The top 5 reasons a woman wants to dance with a specific man

It was funny, actually. I've never been sniffed that much, that obviously. So, in order to get dances, I should dab a bit of pot roast behind each ear instead of perfume? ewwww

Just buy a bacon chalupa at Taco Bell and put it in your purse.
 
I'm not seeing why trying hard has to involve challenging or show off material, especially if brief experiments in that direction didn't come off in a way that invites more.

"challenging" "show off" -- also subjective

Maybe just having a big frame seems show-offy. Maybe adding a couple of chasses to the right in a waltz (perhaps in an effort to avoid a collision) seems challenging. Heck, maybe just left-box/right-box seems challenging, because the guy takes big steps (a habit I have, and try to attenuate -- not always successfully -- for some followers).

(Apologies for the dip into ballroom examples in an AT forum.)
 
[whispers...]

zoops, sounds like you're simply looking for a real gentleman.

[yep, that ol' can of worms...]

m

Tell us more...what would this real gentleman be like? I think everything DL is describing falls into what I would equate with a real gentleman. Do you see the gentleman as having different characteristics?
 
I'll be the first to admit sometimes the partner gets forgotten when others are making the floor a challenging place to be. This soon lead to a sometimes habit of quickly evaluating the floorcraft situation when extending or accepting invites...
 
Tell us more...what would this real gentleman be like? I think everything DL is describing falls into what I would equate with a real gentleman. Do you see the gentleman as having different characteristics?

We had a lively discussion about this some years back (two threads at the least--replete with feisty perspectives about what a lady is about and huffy repartee about what is a gentleman (with mistaken notions about gentry, money, and anachronistic role-playing included)).

IMO, however--and to respond to your query, a gentleman in this regard is one who has character enough to be gracious and make his company the evening's memorable one for the lady (technical prowess notwithstanding--on either side of the hold--but rather because of a certain kind grace--and I speak not of the dance kind).






m
 
If you include me in "some people", honestly, I'm not. I'm really trying to contribute my own personal experience (see, again, post 210).

I edited my post because I realized it was a knee-jerk reaction. It's probably too late for you to edit yours to remove the quote, so that's the price I pay for my own behavior... lesson learned.

It seemed to me at first that you said something about a situation (the gent put the lady through her paces to show off)

I questioned why you used that particular example, to which you replied that I was assuming that it was the leader putting the follower through the paces (your wording "how do you know it was the leader testing the follower" seemed to imply that it might have been the other way around and that I was making an assumption). Given that I was going by what you said about who was doing the testing, can you understand why I reacted negatively to that reply?

Anyway.. I think what you were trying to say was not that the follower might have been testing the leader, but that her reaction about being tested at all was subjective. That someone else might not have felt "put through my paces".

I, on the other hand assumed her assessment of her own situation was valid (since I have nothing else to go on) and figured that if I HAD felt that way, she and I would be in agreement that it was annoying.

Sorry for any misunderstanding.
 
I'll be the first to admit sometimes the partner gets forgotten when others are making the floor a challenging place to be.

Well, "you cad!" (I don't mean that, of course.)

This soon lead to a sometimes habit of quickly evaluating the floorcraft situation when extending or accepting invites...

It's an aside but: Aha, another reason everybody should be highly tolerant of rejections.
 
[whispers...]

zoops, sounds like you're simply looking for a real gentleman.

[yep, that ol' can of worms...]

Applause to the man with the superhero avatar!:rocker:

Most of the other posts seem like some kind of Mars-Venus disconnect. :p

(many of the men): define a desirable leader as one who is technically advanced and competent and believe it is not possible to create a happy reaction in the follower otherwise

(many of the women): define a desirable leader as one who is kind, friendly, a gentleman, makes the follower feel appreciated and respected, advanced technique not mandatory, it's okay to keep steps safe and simple (keep in mind we're talking AT where it's perfectly acceptable to do nothing but walking)

I feel your pain Zoops.
 
So how did the woman conclude the guy was trying to put her through her paces? Well, the lead/follow didn't work out, and maybe she figures he ought to have led differently. From his perspective, he was well-intentioned and did his best, and it wasn't good enough.

This is a valid question, and I wish I had a concrete answer. I think many followers would tell you that they "just know" when a leader is doing this sort of testing. (the same way women "just know" that their friend is really upset or they "just know" that so-and-so are seeing each other despite soandso trying to hide it, and how we know a zillion other things that it often turns out we were right about)

Aside from the obvious verbal feedback, It can take the form of exasperated noises when she doesn't follow the move. Or him repeating the move over and over in the hopes that she'll eventually get it, even though she's clearly frustrated about it. Somehow, we can tell when he's not dancing with us, but dancing with himself, the steps he wants to do, or to impress others. Sure, we may be wrong sometimes, but frequently, that same leader that we got this sort of impression from will eventually confirm it with the sorts of verbal feedback that make his attitude clear. Or maybe we'll hear it in the sorts of things he says about OTHERS.

Maybe its a question for a new thread, but don't leaders sometimes complain about followers who seem more interested in showing off than dancing/connecting with him? I assume there's some way to tell from the other side that the partner is focusing on herself or the "audience" rather than him because I've read that complaint here on the forum.

Likewise, there are ways we can tell when the man is doing this. I just can't articulate them well at the moment because I'm getting pretty burned out on the whole discussion. I'll try to think about it from real life examples and my own experiences and get back to you.
 
(many of the men): define a desirable leader as one who is technically advanced and competent and believe it is not possible to create a happy reaction in the follower otherwise

I have tried to be careful to steer clear of saying this. But I do think that shortage of technique and shortage of good intention sometimes seem easy to confuse from a follower's perspective, based on feedback I've gotten from followers.
 
a gentleman in this regard is one who has character enough to be gracious and make his company the evening's memorable one for the lady (technical prowess notwithstanding--on either side of the hold--but rather because of a certain kind grace--

Sigh... where were you 12 pages ago?
 
IMO, however--and to respond to your query, a gentleman in this regard is one who has character enough to be gracious and make his company the evening's memorable one for the lady (technical prowess notwithstanding--on either side of the hold--but rather because of a certain kind grace--and I speak not of the dance kind).

m
:D I agree with this definition -- and we are fortunate to have so many men in dance -- DF-ers and real-lifers who fall under this definition.

Of course, now I'm dying to know your definition of a real lady...and wondering if I will know any of those! Alas...OT...;)
 

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