What are your Favorite Standard Dodgers?

caw

caw

Active Member
What are your favorite combinations of moves to use as dodgers to use in Standard that can not only get you out of a jam, but also put you back at your alignment and keep you on phrase to continue with your routine?

(From Man's perspective)
Facing DW, RF free
Facing DW, LF free

Facing DC, RF free
Facing DC, LF free

Backing LOD, RF free
Backing LOD, LF free
 
On standard nights, I try to make sure that at least at times during the evening that some time is spent dealing with unexpected situations... we get cut off, an entire section of the floor is blocked, someone literally runs into us (or the opposite!). It's easy to stop when something like this happens, but it helps to practice getting past it. It is also easy to feel pressured by other couples, and lose your timing or position in your attempts to navigate. I can't really say I have a clear plan for when there is a change of plan, but I have learned to get right back to material that we have practiced. You start to reach a point where it feels almost like social dancing and it is fun!
 
Most obstacles happen suddenly in front of me. I resort to dodging, dancing in place, backing away, or drastically changing trajectory. Basically, I choose moves with multiple options so we seldom have to simply stop.

Waltz: checked whisk, whiplash, slip pivots
Quickstep: fishtail and backwards fishtail.
Foxtrot: lilt, change of direction, over turned hover corte, or pivots.
Viennese waltz: fleckerls and contra check which allow multiple angles to exit.
Tango: turning quarter beats, back corte
 
Top spin x2 is the only one I can think of that I use to get back to the same alignment. But in syllabus my options are pretty limited, so haven't put much thought into it.

Once I do something different for navigation, it is not always possible to get back to the same alignment to continue with my routine. In these cases, I tend to revert to a different line. For instance if I'm in starting line 3 of my quickstep, but had to do a tipple chasse to get around a jam, now I'm in the wrong alignment, I might switch to my line 5, and maybe get back to line 3 later.
 
When on the social dance floor, I say "Alignments are advisory". If I'm stuck behind a herd of newbies on one side of the room, and I see that the other side of the floor is open and also that the center of the floor is not occupied, I'm taking a shortcut through the center r to an area less popular at that moment.

I'm a smooth guy, not standard. But still I think this would apply to standard when social dancing. Never saw any Gray Book police at a social dance.
 
Was this applicable for comps or social dance? Never mind. It applies to BOTH.

I know two competitors who regularly attempt to dance their routines at a social dance to enhance their skills at improvisation. They have built up quite a list of "bail out" moves and sequences to help get them back on track.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Dance Ads

Advertise on Dance Forums Reach dancers, teachers, studios, event organizers, and dance-friendly brands. View ad options
Back
Top