Liquid Lead Fox

Throughout their lecture, Trevor Copp and Jeff Fox discuss and demonstrate their newly created dance technique called “Liquid Lead” and explain how this technique can help do away with the outdated idea that ballroom dances have perpetuated for years: that the man leads and the woman follows. The technique of “Liquid Lead” can be described as taking turns between partners both leading and following, and switching between these roles whenever felt needed during a dance. During their Ted Talk, Copp and Fox work together to deconstruct and transform the art of ballroom dancing. Both Copp and Fox find it troubling that ballroom dancing has the ability to lock people into a single gender role and thus define people by that single role. Within the lecture, Copp describes classical ballroom dancing as “gender training”, and that, “You weren't just learning to dance -
Fox sees “Liquid Lead” as a means of freedom by saying, “that's where the true freedom lies…the freedom from being defined by whichever role you're playing, the freedom to always remain true to yourself” (Copp). Copp gives his reasoning by stating, “We invented Liquid Lead as a way of stripping out all the ideas that don't belong to us and taking partner dancing back to what it really always was: the fine art of taking care of each other” (Copp). Copp and Fox do a wonderful job at making it clear that it does not matter who is partnered for a dance, man and woman, man and man, or woman with woman. It does not matter who takes the lead and who followers, or if the role constantly switches. The “Liquid Lead” technique has the power to demolish the stereotypes that are present in the world of ballroom dancing, and give freedom to everyone to feel comfortable allowing him or her to be who he or she is or wishes to