Light Arm Rock vs Rough-house Rock
Posted by: Gareth on: 00/00/0000 Category: general
Light arm rock vs rough-house rock
Dance with her? No way! She'd rip the wings off a jumbo jet! Is he dancing with that woman or is he trying to beat her up? As light as a ton of bricks.
In Australia in the early 1970s there was a television comedy show called Aunty Jack that featured a rather rough pretend female whose favourite saying was "I'll rip yer bloody arms off!" (See below). We have some Aunty Jacks in the dancing community. There are women and men who seem to treat Rock 'n' Roll dance as an exercise in attempted dismemberment.
In energetic dances such as Rock n Roll, people can and do get hurt. People sustain injuries to their shoulders, arms, wrists, hands and fingers. I have seen a woman with a broken wrist and I have seen a woman bang her head solidly on the floor after a fall caused by some rough dancing on the part of a man. I have seen a heavy-set man with a shoulder injury caused by one or more women flinging their weight outwards against his arm. I have witnessed a small woman virtually picked up and flung dangerously about to the point where she cried out for the man to stop.There's no need for any of these things. Some people like to put a great deal of energy into their dancing and some women do like to fling themselves about with strong male partners. These women and men often find that only a daring few will agree to dance with them.
In one of the worst examples I have seen, a beginner male Rock 'n' Roll dancer shaped up on the dance floor to begin dancing with a stance and facial expression identical to those of someone about to knock down a brick wall with a sledge hammer. When the music started he and his partner careered wildly into other dancers. He was abused for his efforts and left the dance floor in a stink. Such people remind me of novice golfers who shape up on the tee and try to hit the ball from here to Kingdom Come. They apply no finesse, just raw, uncontrolled energy. They fail dismally. If they hit the ball at all it just dribbles off the tee. Some people's dancing does much the same. It goes nowhere fast!
The secret to great dancing is mastery over movement. Energy is required, but it has to be properly channelled. The best dancing to watch and to participate in is smooth, free-flowing and gentle, never aggressive or jerky. The man and woman work with each other, not against each other. Wild and woolly dancing may feel good to some but it's not visually appealing. There are people who are convinced that they look great when they dance while onlookers classify them as "rough as guts" and label them with unflattering nick-names. Most regular dancers know well that if you dance too close to some individuals you're likely to be crashed into heavily and repeatedly.
My own preferred light arm style certainly isn't for everybody. I dance extremely light in the hands and arms so that my partner and I are just in contact with each other. In fact, I personally like my partner's arms to be nearly as loose as a rag doll. Other men ask how a woman can possibly dance like that. I don't believe it's that hard for most women if they are given a chance and they are willing to try. The woman propels herself with her legs instead of pushing and pulling against the man with her arms. She also balances herself with her body instead of relying on a desperate grab of the man's hands to stop herself from toppling over.
This style may seem a bit extreme but its drawn from experience and its good for instruction purposes. While dancing with a number of extremely good female dancers I noticed that their leg-work is vastly better than that of poorer dancers and their ability to balance themselves with just their legs and bodies while they are in motion is far superior. Their arm-work may be a bit stronger than I personally like it but its not uncomfortable. I noticed while dancing with many less capable women dancers that their arm-work tends to be a lot more powerful but their leg-work and their ability to balance themselves tends to be sadly lacking. I also noticed that they get fatigued much more easily. Many of them need to rest after just a few songs. You don't become a good dancer sitting on your backside.
I deduced that while learning to dance, many women develop excessive arm-work at the expense of adequate leg-work. This no doubt comes from dancing with men who tend to fling them around a lot. Some women seem to propel themselves almost completely by pushing and pulling with their arms. This greatly increases the risk of injury. Since the arms are a lot less powerful than the legs, it also helps to explain the fatigue problem. I have also noticed that when I deliberately give some of these women almost no help from my hands to spin and turn, many of them quickly learn to propel themselves with their legs. Their ability to balance themselves also improves markedly.
I don't expect my light arm Rock 'n' Roll to cause a worldwide revolution. In fact, I doubt if many men beside myself will adopt it. Nor that many women will go along with it, since they still have to dance with other men who are far more powerful in their arms than I am. I developed this style because I like to dance with my arms and shoulders extremely relaxed. Hence I am liable to injury if a woman tightens her arms up too much and/or flings her weight outwards against my arms. I have been told that my style is pleasing to watch and it feels very enjoyable to perform. That is good enough for me.
It's not necessary to take things to the same degree that I have, but quite a few regular Rock 'n' Rollers would do very well to practice some light arm work and be a bit gentler in their movements. Don't be an Aunty Jack!