When you think about Pietro Braga, you automatically think about musicality in Standard Ballroom dances. So did the students present at the Transylvanian Grand Prix Camp. They expected that Pietro’s lecture will focus solely on musicality. But he surprised all of us! His starting words of the lecture were:
“If the technique is not correct, musicality won’t be correct either”
Like this, Pietro announced that his focus will be on the technical aspects of the swing dances. He approaches the technique of swing dances by looking at three main aspects.
Head weight
One of the first things that a dancer should pay attention to in Standard dances is the head weight. It not only gives you the correct posture but without it, you cannot have good stability in the couple.
“Headweight controls the gravity of the body.”
If you do not control your head weight you cannot do the body actions in a correct manner, and in consequence, you won’t be able to apply the musicality and interpretation that you wish.
Pietro also focuses on the lady. He considers that the lady is a good indication if the man is leading properly or not. Furthermore, ladies can make a huge difference in the couple if they use in a correct manner the head weight.
Gravity point
The next point on Pietro’s agenda of what are the most often mistakes in swing dances is finding your gravity point. This is essential if you wish to have a good lead and follow dialog between you and your partner.
“If the gravity point is correct, automatically you have a natural reaction to movement. Therefore, making it technically correct.”
Stability
Coordination is one of the most basic principles in our dancing world. All the parts of the body should be coordinated and, of course, the partners between them. But pay attention, coordination cannot be achieved if you do not tick the following states:
1. The state of equilibrium, when all forces are equal.
2. The state of stability, which is your ability to change body positions without losing the connection.
3. The state of balance, which is your ability to control the equilibrium during the change of body positions.
If you want to fully grasp all Pietro’s explanations, you can watch his lecture that is included as a BONUS in the Transylvanian Grand Prix package of lectures. In the package you can find 7 lectures from the following teachers:
- William Pino
- Roberto Albanese
- Frederic Mosa
- Pietro Braga
- Siscu Perez