Because I’m temporarily moving to Philadelphia this is the last lesson I’ll be having for a while (there’s no dancing allowed in Philly, I know, I know, it’s so sad). I was barely conscious for the lesson, which taught me something very important: I don’t always, always, always feel like dancing. The fancy footwork I’d learned last week I couldn’t even bear to attempt as I struggled to remember where to transfer my weight. But, in the end my instructor said I’d danced the best I’d ever done when he was having me lead and improvise. My main weakness, in my opinion, is a tendency to focus on one element to the detriment of the others, including keeping time.
Points on which to focus this week:
1. Left Turning Box: when stepping forward on 1, the foot remains parallel/straight, while the CBM occurs otherwise.
2. Right Turning Box: closing on 6 the R heel MUST touch the floor. On 7, the L leg/foot turns inward as it steps backward; also, it must step backwards leaving enough space between the both legs/feet that one’s partner can step between them easily. This ‘stepping’ between the leader’s legs is, as I understand it, the reason why the Right Turning Box takes place between two Progressives rather than beginning on the L foot somehow.
3. I forget its name, but it’s a turn of the Lady during the Left Box. Simple. This takes place during a figure of two Left Boxes, meaning 12 steps. On 4, the leader steps back with more force than usual, uses his arms to increase the space between the dancers, removes his R arm/hand from his partner, to his side, and begins lifting his L hand higher. It is not necessary to ‘stir the pot’ with one’s hand, so the Gentleman merely concludes the first half of the figure and commences the second as normal, until 10 when he places his arm and hand back in the normal position. As for the Lady’s steps, I don’t know what they are because I was instructed ‘don’t look down or you’ll get confused.’
arts & fetters 