A teacher is showing this step in waltz going up on the balls of her feet with her legs apart-and staying apart for the three count and then finishing with the closing of feet together like bronze.
I can't find any info on the subject. She claims it is int'l gold. She claims it looks better than the silver. Any thoughts?

I normally close the feet together, but I think it depends/varies from person to person, or am I wrong on this?

I was taught to close my feet in bronze and do a brush step in silver. I don't know gold

What she's doing may in fact be an open gold Int'l variation, but I can't quite tell what it is the way it's described. At any rate, to answer your question in more general terms, there is no such thing as a "Gold Twinkle" per se. As others have mentioned, there are foot closing and foot passing actions, typically being deemed bronze and silver level, respectively. This is not limited to Twinkles; It applies to almost all actions in the American style smooth syllabus, such as basic Naturals, Reverses, Changes, etc.

Many people have their own interpretations or variations of figures. When such an interpretation is minor, such as a slight variation on sway or a turn of the head, it's considered artistic license. But when it's too great a departure from the basic figure, it would be considered a separate figure, and therefore "out of syllabus". In the pro-am competition world, non-syllabus events are labeled Open Gold, and so a teacher might label any such variation "Gold". I suspect this is the case here.

Regards,
Jonathan

The left foot goes forward and rising-the right goes side and rising -the a quick weight change back to the left while still on the balls of the feet. The feet are spread the normal distance during this portion-then finishing with feet together.
Is this a clearer picture?. Thanks for the input

"The left foot goes forward and rising-the right goes side and rising -the a quick weight change back to the left while still on the balls of the feet. The feet are spread the normal distance during this portion-then finishing with feet together.
Is this a clearer picture?. Thanks for the input"

How do you finish with the feet together if you return your weight to the left foot while the feet are still apart?

Perhaps the feet are only temporarily together, while the right foot is on its way from the position of step 2 to the position of step 1 of the next figure? If so, that would be categorized as passing the feet rather than closing them.

Normally, in a "closed" figure having three steps, the third step consists of the foot closing to the position of the 2nd.

I believe that what Jonathan mentioned is the case. This seems like a variation where (in my interpretation) is step 1 of a twinkle (LF forward for leader), and then step 2 (RF forward/side), and then a delay for a certain number of beats (a hesitation action of sorts) and then a closing action which I would guess would end on the following 3.

So it would be:

1 - LF forward
2 - RF forward/side (remain open)
3 - hold
1 - hold
2 - hold
3 - close LF to RF

This is something I would call an Open level variation of an American twinkle, but of course in open you could do it in international as well. Perhaps Jonathan's explanation of the "open gold" terminology is why the instructor labeled it as gold.

It's certainly not a syllabus international standard figure as described. So I'd say it's an open american/international move. As for how it looks, I myself find it strange that the feet would stay open, and I would close them. After that, it's all about execution, I know a couple that inserted twinkles (with continuity) in their american routines where they hold in the "up" position with feet closed for a measure and then exit from it, and it looked pretty good.

There are currently 3 versions of the " Twinkle ".

A/M has 2, Bronze and Silver. Its in F/T and W. Foot closure in Bronze.. Open in Silver

DVIDA has one.. it is a figure that goes to promenade, and is distinct from the A/M versions .

There may be even others, but these 3 are the most recognised .

What you describe as Arthur Murray actually sounds more like Fred Astaire to me. Fred Astaire adheres more strictly to the NDCA concept of foot closures in bronze, foot passing in silver. They have several versions of Twinkles, all of which keep the feet closing on the 3rd step, right through the last step in the bronze Waltz & Foxtrot syllabus. They don't introduce foot passing actions until silver.

Arthur Murray, in contrast, traditionally didn't have any foot closing Twinkles. In their most recent syllabus overhaul (about 5-6 years ago, I think), they added one single foot closing Twinkle to their intermediate bronze Waltz syllabus. However, once a student graduates to full bronze (figures 6 through 10), they ditch the foot closing, and move right on to foot passing Twinkles, of which there are several. It's a shame, because not enough time is spent on foot closing to make a lasting impression, and the student followers in particular suffer, because they typically have difficulty following any type of foot closing Twinkle, even when properly lead.

