7. The Lead-Follow of Weight change

To weight or not to weight: "It happens only through feeling each other’s body"

The subtle and rhythmic musicality in close embrace style critically depends on a good connection and a smooth and quick weight change. Since there are no visual clues in this style for lead-follow and it happens only through feeling each other’s body, a heightened sensitivity is required for an effective weight change lead to work. You have to stop thinking and start feeling for the lead to work.

Exercise 7.

• Step 1. In close embrace, leaders take a left step (followers right step). Leaders stay upright on your left foot and followers do not rush into changing weight and stay on your right foot while keeping your left leg gracefully extended next to right leg.

• Step 2. Leader changes weight to right foot slowly and sinks into the right leg, letting the leg bone lock into hip socket. This results in a slight lowering of the leader’s torso and if the connection is good, this should translate into the lowering of follower’s torso resulting in a weight change to follower’s left foot.

  This lowering of the torso is so subtle that it is hardly visible and can be referred to as the lowering of ‘energy’.

  Note for Followers: Although the leader does lock his leg bone into his hip socket, followers do not. Followers follow the same sinking process without the locking since they need to be more ‘ready’ and unlocking takes time.

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