Rules of Purpose - WCS

I.                  Raison D’etre (reason for doing it)

a.      Your beauty

                                                   i.      Technical prowess

                                                 ii.      Aesthetic body lines

                                                iii.      Aesthetic flight/function/flow

b.      Your sense of fun

                                                   i.      An escape from reality

                                                 ii.      Metaphor for reality

                                                iii.      Surprise, sadness, emotion

c.      The story you tell

                                                   i.      The body parts telling it

                                                 ii.      The rhythm that tells it

d.      Your purpose for being on the floor

                                                   i.      Show off!

                                                 ii.      Got to move to music

e.      What attracted you to dancing

                                                   i.      Envy

                                                 ii.      Narcissism

                                                iii.      Sense of belonging, part of a bigger thing

                                               iv.      Part of community

Rules of Leading - WCS

II.                  Leader Manifesto

a.      Maintain safety

                                                   i.      Abandon anything that will harm you

                                                 ii.      Preserve all joints, body parts by either locking joints or relaxing

                                                iii.      Assist partner’s safety; cause no harm to partner

b.      Maintain balance

                                                   i.      Place your foot/feet under you

                                                 ii.      Hold your body with posture and tone to keep stable

                                                iii.      Ask for support only when she has stabilized

c.      Maintain inertia

                                                   i.      The ability to move yourself

                                                 ii.      The ability to stop yourself

                                                iii.      Follow a bell-curve of intertia (Royston: Arc of Momentum)

                                               iv.      Drive from foot to foot, rather than land on a foot

d.      Maintain leader relationship

                                                   i.      You’re cause, she’s effect

                                                 ii.      You’re ahead of her in time

                                                iii.      Indicate an ending to one arc of motion before proceeding to the next lead

e.      Create grip, connection, frame

                                                   i.      Take her offered hand from a Number 1 (pistol grip) position

                                                 ii.      Create the grip shape appropriate to the next move

                                                iii.      Move the follower’s connection only after your connecting arm has stretched/compressed

                                               iv.      Indicate outside turns from a lifted Number 2 position, inside turns from a lifted Number 1 or lowered Number 3

                                                 v.      Align your forearm and adjust your wrist shape to accommodate the path you project for her

                                               vi.      Create “walls” in your connection indicating to where she should move

                                              vii.      Move her hand in the simplest geometry

1.      Longitudinal with no lifting for longitudinal motion

2.      Lateral with or without lift in combination with longitudinal to indicate turn

3.      Altitudinal to indicate arm placement and head-clearing positions

                       viii.   Lead her bilaterally asymmetrically (but complementarily): one hand should dominate if two hands are being used in a lead

f.        Indicate direction of pattern with body flight preceding her motion in the direction she must travel (roll/glide by sending your mass via your legs/feet)

g.      Adjust slot

                                                   i.      Blocking patterns (sugarpush) should keep connection tool/center in her path

                                                 ii.      Move slightly off her track for passes, maintaining your arm position to track her slot

                                                iii.      Align head/heel with each of your slots

                                               iv.      Move the slot laterally only when necessary

h.      Maintain rhythm

                                                   i.      Two walks, a triple step, (two walks), a triple step

                                                 ii.      Alter rhythm based upon three variations: exchange, replace, syncopate; keep basic weight transfer in mind

i.         Gauge her responses and adjust all subsequent movements once receiving feedback from her (motion, balance, control, connection)

j.         Begin from the simplest axis of communication (longitudinal) and increase the complexity through two dimensions of indication and eventually three (up to six are possible).

Rules of Following - WCS

III.                Follower Manifesto

a.      Maintain safety

                                                   i.      Abandon anything that will harm you

                                                 ii.      Preserve all joints, body parts by either locking joints or relaxing

                                                iii.      Assist partner’s safety; cause no harm to partner

b.      Maintain balance

                                                   i.      Place your foot/feet under you

                                                 ii.      Hold your body with posture and tone to keep stable

                                                iii.      Ask for support only when he can help

c.      Maintain inertia

                                                   i.      The ability to move yourself

                                                 ii.      The ability to stop yourself

                                                iii.      Follow a bell-curve of inertia (Royston: Arc of Momentum)

                                               iv.      Give the illusion of mass/inertia without requiring him to support/stop you

                                                 v.      Drive from foot to foot, rather than land on a foot

d.      Maintain follower relationship

                                                   i.      He’s cause, you’re effect

                                                 ii.      You’re behind him in time

                                                iii.      Complete a balance/steadying/inertial/connection task before moving with the leader

                                               iv.      This is an illusion

e.      Maintain grip, connection, frame

                                                   i.      Offer hand, do not take

                                                 ii.      Maintain grip, do not create

                                                iii.      Maintain hand position (connection point) neutral to the leader; do not move the leader’s connection

                                               iv.      Lock joint(s) on attached limb/point, when safe

1.      Shoulder/posture; hip, knee, frame

2.      “Torqued” to sustain lock

                                                 v.      Move to the “walls” in his connection

                                               vi.      Allow your arm to move (within frame arc) following a turn lead

1.      Outside turns: allow arm to open (elbow away from sternum) from shoulder

2.      Inside turns: allow arm to close (elbow in front of shoulder, forearm rotated toward opposite side of face)

f.        Maintain slot

                                                   i.      Generally a straight line

                                                 ii.      Generally aligned with the room

                                                iii.      Align head/heel with slot

                                               iv.      Aim torso, toes, nose, pelvis to path

                                                 v.      He can move the slot, you cannot

                                               vi.      Some patterns have more complex paths; keep alignment when shifting slot(s)

g.      Maintain rhythm

                                                   i.      Two walks, a triple step, (two walks), a triple step

                                                 ii.      Alter rhythm based upon three variations: exchange, replace, syncopate; keep basic weight transfer in mind

This living document is adjusted as needed. General changes are indicated by a last-review date:

July 15, 2009