Why make things seem harder than they really are. Sway . What does an areoplane do when it turns. It sways or banks left or right. What do we do on a push bike if we turn. What does a car do when it turns. The cars suspension takes over. It is the most natural thing to do. We sway to the inside of the turn without exception. Even birds do it. Don't they ?

Actually cars naturally sway OUT of the turn.

Anonymous. Didn't think of that one .So I will stick to the aeroplane, the push bike. the birds and of course the ballroom dancer. If we were in a aircraft that was banking, through the window we would see the ground on one side and the sky in the other, you would still feel the aircraft was flying level. A dancer swaying correctly would simularly be exhibiting perfect balance . The bodyline during this kind of balancing sway must be that of a straight line from head to toe. Any breaking of the line at the waist or hips should be regarded as an error. Having said all that, it is a natural movement. After all when we round a bend at the local Supermarket we never do a sharp turn, as would a soldier on the parade ground. I don't know about you but I shorten my inside step and there is a slight sway to the inside.

Hello, Don.
I am interesting in "Sway.". I envisioned the airoplane banking , one side ground/ ocean another side is sky through the window ; no breaking of the line from the top to toe...
Did you imply to rasie outside hip?
Is there a difference between smooth curved side line and breaking line ( acute angle?)
By the way , I prefer to compress left ball , toes, and their edge to swing away my right leg, foot and bodyweight to right ball rather than that my instructor pushed my left hip joint suddenly. Where is the correct forced point used. ?
Thanks.
ylchen.

Yichen-1.Sway is originally meant to be the final piece of the swinging action. Step, Swing. Sway. There is no breaking or bending of the hips or the waist. The inside of your body is streched upwards, not bent inwards. The streching of the inside will look after the outside, and should be balanced. Don't over do it. Leave all the displacement of the hip for Latin, especially the Rumba. Where it has the name Latin Hip. You don't want any of this in your Standard Ballroom Dancing.
Are you by any chance in Hong Kong if you were, very soon there will be some very good Professional dancers there for a short while prior to going to Blackpool for the British.

Hi Don
Good topic thread
You hit the important point on the head whjen you said stretching on the inside will look after the outside. It's so easy to just break at the waist to do a sort of sway. I used to do this (hope i don't still!) so i went to the gym and practised my stretching in front of a mirror, putting my two arms up over my head to make a longer line. The crucial point is that the outside will be stretched more than the inside, but BOTH SIDES must stretch. I practised and got the feel of it - and it improved my dancing (i think)

Sway comes mostly from ankles and knees

Phil.I am quoting from a very reliable source here. It is a categoric fact tnat sway cannot exist without body swing. The angle of sway required to maintain balance is dependant upon the speed of motion across the floor. The faster the body is moving through the turn or "Curve" or the greater the amount of change of alignment, then the greater the angle of sway needed to maintain balance. If a person only walks their dance steps then there is no body swing then the amount of sway needed to balance is none existent. For a beginner it is a good idea to stand with their feet together up on the toes as in the closure of a Modern Waltz, sway correctly and see how far they can sway before loosing balance. It would be a good idea to find where that limit is at this time. Have a good sway.

Actually, you can sway quite a bit at this point, because it is acceptable to break at the knees and ankles - that lets you have a huge statically swayed shape while still having your center of mass stationary over your standing foot.

However you are correct that the primary benefit of using sway is to balance turn. The knee trick is mostly to let you practice some of the skills which must go hand in hand with sway (such as keeping your head aligned with your spine) while slowly changing sway - and of course for the less dynamic sways, which are called picture lines.