Latest Additions To the Site
Listen To the Music—The cueing tells us what to do, but the music tells us when to do it.
The beginnings of a series of articles on dancing — Round About, by Roy & Phyllis Stier
The phase III foxtrot figures are really waltz and 2-step figures with a slow, quick, quick rhythm applied. The past few times that we have taught foxtrot as a new rhythm, we have started the dancers with phase IV foxtrot figures—"real foxtrot." — an essay by Gert-Jan & Susie Rotscheid
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers illustrate basic dance positions and show that one can smile while he or she dances.
A little bit about Single Swing.
A big part of dancing is adjusting to your partner as you go. The woman does this as a part of following, but the man cannot simply lead. He must lead, read his partner's movements, and adjust.
The Whip, Cross Body, and Left Pass are three Latin figures in which the man gets to move the woman from one side of the partnership to the other. But they are by no means the same figure. The Whip is loose and appropriately "whippy." The Cross Body is a softer, more gentle turn. The Left Pass is used only in Bolero and is the most sophisticated and flirtatious of the three.
Where Should We Put the Slow In Foxtrot? Foxtrot timing is slow, quick, quick. We put the slow first. But we shouldn’t feel constrained. One of the freedoms that dancers have is the freedom to play with timing, to borrow from a slow, or even from a quick, in order to linger over another step.
Rumba Styling, an essay by Shirley Aymé.
To "check" in dance is to stop our progression in one direction and, more or less suddenly, to continue to dance in some other direction. If we don’t Anticipate the Check and communicate with each other, the sequence will be rough.
There are many techniques that a man can use to lead his partner. A type of lead that might deserve some extra consideration is the nudge — a gentle push with the foot, knee, thigh, and/or hip. Lead and follow is communication between partners, and a “little nudge” can be a surprisingly clear and comfortable signal.
The Alemana Turn is an emotion-laden figure. There is promise and rejection, pursuit and reconciliation. If we dance it like an Underarm Turn or a Twirl, we’re dancing a whole different story.
There is International or English Tango, with its disciplined, sharp, and rapid footwork; Argentine Tango, smooth and languorous, with sensual leg sweeps, leg crawls, swivels, hooks, and flicks; and American Tango, which is said to contain the best features of the other two.
One way to increase the variety in our figure repertoire is to take a standard figure that in some way goes in one direction, dance it with the other foot in the other direction, and so gain a new figure — Left Hinge, Right Hinge.
One of our most popular dance articles has been Be Gentle, a piece on how to dance gently and smoothly. We have now edited the original 1800 word article down to 750 words—the essence of the idea.
A few minutes of stretch and warm-up before a dance can loosen and lubricate joints and tendons and reduce the risk of pulls, twists, and strains.
In the Smooth rhythms, we find not only continuous but extended and interrupted figures as well.
Several new Lindy figures—a wild and crazy rhythm.
A page that focuses on American Tango (as opposed to Argentine or International).
We've begun to write some short articles for Calls 'n' Cues, the newsletter of the Washington Area Square Dancers Cooperative Association (WASCA). There, we have considered the cha-cha-cha as a simple chasse, with the second step a closing step, and we have looked at other ways to cha that add variety to our dancing and that help us connect with our partner.
Muscle tone throughout the body can eliminate the jerks and bangs and give smooth flow to your dancing. Squeeze the Trigger!
The music and movement of dance feel good even if you're dancing by yourselves. Dancing with other couples feels better. Can it be still more fun to play somewhat to the audience—to Put On A Show?
You can create a mini-picture out of almost any dance figure.
We've begun to write some short articles for Round Notes, the newsletter of the Colorado Round Dance Association (CRDA). We will emphasize "Comfortable Dancing" and will look for ways to make our dancing look and feel good. Our first effort urges the man to Dance Right Through Her.
|
