Talk:Connection (dance)

message: Previous page contact was more a discussion of open & closed body positions, so I moved some of it to open position and closed position and frame.  But both were misleading: the described positions were specific to certain styles of swing dance.  As described, the open position discussion only applies if the partners have a similar height.
As well, the previous author mentioned that high pressure signals a move.  Only movement signals a move.  Force (perhaps very subtle) is required for movement, but significant pressure may be applied without movement, especially in modern day Lindy Hop or Blues.
-- User:Bryan_Larsen Nov 01, 2003
Not all dances are the same ! I've generalised it, as others have done - in Modern Jive (similar to a 4-Beat Hustle?), we generally obey  Newton's Laws of Motion for smoothness ! We (esp. the follow) move according to the applied forces. That's a consequence of power-lead-and-follow connection, as opposed to signal-and-response connection (Ooh - that's another distinction worth making on the page ...).
I also generalised an existing assumption that tension=rigidity. A frame can have tension and still be elastic. Tension is not the same as being tense ! (Google "define:tension" gives 'latent hostility' first ! )
Maybe there is a subtle American/English language difference ? Some people use 'Compression' to mean 'moving inwards' (flexion) instead of 'a pushing force' - but I don't think anyone uses 'tension' to mean 'moving outwards' (extension) instead of 'a pulling force'. I have seen 'Tone' used instead of 'Tension' ... and 'leverage' instead of 'compression tension', but that's very misleading. In Physics, 'leverage' involves forces acting at two different distances from a pivot/fulcrum ! The word could be more useful in that sense even in dancing - you get more leverage turning someone by her extended hand than by turning her by her waist (even with the same tension!).
('Force' is another ambiguous word - to some (eg Martial Arts) people it means 'violence', in Physics the weight of a feather is force !)
--195.137.93.171 07:52, 20 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  

message: This page involves a great number of syntax errors. It needs to be edited by someone who knows the subject and also has the requisite editing skills.
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Is the anonymous statement above still true ? The syntax looks good to me, and I'm quite fussy. Just fix syntax/grammar/unambiguous-spelling errors - no need to discuss ?
--195.137.93.171 07:30, 20 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Syntax 

message: In closed position with body contact, connection is achieved by maintaining a frame, a stable structural combination of both bodies maintained through the dancers' arms and/or legs. The follow moves to match the lead, maintaining the pressure between the two bodies as well as the position.
In an open position or a closed position without body contact, the hands and arms alone provide the connection, which may be one of three forms: tension, compression or neutral.
This seems horribly confused to me.
Connection occurs in both open and closed dance positions (also called "open frame" and "closed frame").
Connection is achieved by maintaining a frame, a stable structural combination of both bodies maintained through the dancers' arms and/or legs. The follow moves to match the lead, maintaining the pressure between the two bodies as well as the position.
The connection may be one of three forms: tension, compression or neutral.
seems better - 'open position' and 'closed position' are now linked - and on the 'frame' link page.
--195.137.93.171 08:35, 20 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Delete Open/Closed Details ?