"The DRS is tricky for a beginner to master,"

Which is why at least one major society puts it in the Silver syllabus, so it may not be appropriate for emsanchez yet.

This is all assuming emsanchez is competing. I don't think that was stated explicitly but most people here assume that if you have a bronze level routine it must be for competition. This has a bearing on advice given as everything said so far is valid if the dancers are on the floor before the music starts and hoping to make a good impression right from the start.

Socially however things may be different. When joining dancers already on the floor I always recommend starting with a reverse figure which mean the leader has a good view of the floor and any approaching couples. I hate it when a couple walks onto the floor and the man stands with his back to me counting the music, listening for the correct time to start.

If i could just make a few comments on this. One of the important aspects of beginner/novice/bronze syllabii is that it ensures that dancers develop skills in a range of fundamental movements. The DRS is tricky for a beginner to master, but we all went through this as part of technique development. A good teacher will know if the pupils have mastered it well enough for a competition, and also whether the movement suits the couple. Remember nobody dances every figure 'perfectly'.
I still use it (as a pre-champ dancer) in foxtrot, but not all the time. It also can be fun to dance socially, since it takes up little space.

Your F/trot remark needs clarification.. as is often the case, mis in formation abounds.

If you were refering to Children and Novice dancers, that could possibly be true.

To say it is NOT included in a Bronze level comp., is displaying a lack of knowledge about the Comp. circuit. I personally have adjudicated hundreds at that level, and majority have it included in their sequences .

As to advanced levels , even pro,s are using at as an entry for a Drop Ronde for e.g. ( a la Hilton )

maybe I should call Marcus and advise him not to use it !!

Trying to take issue with good basic advice does not make you appear to be more knowledgeable. In fact, the details of your response to Terence make me wonder if you might not be well.


This statement is utter nonsense on its face. The DRS is a standard part of the bronze repertoire and no one competes in bronze without it.

Also, a couple's competition level is pretty much always going to be lower than their current level of study.


Really? Every competition which I've attended - all of them sanctioned - has offered bronze Fox Trot in all age and experience categories.



jj

I think a Natural Spin Turn an excellent figure to start a waltz sequence. Do you pivot properly on the first step of the spin, holding the RF in CBMP, ready to extend forward down LOD on the second step? A rather restricted rocking action is very widely danced by relatively inexperienced dancers, sometimes for years, without correction, and it greatly impedes the flow of the figure.

Lady's second step is LF back & slightly leftwards, and it is a key movement to make space for the extension of the Man's second step RF fwd, HT. That heel lead is very important.

Be careful with the idea of overturning the Spin. It is only at corners (and if you want, deliberately, for the sake of certain amalgamations) that we restrict the turn to 5/8. Along the side of the room, the spin will properly make 7/8, and the more we dance the standard turn, the less it will feel any effort.

"First.. I would not suggest commencing a basic sequence with a spin turn ( at a corner or LOD ). You have essentially created a " stationary " figure when your objective should be " flight "."

An overturned spin turn however will progress. And do so more smoothly than almost anyone can dance the back half of a natural turn.

"A DR spin needs to be included ."

I would not recommend doing a double reverse spin unless you can do it very well. By the time someone can do it well, they do not usually fit into the community of bronze dancers. Think of it like foxtrot: in theory bronze (internationl) foxtrot exists, but in practice it is almost never offered in sanctioned competition.


The closed tele. leaves too much room for error .

First.. I would not suggest commencing a basic sequence with a spin turn ( at a corner or LOD ). You have essentially created a " stationary " figure when your objective should be " flight ".
Use variations that are going to move you down the LOD either thru the use of Nat and Rev turns and or standard whisks and chasses. A DR spin needs to be included .

The closed tele. leaves too much room for error .

The key to your level of comp. is good clean footwork and variations that are rhythmical and on time .

Thank you very much for your help. My partner and I start with the Nat. spin turn ended backing diag.centre, then dance 4-6 of Reverse turn ended facing LOD into a Closed Telemark ended facing diag. wall, followed by a RF Closed change OP turned ¼ to the right into a Whisk turned ¼ to the left into a Chasse from PP.
We recently moved to another town and our new dance teacher disagrees with this part of our Waltz routine. She says that 1. the Closed Telemark should start facing diag. centre and turn less (1/4) and when I dance it this way, I really feel more comfortable and we don't finish side by side; 2. there is no turn on the Closed change and it shouldn't be danced OP.
I would very much appreciate your opinion.

How do you start dancing the Waltz? Facing diagonal to wall into a Natural Spin Turn - the most trivial start.

How about dancing a Whisk, or a Reverse turn? Or begin with a Closed Telemark facing diag. centre?

Do you think this is a good idea?

One reason for starting with the first half of a natural turn is that you will rarely get as clean an opportunity to do another inline one during the dance.

There are ways to set one up of course, but they each bring additional challenges which are likely to have a negative impact on the quality of the natural. For example, it's drastically harder to take a perfectly swung natural after a closed change than after a prep step (you will almost never see it in open competition), but the fact that it's harder makes it a great thing to practice.

And of course there are many ways to get into an outside partner natural, but that's not exactly the same figure.

Starting off with the classic figure done your best is important to competitors who want to make a good impression on judges, but it can also be nice at a social where you make to make a good impression on a partner.

Some of the other entries you suggested can be fun to work on, and might be good choices if you find yourself in a a situation where a natural won't fit, for example at a crowded social or if someone has tried to put an unreasonable number of figures on the floor for a the first round of a competition. But no one, world champs included, is going to execute them in a way that can compete with what the classic natural opening has to offer when space permits.

Most of the other dances are a bit more welcoming of alternate beginnings. Though the initial feather in foxtrot is almost as traditional, it's not unusually to see someone begin with something else. For beginners tango might typically start with two walks and quickstep with a natural, but there are all sorts of common choices in those later on.