Salsa City Forum » Salsa Music and Dance » Hands up and Surrender!

I usually toil around for ages before something clicks that then turns out to have been obvious to everyone else all along.

This time it concerns the lady's arm tension. She often has it when you don't want it (aaarrrggghhh!!!); and not when you do (aaaarrrrggghhhh again!!).

It seems to me there is a simple principle that works just about all the time (cue light bulb!). When her arms are overhead - above shoulder height - she should drop tension and let them go soft. (That could be when the man is about to lead some close-in knotty turn or pretzel). When they are at or below shoulder height, she should have some springy tension in them. (That could be when the man is about to lead some springy waist-level turn or otherwise steer the lady.)

Is this right?

Why haven't instructors told me this ...?

XY

Hi, XY. I would say that was not right. At least, I can think of a couple of situations when it is not right. When the man is leading the woman in a spin she certainly needs some tension in her right arm, especially if it's a double or multiple spin. Here's an interesting piece by Josie Neglia on the subject of multiple spins. On the other hand, when the man is leading a "wrap" move, the tension in the woman's lowered "wrapped" arm should, momentarily, reduce almost to zero to avoid discomfort or injury.

It's very difficult, but not impossible, to influence the arm tension of a casual dance partner. Ultimately, I think the best approach is to concentrate your efforts on the people you most enjoy dancing with. I'm thinking of a woman I danced with a few times; the tension in her arms was so great I would feel like I'd been in a fight after dancing with her. But I would see her dancing with someone else and they seemed to be enjoying themselves just fine (still looked like a wrestling match, tho).

Hmnnnn interesting. Thanks for the thoughtful reply, Hugh. And the link.

On the spin, I'm not so sure - One instructor in London told me that while the man should have good position (imagine a road cone over her head ... LOL) and a bit of tension when overhead, the lady provides her own power for the spin and so there should be (almost) no tension in her arm there overhead. This seemed sensible. I certainly prefer partners who are light on the hands - it seems there is so much more time to do everything.. like driving a sports car instead of a truck LOL

You're right about the wrap, though. Point taken. But generally, when arms are lower down, and stretched out a bit, you need the spring to steer the lady and spin or turn her at waist level (particularly if coming out of e.g. a wrap and then spinning her the reverse way; or when you're left-to-left and want to half turn her anticlockwise through a cross-body)

Anyone else got any thoughts on this? Can we construct / assemble any general principles?

Yes, although the woman does provide her own power for a spin the man provides some impetus, as a signal to spin or (especially) keep spinning, so the woman has to have enough tension in her arm to resist this and keep her hand in position relative to her head. But I suppose if it's done right it feels so smooth that it doesn't really feel like "tension" at all.

This business of arm tension gets right to the heart of partner dancing. It's all about cooperation and communication, and in dancing, as in life, some people are more cooperative and communicative than others. The only general principle I can come up with at the moment is - if it feels right, it is right.

It's obviously not enough to say, as some teachers do, "keep some tension in your arms". I think that's the root of the problem for some people, they take it as the complete and literal truth.