I’ve Been Framed, And I Like It!
By Lorraine Jacquard

One of the hardest aspects of teaching dance is getting students to understand and incorporate good frame. Frame, which includes the posture and position of the body, arms, and hands (contact points), is, in my opinion, the most important aspect of partner dancing. A good frame by both partners insures that information will be delivered and received in a clear and comfortable manner. In fact, I think it’s so important that I tell all my students to practice “in frame” so their bodies will get used to it. That’s the good news – muscle memory will eventually kick in and you will no longer have to think about your frame, but it will take time and practice.

Many people think that leading is only about pulling, pushing, yanking and cranking or that following is being pulled, pushed, yanked and cranked. Untrained leads think that the leads left arm pumping up and down throughout the dance, or the leads right hand on the follow’s waist are perfectly fine. Untrained follows don’t move until they’re pulled or pushed. This may have been an effective way to dance with your sibling in the living room but it doesn’t work very well on a dance floor. Here are some specific things to think about when you are partner dancing:

1. Posture: Back straight and spine aligned, tummy in, butt in, and head up! And I really want to stress the head up part! If you’re looking at your feet, your head, which is about 10% of your body weight, is pulling your body off center and out of balance.

2. Positioning: Pay attention to the positioning of any particular dance. Most, but not all, dances require the follow to be off center, to the lead’s right. This is important because squaring up with each other could result in kicked shins and stepped on feet. You both need space to step between or past each other’s feet.

3. Arms: Keep those elbows up, away from your sides. If either one of your elbows drop, the frame collapses. I think of the space between the partners as an air pocket. When the lead moves in any direction, that air pocket dynamically sends the follow in the same direction. A collapsed frame means that the air pocket is gone (like air leaving a balloon) and the message is no longer clear. Both lead and follow must insure the air does not escape by keeping their elbows up. Follows must be conscientious about not laying their left arm on the lead’s right arm or it will feel to the lead like hauling around a sack of cement. The connection between the two arms should end a maximum of about 3 inches past the armpit. And for the leads, no pumping that left arm! That’s the signal arm and pumping gives mixed signals - if it’s going up and down throughout the dance, how will your partner know when you mean for her to turn?

4. Hands: The lead should keep his right hand on the follow’s left shoulder blade. A good deal of information is delivered, very subtly, in that spot. If the hand is on the waist or hip, the information will need to come from some other less effective means. The connected hands, the lead’s left and follow’s right, should be what I call soft. The lead makes a soft cup and the follow drops softy into it, with no clutching or clinging and no clamping down with the thumb. Keep those thumbs free. Too often, either or both partners clutches on while trying to execute a turn or step that requires only a slight bit of palm or fingertip pressure. When this happens, someone gets a wrist or an arm wrenched or one or both dancers are thrown off balance.

5. Feet: As you take your dance frame, be sure your feet are in the correct starting place for the dance and that your body weight is over the opposite foot than the foot that takes the first step.
This way the lead communicates with a subtle weight shift that he is ready to move and the follow will receive the message and the dance begins smoothly.

Incorporating good dance frame will make a huge and positive difference in your dancing. If you feel you need help or more clarification, take a private lesson with one of the many qualified dance teachers in this area and you will be well on your way to safe, comfortable and happy dancing.