How is your connection?

Back in March, Brian and I attended a dance camp held by Fred Astaire Illinois and taught by legendary dancer Corky Ballas. We learned a lot, but most memorable for me was a lesson on connection. Corky had us stand facing each other with our palms touching and sway back and forth. He said that the most important thing in ballroom dancing is knowing where your partner’s feet are and the only way to do that and dance at the same time is through the hand-to-hand connection.

I knew that the connection was necessary, but I did not realize that through it, I can feel Brian’s feet moving and the transfer of his weight from foot to foot. The transfer of weight from foot to foot tells the other where the foot will be next.

That connection must be firm and strong, but not overpowering and dominating. It must be matched by each partner so that each can feel the movement of the other’s feet. If one partner overpowers the other, then there is no knowledge of where the weaker connected partner’s feet are.

If you are connected rightly, you move as a couple as though you are one.

Jesus said this of marriage in Matthew 19:5-6 5 And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ 6 Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

In ballroom dancing, the couple must move together as one. In marriage, the couple must become one.

Becoming one requires a deep, strong and intimate connection with your marriage partner. As your marriage moves across the ballroom floor of life, you must move as one being.

If you have allowed the connection in your marriage to falter, why not spend some time together this weekend, just the two of you?

#ballroommarriage
#stayconnected
#whereareyourpartnersfeet
#followmylead
#leadyourwifewell
#ballroom
#marriage
#dancesport

Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot

Waltz, Tango, and Foxtrot are all dances that travel widely across the dance floor.

As the dance travels, that frame I referenced earlier  (#BallroomMarriage – The Frame Matters) truly matters. With many other couples on the floor, the man must be able to communicate to the woman that obstacles are coming and that we need to maneuver around them. If the man’s lead or the woman’s reading of that lead falters, the beauty of the dance will fail. A collision can occur, a toe or toes gets stepped on, or the dance stops altogether.

In the frame, the couple does not look at each other because of this need to navigate the floor and avoid other couples. Each looks to the left and by doing so, half of the floor can be seen. The man sees what lies ahead and the woman sees who is coming up behind. Then through unspoken communication in the frame, adjustments are made and the dance continues unhindered.

In a way, the couple has each other’s backs.

How is your frame with your dance partner these days? Do you have each other’s backs? Are you looking out for obstacles in the path of your dance? Is something coming up quickly behind you?

Spend sometime in the “frame of your dance” with your partner this weekend!