It’s time to start the hands-on portion of your learning experience. Literally—you and your dance partner are going to build your dance frame one connection point at a time. To do this, it is best to stand facing your partner with your feet about shoulder-width apart, with somewhere between one-and-a-half and three feet between the two of you. Check to make sure that you have soft knees. Try to smile and, most importantly, don’t forget to breathe!

To establish connection point 1, the leader’s left hand and the follower’s right hand should be held up at the shorter person’s shoulder level, as though you were both waving a casual hello. The leader then shifts the angle of his hand so the fingers are pointing to his upper left rather than straight up in the air. The follower’s hand can then meet his, palm to palm, and she can gently close her fingers down between his thumb and fingers. Both partners can then close all of the fingers— gently. It is important to note that the important part of this connection point is the pressure between the two palms, not the clasping of the two hands.

In other words, you technically could create connection point 1 by simply pressing your palms together—the closing of your fingers and thumbs is simply for looks. Refer to the picture on the right to check your position. Make sure your connection point 1 is right in the middle of the space between the two of you, so that neither partner has to overextend to make this connection point work. Each partner should be pushing slightly toward the other partner through the palm of his or her hand. It is imperative that each partner hold his or her own hand up and, most importantly, that neither partner squeezes the other’s hand. If your partner is putting too much pressure on your hand or squeezing it at all, please let him or her know before you get any further. If you don’t want to say anything, just squeeze back a time or two in nice, quick, repetitive motions to let your partner know. Make sure your eyes are watching your hand when you do it, then look back at your partner and smile. Chances are your partner will know what you were doing. Ensure that connection point 1 does not go above the shorter person’s shoulder so as to enable optimal visibility for the dancer as well as onlookers, and especially if there are going to be any pictures taken during the dance.