Partnership Dancing(tm) meets another challenge. This time one provided by Argentine Tango.
Tonight in Tango class, Andrea tried to lead the women in class in a particular step and they all did it wrong. Only Brian followed and that was because Andrea has been working with him individually much more and had already taught him what to do.
This was a step I have been struggling with for a long time and was glad it came up. I was not able to do this step and and did not know what was wrong. I did not know why Andrea could lead this step and I could not. (I know now, she told them what to do.) To get them to do what I wanted, I had developed an awkward method of twisting and leaning my body, which worked, but was uncomfortable and incorrect.
When Andrea explained what the followers were supposed to do, she said they had to be loose and feel what she was leading. They did not get it at first.
I saw right away that what they were supposed to do was follow the laws of Partnership Dancing(tm).
That excited me. For a few reasons.
First, Partnership Dancing(tm) explained exactly what the woman was to do by following the general principles, without needing to know the pattern.
Secondly, the author of Partnership Dancing(tm), me, could not do the step and did not understand why, but Partnership Dancing(tm) still worked. This is an indication of how powerful the principles of Partnership Dancing(tm) are, that they transcend the ability of the author.
Lastly, I was excited to see that Partnership Dancing(tm) worked for Argentine Tango and was more precise than the instructor's explanation.
Here is what we were doing.
The step, for the man, is a forward rock with the left foot, step behind on the right with a quarter turn to the right and close with the left.
For the lady the step is a back rock on the right, a forward step with the left
and a forward step crossing in front with the right, finishing with a quarter turn to her right and close with the left.
The lady's that did not know the step, all followed the same way. They naturally turned on step three closing with their right without crossing in front.
Steps
Man
1. Left forward
2. Right behind
3. Left close and turn 1/4 right
4. Right in place
(A) Lady Not Disassociating
1. Left back
2. Right forward
3. Left close and turn 1/4 right
4. Right in place
(B) Lady Disasociating
1. Left back
2. Right forward
3. Left forward crossing over with a full step
4. Right close and turn 1/4
The key moment is on step 3, where the man gets out of the woman's way after she has started her forward movement.
Without instruction, women naturally do (A). When they feel the man turn, on step 3, they turn on step 3. This is not what we want.
What we want is (B). On step 3 we want the woman to complete her forward step and cross over.
Every woman in our class did (A) until she was instructed to do (B). As a general rule, how does the woman know to do (B) not (A)?
Partnership Dancing(tm) answers this question. Here is how.
1. At the beginnning of step 3 the woman is given the signal to step forward.
2. According to the Law of Direction she is to continue in the forward direction until she is stopped.
3. She is stopped if she is blocked or when she reaches the end of her connection.
4. Since the man stepped out of her way, she is not blocked, so she is to continue forward until she reaches the end of her connection.
5. When she completes her forward step, she is at the end of the connection and stops going forward.
What is wrong with option (A) is that in number 4 above, she cuts short her forward step and turns to face the man. This violates the Law of Direction which is she is not to stop her direction until she reaches the end of the connection or is blocked.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Pushing and Pulling Is Slower for Lindy Hop
Was in a Lindy Hop class and the teacher said that you can use a light touch when going slow, but when going fast you have to hang on to your partner. I had the impression the teacher said that for my ears, since he had been in one of my classes.
He was teaching the eight count Lindy turn. He was showing that you had to hang onto
the woman's back at the midpoint and then at the end you had to hang onto her hand otherwise she would fly away at those two points.
This is true because the woman is out of control and not maintaining her own balance. She is relying on the man for to balance.
You can dance this way.
Dancing this way is not covered by Partnership Dancing, because Partnership Dancing is based on the social principles of Safety, Courtesy and Comfort, the dance principles of Naturalness, Universality and Partnership, and the Law of Balance: everyone maintains their own balance.
The claim that dancing this way is faster has to be false.
To execute a Lindy turn this way, the woman is going to overshoot her midpoint turn around spot. The man has to hang on to her back to slow her down and pull her to help get her to go back the other way. This overshooting and recovery takes time.
Executing a Lindy turn using Partnership Dancing is essentially the same as if the woman went through the steps by herself, since the man applies no force to her. Doing a Lindy turn by herself is using five steps to make a half-turn, taking a step or two steps forward, turning half way and repeating. A lady can easily take a half turn with a single step, so 5 steps for each half turn is very easy for a lady and she can do this very fast by herself. The man, then only serves to set the spot and get out of her way in Partnership Dancing.
What is faster? Doing a Lindy turn pulling on a partner or doing a Lindy turn esssentially by yourself. By yourself has to be much faster. I plan on testing this on Sunday.
He was teaching the eight count Lindy turn. He was showing that you had to hang onto
the woman's back at the midpoint and then at the end you had to hang onto her hand otherwise she would fly away at those two points.
This is true because the woman is out of control and not maintaining her own balance. She is relying on the man for to balance.
You can dance this way.
Dancing this way is not covered by Partnership Dancing, because Partnership Dancing is based on the social principles of Safety, Courtesy and Comfort, the dance principles of Naturalness, Universality and Partnership, and the Law of Balance: everyone maintains their own balance.
The claim that dancing this way is faster has to be false.
To execute a Lindy turn this way, the woman is going to overshoot her midpoint turn around spot. The man has to hang on to her back to slow her down and pull her to help get her to go back the other way. This overshooting and recovery takes time.
Executing a Lindy turn using Partnership Dancing is essentially the same as if the woman went through the steps by herself, since the man applies no force to her. Doing a Lindy turn by herself is using five steps to make a half-turn, taking a step or two steps forward, turning half way and repeating. A lady can easily take a half turn with a single step, so 5 steps for each half turn is very easy for a lady and she can do this very fast by herself. The man, then only serves to set the spot and get out of her way in Partnership Dancing.
What is faster? Doing a Lindy turn pulling on a partner or doing a Lindy turn esssentially by yourself. By yourself has to be much faster. I plan on testing this on Sunday.
Dancing with a Partner is a Language
Was at a class in Ft. Lauderdale and the instructor, Billy Fajardo told the men not to force the women through the patterns. He said, "You are learning a language. Everyone in this class is learning a particular language that means to do certain patterns. If the woman does not know the language, trying to force her through the steps does not work. It is not possible to push her through the moves in time to the music. If you are dancing with someone from somewhere else that does not know the same language, these same moves, you will not be able to do them."
I loved this. He is right.
This is exactly what Partnership Dancing is about. Partnership Dancing takes the language to a level more basic than the patterns. Partnership Dancing takes the language down to the fundamental movements.
After all, all patterns are made up of steps and there are only a limited number of steps. Partnership Dancing defines the signals that indicate the steps and the rules on how to proceed.
I loved this. He is right.
This is exactly what Partnership Dancing is about. Partnership Dancing takes the language to a level more basic than the patterns. Partnership Dancing takes the language down to the fundamental movements.
After all, all patterns are made up of steps and there are only a limited number of steps. Partnership Dancing defines the signals that indicate the steps and the rules on how to proceed.
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