Two Left Feet Podcast

Why should you spend $ to attend a Dance Congress? Yes, Yes, I know, I can already here some people say. “ But Two Left Feet” I can spend $10/$20 to go to my local dance social on any day of the week, and dance my heart out”. Or “… But Two Left Feet, I can spend $10-$20 and take a dance class locally in my city. Or I can Spend $50 for a private lesson with my local instructor”. All of these are valid reasons, please, just hear me out. Have you ever been to a legit Dance Congress or Festival ??? Have you felt the energy in the air, as you arrive on that Thursday/Friday Night and the anticipation of this weekend is absolutely overwhelming you. Do you remember the last day of school before summer break? Do you remember that feeling of riding the bus home, in anticipation of the summer time? Whether you stayed indoors all summer, or played outside with your friends. Summer Break was the greatest time of the year. And as we get older and become adults, and take on more responsibilities, that sensation of being a C

Recently I uploaded a video about how Social Dancing is a Second Form of Practice.   For anyone who may be a beginner to Partner Dancing this is a very important step to the learning process. Now you may ask yourself Why is that?   In the classroom, you are learning in a controlled environment. Both the lead and follow understand what is being taught, and what is expected of each person.   This can lead to a false sense of competency and understanding, due to the fact that your partner knows what to expect and what to do. This leads directly into the possibility of back leading or even Leader Expectancy Syndrome – LES for short.   Backleading can be defined as the act or the habit of some followers to lead themselves through dance moves the leader has nothing to do with. An Example would be a partner following what the teacher is doing, and NOT following what their dance partner is leading.   Leader Expectancy Syndrome can be defined as a leader expecting a follower to understand and anticipate their signals.

How to improve Posture while dancing?   You have to constantly be mindful of it until it becomes a habit.   So when you're dancing or practicing, keep posture in mind and correct yourself when you notice a slip. Do this over the next few weeks and it should resolve itself. posture practice is about awareness of the different elements of how we organize our bodies while we dance, and then monitoring those doing movement practice. Good movements flow from good posture, and the best time to start learning and practicing good posture is right now - every minute you spend dancing with poor posture is time you spend training yourself to dance with poor posture.     Stop looking down,  at your feet or your partners feet. Be mindful that where the eyes/head goes the body goes. Keep your head/eyes high. Especially for leads as you need to be cognizant of the surrounding dance floor and those around you. Looking down at your partner’s feet: bends the neck, causing a natural bend in the back and hunched over look. It R

When to do shines?   You can break apart for a shine whenever, but paying attention to the music - shows your musicality skills and that’s one mark of becoming a better dance Usually a good time to do shines is when the lyrics/vocals stop during the bridge of the song. This can be indicated by particularly interesting instrumentation or solos where you can really hear drums doing something unusual, for example. Sometimes you can shadow your partner and mimic the shine they are doing, or you can do your own thing. A shine is an opportunity for you to show off on the dance floor, Leads or follows. The best part of dancing is when the dancers play off each other. You add your own little flavor into a technique/lead, or a body movement or expression. Your follow does some nice styling, or adds some spice of their own.         For my leads: There are some follows that are a bit dangerous to dance with - they turn themselves randomly, they're forcefully offbeat, they hold onto your hand tightly, and many other ex

How do you politely but firmly decline dancing with someone?   What’s the best way to politely decline when they ask? And if they keep asking after that, how do you make it clear that you’re not interested?     It is very Simple: Just say: no, thank you. If they ask again say the same and repeat the process until they get tired of asking. If they ask for an explanation just say you don't want to dance with them and that's it. No further explanation necessary.   if they are persistent go make small-talk with anyone nearby, or at least stand next to someone else. The person is more likely to be embarrassed and leave if you're with someone else when you repeatedly say no.     #Salsa #Bachata #Kizomba #Podcast #BrazilianZouk #Rueda #Tarraxinha #Zouk #Passada #Ginga #Forro #LambaZouk #Afro #Latin #African #Socialdance #Socialdancing #Partnerdance #Partnerdancing #Pachanga #Lambada #Dance #Dancers     2LF Links    _______________________________________________   Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tw0LeftFeet Instagram:

