I bounce too much in jive, my partner says. She means my head is moving up and down too much. My brains know bouncing should be in the floor, not on the floor. My muscles not yet.

Who can give me some advice how to avoid this bouncing ?

Aside from the fact that it must look silly, once in a while - mostly towards the end of a dance evening - I like to bounce; it kind of reliefs the leg muscles ? Maybe I should extend my dance repertoire with an Irish river dance, to use instead of jive for this "relaxation" purpose ?

Thanks,
Erik

Perhaps your partner is the one bouncing too much, and based on the theory of relativity, she/he thinks everyone else is bouncing too much instead. Ever think of that!!

Well, kidding aside, to eliminate too much bouncing in the jive, I remove the flubber from my shoes soles. Darned absent minded professor!!

Okay, okay.. One has to learn to absorb the bounce in the ankles and knees, I gather. Which means that your shoulder and head remain as level as possible, but you generate the bounce by straightening and flexing your complementary knees and ankles alternately. Which takes us back to the theory of equilibrium and microscopic reversibility....

Did I just hear the school bell??

Enjoy dancing.
Sri.

If this is any help, our dance teacher last night told us that lifting your feet (when done properly) at the ends of the chasses tends to keep the bounce in your body and stops it from coming out at your head. I have some notes regarding how the foot lifting should be done, like through hip swing and not artificially lifting the knees, but I think I'd rather let someone with more knowledge explain that point if you need it.
A small comment, I know, but hopefully it's of some help.

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James Marshall
marshall@astro.umd.edu
http://www.astro.umd.edu/~marshall