Travelling steps

 

Travelling Steps:

When you boil it down there’s only a few things you can do on a dance floor. Stay static, rotate, go somewhere and a few miscellaneous bits and pieces.
Travelling is part of the ‘going somewhere’ group.
To move across the dance floor we can either take small or big ones. I call small steps shuffling, and the big ones travelling steps.

Definition of Travelling:
A large step across the floor on any beat in any direction, but they must follow the rule of travelling.
Because travelling steps are numerous and used in every regional style, it's useful to identify and master the mechanical properties so we can easily master new moves that have similar properties.

Well Known Moves that include a travelling steps:

Cross Body Lead (f5), Dil’ Que No. (f5) Open Break (f1), Copa (f3 f5), Gupea (f2 f3 f6 f7),
Around the world (f2 f3 f6 f7), Paseala (f2 f 6)
[ The f before the number refers to the eight count as started on the leaders left foot e.g. f5 = Right foot of the leader and left of the follower. ]

The Rule of Travelling Steps:
When a follower travels across or around the leader, the travelling step  must be the follower's leg nearest the leader.
If this rule is broken, during the travelling step, the follower swings in towards the leader, which in terms of body language is overtly sexual. When tested on followers who have no dance experience, they consistently say this felt ‘wrong’ and following the rule felt ‘right’.
I know of no travelling moves that break this rule.

The Travelling Event:
A travelling step may be in any direction and on any beat as long as it also conforms with the rules of Footwork Sequence* and Travelling.
During the beat that the Travelling step takes place, the leaders communicates that a travelling step is to take place, in what direction and how far. The follower needs to receive this information and react accordingly.
The leaders communication i.e. his lead has to be at the very beginning of the beat so the follower can complete it within the beat.

There is always the temptation to start the lead before the beat that the travelling step is on. Often this has no consequence but will often provoke the follower to travel on the earlier beat which may break the rule of travelling and feel uncomfortable.

Preparation:
For travelling steps there is no prepstep or hint that a travelling step is about to happen.
It is necessary to ‘connect’ i.e. gain the full attention of your follower before the sequence starts. Without this connection the lead becomes an ambush and is uncomfortable and hard to follow.

The Lead:
To lead a travelling step simply push or pull the follower in the direction of travel.
It’s almost the same as if you are sliding a cardboard box so that across the floor.
The important difference is that the travelling step is led with connection and consideration. The leader accelerates the follower working with her body movement. The follower will find it intuitive and easy to follow. This allows for a wide range of variations and interpretation of the move.

Anticipation:
Often the moves using travelling steps are very prone to anticipation.
Please be aware that anticipation of travelling step is probably the greatest cause of injuries in salsa.
When the follower regularly anticipates, the leader loses confidence that the follower will react to variations in length or position. His reaction to this is to usually ‘dumb down’ and avoid complex moves. If followers want the best from their leaders, they must master anti-anticipation.

How far to travel:
Each follower will have a comfortable range of travel based on confidence, gait, floor conditions and shoe type. The leader can work within this range leading either more or less than average to achieve the variation.

Cross Body Lead:
The most common travelling step by far, is the CBL which mechanically is identical to the Cuban Dil’ Que No. They both are first beat travelling steps on the 2nd bar i.e. f5      *2

For leaders- Expanding and varying your repertoire of travelling steps is an very easy way to make a leader's repertoire interesting and dynamic.
For followers- Being able to follow any travelling step in any direction is a mark of excellence. The skill of attention, connection, balance, reaction and dynamic movement all have to be mastered.

Tips:
When leading from partner hold, lead with the hand behind the followers back rather than pulling with the joined hands. The lead is much clearer and the joined hands can correct and var the move.

Followers - I recommend that your travelling step ends with your toe touching the floor before your heal. This prevents twisted ankles when wearing heels and looks elegant.
Imagine you are travelling to a stepping stone. This modifies the travelling step movement and require the follower to control their momentum once arrived, which prevents a large uncontrolled step on the next step.



*1: Rule of Footwork Sequence- Salsa is based on a series of steps and pauses that is continuous and seldom broken. Left Right Left Pause, Right Left Right Pause 

*2: f5 refers to the foot work count, also known as the 8count.

 f5=    123_ (5)67_  

In musical terms f5 is the 1st beat of the 2nd bar.

The Mechanics of Spinning

In this article I will outline the mechanics of spins using the coil-spin method.

It is not a tutorial as video is a better medium, but a discussion of spins within the conceptual framework of event based freestyle leading.

Some of the terms I use may be unfamiliar and may need extra explanation. This is a first draft so please point out errors or ask questions.

• What is a spin?
• Spins vs Turns.
• The Rule of Spins.
• Powering the spin.
• The Coil-Spin method.
• Is the coil necessary?
• Other methods of spinning.

• Leading a spin.
• Before the spin sequence starts.
• Posture.
• Spotting.
• The coil.
• The lead of a spin.
• Leading from above the followers head.
• What beat is the spin on?
• Making it easy to remember.
• Prep-Steps.
• Tips.

Definition:

What is a spin?

I define a spin event as a large amount of rotation on a specific beat. Because of the large amount of rotation a spin will nearly always involve swivelling the ball of the foot on the floor as the foot cannot rotate a full circle. Because of their speed, spins can look fast and dynamic.

Spins vs Turns:

I define a turn as a series of incremental rotational movements that when added together to form the required amount of rotation. Turns are generally slow compared to spins, as it can take several steps to achieve the same amount of rotation as a spin. Because turns use smaller amounts of rotation they can start on any beat in any direction. Turns are led with a constant subtle push or pull.

The Rule of Spins:

‘Spins are in the direction of the foot being stepped onto’.