Social dancing with social anxiety.   I will say this, in my youth, I would definitely take a shot or two before a class and also before a dance social. And I would also take another shot maybe midway through the night. I would keep a bottle of warm liquor In my trunk at all times. Say/Think what you will.   If you dance class has a social after the class, if you are not comfortable with socializing you can just dance. You don't HAVE to socialize if you don't feel up to that. You can keep it simple as "Do you want to Dance?" And "thank you!" after the dance is done. If you hate small talk, dancing gives you a way to socialize without forcing you into conversations with people. You can also talk to people during the classes themselves. Introduce yourself and ask how they are doing, nothing else is necessary. Do that with everyone you dance with, and you will start to become more comfortable with everyone. Your ultimate goal is to build a friendship with your dance classmates.   You can make every social event

What can you do as a lead when the follow continues to have super wide steps?     don't let her lead, you are the lead if you were the lead at the beginning. if you two are in standard orientation position, then the space between you two should be approximately constant throughout the dance. the only time that space will contract or expand is when one of you take a step/stride that's not the same length as the other.   Doing very small steps in regular basic. Doing very small side basic. Using a closed hold in addition to small steps to limit with frame. Using just right hand on the back with small steps and seeing if they notice that they are losing contact because they step out. Leading a cross body that moves a lot and fast (wide steps are impossible). quitting the floor is always an option   If my partner is not respecting me, or the floor, or other people on the floor; I quit the floor as quietly and as gracefully as I can for all parties. It's not my job to make up the difference, I'm trying to have a

Advice and Tips for Going to a Dance Congress/Festival. Before you even go – look at the schedule of events and circle the workshops you want to do, and figure out where the rooms are. Make sure to bring enough clothes, you'll be sweating a lot. Also, make sure your shoes are up to the task, dance heels might be good for a 2-hour party, but not necessarily for a 3-day weekend festival. So bring maybe 2-3 different dance shoes. If this is your first congress - don’t go 100% on the first day, or you may feel burned out by the end of it, Choose your classes wisely, you are not going to have full energy for every single class so if there's a very intense class you want to be able to keep up then consider either taking more relaxed classes prior or skipping a few. Keep in mind that Footwork classes are more intense / more of a workout than partner work classes. Try to be at the front of classes no matter your level. The important thing is to be able to see. Lastly, don't forget to stretch and take some ibuprofen w

Difficulty remembering Dance patterns. #socialdancing How can I better remember the moves I learn as a lead in Salsa? This person was having difficulty remembering the more complicated patterns from class. ___________________________________________________ I think we all encounter this at some point as a lead. When you are in dance class learning a new pattern, instead of trying to learn the pattern in a specific order and detail. Your goal should be to understand the building blocks and how they can be connected. I would suggest thinking of it like a math problem. X+Y= Z but we can also say Z-Y=X. What I mean is, find the parts of the pattern you like / or you are able to execute and find ways to put those into what you already know. If the teacher is teaching a hammerlock pattern, think about the patterns you already know, and contemplate where you can throw a hammerlock into it. And if you are dead set on learning a full/complete pattern from beginning to end, here is what you can do. Break the pattern d

Cheating Scandals #bachata #salsa #kizomba #zouk #Salsa #Bachata #Kizomba #Podcast #BrazilianZouk #Rueda #Tarraxinha #Zouk #Passada #Ginga #Forro #LambaZouk #Afro #Latin #African #Socialdance #Socialdancing #Partnerdance #Partnerdancing #Pachanga #Lambada #Dance #Dancers 2LF Links _______________________________________________ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tw0LeftFeet Instagram: tw0_left_feet Website: https://2leftfeet.blog/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2171874589599779/ Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoLeftFeetPodcast/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/two-left-feet-podcast/id1454425997 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bQSnwKDmHbDQdgnZ0OrC3 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Twoleftfeet Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR109vJ4Pbl146Ok1u5vSuA Anchor: https://anchor.fm/twoleftfeetpodcast      

