Jai Chavan's "Dance-Sport" Email : [email protected] Or General Mailer

Advance: Basic Movement

All the movements in Ballroom and Latin American Dancing are interdependent. Although many of the basic-moves are practised individually, yet they appear and feel totally different when performed with a partner.

The following exercise is for advanced students. Not knowing this part will not hinder the progress, however the basic feel of interdependency will not be there. Moreover, the joy of understanding the reason for the various figures will also be limited.

Practising Alone (Twist)
Note: Through out this exercise the feet remain parallel and pointing in the same direction.

Forward Movement (Twist)
Count 1. Body weight shifts to the Right foot. In the process the Hip and the upper body turns to the Right. At the end of the turning, relax the hip to let it swing to the Right.

Count 2. The Left foot moves forward. As the Left heel lowers, the hip and upper body turns to the Left. At the end of the turning, relax the hip.

Count 3. Replace the weight on the Right foot. As the Right heel lowers, turn the Hip and the upper body too the right and at the end relax the hip.

Count 4. Over the next three steps of the Chasse let the hip and the body turns gradually to the Left. On the count of ‘1’ relax the hip and let it swing naturally to the Left.

Backward Movement (Twist)
Count 2. The Right foot moves back and as the heel is lowered the hip and the upper body is turned to the Right, and at the end the hip is relaxed.

Count 3. The left foot is replaced. As the Left heel lowers, the hip and the upper body turns to the Left and at the end, the hip is relaxed.

Count 4. Over the next three steps of the Chasse the hip and the upper body gradually turns to the Right and on ‘1’ the hip is relaxed.

In Pairs (Twist)
When practising in pairs the partner gives equal and opposite force and as a result the upper body turns are negligible at the shoulders and chest. Thus the turn/twist is maximum at the hip and gradually reduce away from the hip in either direction.

In Pairs (Push Pull)
On the count ‘1’ both partners exert a push-pressure.
On the count ‘2’ both partners exert a pull-pressure.
On the count ‘3’ both partners exert a push-pressure.
On the count ‘Cha’ both partners exert a pull-pressure.
On the count ‘Cha’ both partners exert a pull-pressure.
Note: one partner reduces the pressure slightly to facilitate the motion into the succeeding step.

The Last Part
The last part is to combine both the parts, Twist and Push-Pull, and practice in pairs. Initially when practising there could be excessive movements and force applied which will definitely not look elegant. However, the important part is to understand that it is the part of the natural body movement that should come naturally when dancing. Therefore, during practice if 100% of force is used, then while dancing at least 5 % of this movement will seep in subconsciously. This will give it the subtle look of being largely different as compared with the movements done by an individual (without a partner).