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Welcome to Episode 66 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast
How do you start a dance with someone else? With an invitation, of course. However, with an invitation, a lot will be going on. When a lead invites someone to the dance, they have to be understanding and not simply push their follows into the dance. In fact the terms ‘leads’ and ‘follows’ isn’t entirely accurate for this part of the dance.
Leads are offering the dance, but have to understand that the follow is under no obligation to say yes. In dance, as with anything, consent is required. Leads need to be able to provide and give for their follows afterwards, to provide for the follow and make sure they are getting what they need.
Follows, on the other hand, need to make sure that they are being provided for in turn, to feel the support that the lead is giving them. Both of them require empathy and understanding of your dance.
This is where the invitation comes in. Leads to need to make sure to be formal and clear in your invitation. Show your hand, and make sure they have the opportunity to say no. This may be scary, but it is an important element. Both parties need to want the dance. Here, the follows -once they’ve accepted the dance- is to let themselves be into the dance and follow the leads’ examples, even if it isn’t what they envisioned or if the follow is clunky or untrained.
The invitation is what allows all this to take place. The dance cannot happen with that first step. You need to be willing to open to that first step and open yourself to the potential of rejection and of a dance you do not expect.
‘The formal asking of the dance, understand leads, that you are offering yourself, you are offering your dance to the person that you are asking to dance. And follows, that you are, when you say yes, if you say yes, that you are accepting all of them, in the same way, that on the flipside that leads when you ask her to dance and she says yes, you understand that you said yes and you accepted your follow for all of her techniques or lack thereof.’
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