Hello Yann, I'm a follower and the results of your survey are so true. I recognize myself in the answers. Leaders don't have to look for doing complicated moves. Making the followers safe and comfortable, leading clearly, have a right connection are one of the most important things. So many leaders wants to learn many moves in order to impress the followers. But i think they just need to master some fundamentals moves, to lead them precisely and use them in the right moment with the music. A basic on the spot, on the music could be much more enjoyable than a difficult move with no clear lead and not on the music.
Thanks for your article and your all blog. So useful !!!!
Great to hear that the findings are in line with your experience. To be honest I've struggled with this myself in my early days. Back then I wasn't equipped with the knowledge yet on which "role models" I should look for on the dance floor. It's easy to get sidetracked by those guys that do a lot of crazy and impressive moves. But if the followers actually like dancing with them is not something you can tell from the outside. It took me about a year to understand what kind of leader I want to be and what I need to pay attention to.
I totally agree and understand you. When I first started dancing, I was afraid to dance with leaders doing impressive moves. And apparently speaking with some other followers, I was not the only one. I understand, watching from outside, you can think, wow it's a good dancer but it doesn't mean necessarily he's good for the follower. I used to think the same for the stylish followers. Like "wow look at her, she's amazing" but recently, speaking with leaders, I realised they don't enjoy too much this kind of followers. Simply because they are too focus on styling and not enough of following. That's interesting to see how our opinion can change with the time and experience. At the end, nothing replace practice, I'm not the same dancer as the beginning and I have a lot coming to improve myself. But what it matters is the journey. Anyway thanks Yann for the leader's perspective, that's interesting to read 😉
Yes can confirm! Overstyling is 100% a thing and it makes the dance unenjoyable. Unfortunately I see this with quite a few followers who are dancing at an intermediate level and are very good followers. Then they think the next thing to improve is to add a lot of styling. They take the wrong classes and as a result they look better on the dance floor but their ability to follow massively decreased. Now they are a worse follower than before...🤷🏼♂️
The biggest gift you can give a follower is to make them feel safe, only then will they be able to be fully present and open up to you. But also be able to give back in a dance, finding freedom in the movement...
Very true! In many aspects creating a connection is like forming a relationship. You can't just expect someone to open up if you don't make time to get to know each other first and establish trust. That might be a small hint at next weeks newsletter 👀
Hello Yann, I'm a follower and the results of your survey are so true. I recognize myself in the answers. Leaders don't have to look for doing complicated moves. Making the followers safe and comfortable, leading clearly, have a right connection are one of the most important things. So many leaders wants to learn many moves in order to impress the followers. But i think they just need to master some fundamentals moves, to lead them precisely and use them in the right moment with the music. A basic on the spot, on the music could be much more enjoyable than a difficult move with no clear lead and not on the music.
Thanks for your article and your all blog. So useful !!!!
Great to hear that the findings are in line with your experience. To be honest I've struggled with this myself in my early days. Back then I wasn't equipped with the knowledge yet on which "role models" I should look for on the dance floor. It's easy to get sidetracked by those guys that do a lot of crazy and impressive moves. But if the followers actually like dancing with them is not something you can tell from the outside. It took me about a year to understand what kind of leader I want to be and what I need to pay attention to.
I totally agree and understand you. When I first started dancing, I was afraid to dance with leaders doing impressive moves. And apparently speaking with some other followers, I was not the only one. I understand, watching from outside, you can think, wow it's a good dancer but it doesn't mean necessarily he's good for the follower. I used to think the same for the stylish followers. Like "wow look at her, she's amazing" but recently, speaking with leaders, I realised they don't enjoy too much this kind of followers. Simply because they are too focus on styling and not enough of following. That's interesting to see how our opinion can change with the time and experience. At the end, nothing replace practice, I'm not the same dancer as the beginning and I have a lot coming to improve myself. But what it matters is the journey. Anyway thanks Yann for the leader's perspective, that's interesting to read 😉
Yes can confirm! Overstyling is 100% a thing and it makes the dance unenjoyable. Unfortunately I see this with quite a few followers who are dancing at an intermediate level and are very good followers. Then they think the next thing to improve is to add a lot of styling. They take the wrong classes and as a result they look better on the dance floor but their ability to follow massively decreased. Now they are a worse follower than before...🤷🏼♂️
The biggest gift you can give a follower is to make them feel safe, only then will they be able to be fully present and open up to you. But also be able to give back in a dance, finding freedom in the movement...
Very true! In many aspects creating a connection is like forming a relationship. You can't just expect someone to open up if you don't make time to get to know each other first and establish trust. That might be a small hint at next weeks newsletter 👀