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okay....here we go...
these questions came up in class tonight...
1)in the circle step, we have seen a couple of uses of a ribcage rotation between turns. is this a sanctioned variation?
2)when the leader turns the camel walk facing into a circle, what is the smoothest way to change leader using the camel walk? as many times as my ladies and I have seen it done, for some reason it isn't clicking.
thanks in advance!
these questions came up in class tonight...
1)in the circle step, we have seen a couple of uses of a ribcage rotation between turns. is this a sanctioned variation?
2)when the leader turns the camel walk facing into a circle, what is the smoothest way to change leader using the camel walk? as many times as my ladies and I have seen it done, for some reason it isn't clicking.
thanks in advance!
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Minnesota
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Unsu...
1. Between turns? If you finish your circle step and then cue something else, what needs to be sanctioned?
2. I am fond of Fading a Camel. Or doing a Paso with a Camel. The sudden angle change tells your tribemates what is coming. Step with your left food to bring you closer to your dancemates then do your Camel normally with your right. When you finish by rotating out, you have a new leader who then turns to the front. See it on Volume 7. -
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Thank you! you know, I managed to figure out the answer to my first question based on the last time I asked about the Circle step...the clarification that Sandi gave me.
I thought I ought to look into Vol. 7, but I do like your explanation, Val. That step with the left to get you closer. I think that is the element we were missing. -
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In the Circle Step, no Ribcage Rotation is involved. At least, there shouldn't be. It is not part of the movement. The upper body should stay lifted and in place as much as possible. The Circle Step showcases the hips. We usually put a taxeem or two before, after and in-between each Circle Step, especially when turning. But you could change the movement and go into a one-armed Ribcage Rotation once you are facing front again.
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2) Although I don't use the Camel to transition, I have seen it done as Val said. For us, if the leader faces and goes into a camel, we will them transition with something simple. Then when the next leader wants to take it, maybe she goes into a camel and uses the torso twist to turn into the lead.
I have changed my speach from 'do a camel' to go/es into a camel for obvious reasons. I think it was a FB post I read of Shay's where she quoted some one saying "...doing a camel..." Bahaha. That's terrible. I'd have peta all in my biznass. -
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We have a couple of ways of doing it, both with a trio.
To go into a diagonal formation, when the leader is facing in, she cues by doing a torso twist. If the next move is a Camel, the leader moves back-to-back diagonally behind dancer #2 (who pretty much stays in place and becomes the new leader), while dancer #3 moves a small distance straight back and facing the same direction as the former leader, taking the last place in the diagonal. This one is fairly easy to pick up on.
The other version, in which the leader switches places with dancer #3 while #2 stays in place, is harder to pick up on and probably should be discussed beforehand. Our cue is that the leader, when she turns into the circle, is facing flat to dancer #3, instead of into the center of the circle. Leader goes into one regular Camel, then switches places with #3 on the next repetition. It's harder to read, especially in an in-the-round situation. We just had a performance where the cue was missed two different times in one song, and we went into the diagonal. Needs more work.
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Turning the Camel Walk to face in towards your partners is a tough one to pick up. I wouldn't attempt it without discussing it first. Only the leader would know she is facing in to the center. The followers won't have enough time to adjust their first step to do the same.
At 5:48, we start the Camel Walk sequence that we worked out beforehand.
www.youtube.com/watch -
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Not to get off topic but I think I told Sandi, and/or Wendy last time I was in Cali. that we don’t really use the turning torso rotation...
I think this is why for us, when the leader goes into a camel and faces in with the torso rotation, we all catch it because none of us turn it anyway, so this is an obvious cue that she just wants to face in.
I think when we incorporate the turning torso rotation more into our dance, this will to change for us.
It's not that I don't love the tr, but I felt like I wanted to get really good at it before going further with it (turning), but maybe that was the wrong approach. -
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Oh, are we talking about turning the Camel with the TR? I thought we were talking about starting the Camel with the turn. Okay, well, then it is an easier thing to pick up, but still can get wonky as it is not quite anticipated as much. I'd suggest taking the TR turn slowly, so that follower's feet can adjust properly.
Torso Rotations are one of the hardest moves to get. Just getting the stationary move down is a feat in itself. Turning, it creates chaos because people can't see themselves in the mirror. So it is really important to feel the move in your body, not just watch yourself in the mirror.
I can't remember where I picked this up, but I say this in class every so often, "you're not really dancing if you're looking in the mirror. You are watching yourself move, but rarely are you thinking about how it feels to be doing the move. The real dancing happens when it not only looks right, but it feels right in your body." Something to that effect.
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Speaking about the hips...do we do a big circle or something like figur eight:foward with the left hip and backward with the right hip? May do any body undulation in between circle steps or only taxeem is expected?
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For Circle Step, we are making almost a complete circle with the hips, starting from the left back corner over to the right side then into center (not all the way to the back). We also can (but isn't required) put a little twist in the hips while doing it, to give it depth and shape, but it is not considered a figure 8 on the floor.
A Taxeem is generally expected and flows nicely after the Circle Step, but if cued well enough, you can do a Body Wave with one arm. -
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I tend to think and teach that the taxeem can happen, but not always, as it could depend on the phrasing of the music-a lead might want to do one taxeem to kill time for a phrase change, or if the phrase change comes right away, the lead might leave the taxeem out. So it does tend to be expected, but it's not a hard and fast rule that it has to be done.
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