I was going to chime I about historical precedent, but that has partly been done. I don't think a swing is ended by just one dancer. It is a mutually decided thing, and from the right side I can time the end, stop, or alter a flourish so it puts me in the right place, control the speed of the swing and help a new dancer swing better just with my body. There is no special leadership in the left role during a swing. And in a courtesy turn, while it is true you are doing two different things, the forward walker can get where she is going unassisted. The courtesy is in engaging with her with hand and eye, not in propelling her. The action is in the joined left hands, and that only works if both give equal resistance. I think even modern choreography does not require one gender role to lead. They may choose to, and to add embellishments, but it is not essential. I matter which gender role I dance, what I want from my partner is good connection and counterbalance. I love the flourishes, don't get me wrong, but they aren't the dance. Andrea
Sent from my iPhone On Jan 2, 2013, at 2:03 PM, Brian Hamshar <bhams...@yahoo.com> wrote: > Don, that's an interesting point. Having experienced some of those chestnuts > only very recently in my dance experience, I can now see that much of the > lead/follow dynamic probably was brought in by modern choreography. Fron what > ive seen, the chestnuts do not emphasize swinging, and the older > right-and-left figures did not include a courtesy turn as we now know it. So > maybe the lead/follow dynamic is increasingly characteristic of modern contra > dances but not intrinsic to the basic form itself. Of course I bet many would > argue that they come to dance because of the modern choreography that is so > unlike those chestnuts. > > Please bear in mind, I'm hoping to not imply my own biases here, just trying > to brainstorm some logical conclusions. I personally love all position > dancing, and I love flourishes of every stripe when in the company of > like-minded folks. If anything I have failed thus far to adequately develop > my skill and confidence at leading swings from the right-hand position. As > in, if we end the swing late, I feel like I had little to no recourse in > preventing that, but maybe that attitude needs to be changed by learning some > better follow skills. Oops :-) > > Brian > Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > call...@sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
