Now that you have felt a proper dance frame, use the following exercise to practice moving and maneuvering around a dance floor as a couple while in frame. To complete this exercise, you will need one hula hoop per couple dancing.

In this exercise you will be using the hula hoop to simulate a dance frame created with the four connection points. This exercise allows the leader to experience the sensations of the leads necessary to navigate the couple around the dance floor while locked into the proper frame. By using the hula hoop to create and support the dance frame between you and your partner, you are eliminating variables that complicate and occasionally impede your learning progress.

Following are the steps necessary to create your hula hoop dance frame.

1. Ladies, stand facing your partner.

2. Men, holding the hula hoop from the outside, place it over your partner’s head so that it encircles her right below the armpits. It needs to catch her across the shoulder blades.

3. Ladies, take your arms around the outside of the hula hoop and wrap your hands around the hula hoop such that your elbows are either above or outside of the hoop, your forearms cross back underneath the hula hoop to the inside, your wrists are inside the hoop, and your fingers are holding onto the top side of the hula hoop. This locks the hula hoop in the proper position.

4. Men, make sure that you are holding the hula hoop from underneath, with your palms below the hoop and facing the ceiling and with your hands about shoulder-width apart.

5. Keeping the two rules of the road in mind, men, put your weight on your right foot and prepare to step off with your left, and ladies, weight on your left foot, ready to step with the right.

6. Men, leading from your body, simply using your arms as extensions of your body, start moving around the floor. In other words, take your first step with your left foot, and as you do, if you are holding everything steady through your torso and arms, your follower should step automatically in the proper direction with her right foot.

7. Once you’ve mastered basic movements a step or so in every direction, start steering around the room.

8. If this begins to seem mundane, followers, close your eyes. Trust your dance partner’s lead. If you can follow your partner with your eyes closed, you can be confident that you are truly following and your partner is truly leading.

9. Switch roles and start again at step 1.

This exercise should give you a great introduction to dance frame. If you already dance, try doing some basic steps of your dance with the hula hoop frame – this works especially well with East Coast Swing and Hustle.