How much should my hands/arms move when leading? How much arm and hand movement is too much? ______________________________________________________________ If an arm movement supports the body movement, then it can be fine or even recommended. But body movement should come first. You do not want washing machine arms, wax-on wax-off hands. This is a No-No. Arm movement originates from your body movement, As long as you're not 'leading' anything, you can keep relaxed arms, elbows next to your body, just in front of your ribcage, with the forearms horizontally. Your body/shoulders are moving with the music, your arms follow this movement, they shouldn't move too much independently. When you ARE leading something, you might have to stiffen up the frame a bit. Even then, it will largely depend on what you're trying to lead. You should not dance with your arms. It's almost always confusing and It doesn't help. Your Arms are for leading, In a handhold position - if you move them you are asking the follow to do some

  Saying Hurtful Things   Today I was informed that I hurt someone’s feelings, and It does not make me feel good about myself. In an effort to be funny, I came off as harsh, mean, unsympathetic, emotionless, an idiot, just overall not a kind and good person. And thus I am paying for it now. And so what must I do, I must apologize, and this apology very well may fall upon deaf ears. But I have to do it, this may be more so for myself. Because I am unsure what else I could do to rectify this problem? I honestly do not know, It does not make me feel good about myself. I am not proud of my words nor my actions. Like I said I am now paying for it, because I am not unable to think about too many other things. My thoughts are dominated on how careless I was with my words, and how mean I was. This person actually started crying. WOW, right. I made someone cry, with my words. Shows you how impactful your words can be, and how they can cut like a sword. And all of this was from an attempt at humor. I guess I am no

Advice for tall leaders Having difficulty spinning shorter partners. He is also having issues with rhythm. He has been dancing for 3 months, so he’s still a beginner. Spinning people is less about height and more about technique. Spinning a partner is not about force but rather guiding the spin and allowing your follow to complete the turn using her own energy. If you ever find yourself forcing a move rather than it being a smooth transfer of energy, focus on using the least amount of movement and force to communicate what you intend to lead. This is not a problem unique to tall leads, its unique to beginner leads. For turning her, you go just over her head at the highest. Think about making a halo above your partners head. You may be under the mindset that because you are tall, that makes you a bad dancer. This is COMPLETELY FALSe. You just need to practice more. Do not look at your height as an excuse, but instead look at it as your unique factor. Certain Things you can do, I will not be able to do as a 5’7

Sweaty Palms   This individual stated when they get nervous/anxious, their palms tend to sweat a lot. And they were looking for advice. _______________________________ I've seen people with a handtowel or handkerchief hanging out of their back pocket. A lot of moves you lead with the tips of your fingers, so your palms are not always involved.   So As a lead you can pretty much avoid touching anything with your palm, unless your fingers also get sweaty, you can probably manage with advice from your teacher.   There are also some products that you can use to help with sweating. Ill leave the links in the description below. But please, do your own research.   https://www.rhinoskinsolutions.com/store/p5/Dry_Skin_Antiperspirant.html   https://www.amazon.com/antihydral/s?k=antihydral&pldnSite=1&sa-no-redirect=1      

Musicality / Creativity – How Does one become creative on the dance floor. I think creativity comes from your comfort level. It is very hard to be creative when you are in a state of tension/anxiety/nervous. So how does one become comfortable on the dance floor? Extended and prolonged exposure to dancing and social dancing/ dancing with partners. I would argue that you will never see a beginner dancer do something creative on the dance floor. Why is that? Because they are still learning the rules. When a baby draws you a picture is it creative or is it just scribbles on a piece of paper? Better question is it an inspiring level of creativity? Do you feel inspired when you see a baby draw? No. But when you see a professional do something on a whim, just instantly creative something beautiful. That is creativity and this is inspiring. How does Musicality play into creativity. Same way, it’s hard for beginners to display musicality. Why? Because they are so focused on executing the proper rules (Timing/leading-

