This Is Why Natural Turn Breaks Up Your Waltz – And Here's How To Fix The Problem

This Is Why Natural Turn Breaks Up Your Waltz – And Here's How To Fix The Problem

Do you feel like your waltz is going just fine? You find the rhythm in the music, you learn the steps well, and everything seems to be in order. But after the waltz turns, your dancing position starts to feel heavy. Your knees may be colliding, you step on your partners toes, and the dance generally feels stiff. This could be a sign that the turn is not completely aligned – but don’t worry, it’s easy to fix.

This is a very common problem in the waltz. Turns are often the most common challenge that arises between dance partners. Many dancers struggle with mastering the correct turn, but don’t worry – in this post we’ll go over the most common reasons why a waltz turn fails, and tell you how you can easily fix the problems and improve your dancing.

The man leads and the woman follows – DOES NOT work in waltz or other couple dances

I'll break one of the most common myths in dance right from the start. Everyone has probably heard this phrase: 'The man leads and the woman follows'. Of course, nowadays it would be better to talk about leaders and followers, but I'm a slave to my habits, so in this post I'll talk about men and women.

Couple dance – like the waltz – is, as the name suggests, about PAIR work. So, couple dance doesn't work like a taxi ride, where the man is the driver and the woman sits in the seat of the one who is afraid.

During the dance, the leader and follower switch places. In some dances, like the waltz, it can be the case that the woman leads and the man follows.

Just like in normal communication: When one person speaks, the other listens and reacts to the message. If both speak at the same time, there is no conversation.

Usually, the dancer who moves forward leads the dance. The one who moves forward has a better view of where they are going and is able to give direction with their own body movements. The person moving backwards receives the message and reacts to it.

The person moving forward initiates the movement and gives the message about which direction to go, at what tempo and with what intensity. The person moving backwards reacts and directs his own movement according to these instructions.

If the person moving backwards takes the reins and starts leading, the leading may get out of hand. This leads to the partner experiencing imbalance as he tries to keep up with the beat and move in rhythm.

Dancing, especially in waltz, is really challenging if your partner is pulling you away from your hands while you are trying to keep up with the music and remember the step patterns.

Therefore, it is important to always be aware of your own role in the dance. Are you moving forward or backward? Are you the leader or the follower? For example, in a natural turn of waltz, the man first moves forward (1,2,3) and then backward (4,5,6). The role changes between the partners each time after the first part of the turn.

The first step in correct natural turn is identifying your own role and working well with your partner.

How to lead your partner into the natural turn in a waltz?

The next common problem is related to leading in waltz and other partner dances. Often, the leading instinctively comes from the hands, because in the dance position we are connected to the partner through the hands.

If I start to turn my partner with my hands, the same problem arises as in the previous point, i.e. moving backwards, I may pull my partner with my hands. Guiding with my hands easily causes my partner to lose balance.

So where do I make the turn? Short answer: from the ankle.

Yes, try this right away on your own. Take a step forward with your right foot and at the same time turn your ankle to the right. When you shift your body weight onto your right foot, you will notice how your body naturally turns in the direction you turned your ankle.

Your partner also feels this turn and reacts to it during the dance. So the leading does not need to turn their partner with their hands, but rather gives the turn signal through the movement of their body – and this signal comes from the movement of their ankle.

The role of the follower in the waltz turn: How to react correctly?

In a waltz turn, the couple swaps places, and the division of roles is a key part of the success of the turn. One of the most common problems is related to how to swap places and how to divide the roles correctly.

In a waltz turn, there is what is called an inner circle and an outer circle. Other dancer is on the inner circle and the other on the outer circle, and both have their own role in the turn.

The one who moves forward is on the outer circle. The one moving forward has a longer distance to change places. The one moving backward is on the inner circle and is responsible for controlling the turn.

The one moving backward can easily ruin the entire turn if he or she is too active. If the one moving backward moves backward too much, it will lengthen the distance of the one moving forward and prevent him from passing his partner.

Instead of moving backward strongly, the one moving backward should slow down a little and curve his steps in the direction of the turn. This way, the one moving forward can smoothly pass his partner and the turn will be successful.

Natural turn in waltz: Key steps and tips

In summary: In a waltz turn, the roles of the leader and the follower often change. So not the cliché 'the man leads and the woman follows', because then the dance becomes stiff and heavy.

The lead and turns in the waltz are done from the ankle. If you start turning your partner with your hands, you can easily make them unbalanced, which makes the dance uncomfortable and difficult.

In turns, the person moving forward is on the outer circle, and the person moving backward is on the inner circle. The person moving forward has a longer distance, so the person moving backward must slow down their movement so that the person moving forward can smoothly pass.

With these tips, the waltz turn will be smooth, and the dancing will feel light!

Do you want to learn more tips on correct turns? Or would you like to master the left turn?

Take part in our FREE basic waltz course! Click the link below and take control of the waltz easily!