Fourplay

[heartgrl2k]

Our club is teaching fourplay this month for lessons. Has anyone learned this dance? It's a group dance with WCS, ECS, and C&W moves. Just thought it would be interesting to see if anyone had any thoughts, pointers, suggestions, etc...

[pygmalion]

Hmm. Never heard of fourplay (other than the jazz group.) Is it specific choreography? A line dance?

[Vince A]

Our club is teaching fourplay this month for lessons. Has anyone learned this dance? It's a group dance with WCS, ECS, and C&W moves. Just thought it would be interesting to see if anyone had any thoughts, pointers, suggestions, etc...
I learned this years ago . . . fun dance . . . just remember that your part of the fourplay is to keep it going, and the only way to keep it going is to complete all the turns , etc. If you happen to mess up your footwork . . . keep going . . . walk through it . . . do your part . . . then catch up on the footwork!

You'll be a "pro" at this by the end of the month. It doesn't take long to master this, as there are no alternate moves designed into it, but you can add some later - if you teach those alternate moves to the other three dancers!

Oh, one last tip . . . stay close to begin with . . . AND HAVE FUN!

[Sagitta]

Ok I cannot resist...what is the history behind that name? Vince saying dance close started me off down an interesting path...

[Vince A]

Ok I cannot resist...what is the history behind that name? Vince saying dance close started me off down an interesting path...
OK, get your mind out of the gutter . . . its not spelled FOREPLAY!

[pygmalion]

*giggle* I was wondering who was going to go there. :lol:

The jazz group is made up of four truly stellar jazz musicians with solo careers of their own. Every so often, they get together and make a CD. So four play. A play on words. Get it? :wink: :lol:

I assumed the dance was something similar -- an amalgam of several (four?) dances. *shrug*

[DWise1]

Ok I cannot resist...what is the history behind that name? Vince saying dance close started me off down an interesting path...

The "four" is because it involves two couples (ie, four people) switching partners. I am quite sure that it's no accident it was named to sound like "foreplay" and that similarity does get played with a bit.

I learned it about a year ago in a WCS workshop and might still be able to pull it off as long as the other couple is up to snuff on it. The idea of doing it on the floor is for the two couples to be dancing as usual and then they go into fourplay leaving the onlookers wondering what's going on.

The next stage is for a third couple to join in and then a fourth, etc. After the point where the third couple joins in, the name changes to "mass confusion". I think we had about six or seven couples in one practice "mass confusion" (maybe more -- I was a bit confused). Just watch out for the point where you all reach in for the wrist -- picture a circle suddenly contracting;the effect becomes more and more pronounced as the number of couples grows. And, guys, be very mindful of your free hand; at first, mine kept getting trapped between the ladies' bodies -- I'm not sure what it was touching but I wasn't hearing any complaints either though that didn't stop me from trying to figure out how to remedy the situation as fast as I could.

This kind of thing is a well-established mixer dance in the Barn Dance (a Country line dance in a circle in which you regularly rotate partners) and in Salsa's Casino Rueda ("wheel") in which a caller calls out one of several possible moves (eg, "dame una" for "give me a girl" whereupon you rotate partners). I've also seen a Lindy rueda, but I don't think that one is very widely done.

[pygmalion]

Ah. I wondered if that was another possibility. I think the first post mentioned a "group dance," so I was envisioning a line dance. Hmm. Cool. :)

[DWise1]

Ah. I wondered if that was another possibility. I think the first post mentioned a "group dance," so I was envisioning a line dance. Hmm. Cool. :)

Actually, fourplay/mass-confusion is a line dance of sorts, since it consists of a specific set of steps that everybody has to dance or else it won't work. Of course, as with some line dances, you can throw in extra turns here and there.

It's the rueda-style dances that can vary depending on what the caller calls out.

[heartgrl2k]

Thanks for everyone's posts and great tips! Our class is going to see how large of a circle we can make by the end of the month!

[swing4life]

The "four" is because it involves two couples (ie, four people) switching partners. I am quite sure that it's no accident it was named to sound like "foreplay" and that similarity does get played with a bit.

I learned it about a year ago in a WCS workshop and might still be able to pull it off as long as the other couple is up to snuff on it. The idea of doing it on the floor is for the two couples to be dancing as usual and then they go into fourplay leaving the onlookers wondering what's going on.

