CHAPTER 11

Positions


Dance is a little insanity that does us all a lot of good.

Edward Demby




Finally, the time has come for you to touch your partner. Assume the position!


Dance positions are the different positions used for holding your partner. They tell you where you are in relation to your partner and where to make contact. Perhaps you’ve seen couples embracing as they fox trot or waltz, or couples holding one hand as they do swing or salsa, or couples spooning as they do a slow dance, or couples all twisted into knots as they do country & western.


There’s nothing mysterious about positions, although small differences exist because there are different methods of teaching. There are only a handful of common positions and only one of great importance, the closed ballroom position, which is the familiar-looking embrace that’s used in the basic step pattern of most social dances. Positions are relatively easy to learn and some are illustrated in the links below (NOTE: links are coming, I promise). Positions are best learned on the dance floor, with a partner in hand, and dance classes do a decent job of teaching positions. In that light, I’ll keep this chapter short.








The stylistic details of the closed ballroom position, often called the closed position for short, can vary from dance to dance. For example, the Latin dances are very erect with a slight lean inwards. In contrast, east coast swing uses a closed position that’s low to the floor (versus standing upright), with a lot of bend in the knees to create a rounded, C-shaped frame. Also, in east coast swing, bodies are at a slight V-angle, as if partners were attached at one hip, and the handhold is low and inverted.


Lingo Alert  Depending upon the dance, the region of the country and the teacher, the same dance position can go by a variety of different names.















Table of Contents


PART 1 - Intro

  1. 1.Is This Book For You?

  2. 2.10 Tips to Fred Astairedom


PART 2 - Music

  1. 3.The Beat of the Music

  2. 4.Counting Music:  Finding the Sets of 8

  3. 5.Downbeat and Upbeat


PART 3 - Rhythms

  1. 6.Dance Rhythms and Rhythm Patterns

  2. 7.Common Rhythm Patterns

  3. 8.Marking Rhythms

  4. 9.Counting Step Patterns


PART 4 - Dancing

  1. 10.Posture and Frame

  2. 11.Positions

  3. 12.Movement and Timing

  4. 13.Lead and Follow

  5. 14.Step Patterns

  6. 15.Styling


PART 5 – The Dances

  1. 16.Latin

  2. 17.Swing

  3. 18.Ballroom

  4. 19.Country & Western


Part 6 - Survival

  1. 20.Slow Dancing

  2. 21.Survival Dancing

  3. 22.14 Tips for Surviving a Dance

  4. 23.Surviving The Wedding Dance



Tip  If necessary, make adjustments to a dance position to accommodate each different partner. In other words, the small details of a position may vary from partner to partner.

Tip I make note of simple variations to the closed position as it’s an easy way to stylize a dance. For example, when I’m slow dancing in the closed position, I often lower my left hand, which is holding the follower’s right hand, and lay it on my left hip. It creates a more intimate look and feel and it’s something I do just for, maybe, eight to 16 beats of music. It’s the kind of simple move that I love.












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web links  I’m searching for links to illustrate the most common dance positions


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