"The arching of the back is to counter balance the action of the lady."

Well first, she's not really supposed to be arching her back either, but we know she will.

More importantly, the "counterbalancing" is visual, not physical. There is no need to counterbalance her weight. And because of that, all we need to achieve is the visual effect.

To an inexperienced observer, it may look like the man is arching his back (and an inexperienced man may well be doing so) but what is actually happening in a good dancer is that the vast majority of the position is created in his lower body. His upper body continues to grow out of this with a fairly straight torso - it's just that the position of the legs and hips makes the torso look much more curved than it actually is. On a good dancer... a bad one of course will break at the waist!

Throwaway Oversway. What was once told to me was. Think that I had my hands grasping a ships old fashion steering wheel and turn it clockwise untill the hands are at 10 to and 20 past Then if we atarted facing the wall we would have turned our body to about diagnal to the wall. If you watch closely you may see the right toe moving slightly to widen the base. This explanation never fails to convey the feeling of a Throwaway Oversway. There is a fair bit of pressure on the inside of the right toe. If this move is done with the hips only it will look incomplete and all of the music will not be used up. We must use every part of the music ,always. All of the above is for the swing dances. The Tango is different in our attitude and technique..

A lot of that appearance of arch is the torso vs the back leg, not an arch in the back itself.

Another part of it is a TWIST of the back - again, something that looks like arch until you really analyze what you are looking at.

As for using up all the music, the solution to that is not to OVERSHAPE, but to PACE YOURSELF so that you don't run out of movement before you use up the time.

I don't think so. If you were looking at the tape I have been looking at both the man and lady have a complete arch in the back. The lady more than the man. This is done over three different dances not only to music, but with two slow teaching counts on each different dance.

"I don't think so. If you were looking at the tape I have been looking at both the man and lady have a complete arch in the back. The lady more than the man. This is done over three different dances not only to music, but with two slow teaching counts on each different dance."

Again, you are mistaking the visual effect for the actual body position used to create it.

If I were to say the dancer is on the same arc as if he was on a giant excercise ball.The lady even more so. If the arc created was to continue it would eventually come back to where it started. That won't happen if the body is verticle. It will go straight up.
Again this is the only time the man will arch his back or is allowed to. Not so the lady.

"If I were to say the dancer is on the same arc as if he was on a giant excercise ball.The lady even more so. If the arc created was to continue it would eventually come back to where it started. That won't happen if the body is verticle. It will go straight up.
Again this is the only time the man will arch his back or is allowed to. Not so the lady."

And that is precisely the BEGINNER-LEVEL mistake in your understanding.

It is not actually an arch when done right. It is mostly a leg position and a slight twist.

It looks like an arch to the untrained eye, but that is NOT how it is CREATED.

Do you have beginners trying to do a Throwaway Oversway. Haven't you got a restricted sylabus where you dance. If you are a none competitor you can do as you please. But in the lower grades as a competitor . A beginner and a Throwaway Please.

"Do you have beginners trying to do a Throwaway Oversway. Haven't you got a restricted sylabus where you dance. If you are a none competitor you can do as you please. But in the lower grades as a competitor . A beginner and a Throwaway Please."

You seem to completely misunderstand.

Someone attempting to arch their back in a throwoway clearly has no more than a beginner-level understanding of dance technique.

Some impressive performers may fall into that categery, but all this shows is that their physical capability (youth, strenth, etc) can temporarily trump their lack of knowledge.

Remember when you see back arch, one of two things is happening:

- you are seeing a poorly trained couple

- you are a poorly trained observer, mistakenly interpreting something else that might look like back arch, but actually is more a position of legs, hips, and a slight back twist.