Rearview Mirror
"Swing is Swing" was supposed to be the 'take a break' Weekly Note before hitting you with "Scary Scary Scary!" But boy, did I ever call it wrong! My inbox has been slammed! Thanks, questions, requests, guesses at the Tenets of Swing, praise and even videos have been sent... Wow!
But thank God for your responses. Because a large portion of them revealed some HUGE, and I mean HUGE misconceptions that are seriously widespread! To my readers who teach, travel, judge, make the rules, etc... this Rearview Mirror is for YOU!
(Okay, now for those of you who are new to the dance, and/or sent me the emails leading up to this... I'm GRATEFUL you emailed me, because I, as well as A LOT of others on this email list, needed to know you thought these things. So I thank you!)
Misconception #1: Fast footwork means it's Shag.
What the? Since when did footwork become a Shag only thing? What happened to all the syncopations we learned? The taps and the heels and the flicks and the rondes... are you kidding? Footwork = Shag? When did that happen?
Oh, that's right. The "placing" dancers don't do footwork. (Sorry, I don't consider stuttering, or as I call it, "twittering," in place to be "footwork.") But mostly they stand still and do tricks. Oh, and that's right. This new music doesn't have anything for us to do footwork TOO anymore. Oh, and that's right. Probably because of that "Split Weight" thing being taught up there in Scary Fact #3.
Can you believe it? "Weren't Benji and Mary Ann doing Shag?" Good heavens... do you know how many people I got that question from???
I need a Xanax.
Misconception #2: Head rolls, hair flips and back bends for the women are a major characteristic of WCS.
No. Head rolls and body rolls are a major characteristic of ZOUK. Yes, Zouk. I'll be getting to that next week.
Anyhow, in SWING the follower's head does indeed stay still. For so, so, sooooo many reasons.
Her head mostly stays still. Kinda important. Not kidding. Guess I'd better start teaching that in classes. Never even occurred to me to do so before... but I definitely know better now!!!
Misconception #3: Dancers that have begun WCS in the last five years know what Swing looks like.
They don't. Especially if they travel and/or compete. Boy, did I get a big lesson in that this last week. And let me tell you... these dancers are STUNNED. They are simply STUNNED!
"Why haven't I seen this before?"... "This is cool... where can I find more videos like this?"... "Is there a website where I can find all these videos?"
Oh. Yes. It's that bad.
I mean, it's good... it's very good that new dancers want to learn how to DANCE Swing... but it's bad that they just don't recognize Swing when they see it. AND they are not NOT happy that all of this is news to them. They are NOT happy they've been kept in the dark.
SO.
For all my fellow champions, event directors, judges and council members who DID NOT believe me when I said that people asked me "What dance are you doing?" every time I performed this year... performed a routine full of BASICS ONLY mind you...
...I wasn't making it up!
Dang.
Man in the mirror. Time to make a change.
Swingin' Out, Katherine Krok Eastvold
PS- Oh yes, and this would be a good time to note that I get a flood of questions from All-Star dancers about my routine with Josh. They want to know how we placed... because they want to know if they should start learning "that dance." I approach my performances in Classic as just that, performances. They are "demos" to inspire and encourage the newcomers, the Pure WCS dancers and those who have training in other forms of dance and understand what good Timing, Technique, etc looks like. But I've never danced to compete. Not anymore - I already had my time at the podium and enjoyed it, loved it, and went on to build a studio empire upon it.
Having done all that - having completed my competition years so long ago, I only returned to the floor out of pure enjoyment. Josh IS at his prime. He is exactly where I was years ago. So he cares, and he loves how he's skyrocketed in his competitions due to our routines. But me - I don't even check the scores. I know it's not really a competition out there. I could tell you the Top 5 on the podium a year from now - even 5 years from now. But this approach - of performing instead of competing - has added a whole new level of sadness and mourning for me... because the more these Advanced and All-Star dancers ask, the more I realize their willingness to learn, and the more I realize that they won't because it's simply not asked of them. It breaks my heart when they watch me social dance all night, with intense concentration and wonder... I can see it in their eyes... "what IS it that she's doing?" They want it, but they know that if they do it, they won't place. You want to see more WCS? Then tell them in your scores. Because they'll do whatever it takes to win... and right now, they think it's something OTHER than SWING. |