Can someone describe to me the lead steps in the "Fallaway"? And if the follow part is other than a shadow image, I would like the follow steps as well.

Thanks.

40niknar. Richard Gleave on an instruction video which I have says. By the letters written in to me the Fallaway seems to be a problem. He says try this. In ballroom hold facing diagonal to ther centre do a Curving Three Step. Do it several times. Then the lady does a Curving Three Step whilst the man does the Fallaway. This is followed by the Slip Pivot.
This is how I think of it. It is not the Fallaway which is the problem. It is the Slip Pivot. On the Slip Pivot the lady is on the against the LOD side . I am on the up side. We need to change places. I go to where she is and she to where I was. We have simply changed places. Which will happen if you do it Richards way. There is a momentary pause as the lady comes around which the man must hold. Then having lowered you can do a Double Reverse Spin. If you want to practice lowering do two Double Reverse Spins making sure that you do lower at the beginning in between and at the end. These names probably dont mean anything to you but the late Billy Irvine once said if a step doesn't work look at the step before. In this case it could be in the Foxtrot on the Feather Step before the Fallaway. If the third step of the Feather is not done correctly you have no chance of doing a neat and tidy without any struggle or using your strong arm Reverse Fallaway. Good Luck.

Thanks, Polished, for the response. Just yesterday, a friend loaned me a dance manual which I haven't yet had a chance to review except for checking to see if it had steps for the Foxtrot Fallaway, which it does. Hopefully, with the steps from the manual, along with the information you gave me, I will be able to figure it out this weekend. Now that you mentioned the Slip Pivot, I kind of remember that was indeed the reason we were having so much difficulty with the fallaway, therefore, never did learn it. Plus the fact, as I recall, the instructor we had at the time was teaching above our level, which didn't make it any easier.

From my experience, I have seen people who dance their routines well, but in their haste to dance, skipped the basics. Then, when you dance with them socially away from their routine, they don't have a good lead/follow. I'm a firm believer that basics, technique, frame, etc. should be learned first. After learning some of this, I have found that I can put the basics together and form a pretty nice routine while not only looking good on the dance floor, but also being able to lead and follow well. I still consider myself an intermediate, amateur, student and far from the dancer as most of you in the forum. I have enjoyed reading and learning from these discussions and appreciate the fact that you are all ready to help even me, the amateur. Thanks again, Polished, for responding.

Getting the books is a good idea.

I don't mean to presume upon your financial situation but you can make much better use of the books if you use them together with some good videos.

Likewise, the value of the videos is enhanced by the books.

The ones offered on this site by Veyrasset and Smith are very good. Smith makes the woman's part of the Slip Pivot look as easy as breathing.

jj

JJ, I'm one step ahead of you. I ordered various videos from DANCE VISION with Ron Montez and later with Christy and George. However, later I found out that some of the videos are not up to date, i.e., Ron Montez and West Coast Swing. We went to the SEATTLE EASTER SWING the last couple years. This year we had a private WCS lesson with Jordan Frisbee, the champion of WCS. WCS has changed a bit since Ron Montez's video.

Yes, I agree. The books and the videos along with a partner really work well together.

I will for sure check out Veyrasset and Smith. Part of my learning has been where to go for the best videos and which ones to purchase. It's been very useful to have gotten involed with this forum.

JJ, can you be more specific about the Veyrassett and Smith video? I could only find Victor and Heather Veyrassett on this web site. Maybe I just missed one somewhere. Will look again.

Those are the correct videos; the professionals are Victor Veyrasset and Heather Smith (her maiden name).

The Fallaway Reverse and Slip Pivot demonstrations are in the Gold level (Advanced II) for Waltz, Tango, and Fox Trot.

jj

jofjonesboro. Do they explain that on a Fallaway and Slip Pivot the lady has two Pivots and the man only one. Therein lies the problem. The lady must be allowed to do her first Pivot which brings her back into a normal ballroom position in relation to the man.

Why don't you watch them and see?

jj

I asked. Do they explain. Evidently not.