Aerials on the Social Floor

[Swing Kitten]

How big of a deal is it?
Do you have to wait until someone gets hurt to ask them to stop?
How do you deal with it?

[jon]

Sane dances ban aerials, and sane dance operators act immediately to stop them. There's a significant risk of severe injury, and not just to the people doing the aerials. This stuff belongs in competition or performance situations only.

[HepcatBob]

I heartily second what Jon said.

Aerials can be very dangerous even in performance/competition settings. A friend of mine here in Greensboro was part of a local musical revue troupe a few years ago and she broke her neck trying to do an aerial.

[KevinL]

How big of a deal is it?

It is a very big deal. Aerials are dangerous, and not just to the people doing them, but also to the innocent dancers nearby.

Do you have to wait until someone gets hurt to ask them to stop?

No, if someone was to do aerials at my events I would tell them to stop immediately. At other events I make it a point to tell the organizers, in case they didn't see it happen.

How do you deal with it?

See above, but I also don't teach aerials (I know a couple, but not well enough to teach them safely.). I make it a point to tell people who ask about it that they are not safe, and that people shouldn't do them in social circumstances.

Kevin

[etchuck]

Aerials are not a good idea unless there's a signed waiver for any sustained injuries (which for a social dance... come on). First off, it's a really bad thing to stop a dance because someone got injured on the floor. Second, it's a real shock to the organizers to have to pay increased liability insurance. Third, if anyone else got hurt while someone else was doing aerials, the organizers of the dance including the dance hall managers could get sued.

So, my suggestion is to politely inform the organizers of the said dance whether they have paid for liability insurance for injuries due to aerials. Or if they're financially loaded. :)

[Pacion]

A friend of mine here in Greensboro was part of a local musical revue troupe a few years ago and she broke her neck trying to do an aerial.

Gosh! Sorry to hear that. Did she ever recover or is she paralyzed?

[pygmalion]

Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry to hear that HepCatBob. :cry:

[HepcatBob]

Oh yeah, she's okay now, but she says she'll never do another aerial. She's even skeptical about doing any swing dancing ever again.

[pygmalion]

I can imagine. I saw an article somewhere about safety precautions and aerials. I wonder if I can find it again via google. Hmm. But even so, accidents do happen sometimes, no matter what precautions you take. :?

[Pacion]

That's great to hear HepcatBob. Aerials have no place on the social dancefloor, unless on the dancefloor has a lot of space and the nearest couple are like 10 ft away ie. out of harm's way.

This reminds me of a previous thread someone did on neckdrops and they seem to have disappeared of the scene, although it does still crop up in performances.

I feel that certain moves should be kept for certain levels/abilities and hopefully, mainly in performances. It is sad that there are teachers who will teach dips/neck drops to beginners/improvers. Maybe I am being harsh but I think it is just to impress and yes, it can be "impressive" but it is dangerous "in the wrong hands" ie. a dancer who hasn't quite got the coordination of their arms and feet let alone to be getting really physical :oops:

[jdavidb]

no aerials while the floor is free for all, but it's no-holds-barred when it's one couple at a time during a jam.

Speaking of aerials, check out how these are not just aerials, they are extremely fast aerials: http://www.swingpatrol.com.au/videos/categories/General%20Clips.php Click the one that says "Courtesy of Today Nine Network". The parts where they show the real black&white footage (not the modern stuff with b&w effect) is what I'm talking about. It's "hey, lemme stick my arm out & you flip over it so fast the camera can barely capture it". The swingouts are lightning speed. They also do turns that ya can hardly even see they're so fast.

[tsb]

no aerials while the floor is free for all, but it's no-holds-barred when it's one couple at a time during a jam.


i second that.

and of course it need not be said leaders NEVER do aerials with an unsuspecting partner!

[Spitfire]

That is the rule at the swing dances here; no aerials allowed and I think it's a good idea.

[HepcatBob]

Click the one that says "Courtesy of Today Nine Network". The parts where they show the real black&white footage (not the modern stuff with b&w effect) is what I'm talking about. It's "hey, lemme stick my arm out & you flip over it so fast the camera can barely capture it". The swingouts are lightning speed. They also do turns that ya can hardly even see they're so fast.

Those folks are Whitey's Lindy Hoppers. Frankie Manning is in there.

[jdavidb]

Those folks are Whitey's Lindy Hoppers. Frankie Manning is in there.

That's who I thought it was. Today I found another little clip with the same scenery / different part of the dance here: http://www.savoystyle.com/hellzapoppin.html Hellzapoppin looks like a movie I'll have to see.

[d nice]

Hellzapoppin' is generally considered the Holy Grail of Lindy Hopping.
The swing outs aren't that fast. You could dance at that speed given a little training and dedication... now doing everything at that speed? That'll take a while longer. 8)

[alfborge]

I think we all agree that one shouldn't do aerials on a social dance floor unless you're doing it in the middle of a jam circle (and you're the only couple in there).

If someone does aerials on a crowded dance floor they should be lynched or something. If someone practices aerials on a dance floor with very few people then I'd judge the situation and the couple. If they seem to know what they're doing, I wouldn't really bother making a scene. If they seem uncontrolled, then I'd say stopping them would be the best solution.

--
Greets,
Alf

[d nice]

Welcome to Dance Forums Alf, hope to see more posts from you.

[alfborge]

Thanks. You probably will.
--
Alf