One of the questions we’re often asked at Lindy Jazz is:
“How can I become a better follower?”
Followers also ask things like:
“Which way am I turning?”
“What am I supposed to do next?”
“Am I doing it right?”
And sometimes, I deliberately don’t answer those questions directly.
That might sound strange. Surely, as your teacher, I should tell you which way to turn?
But there’s a reason I don’t always do that.
Did You Follow It – Or Did You Remember It?
I’ve been teaching Lindy Hop for more than twenty years, and I’m also a follower myself.
One of the most important things I’ve learned is that good following isn’t about knowing what is going to happen next.
In fact, quite the opposite.
If I tell you, “You’re going to turn to the right now,” you may successfully make the turn. But you haven’t necessarily followed it.
You knew it was coming. You remembered it. You performed it.
That’s useful when we’re learning choreography, but social Lindy Hop is different. Much of what happens on the social dance floor isn’t planned in advance.
As a follower, you’re developing the ability to listen, feel, interpret and respond.
Are You Dancing in Your Head?
When we teach something new in class, there are naturally lots of visual cues. You watch us demonstrate a movement. You might watch a practice video at home. You may even find yourself copying the person next to you.
That can all be useful while you’re learning.
But ultimately, I want to help you develop another skill:
Dancing through feeling.
If your mind is constantly asking, What comes next? Which foot? Which direction? Is this right? then you’re dancing in your head.
And thinking takes time.
When you begin to trust what you feel instead, your dancing can become much more spontaneous and enjoyable.
You don’t have to know what comes next.
Not knowing is part of the dance.
Is a Lead an Instruction — Or an Invitation?
Followers sometimes come to me after dancing with someone and say:
“S/He guided me really well.”
But I sometimes wonder whether guided is quite the word we want.
Personally, as an experienced follower, I don’t particularly want to be guided around the dance floor.
If a lead becomes too physical, I can experience it as a little shove: You need to go over there now.
That isn’t how I like to think about leading and following.
For me, a lead is much more like an invitation.
The leader creates an invitation towards a direction, shape or movement. The follower feels it, interprets it and responds.
An invitation still leaves room for choice.
There is structure in Lindy Hop, of course. We are dancing together, after all. But within that structure, there can be a wonderful amount of freedom.
Your Leader Isn’t in Charge of Your Dancing
Sometimes, as followers, we can unconsciously hand over far too much responsibility to the leader.
We assume the leader knows exactly what they’re doing. They’ll decide what happens. They’ll make the dance work. They’ll do their own dancing and somehow guide us into exactly the right place at the same time.
But think about how much responsibility that puts on one person.
A beginner leader may be just as nervous as you are. They’re thinking about their own footwork, timing, the music, where they are on the dance floor and how to communicate with you.
They don’t suddenly know everything simply because they happen to be leading.
And an experienced leader doesn’t necessarily want to be responsible for your entire dance either. They may have much more fun if you can relax, listen and bring some of yourself to the partnership.
The leader dances their part.
You dance yours.
And somewhere between the two, you create a dance together.
Are You Trying Too Hard to Please?
If you’re constantly trying to work out what your leader wants so that you can “get it right”, something interesting starts to happen.
You begin to anticipate.
You recognise a familiar movement and think:
Oh, I know this one!
And off you go.
But your leader may not actually have led it yet.
Trying very hard to be a “good follower” can sometimes get in the way of actually following.
Your job isn’t to prove that you know the moves. And it isn’t to please your leader by always arriving in exactly the position you think they expect.
You have a part in this dance too.
Are You Still Following Like a Beginner?
When you first start dancing, it’s completely understandable to feel nervous.
You may want to know exactly where you’re going, whether you’re doing the right step and whether you’re giving your leader what they expect.
And your leader can feel that nervousness too.
If you appear unsure or worried about getting something wrong, your leader may naturally respond by trying to look after you. They may make the lead stronger, guide you more physically or try to make absolutely certain that you arrive in a particular place.
In other words, the more you ask to be looked after through your dancing, the more your partner may feel they need to look after you.
That can be reassuring when you’re a beginner.
But if you’ve been dancing for a while, it might be worth asking yourself:
Do I still need that?
Perhaps some of the habits that made you feel safe as a beginner are now limiting the dancer you could become.
What Happens If You Trust Yourself?
As you gain experience, you can begin to let go of the need to get everything right.
Listen to the invitation.
Respond to what you actually feel.
Allow yourself to explore what happens next.
That doesn’t mean deliberately ignoring your partner or doing something completely different from what they’re suggesting.
It means becoming less timid about your own part in the dance.
You don’t need your leader to dance their dance and yours.
I Don’t Follow Everyone in the Same Way
I don’t follow in exactly the same way with every person.
How I follow depends on my mood, the music and my partner.
If I’m dancing with a nervous or less experienced leader, I’m unlikely to be particularly flamboyant or dynamic. I don’t want my dancing to make them feel that something has gone wrong or that they’ve somehow lost me.
I’ll usually keep things simpler so that we can both relax and enjoy the dance.
But if I’m dancing with an experienced dancer who is relaxed, clearly enjoying the music and comfortable with our connection, I might become much more spontaneous and playful.
I can interpret, improvise, respond to the music and enjoy the little surprises that happen between us.
And on another day, with another person and another piece of music, I might dance completely differently again.
Could Versatility Bring You More Joy?
For me, that versatility is part of the joy of Lindy Hop.
Following doesn’t have to become another routine.
If we always dance with the same mindset — always cautious, always trying to be correct, always trying to please our partner — our dancing can begin to feel predictable.
As our confidence grows, we can give ourselves permission to explore.
So, What Kind of Follower Are You?
There is no single right or wrong way to follow.
What I’ve described here is my preference as a follower, and even my preference changes according to my mood, the music and the person in front of me.
Do you like the security of knowing that you’re doing what your leader expects?
Do you enjoy the reassurance of feeling that you’ve done something “correctly”?
Or do you prefer more freedom — interpreting, improvising and being playful?
Perhaps you enjoy all of these things at different times.
And if you’ve been dancing for a while, perhaps there’s another question worth asking yourself:
Am I still trying to be the “good beginner” who gets everything right — or am I ready to explore what kind of follower I want to become?
What makes following feel most joyful to you? Has that changed as you’ve become a more experienced dancer?
Tell us in the comments. I’d love to hear how you experience following.