61  Ratating technique

Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 19:21:10 -0700
From: JEAN LEDUC <jean_leduc22@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Ratating technique

Frank Williams says:
"I encourage leaders to pay careful attention to body
placement
and use the arm lift to help followers who are not waiting.
There's nothing wrong with the lift, as long as the body-lead
is correct. But the nicest followers I know might consider
more than a subtle lift to be a needless distraction.
...and the teachers among them would probably sense a lack of
fundamentals..."

I disagree with the idea that the lifting to induce the follower to remain
on her axis standing on one leg is a superfluous distraction.
It is rather the essential lead. It is the way the leader tell the lady stay
on the right leg as I start rotating you.
The "calesita" is a rotating move not a pivot, so it could be that we are
discussing different techniques.
A turn is a rotation on one foot only, a pivot is a turn on two feet place
apart. there is no need for lifting in a pivot.
No lack of fundamentals at all. It is the correct way to lead the calesita.
I doubt that there is any other way.
If I was to lead with my body instead of my right arm I would be out of
shape lifting my right side.
Salut!

Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2001 08:57:13 -0500
From: Kristina Drew <kristinadrew@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Ratating technique

Jean Leduc says:

> No lack of fundamentals at all. It is the correct way to lead the

calesita.

> I doubt that there is any other way.

From a female perspective, who receives both leads from various leaders, I
strongly disagree with being "lifted", even slightly. Once placed on my
axis, there is no need to lift me; rather it is annoying to be lifted, and I
will accept dances with leaders that "lift" only out of social obligation.

Kristina

Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2001 08:36:10 -0600
From: Brian Dunn <brianpdunn@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: Lifting at the calesita ( was: Ratating technique)

>>>

From a female perspective, who receives both leads from various leaders, I
strongly disagree with being "lifted", even slightly. Once placed on my
axis, there is no need to lift me; rather it is annoying to be lifted, and I
will accept dances with leaders that "lift" only out of social obligation.

Kristina
<<<
I know a lot of teachers initially teach the calesita with a lifting lead,
sustained through the duration of the calesita. I was trained that way
myself years ago. But I have to agree with Kristina that it is heavily
redundant to keep asking a skilled follower to stay on one foot when she is
already there. Perhaps this arose because many beginning leaders don't yet
have the technique to rotate their followers around their axis without
"tipping off" to the side at some point, which can feel like a lead to take
a step in the direction of the tipping. And many beginning followers don't
yet have the balance to easily sustain the rotation without tipping off-axis
themselves. In this case, the lift can function for a beginning leader as
an "override lead", in the spirit of Oz saying "pay no attention to that man
behind the curtain!" But then we're asking a follower to ignore one "lead"
while paying attention to another - a circumstance which can certainly be
annoying to a more skilled follower. Back to technique vs. figures
again...once they reach a certain level, both leaders & followers need to be
able to walk around their partners without disturbing their partners' axis.
Even at the beginning level, one can teach the simplest steps as a
combination of rotational and directional leads, which makes the transition
to better "walk-around" technique easier. When this technique is nailed
down, the lifting lead maintained throughout a calesita can be left behind,
like the outboard "training wheels" used by a child learning to ride a bike.

Brian Dunn
Boulder, Colorado USA
https://www.danceoftheheart.com

Date: Sat, 7 Jul 2001 09:49:42 -0700
From: JC Dill <tango@VO.CNCHOST.COM>
Subject: Re: Ratating technique

On 07:21 PM 7/5/01, JEAN LEDUC wrote:
>It is the way the leader tell the lady stay on the right leg as I start
rotating you.

What ever happened to "she takes a step when (and only when) I lead her to
take a step"? To me, that's the most critical part of leading AT. If you
do that, everything else works.

No amount of "lifting" will compensate for pulling her off balance as you
rotate around her. If you pull her off balance, you "lead" her to
step. No amount of "lifting" is necessary, if you don't pull her off
balance, if you don't lead a step, she is supposed to stay on the foot she
is on, waiting to be led to step. It's easy to rotate her, all you have to
do is keep her weight centered on her foot, and not pull her off balance
(lead her to step) as you move yourself around her while she pivots.

IMHO, using a "lifting" cue is admitting that either you are a bad leader,
or she is a bad follower, and you need a special cue to tell the follower
to "follow" because standard lead/follow isn't working.

jc