Swing Dynamite Blog

Thoughts and news about swing dancing in Ottawa

A Follower’s Swing Dancing Pet Peeves

[ 4 Comments ] Posted by on Jul 11, 2011 in Partnership, Swing Dancing

Although I’ve only been dancing swing for close to two years and have many things to learn, if there is a skill that I’ve developed as a dancer, it’s observation.

Follows – traditionally meaning girls here but refers mostly to the following role in the dynamic – are not placed frequently in a leadership position. This seems clear by the term used to describe them. There have been many discussions regarding the “role” following should play in a “good follow” ‘s dancing. This, in itself, is a fascinating subject and could fill a blog post on its own. However, what I want to focus on is the follower’s experience. Sometimes, we’re given ingredients and we get to make cupcakes with sprinkles on top. Sometimes, we’re given lemons. The most awesome of follows either make lemonade…or limoncello. Cheers!

That said, there are things that make my experience as a follow, quite unpleasant. If you’re a lead, you might want to read these with attention.

1. Teaching me on the dance floor, in the middle of a dance
I’m dancing socially. I want to try new things and have fun. Wasting a perfectly good song and endangering other dancers by stopping in the middle of a song to explain something is not only silly, it’s rude.

2. Pulling too many “moves”
I’m all for trying new things, but if the dance is about throwing your partner in all the moves you know, as though you were dancing by numbers, not only is it no fun for her, it’s stressful for you to go through a checklist.

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Dance Better By Chatting

[ No Comments ] Posted by on Jul 02, 2011 in Getting Good at Swing Dancing, Partnership

It’s important to me to emphasize that swing dancing is a social activity.

In a recent conversation among the Westie Bomber bootcampers (ie. new recruits for our WCS team), senior team member Cathy Jones made some interesting points about how valuable it is to exchange between dancers. Our Westie Bombers have really stood out this year as a team of people that help each other out, and it’s been an amazing thing to see. Cathy in particular has been instrumental in helping newer members understand West Coast Swing better and acclimatize to the team environment.

One point Cathy made that was very important to me was about conversation in the dance: how learning and exchanging between peers really helps you understand what the other dancers–your partners–are thinking and feeling as they dance. That learning process is a huge part of going beyond WCS as merely a collection of moves and technique, to a social dance that’s mostly about the conversation you have through movement.

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