| Dance with her? No way! She'd rip the wings off a | | | | most women if they are given a chance to do it and |
| jumbo jet! Is he dancing with that woman or is he | | | | they are willing to try. The woman propels herself |
| trying to beat her up? In Australia in the early | | | | with her legs instead of pushing and pulling against |
| seventies there was a television comedy show called | | | | the man with her arms. She also balances herself with |
| Aunty Jack featuring a rather rough pretend female | | | | her body instead of relying on a desperate grab of |
| whose favourite saying was " I'll rip yer bloody arms | | | | the man's hands in order to stop herself from |
| off!" We have some Aunty Jacks in the dancing | | | | toppling over.This style may seem a bit extreme but |
| community. There are women and men who seem | | | | its drawn from experience and its good for |
| to treat Rock 'n' Roll dancing as an exercise in | | | | instruction purposes. While dancing with a number of |
| attempted dismemberment.In energetic dances such | | | | extremely good female dancers I noticed that their |
| as Rock 'n' Roll people can and do get hurt. People | | | | leg-work is vastly better than that of poorer dancers |
| wind up with shoulder injuries, arm injuries, wrist, hand | | | | and their ability to balance themselves with just their |
| and finger injuries. I have seen a woman with a wrist | | | | legs and bodies while they are in motion is far |
| broken in several places and I have seen a woman | | | | superior. Their arm-work may be a bit stronger than I |
| bang her head solidly on the floor after a fall caused | | | | personally like it but its not uncomfortable. I noticed |
| by some rough dancing on the part of a man. I have | | | | while dancing with many less capable women dancers |
| seen a heavy-set man with a shoulder injury caused | | | | that their arm-work tends to be a lot more powerful |
| by one or more women flinging their weight | | | | but their leg-work and their ability to balance |
| outwards against his arm. I have seen a small woman | | | | themselves tends to be sadly lacking. I also noticed |
| virtually picked up and flung around to the point | | | | that they get fatigued much more easily, many of |
| where she was crying out for the lead (another | | | | them having to sit down after just a few songs.I |
| woman!) to stop. There's no need for any of these | | | | deduced that during the learning stages many women |
| things. Some people like to put a great deal of | | | | are developing excessive arm-work at the expense |
| energy into their dancing and some women do like to | | | | of adequate leg-work, perhaps through dancing with |
| fling themselves around with strong male partners | | | | men who tend to fling them around a lot. Some of |
| who help them do it. Those women will find that only | | | | them seem to propel themselves almost completely |
| a few men ask them to dance and those men will | | | | by pushing and pulling with their arms. This greatly |
| find themselves getting a great many refusals.In one | | | | increases the risk of injury and since the arms are a |
| of the worst examples, I have seen a beginner male | | | | lot less able to sustain activity than the legs are it at |
| Rock 'n' Roll dancer shape up on the dance floor to | | | | least partially explains the fatigue problem. I have also |
| begin dancing with a stance and facial expression | | | | noticed that when I deliberately give some of these |
| identical to those of someone about to knock down | | | | women almost no help from my hands in spins and |
| a brick wall with a sledge hammer. When the music | | | | turns many of them quickly learn to propel |
| started he careered wildly with his partner straight | | | | themselves with their legs and bodies and their ability |
| into other dancers, was abused for his efforts and | | | | to balance themselves improves markedly. The |
| left the dance floor in a stink. Such people remind me | | | | intention here is that as they improve their leg-work |
| of novice golfers who shape up on the tee and try | | | | their arm-work will increase in power until they reach |
| to hit the ball from here to Kingdom Come. They | | | | a satisfactory balance between the two.I don't |
| apply no finesse, just raw, uncontrolled energy and | | | | expect my Light Arm Rock 'n' Roll to cause a |
| fail dismally. If they hit the ball at all it just dribbles of | | | | worldwide revolution. In fact, I doubt if many men |
| the tee. The dancing of some people does much the | | | | beside myself will adopt it or that many women will |
| same. It goes nowhere fast!Dance is all about | | | | go along with it, since they have to dance with other |
| mastery of movement. Energy is certainly required | | | | men who are far more powerful in the arms than I |
| but it has to be properly channeled. The best dancing | | | | am. I was led to it by the fact that I like to dance |
| to watch and participate in is smooth, free-flowing | | | | with my arms and shoulders extremely relaxed, |
| and gentle, never aggressive or jerky. The man and | | | | hence I am liable to injury if a woman tightens her |
| woman work with each other, not against each | | | | arms up too much and/or flings her weight outwards |
| other. 'Wild and woolly' dancing may feel good to | | | | against my arms. I have been told that my style is |
| some people who practice it but it is not visually | | | | pleasing to watch and it feels very enjoyable to |
| appealing. There are people who are convinced that | | | | perform. That is good enough for me.Of course, its |
| they look great when they dance while onlookers | | | | not necessary to take things to the same degree |
| classify them as "rough as guts" and give them | | | | that I have but quite a few regular Rock 'n' Rollers |
| unflattering nick-names. Most of us who dance a lot | | | | would do very well to lighten their arm-work and be |
| know well that if you dance too close to some | | | | a bit gentler in their movements.Gareth Eastwood |
| people you're likely to be heavily and repeatedly | | | | created and manages Going Places With Gareth, a |
| crashed into.My own preferred style, which certainly | | | | gigantic singles social network in Adelaide, South |
| isn't for everybody, is extremely light in the hands | | | | Australia revolving around a long-established website |
| and arms so that my partner and I are just in | | | | The network has been operating since May, 2000.He |
| contact with each other. In fact, I personally like my | | | | is also Rock n Roll dance instructor and enthusiast. He |
| partner's arms to be almost as loose as those of a | | | | maintains a recently created website, in which he |
| rag doll. People ask me how a woman can possibly | | | | repeatedly stresses the need for dancers to be |
| dance like that, but I don't believe its that hard for | | | | gentle with each other rather than dancing roughly. |