Spinning and dancing, dancing and spinning... whatever

September 28, 2006

Advanced with Sally

1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL cross pass off shoulder and switch to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to multiple stationary turn (triple or double)
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L underneath R-R – open break and bring follower in on L side with R-R going over leader’s head and lead follower to traveling counterclockwise turn (the footwork for follower involves doing something like a hook turn with L foot on 5) – this is followed by leader doing full counterclockwise turn on the spot under L-L
1,2,3,5,6,7 with L-L start with CBL and lead follower into traveling full counterclockwise turn into half crucifix with free R hand ending on follower’s R shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower forward on 1 and bring her back on 2,3 then either lead follower forward on 4 for 2 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn (this could be reduced to 1 1/2 but the lead for it is arguably more awkward because the lead for the turn would not be until 6 while 1 1/2 from 4 to 8 is okay but somewhat lame and probably means that follower's footwork is all over the place) – switch to R-L on the last turn and placed behind follower’s neck with leader repositioned to L of follower and facing the same direction
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower to step back on 1 and return on 2,3 – then lead follower to free clockwise traveling turn on 4 (in my opinion, starting the lead on 3.5 might be okay and perhaps even smoother) with shoulder lead (ideally follower should be able to do 2 1/2 clockwise turn but I guess you take what you can get) – leader moves with follower and position himself to R of follower facing same direction as the follower with hands on follower’s shoulders
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower a step back on 1 and lead follower to full counterclockwise free turn on 2,3 while leader steps to L to get behind follower with L hand on follower’s stomach as early as 3 and no later than 5 and bring follower back on 6,7
1,2,3,5,6,7 Mambo jazz and lead follower to traveling turn (2 1/2 or reduce to 1 1/2)

I also tried teaching this routine with some success with two people outside the class afterwards and started but aborted the attempt with a third. If your partner is not comfortable with footwork for 2 1/2 traveling turns, lead 1 1/2 instead. The lead for 2 1/2 turns starts on 4 and not on 5 (in fact the follower could have started turning toward the appropriate direction on 3(!). I believe that the follower is stepping L, R, L, R, L from 4 to 8 as opposed to stepping L, R, L from 5 to 7. Ideally followers should be able to distinguish between leads that start on 4, on 5, and on 6 and adjust the number of spins she does fully knowing how fast she can spin. Perhaps I shouldn’t assume that people know how to distinguish 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 though. Some followers I tried the routine with were on their L foot on 1 after some of these multiple spins presumably because of mangled footwork. A popular saying is that it is very difficult for men to learn to dance early on compared to for women; what is less often said is that things get very difficult for women to progress to very high level – perhaps more so than for men. By the way I should add that being able to spin multiple times fast is nice and allows one to get away with many mistakes, but it probably also is the most overrated skill and certainly not the most important. Nevertheless I might want to start leading some 2 1/2 turns in social setting with willing partners just to get the ball rolling.

Nothing much happened during the club hours. I’ve heard stories about the UK Congress from few different sources. I signed up for the Britfest with Sally – even though I rate that my chance of going is less than 50% at this time. At the very least, Britfest has excellent venue (superb dance floors and sound systems) and should have a very friendly crowd. I could have danced a lot more tonight, but I can’t have it my way all the time. Weekend beckons.