Lead 'ContraSwing' Versions of Your Favorite Moves
. . . and increase your versatility as a dancer!
At a recent dance, I watched the participants of the Basic Swing class
wander back into the main ballroom from an adjoining room where their
class had just ended. As usual, a few of them continued around the
perimeter of the dance floor and exited the building opting to dance
another evening when they felt more self-assured; and the rest, more
confident with their new skills, made a beeline for their tables where they
would roost with the certain knowledge that they were going to have a
fun evening of dancing. Their instructor must have given the female
students the "it's OK to ask guys to dance" speech at the end of their session because as the
last of the class entered the room, one of the ladies walked up to me and confidently
popped the question. I graciously accepted, anticipating an enjoyable but unremarkable
dance, but I was wrong. The dance was not only enjoyable but also very enlightening
because my partner asked me an interesting question which caused me rethink many of the
swing moves that I have learned over the years.
I could tell by the way that she initially gripped my hand and joined me in the closed
position that she had made the right decision to take the Basic I class. After I led her into an
initial "Tuck and Turn," it became apparent that her virtually nonexistent footwork could
use a little remedial work. Not wanting to offend her, I asked if she would like me to
briefly review her footwork or if she would prefer that we just continue enjoying the dance.
She opted for my help and quickly learned how to step around proficiently when I turned
her. It was at this point that she asked me a very fundamental question that challenged my
understanding of the dance: "when you raise your hand above my head to turn me, how do
I know which direction to go?" As a dance instructor, my first inclination was to tell her
that in a "Tuck and Turn" the male dancer (or 'leader') always leads his partner (or
'follower') into a clockwise turn into the open position; instead, I answered: "you should
always rotate in the direction that your partner leads you." We finished our dance and
agreed to get together again later, but as I left the dance floor I couldn't help pondering her
innocent question. Every swing dance club in St. Louis teaches the "Tuck and Turn" in
their classes exactly the same way: the male dancer always 'tucks' his partner
counterclockwise in front of him and then he 'turns' her clockwise into the open position.
Suddenly I realized what was troubling me...since my new partner, who may never have
heard of a "Tuck and Turn," was not anticipating the usual clockwise turn after her tuck,
why couldn't I, as the leader, rotate her around the opposite direction into the slot using the
ContraSwing version of this move? The answer is that I could have but I didn't in this
instance because leading my partner into an inside turn would have been inappropriate for
her experience level; however, her question did cause me to think more creatively about the
mechanics of the moves that I lead.
We swing dancers habitually perform our favorite moves the same way every time because
the repetition has conditioned our reflexes; it's a phenomenon called 'muscle memory.' If
we would step outside of our comfort zones occasionally and lead our partners into the
ContraSwing versions of these familiar moves, where we either lead them down the slot on
our opposite side or rotate them around in the opposite direction, then we can virtually
. . . and increase your versatility as a dancer!
At a recent dance, I watched the participants of the Basic Swing class
wander back into the main ballroom from an adjoining room where their
class had just ended. As usual, a few of them continued around the
perimeter of the dance floor and exited the building opting to dance
another evening when they felt more self-assured; and the rest, more
confident with their new skills, made a beeline for their tables where they
would roost with the certain knowledge that they were going to have a
fun evening of dancing. Their instructor must have given the female
students the "it's OK to ask guys to dance" speech at the end of their session because as the
last of the class entered the room, one of the ladies walked up to me and confidently
popped the question. I graciously accepted, anticipating an enjoyable but unremarkable
dance, but I was wrong. The dance was not only enjoyable but also very enlightening
because my partner asked me an interesting question which caused me rethink many of the
swing moves that I have learned over the years.
I could tell by the way that she initially gripped my hand and joined me in the closed
position that she had made the right decision to take the Basic I class. After I led her into an
initial "Tuck and Turn," it became apparent that her virtually nonexistent footwork could
use a little remedial work. Not wanting to offend her, I asked if she would like me to
briefly review her footwork or if she would prefer that we just continue enjoying the dance.
