Rolfer, Dancer, Teacher

Posts tagged ‘swing dancing’

Contrasting Up and Down Orientation – Part 4: Modern Lindy Leads

Continued from Part 3: Modern Lindy Follows

So how does this up/down orientation affect dancing among leaders?  As someone who predominantly leads, I noticed in writing this that I had somewhat more concrete ideas of what a lead’s orientation should be.  My first lessons in Lindy actually came from a West Coast Swing instructor that involved a lot of anchoring and creating a grounded pivot point, etc.  Writing this post, I was reminded that there is a lot more room for variation than what I was originally taught.

As in the previous follower post, I’ll be using a selection of three modern Lindy leads to illustrate a very general idea of the differences that an up, down, or more evenly split orientation can produce.  Most of us will naturally be drawn more to one aesthetic than the others, but I recommend trying to watch this with a certain neutrality.  Each of these dancers and orientations has benefits and drawbacks and lend themselves to certain moves or visuals.

For the leads, I have selected Juan Villafane as a good example of upward orientation, Peter Strom as a representation of downward, and Skye Humphries as an example of a more evenly split orientation.  I think it is also worth noting that the clips of Juan and Peter have a second song where they were given a choice between neo-swing and club music.  Each of them end up dancing to a style of music that compliments their orientation (the up of Neo-Swing for Juan and the down of Super Club Jam for Peter).

Up Orientation – Juan Villafane

Watching Juan’s dancing, it is easy to see how he and Sharon Davis ended up paired together stylistically.  Juan has a similarly floaty style of motion driven by an upward orientation in his dancing.  Juan’s triples tend to move as if they are hanging from his body, giving an interesting sliding quality to his footwork.  On his rocksteps, you can see Juan’s foot tends to travel back more laterally, hanging in the air more than digging into the floor behind him.  This upward orientation also gives him some options to use his torso and arms more to drive motion.  On a few swingouts and side passes you can see Juan move as much or more than his partner and actually begin moving himself off of her before she begins to move.  On his spin around :59, Juan’s lightness helps him to move off of Laura’s anchoring and into a spin.  And finally, at 3:05 you can see how Juan uses more of an upward motion to recover from his split.  On his first attempt to come up, his arms are not involved, but on the second attempt as he starts to reach back and up with his right arm, he is able to pop up easily.  Overall, Juan’s up orientation lends a lightness to his movement and a strong ability to use his partner’s connection to aid in his own movement.

Down Orientation – Peter Strom

Peter Strom is someone I consider to have a strong down orientation to his dancing.  As you watch him move, you can see the dynamic and energy of his movement shift as he moves between an upright posture and a more down motion.  In a sense, Peter can cruise when he is more upright, but when he’s turning up the energy, he drops down more and gets a lot of his energy out of his legs and the ground.  In contrast to Juan’s rocksteps, you can see Peter’s rockstep tends to extend back a bit less but digs down into the floor more.  You can also see Peter really uses the floor more than his partner to make dynamic motion shifts, as in the fast direction change he makes at 1:30.  And in the club section, very little of Peter’s moves emphasize the up section of movement.  All of his solo dance moves tend to involve a sharper motion and emphasis on the down portion of the step.  Overall, Peter’s down orientation lends him a dynamic use of the floor and a sharper, more athletic sense to his movement and styling.

Evenly Split Orientation – Skye Humphries

Skye is another one of those dancers who has always seemed to make dancing effortless.  It occurred to me in writing this article that part of it, much like Mia, is that he seems to move up and down with an equal sense of comfort.  Skye flows through both jumps and drops at a pretty even rate and without hesitation in either direction.  He seems equally able to use his partner to redirect his movements (1:05 and 1:13) or use the ground to redirect (:49).  In many of Skye’s movements, you can see him actively extending in multiple directions simultaneously.  For instance, in the hopping section at :34 you can see Skye’s feet still reaching for and using the ground while his torso actively extends upwards.  Overall, Skye’s split orientation gives him the ability to make a wide variety of movements appear very relaxed and fluid.

As with the follows, none of these options are the right way to dance.  These are just three examples of points along a spectrum of what is possible.  It should also be noted that while I have referred to Juan and Peter as up or down oriented, it does not mean that Juan has no down and Peter has no up.  Simply that they have developed their ability to use one direction more than another.

Everyone has natural tendencies and styles of movement that come easier to them than others, but it is also entirely within reach to work on and develop your abilities with your less natural direction.  In my next post, I’ll talk a bit more about how to begin developing each orientation and how to assess your own natural tendency.

Continues in Part 5: Developing Your Own Orientation

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Contrasting Up and Down Orientation – Part 3: Modern Lindy Follows

Continued from Part 2: Cultural Differences

So how do these up and down orientations apply to the modern swing dance world? The way most swing dances are taught now seems to emphasize down, pulse and grounding. But if you look at modern dancers, you can see many different levels of up or down orientation.

We are engaged in a dance with a history of downward orientation, as opposed to the “up” of many ballroom dances. Yet all of us come to it from our own backgrounds, cultures, prior dance training (for some), etc. and this can influence how we approach things. There is no right or wrong orientation but all those aspects influence how each of us dances and moves in general. In essence, your directional orientation can be both an aspect of technique and an artistic influence on how an individual dances.

