Dance Frame gains visibility
When I first began to get serious about ballroom dancing, the biggest issue for me was my frame. Of course, that's true for most people who haven't had formal dance training. No matter how good the rest of your technique, a bad frame destroys the look. In Ballroom, especially, dancers at every syllabus level struggle with proper frame. Desperate to improve this weakness, I went out and purchased an obscure item called "The Dance Frame."
It's a foam-covered extruded aluminum tube that fits around your neck and under your arms to place your frame in the right position. It helps develop muscle memory. It was flogged by former 4-time World 10 Dance Champions, Alain Doucet and Anik Jolicoeur so I figured it was worth a shot. Originally a Canadian invention, you could only get this through a single supplier for a while.
At the time, I wasn't sure how much it would help my posture. It cost as much as two dance lessons, but I had used far more than two lessons by that point working on my frame and not getting much better. One of my teachers laughed at the idea and thought it was a gimmick. Another had tried it and thought it didn't work, but I think he used the wrong size. The size of the frame is critical to its usefulness because the wrong size for your body will actually cause you to memorize poor posture. Fortunately, mine seemed to work perfectly. I was surprised at how quickly it made a difference.
I've only seen one other competitor in one of my studios practicing with the Dance Frame during the past two years. But I just noticed a big product description on DanceVision.com, so it is clearly gaining visibility. There are some video clips of Alain and Anik describing its use, even for Latin.
I encourage dance teachers to invest in this tool for their students. It's certainly not a gimmick, and when used in the right size, can be quite effective.
It's a foam-covered extruded aluminum tube that fits around your neck and under your arms to place your frame in the right position. It helps develop muscle memory. It was flogged by former 4-time World 10 Dance Champions, Alain Doucet and Anik Jolicoeur so I figured it was worth a shot. Originally a Canadian invention, you could only get this through a single supplier for a while.
I've only seen one other competitor in one of my studios practicing with the Dance Frame during the past two years. But I just noticed a big product description on DanceVision.com, so it is clearly gaining visibility. There are some video clips of Alain and Anik describing its use, even for Latin.
I encourage dance teachers to invest in this tool for their students. It's certainly not a gimmick, and when used in the right size, can be quite effective.
