How to develop more natural body movement?

How to develop more natural body movement?

This Lead, has been dancing Salsa for the past 8 months and he feels that His body movement is still very robotic

The non-glamorous answer is 'practice'. Of course, being systematic about it will help and prevent you from spinning your wheels.
Start with your basic as your baseline. Meanwhile, practice various body isolations, namely shoulders, rib cage and hips. Then build on your basic.
Add on shoulders, then rib cage, hips, etc...
If you try to do too much at once, your body won't be able to coordinate, which is why I suggest adding in one body isolation at a time. Eventually your body will get used to the new movement and muscle memory will slowly kick in.
Body movement practice takes a lot of time, so be patient with it. Doing this practice daily will guarantee results. Even better if you started recording yourself for even more progress and humility.
You can of course record yourself with a partner. But I suggest also recording yourself dancing solo since your focus will be more on your body movement and less on trying to be a good lead/follow for your partner. Freeing up your headspace to concentrate on your own movement is the idea.

In my opinion, become less robotic just comes with time and practice. As you become more familiar and accustomed to dancing. Your body will automatically pick up the social cues, of things you like.
Meaning when you see a lead who you admire, you will automatically notice the things you feel you are lacking. If he is fluid in motion, you will notice what he does, and you will attempt to implement those things into your repertoire.

People underestimate the importance of practicing your basic, all salsa moves stem from a strong foundation of a basic. Many people think "practice makes perfect" is a good motto but realistically "practice makes permanent". Nobody will practice with perfect form at the start, but the idea is that to improve you need feedback. Doing the same thing over and over without feedback can create bad habits.

This is why I advocate attending body movement specific workshops and classes at monthly socials or at festivals and congresses. Or you can take shines/footwork classes, regardless of the level and just focus on shoulders, hips, etc... Whatever you want to improve. This will give you the opportunity to have feedback from an instructor. Or also take private classes; there is no better way to improve.

#Salsa
#Bachata
#Kizomba
#Podcast
#BrazilianZouk
#Dance
#Tarraxinha
#Zouk
#Passada
#RetroZouk
#Ginga
#Bolero
#Forro
#Lamba
#LambaZouk
#Afro
#Latin
#African
#CapeVerde
#Caribbean
#Pachanga
#Lambada
#Dance
#Dancers

2LF Links

_______________________________________________

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tw0LeftFeet
Instagram: tw0_left_feet
Website: https://2leftfeet.blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2171874589599779/
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoLeftFeetPodcast/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/two-left-feet-podcast/id1454425997
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bQSnwKDmHbDQdgnZ0OrC3
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Twoleftfeet
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR109vJ4Pbl146Ok1u5vSuA
Anchor: https://anchor.fm/twoleftfeetpodcast