On How To Dress For Dancing

B

blue

New Member
This is from an FAQ on dance, that is collected from a dance newsgroup.
http://www.eijkhout.net/lead_follow/dress.html

What do you all say about it? To me, it sounds like it might contain a few good tips but overall is pretty exaggerated. I only have one comment, really.

And, please, unless you're so small-breasted that you don't need a bra, wear one!
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What does the author mean by that? Unless the guy is watching my breast, I don't suppose he would really notice if I am wearing a bra or not. OK, he might feel the straps and buckle in my back but I don't suppose that is what the author is after...
 
You'll notice! Trust me on this one. I'm not huge but jiving or even foxtrotting without a bra is not somethign I'd like to try
 
The advice on long skirts is somewhat contradictory... first he says they shouldn't fly from above mid thigh, then he says they have to be large enough to accomodate both partners. There's a fairly narrow line between those.

I think it's mostly that he's a swing dancer and so doesn't appreciate how nicely a woman looks when dressed for real dancing.
 
It's noticeable when most women don't wear bras, if they're not wearing something that supports them. Nipples, jiggling, etc aren't very classy. :)

I agree, I think it's a little over the top. What does he think women do in competition with their long skirts and jewelry?
 
I sometimes have trouble doing real dancing in certain long skirts (either they're too tightly cut or fly up to high in a spin). I always stick by the spin-on-your-own-before-you-go-out rule.

As far as jewlry goes, I think some of what he has to say is true in a social dance setting. In a competition when you dance with a partner, you know what she's wearing and how to avoid it, but on the social dance floor unfamiliarity could lead to disaster (I've had men's watches get stuck in my hair all the time in all types of dancing).
 
Sine so few of my social evenings are straight standard/smooth events, I guess I'm always looking for that multiple purpose skirt that I can do a little bit of everything in. You get no argument from me about how beautiful it looks/feels to do standard/smooth in a long flowy dress.
 
twnkltoz said:
It's noticeable when most women don't wear bras, if they're not wearing something that supports them. Nipples, jiggling, etc aren't very classy. :)
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Hmm... well, at least it's nice to know a woman is happy to see me when I ask them to dance. :twisted: ANYWAY....

Dresses without shoulder straps are bad unless dress is so form fitting it won't move.
 
On the lady strongly dancing her part:

I like the way that Nicholos Cotton describes it. He talks about the man inviting the lady to turn (or to do anything, really). It is then up to the lady to turn or not to turn. If she does not accept the invitation, you don't dance. Part of the essence of leading and following is for the man to make unambiguous invitations, and the lady to graciously understand and accept them. So the lady turns herself, but only upon the invitation of the man. This way, I don't wrench her arm in a hockey stick, but I invite her to turn, she accepts and turns, and I then invite her to the next sequence, and so on.
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I like this. I was in another teacher's beginning am foxtrot class a couple of weeks ago, and she was teaching the promenade with underarm turn. She was telling the men to push her through with his right hand (only to the middle of his chest, then he was to let go), then take her hand around her head, ending with an extra little flip of the hand to bring her around. I wanted to choke her, because:

1. I don't need to be pushed anywhere. I'm fully capable of doing the step on my own, so why do I need to be pushed? This step can easily be led by letting go of the right hand and GENTLY sending the lady's hand around her head as you move down the LOD. By keeping your hand on my back, I think I'm supposed to stick to it and won't move freely. Also, you're in my d**n way and I can't gracefully get my hand off your arm.

2. I have four counts to complete my turn. Why the h**l would I need you to whip me around at the end, pulling me off my feet?? Just bring your arm around and put it in dance position. I'm attached to it...I promise I'll come with you.

Sorry, rant over. :)
 
Chris Stratton said:
I think it's mostly that he's a swing dancer and so doesn't appreciate how nicely a woman looks when dressed for real dancing.
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Swing dancing is not REAL dancing??? Ooo... Chris... dem's fightin' words!!!!
 
twnkltoz said:
On the lady strongly dancing her part:

I like the way that Nicholos Cotton describes it. He talks about the man inviting the lady to turn (or to do anything, really). It is then up to the lady to turn or not to turn. If she does not accept the invitation, you don't dance. Part of the essence of leading and following is for the man to make unambiguous invitations, and the lady to graciously understand and accept them. So the lady turns herself, but only upon the invitation of the man. This way, I don't wrench her arm in a hockey stick, but I invite her to turn, she accepts and turns, and I then invite her to the next sequence, and so on.
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Interesting perspective... that's the way turns were "taught" to me by the Argentine tango couple here. It's not that the leader turns the follower anywhere, but that you remove the barriers so that she can go in that direction.
 
etchuck said:
Interesting perspective... that's the way turns were "taught" to me by the Argentine tango couple here. It's not that the leader turns the follower anywhere, but that you remove the barriers so that she can go in that direction.
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Bingo. You can help by getting the heck out of my way. By trying to turn me, you're going to throw me off balance. Not to say that you can't guide me in the direction I need to go, but trying to physically turn me is out, out, out.
 
twnkltoz said:
I like this. I was in another teacher's beginning am foxtrot class a couple of weeks ago, and she was teaching the promenade with underarm turn. She was telling the men to push her through with his right hand
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My guess is that this is just a transplant of the gentle pull on the right back sometimes recommended for leading underam turns to really, really new beginners in the rhythm dances. Some women try too hard - they realize when the left hand goes up that they have to turn, but are so worried about getting it right that they ignore the details of the lead and turn the wrong way. The pull on the right side is to make it clearer when more subtle signs might be overlooked.

I don't think it's wise to lead an UAT in foxtrot in such a situation. But then I'm not really sure it's ever wise to that figure in that dance...
 
etchuck said:
Chris Stratton said:
I think it's mostly that he's a swing dancer and so doesn't appreciate how nicely a woman looks when dressed for real dancing.
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Swing dancing is not REAL dancing??? Ooo... Chris... dem's fightin' words!!!!
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Oh, darn, I see I've put the cart before the horse again.

If you have to dress down to do a dance, then it's not real dancing.
 
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