Friday, September 16, 2011

Contra-checks and Promenade

Part: Follow
Dances: Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Quickstep, Viennese, Night Club
Hovers: 2

Last night was the usual Thursday night; we're getting tired from the week and things are starting to wind down, at least physically. Still, we did get some decent practice in, and ended up essentially running a round to start off with after our introductory night club. In general it seems that we're taking up more space than we used to; I'm not sure if it's because we're driving better or if Jeff is making the alignments more linear, but overall I'd say that's a good thing.

In terms of focused practice, we didn't do too much, but worked a bit on our contra-check. It started feeling awkward, doing contra-checks over and over, like a jack in the box, but I think we're figuring out the shaping, rotation, and alignment better. I'm working on keeping my hips forward and trying to extend only from my sternum back instead of from my waist and lower back. I can get a lot of stretch if I use my whole back, but that's when it starts to feel heavy for Jeff and is really just cheating. I still have a long way to go in terms of flexibility.

Other than that, we worked a little on our promenade position. It still needs work, but when we focus on it we can do pretty well. It's really the consistency with it that is our problem right now. At least we have a good sense of what we're aiming for, now it's mostly a matter of practicing over and over so that the proper technique becomes habit and feels normal.

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