So how do you go about signaling the other couple to start this and at what point do you do it? Is there an instructional tape about this? This is definitely sounds fun to do among friends or with people who know how to do this. :)

[Swingolder]

I've seen it at a country swing affair. It was done with 4 couples and at the time looked difficult. But now, after having danced for a couple years, I don't think it could have been. I remember it as all being very repetitive but seemed like fun.

[DWise1]

The "four" is because it involves two couples (ie, four people) switching partners. I am quite sure that it's no accident it was named to sound like "foreplay" and that similarity does get played with a bit.

I learned it about a year ago in a WCS workshop and might still be able to pull it off as long as the other couple is up to snuff on it. The idea of doing it on the floor is for the two couples to be dancing as usual and then they go into fourplay leaving the onlookers wondering what's going on.

So how do you go about signaling the other couple to start this and at what point do you do it? Is there an instructional tape about this? This is definitely sounds fun to do among friends or with people who know how to do this. :)

No signalling required. It's a line dance with a set pattern of moves. As long as all the couples start out at the same time, it should work.

I'm trying to remember it now:
Sugar push
Locked whip -- as she's step back, the other guy puts out his arm and catches her on the back into his frame. When her previous partner sees that the other guy's caught her, he releases her hand.
Three tuck turns -- as she does the turning anchor at the end of the tuck turn, the other guy catches her as before.
The confusing part -- you'd have to see it. I'm real hazy here (it's been nearly a year), but it involves the leader having hold of somebody's wrist, then taking hold of a girl's wrist with his right hand, letting go with his left, and leading the girl out of the circle where she's picked up by the next guy (and another tuck turn, I think). I think this is done a few times
Then it's back to the beginning with the sugar push.

Anybody please feel free to correct me.
Heck, I didn't even check to see whether it's been described here yet.

PS
Just check and, no, not in this thread. Sorry for the burned-out brain; it's been a long millennium so far.

[pygmalion]

LOL. I saw a step pattern description online which, IIRC, I promised to find again and post... then promptly forgot. :oops: :lol:

[Ms_Sunlight]

Actually, fourplay/mass-confusion is a line dance of sorts, since it consists of a specific set of steps that everybody has to dance or else it won't work. Of course, as with some line dances, you can throw in extra turns here and there.

It's the rueda-style dances that can vary depending on what the caller calls out.

Then it's a sequence dance!

There are a couple of dances in Scottish country dancing that involve everyone in the room exchanging partners and they're great fun and very social, I'd love to try something like this.

Although you'll sometimes have a caller at ceilidhs, it's usually because there are inexperienced dancers there who need to be reminded of the steps, and they'll usually walk everyone through the sequence at the beginning. So a ceilidh band at a wedding will typically have a caller because there will be guests who don't know the repertoire. In situations where everyone knows the dances these are usually dispersed with.

[tsb]

I've also seen a Lindy rueda, but I don't think that one is very widely done.

jerry jordan (who wrote the lindy syllabus for AMDS) over at atomic in irvine does one from time to time. i understand that their friday night lindy has really taken off since they opened. too far of a drive for me on a friday night though, especially when lindygroove is 5 minutes away the night before.

[DWise1]

I've also seen a Lindy rueda, but I don't think that one is very widely done.

jerry jordan (who wrote the lindy syllabus for AMDS) over at atomic in irvine does one from time to time. i understand that their friday night lindy has really taken off since they opened. too far of a drive for me on a friday night though, especially when lindygroove is 5 minutes away the night before.

Atomic is just a few miles away for me. I got a little of "Lindy rueda" in a walk-in class once and their dance team does some in a routine they do. Basically, it's usually when the other guy has sent her out into open position that you pick her up with your right hand on her back for a rock step, like in Fourplay.

But what they do before the Friday night dance is a kind of an ECS class to introduce everybody to the basic 6-count rhythm and basic step (some absolute beginners do show up at times) and then he turns it into a kind of rueda in which we lead the girl to our left during the rock step and pick the next one up during the triples just in time for the next rock step -- pretty much just the "dame una", though I think he says "pass her". It's been a while, since we're usually finishing up elsewhere (a WCS class) and after the first couple times we don't get anything new out of the "rueda".

BTW, Jerry has also subbed as the caller in the Thursday (Salsa) night rueda mini-class.

[DWise1]

Actually, fourplay/mass-confusion is a line dance of sorts, since it consists of a specific set of steps that everybody has to dance or else it won't work. Of course, as with some line dances, you can throw in extra turns here and there.

