On Mon, Feb 10, 2014 at 2:42 PM, Read Weaver <rwea...@igc.org> wrote: > In the last few years, I find myself dancing a lot more dances that end with > Circle left 3 places and pass through > > What I find is that about 3/4 of the dancers take 8 counts to do the circle 3 > places, then a brief but indeterminate amount of time to do the pass through, > and then arrive late to the next couple & next figure. (The other 1/4 take 6 > counts to circle, 2 to pass through, and are then on the music's phrasing for > the next figure.)
Don't forget those who opt for 6-8 counts to circle + 2 counts to twirl their neighbor + 2 to pass through. (The twirl doesn't necessarily break the flow, but it can make late dancers later.) > Have others noticed it as an issue? (And am I right that it's a relatively > recent issue?) Thoughts on what to do about it, if anything? Yes, it's an issue. I have noticed that while calling, calling "pass through" and "balance" with enough leading (e.g. "..._pass_ _through_, _on_ to the _next_, _bal_ance _now_!") can help, especially once the dancers have the pattern and I'm going to drop out soon. Teaching-wise, one can also mention that the circle has to be purposeful (the same tip for circle left all the way in 8 beats). But teaching can only do so much. Yoyo Zhou
