When a couple is connected in the Ballroom dances, they have not only one point of balance. They actually have three different balance points. There is one for each of the two partners, plus the partnership balance itself. If any one of those three is out of balance it affects the couple.
As dancers became historically more sophisticated in their understanding of couple’s balance, ballroom dancing moved from two people who were upright to two people whose upper bodies were shaping away from each other. This is what we refer to as the “martini glass” shape of the couple.
Different teachers will use different wording to describe the shape of this connection of the partnership.
One of my coaches, a former Canadian professional champion, always talked about how the shape is like a diamond. Others refer to a martini glass. Still others refer to an inverted cone. But all of them mean the same thing.
In this short video, we talk about how each partner is responsible for maintaining their own martini glass by counter-balancing their shape. When both partners do what they each need to do, the partnership has a chance to become a larger, more beautiful and more efficient martini glass shape than either of the partners could accomplish on their own.
