Hmmm, that usually happens to me when I do Viennese as well! ;) (Although there have been a couple times when I danced with a particularly tall guy in our club--he was 6'4", I believe, while I am a mere 5'5"--and there was barely a pretense of me actually doing the steps. I just got picked up, set down for a moment, whirled up again... Painful in the arms, but amusing nonetheless.)
It took me almost four years before I figured out the trick to Samba that made me stop feeling like a Weeble-Wobble, or perhaps a very drunk duck. Instead of bouncing up and down at the knees, you have to contract and release your ab muscles. This makes it look so much better. I so wished I'd discovered that earlier, because, while I'm definitely not great at it, now I at least look vaguely legitimate when I dance it.
Everything in Latin comes down to the abs. *g*
What are the differences between American and International samba, though?
Samba and Quickstep are actually the two syllabus dances where there isn't an American version. We just don't bother with a fifth American Smooth (equivalent to International Standard) dance, and we replace Samba with Mambo in American Rhythm. (Mambo being essentially Salsa starting on the second beat instead of the first.)
American-style dances can be very similar or very different to their international counterparts. American Waltz differs from International in purely in that opening out is allowed in competition in American; American Cha-Cha and Viennese are, for all intents and purposes, identical to International. But American Foxtrot, Tango, and Rumba are completely different dances from their International counterparts. In Rumba, the music is much faster, and the basic step is a box rather than a more side-to-side motion; Tango has pretty much nothing in common with the other version except the attitude, as is also the case with Foxtrot. And of course there's International Jive versus American Swing, where the former is much, much faster and more controlled than the latter. The American Smooth dances are generally considered easier than the International ones; Rhythm is about the same difficulty as Latin.
There are video clips here of basic steps; click on the Smooth or Rhythm dances.
Okay, wow, that was rambly. Sorry! Since I graduated, I haven't had anyone to talk about ballroom with, and now I'm all excited. :)
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2006-08-20 03:12 am (UTC)It took me almost four years before I figured out the trick to Samba that made me stop feeling like a Weeble-Wobble, or perhaps a very drunk duck. Instead of bouncing up and down at the knees, you have to contract and release your ab muscles. This makes it look so much better. I so wished I'd discovered that earlier, because, while I'm definitely not great at it, now I at least look vaguely legitimate when I dance it.
Everything in Latin comes down to the abs. *g*
What are the differences between American and International samba, though?
Samba and Quickstep are actually the two syllabus dances where there isn't an American version. We just don't bother with a fifth American Smooth (equivalent to International Standard) dance, and we replace Samba with Mambo in American Rhythm. (Mambo being essentially Salsa starting on the second beat instead of the first.)
American-style dances can be very similar or very different to their international counterparts. American Waltz differs from International in purely in that opening out is allowed in competition in American; American Cha-Cha and Viennese are, for all intents and purposes, identical to International. But American Foxtrot, Tango, and Rumba are completely different dances from their International counterparts. In Rumba, the music is much faster, and the basic step is a box rather than a more side-to-side motion; Tango has pretty much nothing in common with the other version except the attitude, as is also the case with Foxtrot. And of course there's International Jive versus American Swing, where the former is much, much faster and more controlled than the latter. The American Smooth dances are generally considered easier than the International ones; Rhythm is about the same difficulty as Latin.
There are video clips here of basic steps; click on the Smooth or Rhythm dances.
Okay, wow, that was rambly. Sorry! Since I graduated, I haven't had anyone to talk about ballroom with, and now I'm all excited. :)