Ladies’ styling is a way for ladies to add something extra to their basic movements in a dance. This involves arm, hand, head, and body movements. The motion should look and feel natural and have a good flow with the steps that are being done. Ladies’ styling allows the woman’s personality to shine through in her dancing. In African dance, this is also called “ginga”, a way for her to display her uniqueness to the world while embracing her femininity.
There is more freedom to “style” when dancing solo (shines) vs with a partner. When dancing as a follow with a partner, the styling can’t interfere with the lead. However, there are plenty of opportunities to add styling which enhances the beauty of the dance without affecting the ability of the lead to lead.
Ladies’ styling can be applied to a variety of genres, but the type of styling can vary. For example, there is a lot more arm styling with wider ranges of motion in salsa or bachata compared to kizomba. In kizomba, the styling mainly focuses on the butt (“bunda”) with smooth rotations at various tempos and sometimes sharp, staccato type motions. Here are some fundamental concepts to follow when applying styling to salsa, bachata or kizomba:
1. Hand movements
Hands should look “soft”, slightly cupped with “flowy” fingers. There should be no rigidity in the hands when dancing.
2. Raising/lowering of the arms
Arms can be raised and lowered away from the body or close to the body. When raising arms away from the body, the wrists lead the movement upward, palms are facing down, and the fingers are softly trailing behind the wrists (fingers lower than wrists). When lowering hands away from the body, the wrists lead the movement downward, palms are facing up, and the fingers are softly trailing behind the wrists (fingers higher than wrists). Arms would be raised close to the body while turning to prevent hitting the lead when dancing in couple position. In this instance, the palms are initially facing/touching the body then rotating to eventually face down at the top. If the hands start touching the body below the waist, the fingers will be pointing downward, but starting above the waist, the fingers would point upward. Arms are usually lowered close to the body when dancing in couple position and almost always involves caressing the body in some way on the way down unless the arm is being lowered onto your partner. Hair combs (hands caressing the hair on the way down) can also be used.
The motion is slightly different with arm styling to the side. In this case, the arms would be raised close to the body at first and then the arms extended away from the body with the wrists leading the movement so that the palm ends up facing back with the fingers behind the wrist softly pointing backward.
3. Body rolls
Body rolls can start from the head, pelvis or hips (the side body roll). From the head or pelvis, think of the body roll in sections. When starting from the top, the head moves forward first, followed by the chest, abdomen, pelvis, and ending with the butt sticking out in the back at the end. In the reverse body roll, think of initiating the move forward at the bottom of your pelvis, followed by the abdomen, chest and then head.
The side body roll can be to the left or to the right. When initiating the side body roll to the left, the weight will be on the left foot, feet spaced slightly more than shoulder-width apart, and the hips will rotate counter-clockwise in a semi-circle. The body roll to the right would involve the weight on the right leg with clockwise rotation in a semi-circle.
4. “Bunda” rotations (kizomba)
The direction of the bunda rotation depends on where the weight is. Like the side body roll, when the weight is on the left, the rotation will be counter-clockwise, and when the weight is on the right, the rotation will be clockwise. Bunda rotations differ from the side body roll in that the feet are closer together and the rotation is concentrated in the butt area vs the hip area.
5. Using the head
Using the head by turning to face a certain direction can enhance the style of a movement. For example, in a side salsa step, turning your head to the left as you step out to the right adds more pizzazz than keeping your head looking straight ahead. When pivoting, keeping the head in the initial direction until just before the new change of direction looks sharper.
6. Body dissociation
In salsa, bachata and kizomba, dissociation of the upper body from the lower body is important for enhancing the sensuality of the dance. In other words, everything above the waist should be aligned in a different direction compared to below the waist. Here are some examples to explain. In the salsa front and back basic, as you step back on your right, the hips are slightly angled to the right but the upper body is facing front. In the bachata side to side basic, styling is enhanced by moving the hips in a figure 8 motion while the upper body is facing your partner. In the kizomba basic 1 step, the upper body is facing forward while the bunda is either doing mini waves or moving side to side in a figure 8 motion.
Ladies’ styling does take some practice to feel natural and have good flow. Once you are comfortable with the basic steps in a particular genre, take some time to practice styling with those steps in a mirror so you can assess what looks good and what may need some work. Work on your balance and posture, proper weight transfer, footwork, timing, and body movements/isolations. Take advantage of ladies’ styling classes offered in your community to get a better understanding of fundamentals of styling. While there are these fundamental concepts to follow, each woman will incorporate them into her dancing in a way that works with her body and her personality. Each woman’s “ginga” is unique, like a fingerprint. With practice, you will build your confidence to showcase your unique style on the dance floor.
