Masculine Movement

I'm on a quest to find resources about masculine movement and body language. Online resources are predictably slim, but there are a few interesting things:



Dance and Testosterone

Summary: Dance is a used to signal genetic fitness. High T men and Low T women are generally more coordinated. High T people generally make large, high energy movements; Low T people generally make smaller more subtle movements.

Out but not About

I got my DD 256 in the mail a few days ago. That is all.

Yesterday

Started the morning with a workout. I am without a gym for the moment, so I am stuck doing body weight exercises (with the benefit of a nice set of bars). I'm up to doing > 20 pull-ups in a session now (certainly not consecutively). Feels kind of good, although nothing compared to Bruce Lee's 50 consecutive one-armed pull-ups.

I played the first game of risk, I've played in quite a while. I won.

Back Alley Blues was amazing. I followed Michael Smith for a good while; we talked about following - what to concentrate on when trying to get better. Specifically, Michael mentioned momentum and frame.

I've come to the conclusion that following at the basic level is composed of:

1. Momentum
2. Frame
3. Lack of Anticipation
4. Collection and Balance
5. Self Defense

Michael talked a bit about how adding styling works. Specifically, accentuating the momentum already in the dance with flourishes is a good way to start doing things.

I danced a couple of great dances with other follows and Lessa Lamb, the moderator suggested that I dance on video. I got a bit of the first time shakes, but I'm smooth enough to cover most of it.

It was really weird watching myself dance. Not quite as weird as hearing myself speak, but it definitely had the same quality.

I also got some good feedback that I'm weight-shifting wide which means that I'm not being definitive in my weight shifts.

Hopefully I'll be able to post some video later on.

Also, I have a few really great dances in close embrace. I've pretty much avoided the position due to its utter and ridiculous sexiness (and the difficulty a lack of space adds to dancing in general), but I feel like my repertoire is limited without being able to do it well. I'm mostly happy with how things worked out - the connection was great and I was able to walk and do most things well, but *cough* distractions abound. Hopefully such things will improve with practice.

After Back Alley Blues, I went to have a drink at Lucid with my roommate Martin. I was magical - the live jazz was stunning and the house red I got was very nice. The jazz was so nice I really didn't mind that it was at the edge of my threshold of volume tolerance much of the time. There's something really magical about the whole place - clearly I need to stay away from the place; it is simply too delightful.

I'm thinking that I should bud off a dance blog. I don't really post much to anything these days so we'll see, but if the next few entries go like this, it might be a good idea.

Blues Dance

Mood: Fast Car, Tracy Chapman

For anyone who doesn't know, I've been Blues dancing (example) since the beginning of the year.

The first few months were pretty rough. If it were a realistic option to be a follow, I probably would have taken it; being a beginning lead is one of the most humbling things I've stuck with.

Going on my sixth month, things are smoothing out a bit. I feel like I'm not a rank beginner any more (although I am by no means an intermediate dancer). There are a few follows who ask me to dance and, I am pretty sure, enjoy the experience.

And yet, I can't seem to let well enough alone. Sometimes, I think I am incapable of just enjoying myself, that improvement is a necessary component of a good time; perhaps that isn't such a bad thing, all things considered.

The catalyst for this post is the upcoming Burn Blue Jack and Jill.

There are 7 weeks until the competition; I've got a mini curriculum for myself:

Walking: forward/backward, side to side, promenade around and promenade side by side.
Momentum based turns: back, right and left
Lunges
Integrating momentum based turns and lunges
Fast bounce
Icing moves
Polish

I've been in a jack and jill before so I generally know what's going on, but it's always nice to have an inflection point for which to bring one's A game. It will be interesting to see what August brings.

Folklife

I'm going to folklife; here is my schedule. I may not follow it exactly, but I'll give it a good shot.

I also plan on bringing my ipod and speakers.