Tom, at a guess, Aahz is not talking about NOT spending time on the swing, nor about neglecting to teach dancers how to start/end one--just that the finer points of technique aren't a priority for the beginner's lesson. Of course any teacher worth their salt will teach that a swing always ends with the lady on the right. But I think all Aahz is saying is that, IF the dancers end the swing with the lady on the right, it doesn't really matter how they get there--fumbling through a swing happens, and it's easy to recover from, while moves that involve the rest of your hands-4 or the rest of the set have potential to cause way more disruption to the dance if botched.

I agree that the buzz-step is not the be-all, end-all of contra swing! I've been dancing for going on 5 years and I pretty much exclusively walk-swing, because I find it more comfortable and easy to control, and don't actually like swinging extremely fast.

John mentions the bad habits that even experienced dancers may have while swinging, such as:

- grip, clamp, squeeze, hang, press
- hold their partner in the wrong place so it is uncomfortable
- use too much strength and try to do silly things like making their
partners feet leave the floor
- lean sideways or backwards
- start twirls too late and when they are facing the wrong way so that they
end up in the wrong place

I find it pretty telling that this list of habits actually has nothing to do with footwork! In my opinion, the reason to teach walking swing instead of buzz-step to beginners is that there's SO MUCH ELSE to concentrate on. The more things we can abstract away, the easier a time beginners will have learning what's left. If you're focusing on strange new footwork (and I find that buzz-stepping beginners tend to think that the buzz-stepping is the most important part of the swing, and concentrate more on that than on their frame), it's harder to pick up things like giving weight, a proper hold, etc. But everyone already knows how to walk!

I would also add that I would much rather dance with someone doing a funky/odd/strange/unpracticed walking swing than a funky/odd/strange/unpracticed buzz step. I find that there are fewer ways to mess up a walk, and that there's less potential for your partner to be uncomfortable or perhaps harmed than with one of those galloping, out-of-control excited-pony buzz step swings.

Just my two cents!

Cheers,

Maia

On Sun, Jun 21, 2015 at 1:38 PM, Amy Wimmer via Callers <callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

I love John's idea of teaching the buzz step as individuals first,
then as couples. The most frequent complaints I hear from men is that
women hang on them and don't hold up their own weight during a swing.
The most frequent complaint I hear from women is men pulling them off
their feet and going too fast. If they can learn to hold themselves
upright on their own first, then everyone will have a much more
enjoyable experience.

-Amy

> On Jun 21, 2015, at 3:44 AM, John Sweeney via Callers <callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>

> Yes, of course I always tell dancers that they can walk instead of buzz, but
> the buzz-step is so much more fun that it seems crazy not to teach it when
> every dance is going to have a swing and usually two.
>
> <Digression:> Yes, I love swinging, and have been loving it for fifty years
> now, but why does every new dance have to have two swings? Oh no, not
> Neighbour Balance & Swing, Circle Left 3/4, Partner Swing again - that's
> half the dance gone with nothing new or interesting in it! (And changing the
> Circle Left 3/4 to Men/Ladies Allemande 1 & 1/2 does not make it more
> interesting!) I write lots of dances with one or zero swings - a zero-swing
> dance can have so much good stuff in it that the dancers don't even notice
> there is no swing; they are having too much fun. It always puzzles me when
> people take a great one-swing dance and re-choreograph it to add a second
> swing, losing part of what made it a great dance just for the sake of even
> more swinging. <End of digression.>
>
> I found it interesting that Ron said, "the buzz-step swing gets axed if I'm
> short on time". If I only had time to teach one thing then the only thing I
> would teach would be the buzz-step swing, and how to finish it so you end up
> in the right place. I can't think of anything else that newcomers can't
> learn during the walk-throughs.
>
> Question: If you were calling for a group with a dozen newcomers in the hall
> out of 100 people, and the organizers said you could have two minutes
> teaching before you started the first walk-through, what would you teach?
> For me the answer is obvious, every dance has a buzz-step swing; teach a
> buzz-step swing.
>
> Another reason for teaching swinging is that there are a significant number
> of "experienced" dancers who have bad swinging habits. I dance all over the
> USA and the UK and wherever I go there are always some people who:
> - grip, clamp, squeeze, hang, press
> - hold their partner in the wrong place so it is uncomfortable
> - use too much strength and try to do silly things like making their
> partners feet leave the floor
> - lean sideways or backwards
> - start twirls too late and when they are facing the wrong way so that they
> end up in the wrong place
> - etc.
>
> If just a couple of those dancers pick up on any of these points and improve
> their swinging then you have done good work!
>
> Yes, I hate it when callers talk too much and take time out of dancing time.
> But this can be really short:
>
> Sample teach:
> = = = = = = = =
> Hi, I'm John. We have some new people here today and they are going to
> spend half an hour swinging tonight, so please let's spend a minute or two
> on showing them how it's done. And all you great dancers out there why not
> see if you can't make your swing even better for you and your partners.
>
> This is called a buzz-step swing.
>
> First, let go of you partner completely. Put your left toe just behind your
> right foot like this. Now walk fast on the spot. Now push with your left
> foor as though you were on a skateboard and turn clockwise by yourself on
> the spot. Relax your knees so you don't bounce up and down. See how
> smoothly.you can turn with the minimum of effort.
>
> Now take your partner in a ballroom hold - the man's hand on the lady's
> shoulderblade - it is far more comfotable for the lady if you hold them up
> high. Now relax - make sure you are not pressing on any part of your
> partner.
>
> And swing - it should be a gentle embrace where, as a single counterbalanced
> unit, you glide smoothly and effortlessly around. Smile at your partner and
> you won't get dizzy.
>
> Now think of your joined hands as an arrowhead and finish pointing at the
> other couple.
>
> If you are having trouble with the buzz-step then you can always just walk.
> = = = = = = = =
>
> I just timed that and it took less than 90 seconds. Surely that is worth
> doing!
>
> Yes, some of them won’t get it, but for those who do you have just greatly
> enhanced their enjoyment of the evening.
>
> Anyway, that's what I think. :-)
>
> Happy dancing,
> John
>
> John Sweeney, Dancer, England john@modernjive.com 01233 625 362
> http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
>
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