Final Stretch Part 2

Tuesday 3/27
Swing: 1 Social Patterns
This ends up being one of the more rewarding classes I've taken at the Atomic. Looking back, I wonder about the applicability of the Double Bug or most of the choreography (it tends to be complex enough that it's tough to lead).
Jerry just starts to string moves together to use as a default series that is well enough known by the lead that we can spend our time thinking about moves that we want to try out while we do the series. So we do the following:
ECS Basic
Tuck Turn
Changing Places
Sugar Push (x2)
Sugar Push with Block Turn

Focusing on the Tuck Turn is pretty helpful for me today. I notice that Jerry moves his hold from a swing hold (waist height) to a ballroom hold. When I ask him about that, he says this helps him get the twisting action of the tuck turn to occur at shoulder height, which makes a lot of sense to me. I'm going to try that out for a while. Especially while Jerry is watching. :-)

During the "changing places" move, we're leading a very rotational rock step that flows from the end of the tuck turn. I like the emphasis on making those two pieces of these moves flow together. These are the first two moves I learned after the basic, but I don't remember ever thinking about the rotation flow staying between them.

There's a momentum consideration in the transition from Changing Places to the Sugar Push: The end of changing places is straight-back momentum, while the Sugar Push is straight forward. In order to lead this, we have to re-establish connection really early during Changing Places, which helps us to communicate the up-coming change in momentum to the follow.

I'm bringing up my left hand on every Sugar Push, not just the block turn. Work on not doing that.

Swing 2: Transitional Lindy
From an extremely usefult to almost useless (to me right now) class. Jerry goes over some historical steps that were used before the rough edges on Lindy Hop were worn smooth. I can't really remember anything, and I think that might be on purpose. Perhaps when I'm already a black-belt in swing dance, this might be the kind of thing I'd search out.

Swing 2: 20's Charleston
This is the style of Charleston which is forward-step, kick, back-step kick. But the kicks are highly stylized. I really like the stylized kicks, and need to work on them some more. In fact, kick stylings for things like Balboa and Charleston are something I'd like very much to explore in the future. Not look like a total novice.

I think I met Crecia Krysia's boyfriend, this day, but it might have been the previous Sunday or Friday. He's a really nice guy, and I try not to take his mention the I'm on the team with "my girlfriend Crecia Krysia" at face value, and not as a warn-off. I think it's just the kind of subtle warn-off that I would have given. What am I saying, he's a really nice guy [who probably now reads my blog! Hey Scott, did you get this deep into it? - 20070702]. No, it had to have been earlier, as this is the day that I mention to Crecia Krysia that I met him and that he really seemed quite nice.

Social Dance
I danced a couple early dances and ended up staying less than an hour (Chris hassled me as I left). I just wasn't feeling it.

[EDIT 20070702]
What a load of crap I was telling myself. I was still intimidated by the dancing and extremely unsure about dancing with and asking more experienced follows for a dance.