| Article | : | "Dancing Tid-bits" Issue #84, Thursday,Jan 10, 2002
Today's Topic: Promenade and Counter Promenade
Letter: I like reading your Danceletters very much, but, why did you never write anything about promenade/cp positions in standard? I would like you to write anything about. Sincerely, Marek from Slovakia. (Do you know, where it is?) PS Sorry for my English.
Reply: Of course Marek, I know; Slovalkia is a neighborhood of Chicago 90% polish (just kidding). I know they make good dancers. Thank you for suggesting this topic for Dancing Tid-bits.
What is PP: Simply stated; Promenade Position is when man opens the lady to
his left side. So let's get to the technical definition: It is a position
where Man's right side and woman's left side are in contact and their bodies
open in the form of a V to man's left. Now let's consider some nitty gritty
about this oddity.
Feet Positions: Just like the bodies make a > the feet make an opposite
coaches insist on parallel feet but I feel that if you take a natural PP,
the right foot tends to be pointing between wall and diag wall. In general the feet of man and woman make a double arrowhead,
wall
lady
<---LOD<< >
FeetBodies
man
Footwork: The weight is on right foot (well it all depends, I am talking
progressive link of tango here) which is flat and the left foot has heel
released with slight pressure on inside edge of toe/ball. Left knee is
veering in. The first step out of promenade is always on heel, along LOD.
Head Position: Both the man and woman have their head turned to LOD in PP.
The nose is on the toes of the weight bearing foot.
Body relationship: I believe, lady is just slightly to mans right and of
course more so in Tango.
Tango: More dramatic, lady more to man's right, almost riding outside of his right thigh. Parallel feet in PP look good and some dancers try to create
more tango by raising the heel more of LF with a more bent knee; good? you
decide.
Common Problems with PP: I dont know elsewhere but in USA many of us tend to
open our bodies too much and many dancers point their feet and knees to LOD.
This creates an unsightly PP. This has a country western effect and is
frequently a topic of discussion with coaches who are constantly correcting
our PPs. Arms should not drop. The Back should be maintained and neck and
head lines need attention. Both sides are stretched and right side is
bracing the lady.
Latin PP: Same principles but more latitude for individual expression
because bodies are farther apart.
CPP: If we open our bodies to mans right, this position will be counter
promenade. I think here the bodies of man (left side of man and right side
of lady) and woman will be normal V, in other words woman will not be more to
man's left side. To my knowledge, there are no standard syllabus figures
that require CPP in Standard Ballroom.
What do u say, Marek, did I meet your expectations?..Best Wishes..Max |
