening on that count; another ten minutes incorporating the sweep/swing (sorry for bad terminology) of my left leg and left hip position and LF toe point at the end of count 1 in the split second before count 2; another ten minutes trying to make my upper body cooperate while all this was going on; etc.

This is so important, in closed syllabus it is the first thing the judges see and can make a quick judgement on your skill set. It's worth spending a lot of time on the first step or two

In a superb demonstration of the ability to give a compliment that, upon later reflection, you realize might not actually have been a compliment, she told me, “you have lovely movement. Definitely the performance aspect is your niche.” (Subtext: “it’s a darn good thing you have the performance stuff covered, since you have so, so many technical deficiencies.”)

Or maybe it was a genuine compliment. I am choosing to hear it that way.

It was a genuine compliment, she didn't have to say a word, but wanted to tell you about your movement. If she didn't think it was true, she wouldn't have said anything. We all learn technique, it is a never ending study. Don't over think it.

 

[ChaCha1]

Lessons lately have been just drilling into deep technique. There are some spots that are just super quick change of direction and I was doing things that slowed down that change. This made it difficult to get to the correct spot on time.

Pro shocked me with a compliment, because I never get compliments. The best I can hope for normally is "better". And maybe 'that was good, but'. Of course after the compliment we immediately started working on the complimented skill... never ending learning.

 

[ProgressNotPerfection]

coaching last week was even better than I’d hoped

A couple other tidbits from our coaching session:

Toward the beginning, I told her, "I've been taking lessons for 4 years, so I'm still a beginner." Pro started to frown in contradiction, but she nodded as if that made perfect sense, and said, "of course. I'm still a beginner too."

She & Pro kept describing how I need to do certain things differently when I'm on the inside part of the turn vs the outside. Inside turn, outside turn. I finally had to interrupt and say, "I don't know what that means." Pro said, "remember? We've talked about it before," then demonstrated by holding one hand in a fist, and wrapping the other hand around it sideways, demonstrating the rotation of the two hands. I nodded & replied, "but we are facing each other when we turn," and held my hands together in two cupped circles, fingertips of both hands touching each other. "Aren't we both on the outside? How can one of us be on the 'inside' vs 'outside'?"

He seemed genuinely confounded by my ignorance. It had clearly never occurred to him that this was even something that needed to be explained. The coach, however, just thought for a second then replied, "if you're stepping backwards, you're on the inside part of the turn. If you're stepping forwards, you're on the outside."

 

[fiesta0618]

She & Pro kept describing how I need to do certain things differently when I'm on the inside part of the turn vs the outside. Inside turn, outside turn. I finally had to interrupt and say, "I don't know what that means." Pro said, "remember? We've talked about it before," then demonstrated by holding one hand in a fist, and wrapping the other hand around it sideways, demonstrating the rotation of the two hands. I nodded & replied, "but we are facing each other when we turn," and held my hands together in two cupped circles, fingertips of both hands touching each other. "Aren't we both on the outside? How can one of us be on the 'inside' vs 'outside'?"

He seemed genuinely confounded by my ignorance. It had clearly never occurred to him that this was even something that needed to be explained. The coach, however, just thought for a second then replied, "if you're stepping backwards, you're on the inside part of the turn. If you're stepping forwards, you're on the outside."

One of the most important concepts in dance-geometry, this is.

Another useful way to think about it is that there is really no such thing as a "turning step." All steps are linear. What appears to be a turn in the couple is a result of one partner passing the other one. Whoever is the passer is on the "outside," and the passee is on the "inside" of the turn.

This more generalized form comes in handy in a few places where "passee steps backwards" doesn't apply, like in Shadow Position.

 

[Warren J. Dew]

The coach, however, just thought for a second then replied, "if you're stepping backwards, you're on the inside part of the turn. If you're stepping forwards, you're on the outside."

She trusts you to take the opportunity to overthink it in one of your regular lessons.

 

[David_In_CA]

What appears to be a turn in the couple is a result of one partner passing the other one. Whoever is the passer is on the "outside," and the passee is on the "inside" of the turn.

Wait -- how do you define who the passer is?

(This is kind of a joke, but kind of not -- it's possible to lead both inside and outside turns in WCS, and the leader barely travels for either)

 

[ProgressNotPerfection]

if you're stepping backwards, you're on the inside part of the turn. If you're stepping forwards, you're on the outside

Yes, I realize this is an oversimplification & doesn’t apply 100% of the time to 100% of the figures. But for a student like me who previously had no clue at all, this description was a useful place to start.

 

[fiesta0618]

Wait -- how do you define who the passer is?

(This is kind of a joke, but kind of not -- it's possible to lead both inside and outside turns in WCS, and the leader barely travels for either)

Yep, my statement, too, is a simplification. It mostly only holds true for traveling dances.

In slot dances, there are many moments when both parties are passing a common center. Still linear movements and not turning ones; but, as you say, not the same strong differentiation of roles.

 

[Misspendragon]

Yes, I realize this is an oversimplification & doesn’t apply 100% of the time to 100% of the figures. But for a student like me who previously had no clue at all, this description was a useful place to start.

Good for you. I still don't understand it .

 

[Warren J. Dew]

Wait -- how do you define who the passer is?

The person who goes farther is on the outside. This has basically nothing to do with "passes" in WCS.

Yes, I realize this is an oversimplification & doesn’t apply 100% of the time to 100% of the figures.

It's pretty darn close. One can find "exceptions," like the Wing where both people start forward, but even then one has to stretch.

I'm impressed by the coach. Can you say who it was?

 

[Warren J. Dew]

What appears to be a turn in the couple is a result of one partner passing the other one.

This seems at least sligthly controversial, as one (former world champion) visiting coach has told my wife and me to rotate around a common center instead of passing each other.