Off Night…
Just back from the GUU. Didn’t really have a good night.
I didn’t really have a good day either, so I guess that was why…
I can’t say it was the music, though it might have been a factor. I can’t say it was the dancers, though that mattered too.
There were maybe only one or two songs that actually made me want to get up and dance… Maybe if I were in a different mood, this would have been different.
There were maybe only a handful of dancers that I especially wanted to dance with. The GUU is normally busier, but again, I think my mood was a big factor.
That said, I guess I danced to almost half of the songs – mostly being asked, rather than asking… And once I had got up to dance I did enjoy myself, though I don’t think I gave my best effort to all my partners.
Here were the moves…
Almost Pretzel (new version) – Standard almost pretzel lead in, turn CW to nelson yourself. Here’s where it changes… Now place spare RH on girl’s wrist and draw her in before stepping her back to connect R-R. Not a good description.
Catapult throw away. This is the catapult variant where you hold on for what would be the spin, catch R-R, throw her RH away turning her ACW, you turn clockwise to go back into a catapult position, girl behind you… Repeat to taste… Finish with a normal catapult.
Two-handed shoulder drop into catapult. Beginner move variation. This starts the same as the beginner move, return, turn, onto shoulder, but before you turn collect L-L the girl’s spare hand. On the slide out bit, rather than returning to the shoulder, slide back across to get into a catapult exit. To combine this move with the previous, on the second catapult, don’t throw the girl’s hand away, but return her to get into the right hold for the start of this move.
Left-handed sway spin out. Left-handed throw of the girl’s RH to place her into sway position. On the lead out, place LH on girl’s shoulder to her guide the spin out. It’s a turn and a half. Catch L-R for almost pretzel…
Didn’t like the new version of the almost pretzel much, though that was mainly because a lot of the time I wasn’t leading it or my partners were following it properly. That said, I didn’t especially like the old version either, so that’s not going to help…
This is actually a fairly different move to the old version, which makes me wonder why it didn’t deserve a new name. It’s not like the old version will disappear just because Ceroc don’t teach it anymore… That said, they’ve done the same rewriting of moves to the comb and yo-yo at least.
The catapult thingy I don’t especially like either. First because I don’t like moves which leave the girl behind me, and second, because in freestyle I’ve never managed to hold on to a girl in the catapult spin-out part. Maybe I need to work at it, but why bother when I don’t like the move? Not especially keen on moves that involve repetition either…
I’m never ready to do shoulder drops, so a two-handed version isn’t going to stand much of a chance…
I found the left-handed sway quite cool. It’s got a very lazy feel to it that suits my style… I’m wondering though about how necessary the left hand on the shoulder is. Is this a signal? I’ve managed to spin out girls from sways for ages without doing this… I think it just confuses – something else for both me and the girl the think about…
Earlier in the evening I was wondering the same thing about the “to the shoulder” part of the arm jive… As it’s another move that involves repetition, it shouldn’t come to a surprise to you that I don’t much care for it, but maybe here a signal to exit is needed more… (That thought also lead on to wondering about flat hands for push spins, but separate from the signal they give, they are often needed for the actual push of the spin.)
See? Even on a bad night I’m still thinking about dancing a lot…
But that’s enough.
Sorry to those who were hoping for better from me, and sorry to our “cool” DJ for not being able to summon up much enthusiasm for his choice of music tonight.
Hopefully Saturday will be better, wherever I end up…
Good night…