Standard Lesson with Ieva 01/14/2011

First dance lesson post of the year! I moved to NYC, and this is the first lesson with Ieva Pauksena.

1. Feet goes to the right under the shoulder. This provides a wider base. Get rid of the mini skirt syndrome. Leader controls where the shoulder goes, while the follower follows by place the foot directly under the shoulder. This could make the response faster too.

2. Consider the following four components: Neck, ribcage, center (abs), knee.
a. Neck and center leads the backward moves. Especially on the back steps, the feeling the lead of moving backward from the center gives the sense to the partner that you are not blocking the the partner, you give him space to move.
b. ribcage and knee project forward toward the partner. Elbow and arms (especially the right arm of the lady) goes with the ribcage toward the partner.