I have been dancing this for years but have never felt comfertable with it, there is always a rush to get around my partner. To sway or not to sway? Is the Lady's step outside partner danced like a Wave? Is the man's 2 step directly around the lady or more progresive DC? What timing is best "1&23" or "12&3"? Which timing gives the most drift and nicest look?What can the Lady do to help the man get around her with ease? Thanks

When properly executed, the Running Weave should not give you a sense of urgency about "getting around" your partner, any more than any other basic turn. This feeling is usually indicative of either a weak or nonexistent swing, or in the case of promenade, poor tracking.

The beginning of a Running Weave from PP should feel almost identical to the beginning of a basic Natural Turn from PP, except for the timing. You should drive through on the right leg on 1, then begin your upswing as your body passes over the foot. The upswing should continue as though you were dancing a Natural Turn right up to the point the left foot strikes. At this point you will have only partially closed to your partner.

When weight begins to transfer the left foot, you begin your transition into the next shape, and this is where it parts company with the Natural Turn. During this "downswing" action, your knee should soften (although you won't actually lower completely to your heel), you will dissolve the rightward shape, and you will finish closing the position.

Steps 3-4 are similar to 2-3 of a Back Feather. As you begin to move away from the left foot, you begin the next upswing. There will be some body rotation in order to open the right side and allow the lady to swing outside partner on the following step. However, this is moderate body rotation only, and should be complete by the time the right foot strikes. The majority of shape comes from the upswing, not the rotation. All of this technique is very similar to the man's part of Back Feather (or lady's part of a standard Feather Step, minus the toe release).

An urgency to get around your partner probably means you're not swinging up to cause the closing of position; You're just pivoting around her. It's not impossible to dance a Running Weave this way, but it's not much different than dancing a basic Natural Turn without swing... Quite forced and lacking in both shape and volume.

Tracking is also an issue. Make sure you're not cutting in front of her path on the initial driving step, in an effort to make your rotation easier. When you cut your partner off, she can't drive forward, and it loses the linear momentum that allows for a good upswing, which in turn facilitates the rotation. This concept is counterintuitive to most beginners.

I recommend you practice steps 1-2 very slowly, the upswing portion only, to the point your left foot strikes, but stopping before any real weight begins moving into the left foot (the downswing portion). Pay very close attention to the tracking on 1, making sure she is able to step forward easily with good tracking, a heel lead, and no smaller than your step. Pay close attention to the inclination of your left side as you move between right and left, and although you will rotate to some extent, try to keep the left leg swinging in a "forwardly" direction. That is to say, the actual direction will change as you rotate, but not so much that it becomes straight sideways or worse, backwards.

When you get really familiar with the proper mechanics of the entry, the rest usually takes care of itself. Or so I have found with my students.

My preferred timing is 1&23 because I like to draw out the second upswing. However, in your case you might want to stick to 12&3 for now, because the more you concentrate on making steps 1-2 feel exactly like a Natural Turn from PP, the better. Once you've mastered the movement, you might be able to adjust your timing without the sense of urgency that is currently giving you trouble.

Regards,
Jonathan Atkinson
www.ballroomdancers.com

John Wood has some instructions on his tape on the Running Weave. He said from Promenade Position if the lady takes the same size steps with the exact same timing the man will never get past. He added that is unless we use our very strong left arm, and that isn't right is it.

Inside/outside of turn is a complex concept which, as I mentioned in a previous post, does involve a certain minimum degree of differential. But as with closed position turns, this doesn't apply to the driving step.

What enables you to take a step that's a different size as your partner's without adversely affecting your position is rotation, i.e. when one body is rotating around another. This is not what happens through the division of step 1 of the Running Weave. The man doesn't begin rotating around the lady until the foot strike, and by that time the length of stride has already been determined.

The common mistake in any sort of natural turn from promenade position is for the lady to overtake the man, but this is much more typically a matter of how quickly she moves her weight across her foot, not where she places the foot initially. This is an important distinction because it is often confused, and a less experienced teacher will often make the wrong correction (eg "You're getting in my way, so you must therefore be taking too large a step").

Is it possible for the lady to take a step that's too large? Of course. But a step that's too large is larger than the man's. And if that's ther problem, she has nowhere near enough skill to be attempting a Running Weave... She needs to be spending time on more basic actions, to help her learn fundamental following skills and foot-to-body timing.

Any time I've felt "cut-off" by a student in that circumstance (any natural rotation from PP), assuming she's in the right position to begin with, her foot did not overtake mine. In fact, I've danced with students who cut their step short and still managed to overtake. This is because the body speed across the foot is the primary determining factor.

Regards,
Jonathan

Thank You Jonathan for your detailed and lengthy explanation. It is wonderful that you should give all this time and information for FREE,much appreciated. Cheers DOUD

Thank You Jonathan for your detailed and lengthy explanation. It is wonderful that you should give all this time and information for FREE,much appreciated. Cheers DOUD PS, All I have to do now is to put it into action.

Jonathan. what are your thoughts on an Open Imputus into a Promenade. When we complete step six are we still in a closed position. Do most inexperienced dancers open completely on six. This is the Waltz. I hope i can explain this. A teacher i went to insists that at the end of step five the feet turned with the suggestion of a swivel to get both sets of feet pointing on a diagnal to each other, but still in a closed position. Then proceed from there. If i can put it another way. At the end of step five the feet are together and should be diagnal to the wall. My next step six the feet must change their position. Both feet must be pointing in the same direction.