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Dr Matt's Dance Class — Foxtrot Week Two

Here are the notes for each week's Foxtrot Lessons:
1     2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    11    12    pics

Hi Everyone:

Here are some of the things we learned this week:

      1)  Off-Center Alignment to your partner.
      2)  Heel leads as you walk forward—as opposed to Toe Sliding.
      3)  Peeling the Toe, as you move backward.
      4)  Three more basic steps:
                * Grapevine (side cross-forward, side cross-back)
                * Hesitation (side touch, side touch)
                * Right Turning Pivot (rock back, rock forward—while rotating right)

For those who did not attend the first class, you need to get clear on the Asteroid Analogy—a concept essential to understanding how Leading & Following happens.

Off Center Alignment to Your Partner:

Image four (4) individual, parallel train tracks, and 4 Choo Choo Trains that represent the man & woman's feet. As you keep your feet on the proper train track, it is impossible for you to step on the feet (Choo Choo Trains) of your partner—IMPOSSIBLE.

Standing Off Center in Closed Position means: As the Man moves forward, his Right Foot will step between the feet of his partner. Conversely, when the Woman is moving forward, she will do exactly the same: step between the feet of her partner.

In both scenarios of moving forward in closed dance position (from the Man and the Woman's perspective), the Right Foot always steps slightly to the left of his/her partner's Left Foot—and between his/her partner's feet.

As the dancer moves forward (which is the case most of the time for the man), the tendency is to be timid about stepping between your partner's feet. As a result, a few of the guys in last week's class were "Toe Sliding" their Right Foot—as a pre-emptive measure to safeguard the physical well-being of their partner.

But what's the worst that could happen if you step forward boldly? When you dance Off-Center, your thighs may brush your partner's thighs. That's the worst case scenario! Of course, you will NEVER step on your partner's feet, because your Choo Choo Trains will stay on their individual tracks.

Thigh-brushing happens all the time in advanced level Ballroom Dancing. Ballroom Dancing is a Contact Sport. Get used to it.

Notice how close the Man and Woman are . . . while dancing an International Tango—partners are literally locked into each other like two jig-saw puzzle pieces. We will NOT be dancing this close typically (did I just hear someone say "darn"?). However, when doing the Pivot, you have to get this close, or else the two turning fulcrum points will not be properly placed.

Right Turning Pivot:

Last Night we got a good start in learning the Pivot. This Tango by Mark Ballis and Kristi Yamaguchi shows the proper foot position for the Pivot at .25 to .27 AND again at 1.23 to 1.26 (pausing the video may be helpful).

Don't look too closely at Mark's mouth during this dance—lock the doors and hide the children, it's scary! 1.12 is the most horrific moment! Gasp!

Remember, in doing the Pivot, you need to nail down your feet to the inside of a wagon wheel (metaphorically speaking); the Pivot happens in a back and forth rocking action, as you turn right. (Of course, there are Left Turning Pivots as well, but they are harder to do, until you first learn the Right Turning Pivot).

Here's professional Maksim Chmerkovski and his amatuer partner Willa Ford dancing a Foxtrot.  They also do a Pivot, but the camera angle isn't the best. Here's some things to take note of while you watch:

       .18   Hour Glass Shaping
       .26   Where is Maksim's right hand?
       .36   "Peeling the Toe" technique by Maxim as he backs up
       .42 to .44   Pivot begins with the Man rocking back Left Foot
       1.05 to 1.08   Observe how their top line is completely still
                 as they move forward in Promenade Position. Impressive!
                 And Willa Ford learned this technique in one week.
       1.17   Where is Maksim's left hand? Where is Willa's right hand?

Speaking of moving and turning across the dance floor, while keeping the Top Line Still, here's another good example from the World Amateur Championships.

 :o)
Matt

Notes for Dr Matt's Ballroom Dance Class — Week Three

Hey Dance Fans, . . . have you read my review of the
most-watched television show of the summer,
So You Think You Can Dance ?

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