I love John's idea of teaching the buzz step as individuals first, then as couples. The most frequent complaints I hear from men is that women hang on them and don't hold up their own weight during a swing. The most frequent complaint I hear from women is men pulling them off their feet and going too fast. If they can learn to hold themselves upright on their own first, then everyone will have a much more enjoyable experience.
-Amy > On Jun 21, 2015, at 3:44 AM, John Sweeney via Callers > <[email protected]> wrote: > > Yes, of course I always tell dancers that they can walk instead of buzz, but > the buzz-step is so much more fun that it seems crazy not to teach it when > every dance is going to have a swing and usually two. > > <Digression:> Yes, I love swinging, and have been loving it for fifty years > now, but why does every new dance have to have two swings? Oh no, not > Neighbour Balance & Swing, Circle Left 3/4, Partner Swing again - that's > half the dance gone with nothing new or interesting in it! (And changing the > Circle Left 3/4 to Men/Ladies Allemande 1 & 1/2 does not make it more > interesting!) I write lots of dances with one or zero swings - a zero-swing > dance can have so much good stuff in it that the dancers don't even notice > there is no swing; they are having too much fun. It always puzzles me when > people take a great one-swing dance and re-choreograph it to add a second > swing, losing part of what made it a great dance just for the sake of even > more swinging. <End of digression.> > > I found it interesting that Ron said, "the buzz-step swing gets axed if I'm > short on time". If I only had time to teach one thing then the only thing I > would teach would be the buzz-step swing, and how to finish it so you end up > in the right place. I can't think of anything else that newcomers can't > learn during the walk-throughs. > > Question: If you were calling for a group with a dozen newcomers in the hall > out of 100 people, and the organizers said you could have two minutes > teaching before you started the first walk-through, what would you teach? > For me the answer is obvious, every dance has a buzz-step swing; teach a > buzz-step swing. > > Another reason for teaching swinging is that there are a significant number > of "experienced" dancers who have bad swinging habits. I dance all over the > USA and the UK and wherever I go there are always some people who: > - grip, clamp, squeeze, hang, press > - hold their partner in the wrong place so it is uncomfortable > - use too much strength and try to do silly things like making their > partners feet leave the floor > - lean sideways or backwards > - start twirls too late and when they are facing the wrong way so that they > end up in the wrong place > - etc. > > If just a couple of those dancers pick up on any of these points and improve > their swinging then you have done good work! > > Yes, I hate it when callers talk too much and take time out of dancing time. > But this can be really short: > > Sample teach: > = = = = = = = = > Hi, I'm John. We have some new people here today and they are going to > spend half an hour swinging tonight, so please let's spend a minute or two > on showing them how it's done. And all you great dancers out there why not > see if you can't make your swing even better for you and your partners. > > This is called a buzz-step swing. > > First, let go of you partner completely. Put your left toe just behind your > right foot like this. Now walk fast on the spot. Now push with your left > foor as though you were on a skateboard and turn clockwise by yourself on > the spot. Relax your knees so you don't bounce up and down. See how > smoothly.you can turn with the minimum of effort. > > Now take your partner in a ballroom hold - the man's hand on the lady's > shoulderblade - it is far more comfotable for the lady if you hold them up > high. Now relax - make sure you are not pressing on any part of your > partner. > > And swing - it should be a gentle embrace where, as a single counterbalanced > unit, you glide smoothly and effortlessly around. Smile at your partner and > you won't get dizzy. > > Now think of your joined hands as an arrowhead and finish pointing at the > other couple. > > If you are having trouble with the buzz-step then you can always just walk. > = = = = = = = = > > I just timed that and it took less than 90 seconds. Surely that is worth > doing! > > Yes, some of them won’t get it, but for those who do you have just greatly > enhanced their enjoyment of the evening. > > Anyway, that's what I think. :-) > > 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://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
