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ladies take the lead
Ladies Take the Lead is an experiential workshop for women in Latin partner dance. Designed in response to women’s struggle in traditional partner dance classes, this workshop allows all participants to practice both leading and following in a supportive, feminine space.
Classes are a core component of cosmopolitan partner dance. I consider them one of the strongest representations of the value of artistry, for the ways in which cosmopolitan dance draws from both professional partner dance and the European tradition of courtly partner dances.
Let me start by explaining how standard Latin partner dance classes in New York City work.
The Class
Classes tend to run immediately before the “social” or party, and are often complimentary with the cover for the social. In New York City, they are affordable, ranging from $10-20 per class. Classes tend to start at 8pm or 9pm and last for
45 minutes to one hour.
At the start of class, all leaders and followers copy the instructors for a short warm-up. The warmup usually includes basic steps and turns to the class’s specific advertised style of music. After the warm-up, instructors will ask leaders to pair up with a follower* and stand in a large circle. At this point, the instructor will begin teaching a “pattern” (meaning, a choreography or sequence of moves) that dancers will learn and practice for the rest of the class.
When instructors call “Rotate!” leaders move to the next follower and continue learning and practicing the pattern. This class structure where dancers remain in the same role for the entire class is one example of “single-
*Many Latin dance class instructors still use gendered language to reffer to leaders and followers as “ladies and guys” (or similar), although this is slowly changing due to several factors, including societal regard for gender neutral language, the queer Latin dance community, and individual dancers within the Latin dance community who use the more progressive language already standard in other styles of partner dance, like fusion, blues and swing dance.
