keeping busy this week

[dagibbs]

Teaching a course during the day -- in town, though.

Monday evening - climbing.
Tuesday evening - dinner with parents, then climbing.
Wednesday - dinner with kgkofmel, then dance lessons.
Thursday - climbing.
Friday - The Watchmen
Saturday - gaming, not my place.

Just Sunday left unscheduled.

Yes, climbing 3 times this week. I'm thinking I may try for at least that many times the next couple weeks, maybe even 4 times (Sunday?), as training for my trip at the end of March. But, I'm also feeling like I want to dance more, too.

Last night, in fact, Lorna (dance instructor) and I tried to list all the different bits of Swing that I knew. I was surprised at how long the list actually was. I knew Swing was, probably, my strongest dance, but still... some 25 or so different bits... wow.

Ok...that's for East Coast Swing (though, I'm told my style is closer to Jive.) I tried West Coast Swing last night, too. Yowza, but that's a more complicated basic step, and feels like a more complicated rhythm to dance.

I also had Lorna almost collapsed on the floor laughing with one comment I made. I do have fun with it -- I definitely don't treat it as something "super-serious".

Comments

[zingerella.livejournal.com]

West coast is the same basic rhythm as the your 6-count E-C swing or jive pattern. The changes are just accommodating the slot. I don't know if that's any help to you, but it was to me.

So EC: 1, 2, 3&4 5&6 (swung) = Rock-step trip-le-step trip-le-step = Slow, slow [swung]quick-quick slow, quick-quick slow.

WC: 1, 2, 3&4 5&6 = Step step step-and-change; anch-or-step = Slow, slow, quick-quick slow, quick-quick slow. But in WC you have to go forward and back, and/or lead your partner through the slot -- you don't have the option of a circular dance the way you do in EC and jive.

(Why, yes, I did used to go swing dancing 5 nights a week, why do you ask.)

I like West Coast because of the slot, and because of the games you can play mixing 6 and 8 count moves. It's amusing me that modern Lindy Hop has started to look a lot like West Coast did 10 years ago.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "the slot". I do realize that it is the same basic rhythm, but... somehow it feels a lot more complicated. Maybe just that the footwork is quite different, and more complicated.

Actually, I think another thing that makes it more difficult -- there isn't as much parallel between the lead and follow steps. In the EC swing basic, the lead & follow do (basically) the same thing, mirrored. In WC swing, they don't.

Also, the "basic" really needs more than just the basic (which travels backwards for the leader), so needs a basic & a pass. This makes for a far longer sequence to learn as "basic", for the fall-back to the basic.

[zingerella.livejournal.com]

In WC, the follow is moving along an imaginary track called the slot. The lead leaves the slot to allow the follow to move in it, so for the follow, there are only two directions: forward and back. It's a very linear dance, compared to EC or lindy, in which the momentum is much more circular.

This is very hard to explain in writing! I could just show you!

Next time you're in Toronto, or I'm in Ottawa, if we can find some floor, we can play with this stuff, if you want. It's been about 10 years since I did any WC swing, so you may find it amusing.

So in WC, the follow and the leader can't mirror each other, because they have no lateral motion. The follow can move only forward or back (well, the follow can turn around, too, but ideally she does that without ever leaving the slot).

And yeah, in order to do any WC you need the push break or sugar push, and the two turns, and they look different. Then you get into the 8-count moves, like the whip, and it's all awesome from there. The learning curve is a lot steeper, but I did find that remembering that it was the same dance, with different geometry, helped me some. YMMV, of course.

Oh. Now I want to go swing dancing!

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

That answers my P.S.

Yes, I'd love to find some floor & play with this stuff. Some WC swing to break my brain, and some EC swing for the fun of it.

I had realized that WC was a lot more linear -- back & forth. I understand what you mean by the slot, now.

And, I don't think your rusty WC swing will be that funny. I've done all of one lesson (well, about a 45 minute (large) group lesson about 1.5 years ago, and about 20 minutes private lesson last night) in WC swing. I do intend to continue with it, though.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

And, yeah, trying to explain dancing in words, rather than showing... it is tough.

I'm sure there is a (technical) language for it -- choreographers probably have to have something they can use. But I don't know the words.

[zingerella.livejournal.com]

Choreographers use labanotation or little foot diagrams, with either the counts or little musical quarter and eighth notes beneath them. I don't know how to read labanotation, and I cannot do foot diagrams in crappy HTML.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

P.S. Do you ever get out dancing any more?

[zingerella.livejournal.com]

Do I ever go out dancing anymore?

Hee!

As often as I can, boyo!

I've moved away from swing, and I was never much for modern ballroom. I'm still teaching vintage and Victorian ballroom whenever I can. captainmushroom and I go out contra dancing whenever there's a dance here. I seem to have lost track of when the ceilis are, but I should find out and put them on the calendar.

I lack a swing dancing partner, so I don't do that as much as I'd like.

But I still get out dancing a fair bit.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

I currently lack a partner as well. :(

But, I'm hoping to find one -- either for swing, or for ballroom & swing. We'll see what happens.

My parents want me to take up round dancing (choreographed ballroom). I'm not sure that's going to happen, or at least, not for a while yet.

[zingerella.livejournal.com]

I tried round dancing once. I found it lacked much of what I love in social dance, so I never tried again I don' much like choreographies, and I love, love, love lead-follow. Contra or Irish set dancing are about as choreographed as I get, and there's lots of room for improv there.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

That makes sense to me, actually. The dynamism and creativity of lead-follow in social dance is a lot of fun. Actually, that is (part of) why I'm really not interested in competition either -- too much rehearsed choreography, rather than lead/follow.

[kattale.livejournal.com]

I know I keep flaking out on it, but let me know if you're ever up for contra dancing. I love love love it, and would definitely try to make it out. Popelaksmi & Mikepictor might be up for it too sometime.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

I would be happy to try it some time, as long as they're fine with me being an utter novice.

[kattale.livejournal.com]

It's a huge giant room full of people. At the beginning of the evening, they do a walk-through of the most common steps for the utter novices (you did most of them during Black Nag at my wedding).

Then for each dance, everyone lines up in two facing lines, (like Black Nag, only of 20 or more couples instead of 6). The caller does a walk through of the dance. You can ask questions. Unusual patterns, people duck to the floor so everyone can watch a group of 4 people demonstrate it. Then the band (live) begins to play, and we all dance the dance.

If you forget the pattern (it's awesome for mathematical brains, think of it as board-gaming with live pieces) people tend to grab you and send you in the right direction.

The steps repeat at least as many times as there are couples (if there are 20 couples, probably 20 repeats of the pattern) so that you dance with every other couple in a set of 4. By the end, you usually know the dance.

Then they walk through another one, and on it goes.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

Sounds like it could be fun. I'd be happy to (at least) give it a try some time.