19 Feb
2014
19 Feb
'14
3:25 p.m.
The "Where to place the gent's hand for a swing" is a curious problem for
me. I've generally been told I have a good swing, but every once in a
while I'll be dancing with someone who insists/demands I move my hand
further up on the back or much lower. I do what I'm asked to do. I
hesitate to suggest to anyone that swinging involves "leaning back." As
for body tension/giving weight, I suggest they use the guide that one uses
for gardening and even child rearing -- firm but gentle. Tension but not
stiff or rigid. You can do both. I also find myself when dancing with new
dancers telling them to relax, body rigidity or stiffness is not the answer
and it doesn't help them or the person their dancing with at that moment.
Relax. Firm but gentle. Let me know you're there, Thanks.
On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 9:33 AM, Harold E. Watson <hwatson(a)uark.edu> wrote:
Sometimes we'll hold a quick swing teach during a
break. I've always
taught the gents to place their right hands between the ladies shoulder
blades. This provides support for the ladies' backs so they can lean back
into it to balance with swing and it doesn't hurt their back. (We have
some gents that insist on swinging at around 90 RPM.) One of the more
difficult thing I've had to teach beginner ladies is get used to leaning
into that hand. They have a tendency to tightly grip my right shoulder
rather than relax. It can be a difficult concept for a newbie.
Harold
-----Original Message-----
From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net [mailto:
callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Les Addison
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 5:33 PM
To: Caller's discussion list
Subject: Re: [Callers] Height diffferential
I recently danced with a neighbor who always had his hand perfectly on my
scapula. It was like there was a magnet between his hand and my back, and
i loved it. When I had a chance, between dances, I let him know how much I
appreciated it, and asked him what his trick is, hoping that I could
emulate it. He had no idea, and suggested that maybe I'm just the right
height/size for dancing with him.
(though if anyone has tips for hand placement as a gent during a swing,
I'm all ears.)
Les
On Tue, Feb 18, 2014 at 3:24 PM, Dale Wilson <dale.wilson(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
An interesting topic.
We have women at both ends of the height spectrum. I don't (as far as
I
know) have trouble with the short ones, but it took me a while to
adapt to dancing with women who were considerably taller than I am.
Finally I just asked some of them, "Where should I put my hand to
support you best during a swing."
The answers varied from one woman to another, and they might well vary
based on my height, weight and style, but I will say that asking
worked well.
Dale
On Tue, Feb 18, 2014 at 8:23 AM, George Mercer <geopmercer(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
"normal"
A number of years ago I danced a number of times
with a woman who
was
much
shorter than me. I am about 5'6" or so
on a good day. She was
probably 4'8" give or take an inch. When we'd go into a swing, as my
arm went
around
her to her back, she'd lock her left arm down
so that I could hardly
get
my
right hand past her side. At first I thought it
was bad form on her
part,
> but let it be. Then as I watched her dance with others, I realized
> that when her co-swinger managed to get his arm around her to the place
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it had the result of lifting her left side up to
what appeared to me
to
be
a discomfort level. The taller the man, the
further her left side
was forced to go. I had to learn a new approach to entering a
swing, even to lean toward bad form when the height of the other
dancer led me to an adjusted approach. I'm not suggesting we should
teach this, but thinking about how your technique (good or bad) can
cause another discomfort is worth thinking about. Over the year
I've danced enough with men that
I've
also experienced discomfort with this height
differential. Just
thinking out loud. Thanks.
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