24 Apr
2013
24 Apr
'13
11:46 a.m.
There have been a number of references to balances always involving a
stomp.
I was under the impression that there were lots of ways to balance, many
of which don't involve a stomp. I usually teach "balance to the
right-2-3, to the left-2-3".
I did notice more stomping than I was familiar with at The Flurry this
year, just step right, stamp left, step left, stamp right.
Is stomping now the standard across America?
What do YOU teach as the footwork in a balance?
See
http://www.izaak.unh.edu/dlp/NorthernJunket/pages/NJv05/NJv05-01/NJv.05.
01.p13.htm for 50 variations of the balance.
Thanks.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
25 Apr
25 Apr
2:10 a.m.
New subject: How do you balance? (Was High-energy dances)
When I teach a balance, I mostly describe it as a way to move away from your partner to
give you the chance to pull in toward your partner, whether it's for a swing, a box
the gnat, etc. Any move within the phrasing that allows you to do that is fair game. The
simplest is either step in on the right, step out on the left, although some find in-2-3,
out-2-3 more intuitive. Step-stamp-step-stamp is the one I actively encourage people to
not do, as 1) it's generally done in such a way that it doesn't put you in a
position to pull in to the next move, and 2) it makes you look like a yahoo.
--Read Weaver
Jamaica Plain, MA
http://lcfd.org
On Apr 24, 2013, at 8:46 AM, John Sweeney wrote:
I did notice more stomping than I was familiar with at
The Flurry this
year, just step right, stamp left, step left, stamp right.
Is stomping now the standard across America?
6:39 a.m.
New subject: How do you balance? (Was High-energy dances)
When I teach a balance - I go over the footwork very quickly (step for & back) and
then tell them not to worry about that part - the balance really happens in the arms - not
the feet and emphasize keeping a strong connection with the other dancer(s) as you move
toward them and back and using the balance to create the 'lead' or momentum in the
direction you need to go for the next move. Thinking about footwork just makes it more
complicated than it needs to be and they will figure out what works for them.
Mac McKeever
________________________________
From: Read Weaver <rweaver(a)igc.org>
To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2013 1:10 AM
Subject: Re: [Callers] How do you balance? (Was High-energy dances)
When I teach a balance, I mostly describe it as a way to move away from your partner to
give you the chance to pull in toward your partner, whether it's for a swing, a box
the gnat, etc. Any move within the phrasing that allows you to do that is fair game. The
simplest is either step in on the right, step out on the left, although some find in-2-3,
out-2-3 more intuitive. Step-stamp-step-stamp is the one I actively encourage people to
not do, as 1) it's generally done in such a way that it doesn't put you in a
position to pull in to the next move, and 2) it makes you look like a yahoo.
--Read Weaver
Jamaica Plain, MA
http://lcfd.org
On Apr 24, 2013, at 8:46 AM, John Sweeney wrote:
I did notice more stomping than I was familiar with at
The Flurry this
year, just step right, stamp left, step left, stamp right.
Is stomping now the standard across America?
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
4:21 p.m.
New subject: How do you balance? (Was High-energy dances)
I emphasize the "push pull" in the arms too.
When I teach the balance, I usually say that it is a 4-count move and
that you move toward and away from someone as momentum into something
new. I then teach the basic forward and back with a single person
facing you. I don't emphasize footwork much.
Joy Greenwolfe
On Apr 25, 2013, at 6:39 AM, Mac Mckeever wrote:
When I teach a balance - I go over the footwork very
quickly (step
for & back) and then tell them not to worry about that part - the
balance really happens in the arms - not the feet and emphasize
keeping a strong connection with the other dancer(s) as you move
toward them and back and using the balance to create the 'lead' or
momentum in the direction you need to go for the next move.
Thinking about footwork just makes it more complicated than it needs
to be and they will figure out what works for them.
Mac McKeever
________________________________
From: Read Weaver <rweaver(a)igc.org>
To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2013 1:10 AM
Subject: Re: [Callers] How do you balance? (Was High-energy dances)
When I teach a balance, I mostly describe it as a way to move away
from your partner to give you the chance to pull in toward your
partner, whether it's for a swing, a box the gnat, etc. Any move
within the phrasing that allows you to do that is fair game. The
simplest is either step in on the right, step out on the left,
although some find in-2-3, out-2-3 more intuitive. Step-stamp-step-
stamp is the one I actively encourage people to not do, as 1) it's
generally done in such a way that it doesn't put you in a position
to pull in to the next move, and 2) it makes you look like a yahoo.
--Read Weaver
Jamaica Plain, MA
http://lcfd.org
On Apr 24, 2013, at 8:46 AM, John Sweeney wrote:
I did notice more stomping than I was familiar
with at The Flurry
this
year, just step right, stamp left, step left, stamp right.
Is stomping now the standard across America?
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers 
4:54 p.m.
New subject: How do you balance? (Was High-energy dances)
My primary goals when I lead a beginners workshop are really (in order):
1 - get them moving
2 - get them following directions
As a result, I give style pointers, but I'm less concerned with getting
everything exactly right and way more concerned with keeping everyone
moving. I tend to cover the balance in the context of a balance and swing
and I usually tell them that the point really is a "Hi, how ya doing?" move
to ground you with the other person. I'll mention that it's an "in 1-2,
out 3-4" kind of move, but I don't get too worked up in exactly where you
are or mention footwork. I'm going to steal Mac McKeever's emphasis on the
arms, though. It's another good opportunity to talk about weight, which I
try to drop several hints about as often as possible.