How to ask for feedback from fellow dancers? This individual wants to ask for feedback, but feels too awkward after the dance to ask.   I think asking right after one dance would put someone on the spot. It can be tricky to come up with helpful advice so quickly. I would recommend asking someone after a few dances with them. You can say something like “Hey that was fun! I’m trying to get better; do you have any feedback for me?” Or "Hey, I'm looking to improve. Do you have any constructive feedback for me about how I dance? Don't worry I won't be offended by anything you say. I'll just use it to improve for next time" Of if you want an opinion on something specific ask about that, “How was my Tension/frame/styling?” I would put value of opinion in this order. 1st: My Instructor / Teacher. They should be the ones who are guiding you on your path. 2nd: I would video record myself dancing, and value what my eyes deem good vs. bad. 3rd: The opinion/feedback from others. ESPECIALLY in the beginner stage. Asking

Eye contact and smiling? They want learn how to maintain eye contact and smiling during dancing. Are you a leader or a follower? It makes a bit of a difference: a leader should look around a bit to keep an overview of available space around, so they don't bump their follower into other couples, or maybe save their follower from another inattentive dancer. A follower can look around to accentuate their movements and styling. When you're in an open position you can definitely look at your partner, give 'em a smile. The best moment for a smile is when you or they mess something up. I would refrain from constant eye contact, it can come off weird. If you are nervous about looking into someones eyes, you can look at their nose, forehead, ears, in between their eyes. It gives off the same impression. Just do what it feels right. Vibe w the person you’re dancing with in a way that feels natural and comfortable to you. That’s the biggest takeaway, just be natural about this, Like having a conversation with a strange

Delayed Gratification #Salsa #Bachata #Kizomba #Podcast #BrazilianZouk #Rueda #Tarraxinha #Zouk #Passada #Ginga #Forro #LambaZouk #Afro #Latin #African #Socialdance #Socialdancing #Partnerdance #Partnerdancing #Pachanga #Lambada #Dance #Dancers 2LF Links _______________________________________________ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tw0LeftFeet Instagram: tw0_left_feet Website: https://2leftfeet.blog/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2171874589599779/ Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoLeftFeetPodcast/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/two-left-feet-podcast/id1454425997 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bQSnwKDmHbDQdgnZ0OrC3 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Twoleftfeet Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR109vJ4Pbl146Ok1u5vSuA Anchor: https://anchor.fm/twoleftfeetpodcast      

The Importance of a Good Teacher   #Salsa #Bachata #Kizomba #Podcast #BrazilianZouk #Rueda #Tarraxinha #Zouk #Passada #Ginga #Forro #LambaZouk #Afro #Latin #African #Socialdance #Socialdancing #Partnerdance #Partnerdancing #Pachanga #Lambada #Dance #Dancers     2LF Links   _______________________________________________   Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tw0LeftFeet Instagram: tw0_left_feet Website: https://2leftfeet.blog/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2171874589599779/ Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoLeftFeetPodcast/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/two-left-feet-podcast/id1454425997 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bQSnwKDmHbDQdgnZ0OrC3 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Twoleftfeet Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR109vJ4Pbl146Ok1u5vSuA Anchor: https://anchor.fm/twoleftfeetpodcast            

Should you dance with an Injury? This person sprained their ankle but does not want to wait few weeks for the injury to heal.   I am of the mindset that you should not. I understand not dancing for a few weeks is rough! But not dancing for longer because you keep on hurting yourself is even worse!   You could possible make the injury worse. If you do not give the injury time to heal, it will heal badly and you'll be massively at risk of developing long term problems. If the injury is serious enough go see a medical professional.   Rest the injured area, and after the swelling subsides - you can do some light exercises with resistance bands. Make sure you ice, a heat pad and elevate to reduce inflammation. (cold reduces swelling and pain, heat aids recovery).   If you must practice, try and work out the areas that are not injured. If you injured your ankle, sit down and practice your upper body isolations. If you injured your upper body, work on your basic step.     #Salsa #Bachata #Kizomba #Podcast #Brazilian