If you step onto your left foot it feels more comfortable to spin to your left (anticlockwise) than to your right (clockwise). This is because of the shape and configuration of human hips and legs. It is possible to spin counter to this rule but given the major influence on style of ‘consideration’ to one’s partner, the vast majority of spins follow this rule.

 

Mechanics:

Powering the spin:

The power for the spin comes from the core muscles around the hips, legs and waist of the person spinning. It is very rare for the leader to power the follower and usually unnecessary. It’s important for leaders to remember that to lead a spin successfully, it’s best to focus on communication rather than power.

The Coil-Spin method:

The most common and natural way of powering a spin is to coil the core muscles to store energy, in one direction, then rapidly launch the spin in the other. Think of throwing a frisbee. Your arm coils up in the opposite direction to the direction of flight, storing energy. Then the power is rapidly released to launch the frisbee. We naturally coil ourselves without thinking but leading this “Coil-Spin method” to lead a spin can feel counter-intuitive at first but with a little practice feels completely natural.

The coil is usually on the beat before the spin where it is comfortable to coil in the opposite direction. The secret to leading a coil successfully is to think of it as a subtle clue or hint that allows the follower to store energy ready to spin.

Is the coil necessary?

Without a coil the follower is ambushed by the lead. To ask the follower to rapidly accelerate without any preparation is uncomfortable and therefore inconsiderate

Other methods of spinning:

It is possible to spin without coiling by using the upper body to twist a as you spin or to use the traction of the floor to pull you around  as in hook turns, but I’ll save those for another time :-)

Leading a Spin:

Before the spin sequence starts:

The leader must gain the full attention of the follower. I call this - connection. Think of a conductor in the moments before the orchestra plays the first note. The intense connection creates a moment of stillness while the baton is raised. This allows the communication to be very subtle.

Posture:

Posture is very helpful for maintaining balance during and after the spin.

Maintain a straight and vertical back with a balanced pose. Test this by standing on one leg and seeing if you can balance.

Often instructors suggest a slightly bent leg while spinning. I can find no mechanical reason for this other than to reduce the height of the follower so the leader may not have to reach up as much.

The coil:

The beat before the spin the leader subtly coils the follower. This is best described as a hint or a clue. The follower stores power in the hip muscles and is now ready for the spin. The follower must not assume (anticipate) that there is definitely going to be a spin at this point, but is fully prepared if one is led.

Note: It is hard for a follower to tell from is the leader is coiling you or starting a turn. The only difference is your preparedness.

The lead of a spin.

At the beginning of the next beat the leader leads with a clear decisive lead in the direction of the spin. The follower releases the stored energy to power the spin and spins.

The lead and subsequent spin is the ‘dynamic event’ of the move. A spin event on the second beat of the sequence is called a 2nd beat spin.

The lead takes place at the very beginning of the beat of the spin and the spin is usually completed by the end of the beat.

During the lead the follower assesses the lead and judges whether it is greater or lesser than average for that leader. She reacts to that judgement making her spin greater or lesser, more or less crisp etc.

Leading from above the followers head.

Using the style influences of efficiency and consideration, when leading from above the followers head I recommend the position where the followers thumb could touch the top center of her head. This gives the subtlety/ efficiency and supports the balance of the follower. Big looping movements can look very beginner like. I recommend that leaders, wherever possible, are ready to support the follower in case there is a loss of balance. This often means letting the hand/s above the head linger a moment or two longer in position.

What beat is the spin on?

Spins can be on any beat in any direction but obey the rules of spins and footwork sequence. This means that they may be only be in certain directions on certain beats.

Making it easy to remember:

For 8-counters   f1, f3, f6 are anticlockwise and f2, f5, f7 are clockwise.

For musical counters b1, b3 in the direction of first step of the sequence. B2 in opposite.

	b1	b2	b3	b4
1st beat spin	Spin (already coiled on previous beat)	step	step	pause
2nd beat spin	coil	Spin	step	pause
3rd beat spin	step	coil	Spin	pause

Prep-Steps:

Prep-Steps are an exaggeration of the coil spin method, used in the ‘Choreography Model’ of salsa. The leader preps the follower with a learnt signal. The follower assumes the ‘prep’ position which coils the hip in the same way as the coil/spin method. The difference being that the coil often take place several beats before the spin.

Prep-Steps are not universal and often vary from club to club.

All spins that use a Prep-Step can be led easily with the coil spin method.

Spotting:

As you spin maintain your head in a fixed position for as long as you can. This is as if you are staring at a spot at eye level. Delaying the head’s rotation as if you are looking at the spot as much of the time as possible, allows you to flicks your head around very quickly. This helps prevent feeling of giddiness.

The worst thing you can do is allow your eyes to track around the room like a video camera. See tip on recovering from giddiness.

Tips:

• Check out how the follower moves with gentle turns before fast spins. Find out if there are balance problems, drift or grip issues before they are a problem.
• If a follower anticipates the spin every time you raise your arm, raise the arm within partner hold and hold that position until she’s broken the mental link between arm raising and spin.
• Whichever foot you start the spin sequence, the next FWS starts on the other foot.
• If you struggle to get the correct FWS after the spin try freezing at the end of the spin sequence. This will give you a moment of choice as to which foot is next. Quoting the FWS will tell you which one it is.
• Your favourite direction of spinning will be the one you are most familiar with. So practice the other direction more until you’ve mastered both.
• If you get a little giddy, stop spinning but keep dancing which helps settle the fluid in the inner ear. The point at which you start to feel giddy gets further away with practice.
• NEVER put talc on a dance floor. You are creating a slip hazard and taking responsibility for any resulting accidents!