Leadership (dance)

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As a guide , the object is a dance partner in the pair dance referred initiative dance patterns initiate, which are then danced together.

To lead

The hands that transmit impulses are a primary management tool.

Good leadership is characterized by anticipatory planning of the next figures and precise timing of the necessary changes of direction. This means, for example, that in dances in which the dance partner changes from a firm stance on both legs to an unstable equilibrium or instability with the body's center of gravity above the supporting leg , an impulse comes from a good leader exactly at the time of the unstable equilibrium , which causes the dance partner to be led to take the direction of this impulse. If the moment of the unstable equilibrium is missed, a change of direction for the next dance figure is very difficult and the harmony is disturbed by the then necessary use of force. In some dances, for example salsa , the impulse for the change of direction comes in the middle of the beat, so that the time for the impulse is not clearly marked by the music. Therefore, a good dancer should learn to lead in such a way that he can dance with women with whom he has not practiced before.

The audience should not be able to see which person of the couple has taken the lead, the harmony of the dancers should prevail. Accordingly, the technique of leading can be acquired less through learning on the model (e.g. by observing an experienced dance couple), but rather through explanations and learning through insight .

Let yourself be guided

The common variant is that the gentleman leads and the lady lets herself be led, which does not always work smoothly and immediately with dance couples. The dance partner who is being led has to assume an instability at certain times so that the lead can succeed with a slight impulse to initiate a dance figure. In addition, the person being led must maintain a certain amount of tension in the hand and arm of the leader with their arm and hand, otherwise the impulse cannot be transmitted. Conflicts in the partnership , especially around the so-called supremacy, can become visible, which is why a dance course also offers therapeutic approaches for couples . From the point of view of the origin of the couple dance, however, the leadership role of the man seems to serve less to establish relationships of domination, but rather to monitor and regulate space and dynamics.

Misunderstanding of following

Usually the man leads and the woman dances according to his leadership. It is wrong, as explained above, that the woman or the dance partner follows: Instead of actively following, the external impulses determine the sequence of movements of the dance partner similar to a billiard ball, whereby the impulses can hardly be seen and felt if they are just before the right moment the unstable equilibrium take place and thus not disturb the harmony of the dance.

In the case of standard and Latin American dances in particular , this distribution of tasks is also incorrectly referred to as leading and following , as is also the case in the description of Tango Argentino . The term "partnering" is more helpful. It is simply not the case that the man only has to run in one direction in standard dances in order to induce the dance partner to move or the woman runs after the man with a delay.

Leading the Tango Argentino

The guidance through the arms is almost replaced by a brief contact with the sternum. The traditionally assigned gender role distribution in tango can be dissolved, as in queer tango , for example.

Leadership in contact improvisation

In the experimental dance form of contact improvisation , an improvised movement game is in the foreground. So that the desired movement dialogue can arise, it is necessary to perceive the impulses of your dance partner sensitively and perceptibly. Contact improvisation abolishes the usual gender division in leadership. The leadership and even the dance partners can change during a dance.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ jutta ochs: Lead and let lead. In: Frankfurter Rundschau. Retrieved January 24, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Alan Posener: The leadership crisis on the dance floor. In: welt.de. Retrieved January 24, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Astrid Kusser: Body in an inclined position: Dancing in the whirlpool of the Black Atlantic around 1900 . Transcript Verlag, Bielefeld 2014, ISBN 978-3-8394-2060-7 , p. 72 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  4. ^ Rudolf Trautz: Lead and Follow. In: Deutscher Professional Tanzsportverband eV (DPV). Retrieved December 3, 2019 . Like others, the text struggles for an explanation, which is then not given.
  5. ↑ Hannah Scheiwe: The art of leading and following. In: Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved January 24, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Thomas Kaltenbrunner: Contact-Improvisation: move, meet and dance with one another; with an introduction to New Dance . Meyer & Meyer Verlag , Aachen 2009, ISBN 978-3-89899-515-3 , p. 121 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  7. ↑ Fritz Böhle, Margit Weihrich: The physicality of social action: Social order beyond norms and institutions . Transcript Verlag , Bielefeld 2015, ISBN 978-3-8394-1309-8 , pp. 177 ( limited preview in Google Book search).

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