On Thu, Apr 25, 2013 at 4:21 PM, Joy Greenwolfe <joy2the(a)mindspring.com>wrote;wrote:
I emphasize the "push pull" in the arms
too.
When I teach the balance, I usually say that it is a 4-count move and that
you move toward and away from someone as momentum into something new. I
then teach the basic forward and back with a single person facing you. I
don't emphasize footwork much.
Joy Greenwolfe
On Apr 25, 2013, at 6:39 AM, Mac Mckeever wrote:
When I teach a balance - I go over the footwork very quickly (step for &
back) and then tell them not to worry about that
part - the balance really
happens in the arms - not the feet and emphasize keeping a strong
connection with the other dancer(s) as you move toward them and back and
using the balance to create the 'lead' or momentum in the direction you
need to go for the next move. Thinking about footwork just makes it more
complicated than it needs to be and they will figure out what works for
them.
Mac McKeever
______________________________**__
From: Read Weaver <rweaver(a)igc.org>
To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2013 1:10 AM
Subject: Re: [Callers] How do you balance? (Was High-energy dances)
When I teach a balance, I mostly describe it as a way to move away from
your partner to give you the chance to pull in toward your partner, whether
it's for a swing, a box the gnat, etc. Any move within the phrasing that
allows you to do that is fair game. The simplest is either step in on the
right, step out on the left, although some find in-2-3, out-2-3 more
intuitive. Step-stamp-step-stamp is the one I actively encourage people to
not do, as 1) it's generally done in such a way that it doesn't put you in
a position to pull in to the next move, and 2) it makes you look like a
yahoo.
--Read Weaver
Jamaica Plain, MA
http://lcfd.org
On Apr 24, 2013, at 8:46 AM, John Sweeney wrote:
I did notice more stomping than I was familiar with at The Flurry this
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year, just step right, stamp left, step left,
stamp right.
Is stomping now the standard across America?
______________________________**_________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
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11:30 p.m.
New subject: How do you balance? (Was High-energy dances)
In the optional first-timer's orientation I tell them that the balance is
not really a "step" at all. It's really done with the hands and the eyes.
I emphasize this by telling them not to worry about what you do with your
feet because nobody will ever be looking at your feet. The balance is an
eye-contact sport.
Greg McKenzie
Ben Lomond, CA
***************
On Thu, Apr 25, 2013 at 3:39 AM, Mac Mckeever <macmck(a)ymail.com> wrote:
When I teach a balance - I go over the footwork very
quickly (step for &
back) and then tell them not to worry about that part - the balance really
happens in the arms - not the feet and emphasize keeping a strong
connection with the other dancer(s) as you move toward them and back and
using the balance to create the 'lead' or momentum in the direction you
need to go for the next move. Thinking about footwork just makes it more
complicated than it needs to be and they will figure out what works for
them.
Mac McKeever
26 Apr
26 Apr
1:13 a.m.
New subject: How do you balance? (Was High-energy dances)
On Wed, Apr 24, 2013, Read Weaver wrote:
When I teach a balance, I mostly describe it as a way to move
away from your partner to give you the chance to pull in
toward your partner, whether it's for a swing, a box the gnat,
etc. Any move within the phrasing that allows you to do that
is fair game. The simplest is either step in on the right,
step out on the left, although some find in-2-3, out-2-3 more
intuitive. Step-stamp-step-stamp is the one I actively encourage
people to not do, as 1) it's generally done in such a way that it
doesn't put you in a position to pull in to the next move, and 2) it
makes you look like a yahoo.
<blink> Both your claims about stomping make no sense to me. I've
never had any difficulty being in position with stomping, and I can't
visualize how it makes someone look like a yahoo.
--
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 http://rule6.info/
<*> <*> <*>
Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html
25 Apr
25 Apr
8:46 a.m.
New subject: How do you balance? (Was High-energy dances)
I generally tell dancers (depending on the kind of balance itself and what
comes before and after) to step-step forward (or right or left) and
step-step backward (or left or right). I say nothing at all about stomping.
As a dancer I do a variety of balances. After years of messing up the
kick right and kick left balance that I originally learned in square dance
(I often kick in the wrong direction--ouch), I looked for other ways to do
it so I wouldn't hurt anyone. As a general rule, I don't stomp. It's too
hard on my joints, although I do confess to having done it when I was
younger. I have heard callers tell beginners workshops that the whole
point of the balance is to make noise. I have occasionally engaged the
caller explain that the tradition is much different, with little success.
I view the balance as a nice way for the dancers to punctuate the rhythm,
but it is not about noise...or shouldn't be. Thanks, George
On Wed, Apr 24, 2013 at 11:46 AM, John Sweeney <info(a)contrafusion.co.uk>wrote;wrote:
There have been a number of references to balances
always involving a
stomp.
I was under the impression that there were lots of ways to balance, many
of which don't involve a stomp. I usually teach "balance to the
right-2-3, to the left-2-3".
I did notice more stomping than I was familiar with at The Flurry this
year, just step right, stamp left, step left, stamp right.
Is stomping now the standard across America?
What do YOU teach as the footwork in a balance?
See
http://www.izaak.unh.edu/dlp/NorthernJunket/pages/NJv05/NJv05-01/NJv.05.
01.p13.htm for 50 variations of the balance.
Thanks.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
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7 comments
8 participants
participants (8)
-
Aahz Maruch -
George Mercer -
Greg McKenzie -
John Sweeney -
Joy Greenwolfe -
Mac Mckeever -
Read Weaver -
Ryan Smith