She opted for my help and quickly learned how to step around proficiently when I turned
her. It was at this point that she asked me a very fundamental question that challenged my
understanding of the dance: "when you raise your hand above my head to turn me, how do
I know which direction to go?" As a dance instructor, my first inclination was to tell her
that in a "Tuck and Turn" the male dancer (or 'leader') always leads his partner (or
'follower') into a clockwise turn into the open position; instead, I answered: "you should
always rotate in the direction that your partner leads you." We finished our dance and
agreed to get together again later, but as I left the dance floor I couldn't help pondering her
innocent question. Every swing dance club in St. Louis teaches the "Tuck and Turn" in
their classes exactly the same way: the male dancer always 'tucks' his partner
counterclockwise in front of him and then he 'turns' her clockwise into the open position.
Suddenly I realized what was troubling me...since my new partner, who may never have
heard of a "Tuck and Turn," was not anticipating the usual clockwise turn after her tuck,
why couldn't I, as the leader, rotate her around the opposite direction into the slot using the
ContraSwing version of this move? The answer is that I could have but I didn't in this
instance because leading my partner into an inside turn would have been inappropriate for
her experience level; however, her question did cause me to think more creatively about the
mechanics of the moves that I lead.
We swing dancers habitually perform our favorite moves the same way every time because
the repetition has conditioned our reflexes; it's a phenomenon called 'muscle memory.' If
we would step outside of our comfort zones occasionally and lead our partners into the
ContraSwing versions of these familiar moves, where we either lead them down the slot on
our opposite side or rotate them around in the opposite direction, then we can virtually
double the number of moves in our arsenal.
The ContraSwing version of the traditional "Tuck and Turn" that incorporates a woman's clockwise (outside) turn into the open
position now becomes a modified "Tuck and Turn" that incorporates a woman's
counterclockwise (inside) turn into the open position. The opposite (or ContraSwing)
versions of other popular moves include, for example, substituting a right side 'throw-out'
down the slot (two-hand, overhead lead into a wrap) for the more common left side
'throw-out'; substituting a counterclockwise 'come-around' (male dancer leads his partner
around him in the slot), for the clockwise 'come-around' and finally leading our partner
past us in the slot into a crossover on our left side instead of on our right side. Experienced
leaders routinely perform certain moves like the "Straight Jacket/Reverse Straight Jacket"
and "Continuous Right/Left Waist Wraps" in both directions, but 'mirror moves' like these
are the exceptions and they have no ContraSwing versions. In retrospect, I am really glad
that my partner was listening when her instructor told the class that "it's OK to ask guys to
dance" because she helped me realize that I know a lot more moves than I thought!
________________________________________________________________________
Copyright © 2010 by Henry H. "Skip" Culver, Jr. Member of the West County Swing
Dance Club and author of: Imperial Swing Dancing (visit: www.ImperialSwing.com).
The ContraSwing version of the traditional "Tuck and Turn" that incorporates a woman's clockwise (outside) turn into the open
position now becomes a modified "Tuck and Turn" that incorporates a woman's
counterclockwise (inside) turn into the open position. The opposite (or ContraSwing)
versions of other popular moves include, for example, substituting a right side 'throw-out'
down the slot (two-hand, overhead lead into a wrap) for the more common left side
'throw-out'; substituting a counterclockwise 'come-around' (male dancer leads his partner
around him in the slot), for the clockwise 'come-around' and finally leading our partner
past us in the slot into a crossover on our left side instead of on our right side. Experienced
leaders routinely perform certain moves like the "Straight Jacket/Reverse Straight Jacket"
and "Continuous Right/Left Waist Wraps" in both directions, but 'mirror moves' like these
are the exceptions and they have no ContraSwing versions. In retrospect, I am really glad
that my partner was listening when her instructor told the class that "it's OK to ask guys to
dance" because she helped me realize that I know a lot more moves than I thought!
________________________________________________________________________
Copyright © 2010 by Henry H. "Skip" Culver, Jr. Member of the West County Swing
Dance Club and author of: Imperial Swing Dancing (visit: www.ImperialSwing.com).