In an effort to narrow this down, I have selected 3 follows who I think solidly represent a more upward, downward, or evenly split orientation. I made this selection purely on visual evidence from various youtube clips, so while they look one way, it is entirely possible that they may feel different to dance with. And while most of us will aesthetically prefer one movement style to another, this is intended to be a neutral assessment of what each style produces in motion.

So without further ado, representing up is Sharon Davis, down is Frida Segerdal, and the midpoint is Mia Goldsmith. As with previous posts, I recommend watching the video first to draw your own conclusions.

Up Orientation – Sharon Davis

Sharon, to my eye, shows a strong up orientation and an almost floating style of travel. Similar to Fred Astaire in my previous post, Sharon’s legs seem more to hang from her body and float down to the ground rather than being driven into it. While she is willing and able to sink into things, you can also see a certain hesitancy in her body to move in that direction. At :24 and 1:45 there are two downward level changes which Sharon floats into at first then has to shift for a moment before dropping into them. The floating of her torso also allows her to accentuate her hips in the swivels at :40. Overall, Sharon’s upward tendency offers her a very smooth and flowy look and stylings.

Down orientation – Frida Segerdahl

In contrast with Sharon’s floating pulse, you can almost immediately see a larger, sharper down in Frida’s pulsing. In the first 6 seconds or so when Frida is stood upright in closed, her motion seems a bit restrained, but as soon as she is released out into open, you can see her posture drop and a strong athleticism take over.  When Frida takes steps, you can see her feet driving down towards the ground, each step very deliberately pushed into the floor.  While Frida uses a lot of levels in her dancing, there is a sharpness to her downward stylings that I don’t see in her jumps.  Her drop/bend at :31 and the lock turn at :57 are prime examples of how she drives through her downward motions.  At around 1:30 you can see her swivels accentuate the knees and have a bit more of a lateral (side-to-side) motion.  Overall, Frida’s downward orientation gives her a strongly athletic look, sharp footwork, and helps her move across the floor very quickly.

Evenly Split orientation – Mia Goldsmith

Mia has always impressed me as one of the most composed looking followers in the Swing world.    In writing this post, I realized that part of it is that she appears to have an almost equal comfort level with moving up or down.  Mia seems at ease whether doing high kicks or bending down.  In some ways her orientation is less obvious because no one part of her styling stands out.  While her movements are not always as big as some of the more up or down oriented followers, she can flow through both up or down with equal ease.   Mia also exhibits something I often find true of more neutral orientations, she has a very strong sense of axis in her dancing.  The shared up/down orientation allows her to access both her arms and her legs equally and thus she always seems to have a solid sense of using her whole body in her motions.  Overall, Mia’s even orientation can make her motions less loud at times but also allows her to make a large range of movements seem almost effortless.

I do want to recognize that there are a lot of factors shaping each of these follower’s dances.  You have different body types, dance backgrounds, nationalities, etc. at work.  What I hope has come across though is the way that each follower’s orientation can in a very broad and general sense shape the way they move.  Again, there is no right or wrong orientation, just a spectrum of tools that can help you produce different results in your dancing.

Continues in Part 4: Modern Lindy Leads

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Contrasting Up and Down Orientation – Part 2: Cultural Differences

Continued from Part 1:  Fred and Gene

So what are the up and down orientations, what do they mean, and where do they come from? In essence, orientation is a statement on what a dancer resources to begin and end a movement. For instance, when jumping, is the primary intention to touch the high point of the jump or is the primary intention on preparation and landing?

While all of us have our own natural preferences, one of the primary influences that can enhance or override our preference is cultural background. For the purposes of this article, I’ll stick to African and European influences which I feel are the two primary cultures at work in swing dancing today. While these cultural differences may not be as strongly pronounced in descendant American generations, a few hundred years are hardly enough to wipe out the differences completely.

A quick look at African dances reveals a strong cultural tendency towards down or “earth” orientation while European dances tend strongly towards an up or “sky” orientation. Traditional African dances draw the eyes of the viewer to the feet while European dances (waltz, ballet, etc.) tend to emphasize arms more, drawing the eye upward. In the following videos you can see the strong contrast of up and down orientations in cultural dances.

African dance and music routinely features a strong percussive element. Not only the drummers but the dancers as well form part of the rhythm by striking their feet on the ground. It often seems as if the legs are only lifted so that they can be brought down again. The dances across various African cultures are often rhythmically pulsating, driving, and pushing through the ground. Even in the Massai jumping dances, the jumps are rhytmic and involve a strong downward preparation and final landing. You can still see these influences pretty strongly in early jazz, swing and tap dancing.

By contrast, Ballet, and many ballroom dances create a much more floaty feel. Dancers are constantly reaching or arching skyward, emphasizing the top. Jumps emphasize the height rather than the prep and the landings slow the descent of the free leg so that it hangs in the air longer than gravity alone would allow it. You can even see this upward tendency in many European folk dances.

This is not to say that one or the other is right. While you may find one orientation more appealing, they are both part of any well-rounded dancer’s repertoire. But knowing your own preferences can both help you to select motions that fit your natural tendencies and expand your dancing into less familiar movement styles.  When working with unfamiliar styles of motion it can be helpful to consider if they come from outside your cultural norm.

Continues in Part 3: Modern Lindy Follows

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