I generally tell dancers (depending on the kind of balance itself and what comes before and after) to step-step forward (or right or left) and step-step backward (or left or right). I say nothing at all about stomping. As a dancer I do a variety of balances. After years of messing up the kick right and kick left balance that I originally learned in square dance (I often kick in the wrong direction--ouch), I looked for other ways to do it so I wouldn't hurt anyone. As a general rule, I don't stomp. It's too hard on my joints, although I do confess to having done it when I was younger. I have heard callers tell beginners workshops that the whole point of the balance is to make noise. I have occasionally engaged the caller explain that the tradition is much different, with little success. I view the balance as a nice way for the dancers to punctuate the rhythm, but it is not about noise...or shouldn't be. Thanks, George
On Wed, Apr 24, 2013 at 11:46 AM, John Sweeney <[email protected]>wrote: > There have been a number of references to balances always involving a > stomp. > > I was under the impression that there were lots of ways to balance, many > of which don't involve a stomp. I usually teach "balance to the > right-2-3, to the left-2-3". > > I did notice more stomping than I was familiar with at The Flurry this > year, just step right, stamp left, step left, stamp right. > > Is stomping now the standard across America? > > What do YOU teach as the footwork in a balance? > > See > http://www.izaak.unh.edu/dlp/NorthernJunket/pages/NJv05/NJv05-01/NJv.05. > 01.p13.htm for 50 variations of the balance. > > Thanks. > > Happy dancing, > John > > John Sweeney, Dancer, England [email protected] 01233 625 362 > http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent > > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >
