🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <EIJKHOUT.97Mar13133239@jacobi.math.ucla.edu>,
Victor Eijkhout <eijkhout@jacobi.math.ucla.edu> wrote:
>
>I'm wondering if someone who knows both ballroom and the "nightclub
>dances" could comment on this: part of what I like about swing
>and hustle is the enormous asymmetry in roles between leader
>and follower. Ballroom dances, especially the smooth ones
>look much more symmetric to me. At the very least the steps
>taken much more alike than in swing, where leader and follower
>can even step in drastically different rhythms.
>
>Is my perception here mistaken?

No, I'd agree with you regarding WCS and hustle.  The lead and follow
in these dances is very different, it's almost like you aren't even
dancing the same dance.

Tangentially, Raul Ante says that when he catches a follower to closed
from a free spin, he often does the followers footwork (for the &1,2
and then holds 3).  Says this lets him adjust to her better.  And he
recently showed us a 3-person move where the leader has one follower
in open in the left hand, and grabs a 3rd leader/follower in right,
leading them in closed under the left hand (connected to the initial
follower) and then ends by leading the 3rd leader/follower through the
left hand connection to the follower, breaking it, permitting them to
take up the lead of the initial follower.  Confusing at first, but it
works rather well.  It's best if this 3rd leader/follower really does
know both parts.  He taught this move to a Stanford class.  I love
dancing at Stanford (low snob index, lots of lead/follow reversals).

There's another interesting 3-person move Raul teaches where the 2
leaders have to simultaneously lead the follower and follow the other
leader (well, alternately: &123-lead the follower, &456 follow the
other leader).  This is hard!  You tend to mess it up by forgetting to
either lead the follower or follow the other leader and the move can't
continue.

-- 
Michelle Dick             artemis@rahul.net              East Palo Alto, CA