Swing Dancing, Sala, Lesson 7:30 p.m.

[Ken T Takusagawa]

Andrew will teach a beginner lesson at 7:30 p.m.

* MIT Lindy Hop Society Wednesday Night Dance
* La Sala de Puerto Rico, MIT Student Center 2nd floor
* Wednesday, June 20, 2007, Lesson 7:30-9, Dancing 9-11:30 p.m.
* Beginners welcome, No partner necessary
* http://mit.edu/swing

At 7:30 p.m. before the dance, Andrew K. Stein 
will teach a 6-count swing lesson.

Here is a message from this month's swing instructor, 
Andrew K. Stein:

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Great showing this past Wednesday night -- we had over 40 
people at our lesson, most with little or no previous 
dancing experience.  Several folks said they learned as much 
in 90 minutes as they did in months of lessons elsewhere.

Beginner lessons will continue this Wednesday the 20th at 
7:30pm sharp, and we will cover the popular 6-count swing 
(which just refers to a rhythm that we dance to).

Since the secret to learning something is repetition, here's 
a quick reminder of what we covered this past Wednesday 
night:

Why Swing?

- Swing is the best first dance to learn because we can 
apply it to lots of places, from weddings to night clubs, 
after just a lesson or two.

Three important movement skills:

1.  Leads giving strong leads; follows having strong, 
responsive follows.

2.  The Ball-in-Socket method of having the partners' hands 
stay in contact (without getting all twisted) during a turn.

3.  After a turn, coming back to a normal face-to-face 
position to get back on the beat (one-two) if we lose it.

The Yin and Yang of Swing that helps us remember dozens of 
swing moves right away:

-    The Yin: Hand Holding.
-    The Yang: Turns.

The Yin: Hand Holding - there are 4 simple ways the lead can 
hold onto the follow's hand(s) while face-to-face, each with 
its own possibilities:

- Both hands: each of the lead's hands are holding one of 
the follow's hands, no hands crossed.

- One-handed: lead's left hand holding follow's right hand.

- Handshake Position: lead's left hand holding follow's left 
hand.

- Double Handshake Position: Lead's left hand holding 
follow's left hand; lead's right holding follow's right.

The Yang: Turns - from each of these positions, the lead can 
turn the follow left or right, turn himself left or right, 
or turn them both.

3 final nuggets of advice:

1.  Don't bounce; if we keep our knees slightly bent, our 
torso and shoulders should almost always stay at the same 
level.

2.  Make eye contact when you can.

3.  Embrace the attitude of, "What happens if I do this?"  
Experiment with different moves and turns.  The best way to 
learn quickly is to attend the open dance after the lesson 
and watch what the advanced kids do -- and then try it 
yourself.

That's all for now.  Whether or not you came for the first 
lesson, we hope to see you Wednesday.  Lessons are free, and 
you don't have to sign up first.  And remember to bring all 
your friends -- men, women, and gender-neutral entities.

Warmly,
Andrew K. Stein
Andrew.K.Stein at gmail.com
(On Facebook.com in the Boston, MA network.)

P.S. I also do private lessons, beginner and advanced -- 
makes a good gift for that cute couple in your life.  You 
can email me to learn more.