I haven't seen the DVIDA Twinkle in print, but I can't imagine it's very different from the others. Everybody has slightly different ways of describing the technique, but ultimately the fundamental Twinkle is danced the same.

A Twinkle is a difficult word to define because so many types of figures have been labeled as such. One might be inclined to say that it's a figure that transitions from closed to promenade position and back, but that would exclude all "Passing" or counter-promenade Twinkles, among others. In fact, if you go by the Fred Astaire definition, you can't include dance position at all; They attach the "Twinkle" label to figures that stay closed (e.g. "Progressive Twinkles", which we call Closed Changes O.P., or Passing Changes in silver), Shadow Twinkles, etc. They even have a figure called Twinkles in Cha Cha.

So to be as inclusive as is reasonably possible, the best definition I've come up with is this: A Twinkle is a movement consisting of 3 or 6 steps, usually involving a deviation of direction, and sometimes a change of position, such as closed to promenade.

Regards,
Jonathan

Jonathon,

I was a regional and in house DD, for both Freds and A/M at one time or another.

A/M being the older of the 2, had that variation in both BR and Silver long before anyone else. ( my last dealings as a coach with A/M was in '03... it was still being taught then ), dont know about Freds current status .

Havent seen the DVIDA one, but from the description, it bears no likeness to the original .

There is what I think a perfect demonstration of a Twinkle and a description of this step on todays Waltz variation.Do we know what a brush step is. A brush step is when the foot is brought to a postion without weight. In this case it is under the left hip. Look and you will be rewarded.

The Swinkle must be an American thing. Where i live After a Turning Lock we would do a Travelling Contra. Anyone could be forgiven if they mistook this for a type of Twinkle. In both cases the LF will be under the left hip before stepping into Promenade.

The " Twinkle " is an American style figure ,thats taught in Bronze and Silver; both are prom. but have different foot positions .

DVIDA has one that is completely different to the standard format ( its more like a Spiral, I believe ).

There is also a Twinkle ,in Intern. style tango

One instructor I know refers to a Twinkle as "a watered-down Hover Telemark."

"However, once a student graduates to full bronze (figures 6 through 10), they ditch the foot closing, and move right on to foot passing Twinkles, of which there are several. It's a shame, because not enough time is spent on foot closing to make a lasting impression, and the student followers in particular suffer, because they typically have difficulty following any type of foot closing Twinkle, even when properly lead."

With figures such as natural and reverse turns, there often seems to be a progression for international style dancers such as:

1) Do foot closure figures in a stilted manner, with no flow

2) Develop flow in figures which lower with the feet apart, while often missing closure on the closing ones (for example stumbling past the initial natural turn in many competitive international waltzes).

3) Learn to do precise foot closure followed by re-establishing natural flow in the lowering.

That's in international style where a few foot closure lowerings do remain culturally mandatory at the highest levels, so dancers to continue to try to develop them.

One wonders with the closed twinkle if the reason it never gets a "stage 3" re-investment after developing the "stage 2" "hover telemark" twinkle is that it's simply unpopular... or if it's unpopular because it's fundamentally not a very good idea as a figure.

Generally speaking, the relative body and foot positions a partnership would be in on a rise while preparing to step in promenade is not the same as the relative positions they would have when lowered and moving strongly through the feet in promenade. Achieving a promenade (or promenade-able) position on the rise and then lowering vertically from that position would seem like it may require that either the risen position be somewhat loose, or the lowered position not be one from which the type of strong movement which advanced dancers would habitually seek can be taken.

Compare for example the close distance between the leading (men's left, lady's right) feet in the brush towards a continuity promenade to the substantially greater distance between those feet as the trailing leg comes through after a deep and traveling lowering in a continuity promenade. If the leading legs are not going to be able to reposition during the fall, one position or the other would have to be different from that used in the continuity case.