Hi All,
The routine from last night was:
| Beginners I | Beginners II |
 | |
- Nigel's move
- Wurlitzer
- Change places
| - Nigel's move
- Wurlitzer
- Change places
- (Closed sway) *
|
| Intermediates | Notes on the move |
| |
| - Yo yo pass | Yo yo variation, moving the lady in a triangle around the man. |
- Passing backhander
-- (Overhead variation) | A nice travelling move, using the man's centre of balance to give the appearance of movement. |
| - Triple return (manspin) | Three travelling returns, but the middle spin requires the man to join in too with the spinning, doing a duet-style spin. The third spin didn't require the man to spin, giving him time to steady and position ready for the next move. |
| - Catapult archie | Catapult variation, with a spin exit for both partners simultaneously. |
- Reverse catapult
-- (knee-drop backspin) | On the spin exit, take the hand up over the lady's head - on exit from the spin, the man drops to the floor and blocks the lady (using her hips). Backspin, catch right handed, and travel return. |
* During beginners part 1, the first three beginner moves were taught. During beginners part 2, the first three moves were revised and an additional fourth move added in.
For more info on how to do the beginner moves, see our
free online detailed moves manual.
The whole routine was developed to
a) Give the men practice at moving around the dancefloor so that the lady can dance without needing to run everywhere, and
b) Give the men practice and leading confidently but smoothly. A successful pass at this routine would be detected by a smooth transition through all moves.
The two catapults were given to practice the move, and practice the diamond-positioning for the men as they orbit the ladies during the move. This makes for a much smoother version of the catapult.
The triple travelling return was used to highlight good technique for travelling spins - including making the men spin during one of the travels to ensure that they understood the effects of a good/bad lead on the spin, and making sure that positioning and distance between the partners is very important.
Styling points were given to the ladies, including the use of accentuated hip actions to highlight positioning and posture.
Regards
John.
