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Here's Dr Matt's List of Music Tempos for Social Dancing

Dr Matt's Dance Class — Foxtrot Week Eight

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:

This week we learned the Pivot Step, and practiced three ways of entering into the Pivots:

      1)  Promenade Walk to Pivot
      2)  Rock Turn to Pivot
      2)  Grapevine to Pivot

We also learned how to exit from the Pivots into a Grapevine

Promenade Walk to Pivot

Walking in Promenade position usually happens for just a few counts while doing the Foxtrot. It's a good technique to learn that will be especially useful when doing the Tango. Staying angled into your partner (at 45 degrees) creates a more visually appealing look.

International Style Ballroom calls this look "Contrary Body Movement"— which means you're moving one direction (north, for example), while your body is facing 45 degrees in another direction (northwest or northeast, for example). Here's a superb example of Contrary Body Movement in the Tango. Wow!!!!

Here's professional Maksim Chmerkovski and partner Willa Ford dancing a Foxtrot: At  1:05  to 1:08  observe how their top line is completely still as they move forward in Promenade Position. AND notice how their hips don't swivel one way or the other—they hold the 45 degree angle. This is Contrary Body Movement. Amateur dancer Willa Ford learned this technique in one week.  Impressive!

Review: Peeling the Toe

Last night I mentioned that it is the Lady's responsibility to keep her feet from being STEPPED ON—but there is one exception to this rule. The Man must make sure to keep his "Choo-Choo Trains" (his feet) on his exclusive railroad tracks. When he does this, then, it is the Lady's response-ability to NOT get stepped on—and this is accomplished through the technique of "peeling the toe."

The "Feet AS Choo-Choo Trains" analogy is one that I mentioned in Week Two, along with the idea of Off-Center alignment—it's worth reviewing.

"Peeling the Toe" is the technique that Ladies must learn in order to NOT get stepped on. The principle is this: Instead of simply Klomping your foot down in the place where it would normally land during a relaxed walking motion, you pleeay (lower your body by bending your knee) into your supporting leg and push a few inches beyond the place where your foot would normally "Klomp."

The technique of pushing beyond the "Klomping Zone" is demonstrated marvelously by two Italian Dancers, Luca and Loraine.

In contrast to this lowering and "driving" technique that makes dancing movements long and flowing, watch "So You Think You Can Dance" Finalist, Twitch do some obvious KLOMPING  at 0:34 to 0:40—very Frankenstein-esque!

Here's a Master List of all the Steps we've learned about 8 Weeks of instruction:

     * Rock Turn
     * Rock Turn with Arch
     * Rock Turn to Throw Out (from Closed Position to Left - Right Contact)
     * Rock to Left Side Pass (Left - Right Contact)
     * Rock to Underarm Turn (Left - Right Contact)
     * Rock to Grapevine
     * Zig Zag (with Rise and Fall)
     * Grapevine to Hesitation (with upper body sway — leading with Hips)
     * Grapevine to Chasse' (with Latin Motion — leading with Rib Cage)
     * Promenade Walks to 4-Count Pivot
     * Rock-Turn to Flip Flop to 360 Man Flop
     * Rock-Turn to Flip Flop to 180 Man Flop to Impetus Turn to Grapevine
     * Rock-Turn to Pivot to Grapevine
     * Rock-Turn to Grapevine to Pivot
     * Hesitation Foxtrot Basic

If the only dancing you're doing in one week, is at the dance class, THEN, the learning curve is going to bite you in the butt. If you really want to become a better ballroom dancer, you need to PRACTICE and REINFORCE what you are learning at one of the weekend dances!

Final NOTE: Pivoting can be done by rocking "Side to Side" (which is what a few members of the class are still doing, but the step is much more attractive when the Rocking Action is "Forward and Back." Here's a Link from last week that shows Fantastic Pivots at  1:06 — 1:14  & 1:55 — 2:00.  

 :o)
Matt

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

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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"Changing Your Stripes" presents principles for getting out of
the ditch in which you've been dumped (the difficulties of which you are victim),
and the ditch in which you've jumped (the difficulties for which you volunteer).

"Mastering a challenging situation
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mastering yourself!"
- Matt Moody 

"Changing Your Stripes," teaches you the principles that lead to lasting change,
making you a new kind of creature capable of communicating
with calm, even as storms of contention swirl.

If these ideas resonate and ring true,
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Social Psychologist & Personal Advisor

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