Grey

“Before a fast travel, build a little compression — that is, tension through activation.”

Explaining the activation technique of building tension ahead of a fast traveling step

“With Influence, you create the activation from a state that's close to zero base, and you lead as you breathe in and breathe out — that's what we call energy leading.”

Summing up the core leading principle of the Influence style and unpacking the idea of "energy leading"

“You create energy with activation, and passing that energy straight through — that concept is intention.”

Defining and explaining 'intention,' one of the fundamentals of Influence

“Influence communicates through breath. If you think the follower has caught the count point and is feeling it, you can lead without any special energy at all. Think of it as basically zero energy.”

Explaining how breath-based leading works in the Influence style, unlike sensual bachata

“You breathe in and give the activation at the same time, then create the preparation as you breathe out — and it reads much shorter and sharper than in sensual bachata.”

Comparing how preparation in the Influence style differs from sensual bachata

“In Influence style, you communicate through breath — without hands or any direct pointing of direction.”

Explaining that unlike typical leading, Influence conveys intent through breath alone rather than setting the direction directly with the hands

“I'm barely using my arms at all. All I did was make my weight shift faster and sharper.”

Explaining how to create a strong lead purely through the speed of the weight shift, without forcing with the arms

“To control speed, you can breathe in fast and breathe out slow, or breathe in slow and breathe out fast. That's how you build connection with your partner.”

Explaining how to use speed control of the breath to build connection with a partner