It's the rueda-style dances that can vary depending on what the caller calls out.

Then it's a sequence dance!

Yes, if that's what you call it over there (eg, "elevator" vs "lift", "suspenders" vs "braces"). Whether or not the proper term on this side of the pond would also be "sequence dance", I think we tend to call them "line dances" because of Country Western line dancing that enjoyed a high degree of popularity about 10-15 years ago.

But it's the same idea that there is an established choreography that everyone needs to know in order to do the dance.

Bumper sticker I saw one day: "Line Dancing: what happens when cousins breed."


There are a couple of dances in Scottish country dancing that involve everyone in the room exchanging partners and they're great fun and very social, I'd love to try something like this.

Although you'll sometimes have a caller at ceilidhs, it's usually because there are inexperienced dancers there who need to be reminded of the steps, and they'll usually walk everyone through the sequence at the beginning. So a ceilidh band at a wedding will typically have a caller because there will be guests who don't know the repertoire. In situations where everyone knows the dances these are usually dispersed with.

We did some Scottish country dancing years ago and I remember well the exchanging of partners, though in that case it normally involved the partners being lined up across from each other and stepping towards each other at the appropriate times. I think our first and main dance was "Strip the Willow" and a lot of the students, including my then-wife, had trouble keeping it all straight.

A year later at a family camp-out, they had a square dance in the barn and the dance we did there was very similar to "Strip the Willow" and some of the other dances we had learned. And, yes, I know that a lot of that music and dance tradition came almost straight from Scotland (whose principal export has been Scots, as we were reminded at one Highland game).

[Ms_Sunlight]

Yes, if that's what you call it over there (eg, "elevator" vs "lift", "suspenders" vs "braces"). Whether or not the proper term on this side of the pond would also be "sequence dance", I think we tend to call them "line dances" because of Country Western line dancing that enjoyed a high degree of popularity about 10-15 years ago.

But it's the same idea that there is an established choreography that everyone needs to know in order to do the dance.

Bumper sticker I saw one day: "Line Dancing: what happens when cousins breed."

Hehehehe. I know a man who used to do very well at amateur competetive line-dancing and now judges competitions. He says you can't fault it -- lots of freebie trips where you get to watch lots of young girls in tight outfits and boots.

I hope he's a bit more professional when he's actually judging!

:D


We did some Scottish country dancing years ago and I remember well the exchanging of partners, though in that case it normally involved the partners being lined up across from each other and stepping towards each other at the appropriate times. I think our first and main dance was "Strip the Willow" and a lot of the students, including my then-wife, had trouble keeping it all straight.

A year later at a family camp-out, they had a square dance in the barn and the dance we did there was very similar to "Strip the Willow" and some of the other dances we had learned. And, yes, I know that a lot of that music and dance tradition came almost straight from Scotland (whose principal export has been Scots, as we were reminded at one Highland game).

Well yeah, there's hardly any of them left in Scotland!

Strip the Willow's a very energetic dance and can be fun but it's not the easiest to start out with. The most fun dance to do where you dance with different people is probably The Dashing White Sergeant where a guy dances with two girls or a girl with two guys, and the sets of three circle the room in opposing directions dancing with other sets of three.

Mind you, where I come from (rural Aberdeenshire) being able to do at least a handful of these dances is considered a basic social skill and you do get opportunities to do them socially. And yes, it is also the product of what happens when you let cousins breed. And some of those cousins are sheep.

:D :D :D

[pix]

Do you know of any sites that have video clips on this? A few of my friends have started 'stealing' partners recently, but so far that's just with one follow and two leads.

[SuzieQ]

My husband and I got to do this a couple of weekends ago--lots of fun! Makes for a fun mixer.

[DWise1]

About half a year ago, a friend and I did it with another couple. That friend is also very active in salsa and rueda and had taught me and her boyfriend some rueda moves, including "Zipper" (with a very slight jump forward, plant both feet as you lean back a bit and zip up your zipper -- as in a guy's fly).

So we danced fourplay to the end of the song at which point she called out "Zipper!" and we both did the move. Totally confused the other couple. Which is the effect that you want with fourplay, after all.

[tsb]

OK, get your mind out of the gutter . . . its not spelled FOREPLAY!

question: what's foreplay?
punchline: about 30 seconds (when you're married)