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Who Leads? Who Follows?
by Wayne
& Barbara Blackford
Who leads? Who follows? These are questions we are asked often. Most
often the discussion of who does what has focused on the man and the
"push pull" method of leading. Leading & following are important in
any type of couple dancing, be it round dancing, ballroom, etc. Round
dancing is almost unique in the fact that the woman hears the cue (at
the same time as the man), and many times the cue is directed at her.
However, she should never react to the cue without getting some lead
indication from the man. The cues should only be an indication to the
woman of what she will be expected to do and NOT when to do it.
The woman's skill of following is as important as the man's skill in
leading. She must learn to be a good follower and NOT an "aggressive
follower." As a good follower, the woman should continue going in the
same direction until lead differently -- and of course to react/respond
accordingly. The sequence we like to follow is:
- The man indicates/initiates the figure(s)
- The woman gets the "clue" and she finishes the figure
- The man then begins the next figure
If you follow the above "rule" you will soon learn that you can not
both dance the figure(s) at exactly the same time, nor in the same
space at the same time, yet we will give appearance that we are. Men
must learn to send their partner out of the way, get the figure
started, join his partner at the correct time, and begin to send her
into the next figure. So now the question of timing enters the picture.
When do we do what? What do we do when? How do we do it?
- The man creates the woman's footwork by positioning her
body and creates lanes in which she and he can move.
- The woman moves in the direction the man has indicated and
completes the figure he started.
- Both man and woman need a good understanding of the
mechanics of the figures being danced.
As round dancers, we all learned to execute the figures using our feet
-- ONLY! Yet the art of leading and following encourages us to use
other parts of our bodies and limbs to communicate between us.
Achieving all of this, making the man a good leader and the woman a
good follower, is not easy. It must begin with:
- good dance posture -- having good posture is not the same
as having a good dance posture.
- proper dance position -- creating and maintaining the
proper dance "frame" and never turning away from your partner or moving
the shoulders before moving the rest of the body.
- correct leg and foot placement -- knowing when and where to
step
- good balance -- each partner must hold up their own body
weight, hold up their own arms, and be balanced equally from the back
and front as well as from left and right.
- learning and knowing each partner's "responsibility" -- We
need to know what the other is doing and should be doing.
Therefore "leading and following" requires a level of body awareness.
It also asks us to understand the mechanics of the figures being
danced. Every figure uses a variety of techniques in its own execution;
however, if you follow some of the above general rules and techniques
it will make your dancing a more pleasant experience.
From notes
prepared for the RAL Minilab, October 2016, printed June 2000,
and
reprinted
in the Dixie Round Dance Council (DRDC)
Newsletter, March 2023.
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