Looking at your feet

[Zaratustra shaking it]

When making some moves sometimes you need to put your feet next to hers. Should you look at your feet?
Maybe you can try to do everything without looking...
Should I try this or its OK to look down?

 

[ssjss]

When your first learning the step yes. But only the few first times. After that just take your time until you feel competent, then dance.

 

[jhpark]

I guess the feet will generally end up underneath the shoulders...?

 

[Zaratustra shaking it]

The thing is that Ive seen pros looking down when making a difficult figure...

 

[jhpark]

I find that looking down ruins my posture and stuff... I try not to make a habit of it

 

[Twilight_Elena]

When I look down, I lose my balance because: head bows ->spine is not straight ->body is not balanced. Tada. Also, if I look down I'm not spotting. yet another balance-losing point.
So don't look down. It's not helpful. Unless you're doing a Tango corte, at which you're supposed to be looking above your own shoulder to your foot.

Twilight Elena

Edit: I was talking about American Tango. My bad.

 

[Pathological Dancer]

When I look down, I lose my balance because: head bows ->spine is not straight ->body is not balanced. Tada. Also, if I look down I'm not spotting. yet another balance-losing point.
So don't look down. It's not helpful. Unless you're doing a Tango corte, at which you're supposed to be looking above your own shoulder to your foot.

Twilight Elena

Edit: I was talking about American Tango. My bad.

The requirement for proper posture in AT does not appear to be as strict as in ballroom. Since I've been doing ballroom before AT I have the tendency to use ballroom posture in a more subtle way when dancing AT. I try not look down on my feet instead I use my peripheral vision. It also helps if you have a regular partner because her feet position is predictable. I do remember being corrected by my instructor for looking at my feet and for having a "rigid" ballroom posture. There are some aspects in posture and technique of AT that is contradictory to ballroom, and I don't see a whole lot of crossover pros in these types of dancing.

 

[Lucretia]

This brings another side of problems with the feets.

Whos responsible is it to take care of so that I (as a follower) don't step on the feets of other couples around me.

A guy always accuse me for stepping on his heel. Sometimes I havn't been aware of it and might be innocent. Sometimes I know he is right. He says that I have to make sure not to step at his heel. But since I don't have eyes in my back it is hard.

This mostly happens when dancing Rueda (Salsa).

Is it the guy or the girl or both that should take responsible for not stepping on other peoples feet?

/luc

 

[Ms_Sunlight]

This brings another side of problems with the feets.
Whos responsible is it to take care of so that I (as a follower) don't step on the feets of other couples around me.

You are of course -- but then other followers and leaders are also responsible for not putting their feet in a position to be stepped upon. Accidents do happen even if everyone's very careful but no-one should be going around blaming other people without first looking to themselves.

If your steps are nice and small, your feet are never that far out from under your own backside. I've found that the people who are most vocal about how other people are always stepping on their feet and how terrible it is are the same people who are taking appallingly big steps and just somehow miraculously expecting everyone to get out of their way. Because obviously, they are so superior that other dancers should just part like the Red Sea when they get their charmless selves upon the dance floor.

 

[diputs]

I do not do AT, so the rules might be different for AT. But this is my thought on the subject.

I see it as the leaders responsibility. It is the leader after all that you are supposed to be following. If you are following the leader and you run into someone, then the leader wasn't paying attention.

When on the floor, if I bump into somone or my partner bumps into someone, I always apologize. I led, she followed, my mistake.

 

[jhpark]

Yes, though I do feel less responsible when my follower takes big steps regardless of how small mine are. Especially in swing. That doesn't seem to be as much of a problem in tango.

 

[Zaratustra shaking it]

Today I asked my teacher and he told me "Look were ever you want to look". Sometimes it is necessary to look down, buy I dont mean by this bending and loosing your balance. I mean looking with your eyes, not your spine.