Notes to self: the missing step

I couldn’t work out what I was doing wrong in class the other night – I knew I was ending up on the wrong foot at the end of the variation most of the time but it has taken me forever to work this out.

“Hold ball change” is really quite different (in my mind at least) to “Hold, step down, then ball change”!

Sounds strange but when the teacher wasn’t saying anything and I could follow their feet I got the variation, as soon as they vocalized the steps I was totally lost and for once I wasn’t the only one!

I am really quite shocked at how long it took me to work this out!

Follower variations from NYCLindyLab’s YouTube channel

Not sure who these dancers are but I assume they are all from New York! Here are the variations that caught my eye (mostly because they are simple and something that I could do!) from NYCLindyLab’s YouTube channel. Not sure who these dancers are but I assume they are all from New York.

Follower’s Overturned Shine

Camille’s Up and Over Follower Variation

Mike and Camille’s Double Butt Pop

SJ Park and NY Lee demo grapevine switches

SJ Park and NY Lee from VIVA Swing Club in Korea demo grapevine switches:

Possibly inspired by a Laura Glaess and Mike Roberts lesson on idance?

A bunch of footwork variations from Momentum Dance Concepts

Not sure who the dancers are but, as they put it, here are “a bunch of footwork variations” including heel pops, kick away, double kick away, rocks, ronde and kick ball change and triple cross.

Here’s another variation from the same group that I’ve never seen before a squat Charleston tagged onto the end of a swing out:

Hep Jen and Kevin Munroe demo a “falling kick ball change” variation

Hep Jen and Kevin Munroe from the Verdi Club in San Francisco demo a “falling kick ball change” variation at the start of this video:

Dax Hock’s triple step drill sequence

Lots of people have blogged about this and you can find other people’s posts here and here. So for my benefit…

Dax’s version:

Dax and Alice doing the drills together:

Here’s a version performed by Joe Demers for Charleston Chasers. Denver, CO.

A different version with Ali & Katja:

Does the original version of Dax doing this exercise still exist? I remember seeing it on idance (on YouTube) years ago but I haven’t been able to find it again.

Kate Hedin demos a rock step substitution

Kate Hedin and Jason Niesz demonstrate various simple variations in a Jam Cellar Building Your Basics Swing series. A nice, simple rock step substitution is shown in the second half of the video.

Savoy kicks swing out variation – Jean Ma and Bromley Palamountain

Jean Ma and Bromley Palamountain demo a Savoy kicks swing out variation in a 9:20 Special class.

One day I will get over my Savoy Kick mental block, here are some more Savoy kick lessons:

Hep Ken teaching at Lindy in the Park… 5,6,7 replace, hop, tap… :

Andrew Sutton demos Savoy Kicks on idance.net: http://www.idance.net/lesson/88

A breakdown of the step by Bernd Baumgarten

3 Kick fwd with left foot.
Kick low, leg extended, but don’t point with toes. Right after, relax left knee.
As in ordinary walking, arms swing “against” the feet, i.e. here: right arm forward, left
arm back.
4 Step forward with left foot.
5 Kick across with right foot.
Kick higher than on 3, swinging extended leg up and left. Don’t point with toes.
Left arm swings up and across your chest; right arm swings back, maybe even slightly
around behind your body.
6 Let extended right leg swing down past right side.
7 Continuing smoothly, swing extended right leg diagonally back.
Don’t point with toes. Right arm swings forward; left arm swings back.
8 Swinging right leg towards left leg from behind, jump onto right foot on 8, which you
put right where your left foot was standing.
& Hop a few inches forward on your right foot, turning body 1/8 turn (45 degrees) right.
1 Bend right knee. Lower body. Tap toes of left foot diagonally back onto the floor.
Left arm, elbow bent, swings forward; left arm swings back. Crouch a bit.
2 Letting body move up to normal, flick left leg, i.e. raise lower leg to the rear.
Turn body 1/8 turn (45 degrees) to the left, such that you face original direction again.

Another version of a Savoy kick swing out:

Savoy kicks in side by side Charleston:

Savoy kicks in the Dean Collins Shim Sham:

Patrick and Natasha demo kick, kick, ball change, ball change swing out variation

Patrick Szmidt and Natasha Ouimet demo a kick, kick, ball change, ball change swing out variation in a 9:20 Special extensions class.

(variation starts at 1.30)

Crista Seipp demos a swing out variation where the follower ends facing forwards

Crista Seipp and Doug Van Sant demo a swing out variation where the follower ends facing forwards:

Part of the Lindy Subtle Stuff series stuff at the Jam Cellar.