Responsive Leading

All classes this weekend will be taught switch, so if you’re a lead-curious follow, new to leading or just much less confident in your lead abilities, this class is for you! We’ll look at some of the common struggles and worries that follows experience when they lead, and work on adjusting tone, integration hacks to avoid arm ache, and why aikido can help you on the dance floor. (Experienced leads are also very welcome.)

If you’re an experienced lead who is new to following, this class is for you. If you’re an experienced lead who considers themselves a decent follow, it’s possible this class is also for you! In this first session we cover some of the most common blind spots for leads who follow, from stop-go responsiveness to reducing the signal to noise ratio in your following. Plus: chaotic musical statues. (Experienced follows are also very welcome.) 

A frequent worry for leads (whether new or experienced) is that they don’t know enough different moves and that their partner will get bored. This class looks at the difference between wide leads and narrow leads, and how to use wide lead to both allow space for follow voice and creativity, and give the leads a break from constantly having to come up with The Next Thing. 

How do you feel the switch from leading to following? What changes in your weight, your attention, your tone? This is a class about fully embodying the role you are taking moment to moment, and shifting intentionally between lead and follow modes. We’re going to get nerdy about the tiny anatomical details.

Tone can be a wonderful expression of musciality. From dramatic intensity to relaxed softness, we will play with our tone with purpose. It starts with finding the comfortable level of tone for your partnership before sliding up and down the scale. Then, we can play and explore musicality with it!

Who’s driving this thing? In this class aimed at both experienced leads and experienced follows, we build confidence in contributing to someone who is doing their thing, and look at what happens when confidence, responsiveness, and creativity work in partnership.

What do you do as a lead when your follow is doing something you DIDN’T lead? We’ll look at how to best accomodate with the way your partner moves, then explore to gently reorienting the dance when your partner gets weird. This is a class for both new and experienced leads (with bonus follow voice trick thrown in for free). 

Galaxy brain time: so what happens BEYOND leading and following? In this class aimed at experienced leads, follows, and everything in between, we examine the difference between active following and switching, how to cheat your way to being an amazing lead, and why your partnership is the ultimate self-driving car. 
By this point in the weekend you may have realised the truth: there is no role.