Just revisiting this one. I suppose we do know that a dancer who makes the last 50 or so Professional or Amateur coming from abroad would probably whilst they were in the country have lessons from several of the leading coaches. this is usually prior to an important competion like the British..I can't see an experienced coach or an experienced pupil expect to make any dramatic changes to their technique. What they would do would have a close look and make some adjustments to what they personaly don't like. To make a complete change, never.

"Just revisiting this one. I suppose we do know that a dancer who makes the last 50 or so Professional or Amateur coming from abroad would probably whilst they were in the country have lessons from several of the leading coaches. this is usually prior to an important competion like the British..I can't see an experienced coach or an experienced pupil expect to make any dramatic changes to their technique. What they would do would have a close look and make some adjustments to what they personaly don't like. To make a complete change, never."

Well then they will stay in the 50.

If they want to advance, they have to go to the expert coaches with a willingness to make the kind of fundamental changes that would bridge the gap between what they do, and what the winners do. If they aren't willing to do that, then they are just taking the lessons becuase it seems like the right thing to do (or worse, because they think it's a political obligation).

Studying with someone isn't enough. You have to be willing to listen, and make the fundamental changes they request. Otherwise you just waste your money and their time.

PS - a dancer of any skill should be able to learn about a new way of doing something even though they will not implement it that day. Lessons with championship judges are not to be digested in the moment - they are to provide guidance for what you need to work on changing for the months following your return home.

Their specific role is to provide the desperatey needed corrections to fundamentals that were being overlooked at home.

Anonymous. What exactly did I write on the 10th .14th. Compared to your 10th .14th. at 10.46 pm.

Don's post:

"Anonymous. When I wrote a coach wouldn't alter a couple I had in mind those who are at the top Professional or Amateur. What they would get is how to improve on what they already have had some success with. Having said that some friends of mine who are living abroad went to the UK very highly placed and didn't get past eight bars of Samba without being stopped. This couple are now in the top forty world wide. That Michael is a tough coach. It must have paid off though by the results."

To which I answered that skilled dancers would be able to learn about fundamental changes that need to be made, even without trying to implement them immediatley.

And I'll stick by that - if you only take lessons for the short term, you will never advance. Even if your lesson is right before a major competition performance, if it's your only exposure to world class questions you need to use it as an opportunity to learn key skills - if you just use it for performance coaching, you will never learn about the fundamentals that your regular teachers aren't covering. And as a result, you will never dance the way champions do.

I know the knees and ankles play a very important role in this. How do we use them in creating a swing and sway
1) on a fwd 1/2 natural turn
2) on a bck 1/2 natural turn

"I know the knees and ankles play a very important role in this. How do we use them in creating a swing and sway
1) on a fwd 1/2 natural turn"

For the ankle, make sure you are starting to pick up your heel as your body passes over the foot on step one, which is to say before your free foot passes it. (This is a key element of the British standard tradition, which almost everyone else ignores.) In a waltz-type action, your knee will also soften forward as the body moves over the foot. Together these combine to send the center into the swing ahead of everything else - ahead of free leg, and ahead of shoulders. But of course the body must not be allowed to break at the waist - the resulting swing shape is very evenly distributed from head to toe. There is curve to the body in profile, but only a curvature to what is basically a straight line.

2) on a bck 1/2 natural turn

Toe in slightly while placing the first step, though keep the thighs closed. As your partner swings across the first step, your standing knee will veer inwards off the inside edge of your foot, such that you action towards step two is also almost a forward movement. Swing your center to match your partner's.