Taking Hold: Details

Notes
The numbers correlate with the stages of the description in the Core section.

(1) Lead: Your feet are placed apart to give the follower the option of dancing closer to you if she/he desires.

(1) Lead: A more refined approach is to offer your hand palm upwards, and as your partner accepts and steps in, to articulate your lower arm upward while rotating your palm to face your partner, into the 'y'-shaped position.

(2) Follower: You should always bear the weight of your own arm instead of hanging it from your partner's. You will also need to exert a little pressure on your partner via the contact area of your palm, by pressing through the wrist. This will make you more sensitive to lead forces.

(3) Lead: Try to position your second and third fingers onto the back of the follower's palm. Use those to apply the little pressure required to secure the hand in place. Be careful not to crush your partner's fingers between your first finger and thumb.

(4) Follower: your partner gains more leverage the closer together you stand, making the lead stronger.

(4) Follower and Lead: The partnership is offset so that you both don't suffer a clash of knees while dancing. You should position yourself so that your partner's right knee is between both of yours.

(4) Follower: Raising your elbow allows the lead to position his/her right arm around your back.

(5) Lead: A common fault is for your hand to creep forward as you dance. The further your partner's hand moves backward relative to her/his shoulder, the more tension increases, until a crucial point when the arm is unable to articulate backward any further - then the follower's body will start to rotate clockwise. This results in a misalignment in the partnership, causing the follower to take her/his steps at an angle diagonal to yours.

(6) Lead: How far you can reach around depends on many factors. Suffice to say that you could find your right palm anywhere from the left of your partner's waist to right side of her/his back, with your fingers angled downward if you're taller, to level if you're shorter.

(6) Lead: The tendency is for the right shoulder to creep forwards and the elbow to drop. Try not to let that happen because it reduces the enclosure that the follower dances in, depriving her/him of a sense of space. You can minimise this by angling the fingers of your right hand downwards if possible.

(6) Lead: notice that we used the word "palm" more than hand. Beginners sometimes curl the fingers of their right hand and dig them into their partners' backs while learning to lead. Obviously not a good idea if you want to dance with that person again. Think about leading with the palm.

(7) Follower: depending on the height difference and partner distance, your hand position can vary from the lead's upper arm to the back of the neck. Remember that if your arm is positioned behind your partner, you cannot be led through a clockwise turn (because your left arm would become locked part-way through the turn).

(7) Follower: keeping your hand on his right shoulder also gives you a good idea of where his right foot is. Proficient dancers tend to end their step with their shoulders positioned over their heels.

(8) Lead: this is the real icing on the cake. By orientating your torso just a couple of degrees toward your partner, you give the follower the feeling of a lot more space. If you were the follower it alleviates the feeling of having the lead's right shoulder being pushed into your face/throat, and of being sucked under the lead's right upper arm every time he/she steps forward.

Learning Tips
The hold is supposed to be a breathing environment for both partners. To prevent your hold from resembling a vice, try to think of your arms as "curling" around your partner (as much as he/she is comfortable with).

Common Faults
Noisy hold
Mainly found with very exuberant dancers. The arms jiggle up and down, making it hard to tell when the arms are being raised in preparation for a turn. You can let your body do the talking, while preventing excess noise from entering your hold.

Other common faults have already been detailed in the Notes above.