Gloria,
Terence2 is correct. Run-around is not a step, per se, that I have ever seen taught, though some studios may call it that.
It almost sounds like you are describing maybe the grapevine or something similar? Grapevine is a step that can be used in most every dance.
Some of the experienced instructors on this site can help you, for sure.

Glorial. Standing Spin is the name you are after.
Standing Spin to the left.Can come after a Same Foot Lunge in the Waltz.. Turn continuously to the left on the ball of the LF. Whilst the weight is centred over the LF, the RF assists the rotation with strong pressure on the ball of the foot..
Lady take full weight forward onto left foot remaining in contact with the inside of the man's right leg and hip line. Continue to run forward in a circle to the left around the man's standing leg. If you can, find Marcus Hilton on Ballroom Competition Figures 2 for a demonstration.It is not a hard step to do. The amount of turns will depend on the ability of the couple to keep balance, rhythm and shape. To finish for the man simply check forward LF on the count of 1. replace to RF on 2 step to the side LF on 3. Can finish with a Chasse but watch your direction. Do the Checking action diag. to the wall against the LOD. If I were you I would make a copy of this. Some of you others might do the same then you will know what a Standing Spin is. Good Luck

Serendipidy, do you think this is what it is.

If I understand your posting, my left leg is between and I am moving to my left forward with my right foot outside of the man's left leg.

What is my body position, and shape to the man's centre point? I feel I should be running with my feet close together on the balls of my feet. With him I am turning to my right.

Rhythm to him is all fast qq's. He must not have it yet. He stops spinning then waits for a slow and comes out. This is when I finally feel back in time with the rhythm.

Thanks for helping me,

Would you have done this runaround if the music were not quick notes, meaning if there were slows?

Is this stepping only suitable in certain situations in the music. I feel I look silly running in a circle with all these quicks where there is a qqs or sqqs type of music going on. Once around, maybe twice but once the third time comes I am ready to get back with the proper timing.

My partner thinks it is the latest thing, and that we should be doing it whenever he feels like it. I sound annoyed, don't I, and I guess I am. Sorry.

I cannot figure out why this studio is teaching this to beginners when there is so many other nice things to learn in waltz, foxtrot, etc.

I didn't get what you meant when you said you were both stepping forward in a curved feather action where the lady in stepping backward.

Standing spin - in FOXTROT and WALTZ, sometimes, in TANGO

1. start in a left whisk position,
2. In 4 quick steps(1 measure in waltz, and 4 beats in foxtrot or Tango), Woman circles the man (clock wise)for almost a full circle.
3. Ending: man ready to move his left foot backward, and woman ready to move her right foot forward. The ending is similar/identical to the ending of a natural turn.

Hope this helps.

Q. stand.spin was the obvious answer--but-- if they were doing Amer.style, it may be something entirely different.

my guess is this--- if you are at the level of O.S.spin -- surely you would know the name ? ( probably true for amer.style as well )

As to the timing-- A well known Amat. once asked A. Moore, " how fast should I go ?" -- he replied " as fast as you can my dear " !

Terence2, it is American style, and you are right.

I did find out other names from him. He says it can be called, Natural and reverse Fleckerl, Running Wing.

Now that I have the right names to help everyone, what should I be aware of to be able to do this well with him.

Since I don't take lessons with him, what tips do I need to follow him well.

Thanks, once again

Glorial. If you know in the Rumba how important it is to keep your centres as in the Natural Top you should automatically realise how important it is when doing the Standing Spin or any simular step in any dance.
Just in case there is any confusion there is a Standing Spin turning to the right as well as the most common used turning to the left.
With the not so skilled there is always a problem in any closed hold dance and that is try to not to keep altering your centres.

Hi Gloria,

A "Runaround" is a generic term used primarily by American Style dancers to indicate almost any kind of fast circling movement done on the spot in a closed or shadow dance hold.

I suppose a Fleckerl and a Running Wing are technically types of Runaround, but they are very specific, so much so that I don't think you'd hear anyone refer to them but by their proper names. The closest International counterpart to what is typically called Runaround is a Standing Spin; These two are sometimes used interchangeably.

I typically teach basic generic Runarounds in American style starting in closed hold with a specific rhythm (eg 123 in Viennese, 1&23 in Waltz, QQQQ in Foxtrot). I let a student play with these for months or longer before introducing variations of dance position (e.g. alternate/airplane hold) or the "fast-as-you-can" arhythmic version. The reason for this is once you start running as fast as you can in alternate hold, there's a tendency to let all technique fly out the window. Those who haven't first established a good technical foundation rarely produce successful, comfortable Runarounds.

My suggestion to you is to work with your teacher on a basic Standing Spin in standard closed hold, to a simple rhythm. It won't fly at maximum speed, but it will give you an opportunity to work out the technical details. As you get better, you will be better equipped to handle whatever a social dancer may throw your way.

When I watch social dancers do bad runarounds, I see the same mistakes every time. They're practically hip to hip, and they take the smallest, wimpiest steps imaginable. I call it "skeetering". So the two specific things I suggest working on: (1) Centering to your partner, and (2) leg strength and division.

Position-wise, a Runaround movement works very much like promenade position. Your feet and legs need to travel one direction while your body faces another. So you will need to apply the same twist to your body that you use in promenade. For natural turns, it's a twist to the right; For reverse, twist to the left. This keeps your center and your frame turned to your partner.

I think the "skeetering" problem is more a result of what people think a Runaround ought to be. They see the fast movement and attempt to emulate it by taking the smallest, fastest steps they possibly can. In reality, the pros actually use medium steps with quite a strong foot action (the opposite of skeetering, which is extremely weak), and they keep their knees flexed with their thighs ahead of the body, as they might with any strong driving movement.

Think about this: Regardless of foot speed, you want to move your body through space as fast as possible. How do you do it? Run from one side of the room to the other as fast as you can on your toes but with flexed knees. What kind of steps do you take? Are they big or small? If you run across the room with the smallest, fastest possible steps, does your body move as fast? How about if you take the biggest possible steps? You will probably find that your fastest body speed results not from huge or tiny steps, but something in between. Most importantly, you will probably find that what you're doing is bigger, stronger and slower than what you had imagined you should be doing on a Runaround. And that's my point.

Here's another dead giveaway that your legs and feet aren't pulling your weight: You feel like you're being pulled right out of your shoes. If your upper body precedes your lower body, your legs have to work a lot harder to keep up. Actually, they shouldn't be just barely keeping up, they should be driving the movement. This is not to say that your partner may not be yanking on you in some unnecessarily uncomfortable way, but if your legs and feet do their job, you can turn what was scary into something no worse than mildly uncomfortable. And with a good partner, it can be fun and exhilarating.

Regards,
Jonathan Atkinson
www.ballroomdancers.com

Thank you Waltz123,

Wow, that sure is helpful.

That is the information, exactly needed.

I know now what to give to my teacher
to learn my part, and the center point is what I was looking for.

I also think I am experiencing this skeetering with my partner which feels like I am running fast for I am taking small forward steps, and the stopping is awkward..

Thanks very much,