Ballroom Blitz #111

Video

youtu.be/z1FwYxD8A28

Transcript

Ian: Hey guys and girls from the inter-webs. My name's Ian,

Lindsey: and my name's Lindsey,

Ian & Lindsey: and welcome to Ballroom Blitz.

Lindsey: Hello, lovely ballroom dancers, welcome back to another ballroom blitz. We're in the Latin world today, we're going to be looking at a cha cha move. It's the Hockey Stick, and we're going to spice it up with an alternate finishing position.

Now, the Hockey Stick is actually a figure that we have had to look at before, but previously we were looking at it in the Rumba. As you know, a lot of figures will transfer from the Rumba to the Cha Cha and vice versa, with just a couple of little tweaks. So what we'll do is we'll put the link for the Rumba Hockey Stick, down below in the description, so you can have a look at that to recap. But we are going to be adding in that, Chasse action, turning it into a Cha Cha, and like we said, giving it a slightly different position at the end.

[Demonstration without Music]

Lindsey: As you can see from the starting position, we begin this move in fan. So, it's one of your options, the Alemana is another, those are the two big ones; the Alemana and the Hockey Stick. So this one is the Hockey Stick. The leader leads the follower in front of them, turns them round to the left. But we are, instead of ending in an open position with our partners sort of square with each other Ian sort of turn it a little bit more so that we would be ready for something like a New York instead at the end of it.

So let's have a look at the leader steps first.

Ian: Leaders link in the description for the Rumba version of the Hockey Stick, so we're going to go over the basics here, but if you feel that you need a little bit more check out that video as well it will give you all the base points. As already mentioned, we start in same position. So we have just moved to the side. You've got your weight settled on your right foot, your, partner out in the standard, Fan position.

Your footwork, you're going to step forward, full weight, rocking back full weight, and then you do have cha options here for your chasse. Just start with a nice compact chasse Four-and-One, that replaces your Four-One of your Rumba. If you'd like to then upgrade it to a Ronde Chasse or something else, I'll leave that up to you. But you have returned your weight to your left foot, just like in the Rumba version, leaving your, right foot free to move next. You are still going to Cuban Cross, and you're still going to be careful not to make this a back step. That will make it very hard for your partner and the move gets too unruly. So, a nice compact Cuban Cross turning your body about one eighth [1/8] or 45 degrees, and then you are going to step forward on your left along that same line. So your two and three of the second bar is Cuban Cross on two, small walk forward on three, and here is where, we're going to change our finishing position.

Ian: If you want the stock standard version, at that point you would turn the follower as per the Rumba version, and Cha forward with your forward chasse, they would do a backward chasse, and you would enter your open position. Here though, we're going to spice it up a little bit. So we're going to take a look at the arm work, review it for the first part, and then the second part to make sure that we can lead that alternate finishing position correctly. So, if we examine the arm work, feet are exactly the same as what we have just done. I'm going to inspire my follower to close their feet with a small push out as I take my first Two step. As I rock back on Three, I'm going to inspire them to walk forward. These are pretty stock standard versions for any figure commencing in Fan. Here, as I do my compact chasse, I am going to make it very clear that I want the follow to chasse in front of me. So I'm going to take my follower here, and I'm going to Four-and-One, and I'm going to imagine that there's a blinding light that I am blocking out here. This creates a very different position from our Alemana, as Lindsey mentioned, the other main option from fan for social dancers. Your Alemana should be over here, your Hockey Stick here, and if there's not that much distance between them leaders, you're not doing your job properly.

Ian: So they have been Chassed to here. They would almost be blocking you if they were in front of me now, you wouldn't be able to see me from the camera because that's where my follow is. After the Four-and-One, I'm ready to use my right as we've said. As I Cuban cross, I have turned an eighth [1/8] I'm going to inspire my follower to turn and eighth [1/8] with a slight, lead forward. That means that their left foot would move and turn forward with their walk. We're going to walk in tandem here, and after taking this walk on the Three, but before the Four-and-One step, I am going to drop my hand to turn my follow. This gets them to face me, in the basic version, and in this alternate finishing position, I'm going to turn them ever so slightly more and instead of Cha-ing towards them, I'm going to Cha down the line. Well, not down the line, I'm going to Cha in Open Counter Promenade Position, as if to do a New York taking my hand in that direction. Four-and-One. A locking Cha, I think is best in this particular situation. That inspires the follow to move in Counter Promenade Position.

It turns them a little bit more in their spiral action, which Lindsey you will go over in a moment, and then we will have done the same Hockey Stick, the same guts of it, overturned it slightly, and gone to that alternate finishing position. So altogether, as a rough once over for the leader steps, we have:

[Demonstration of Leaders steps]

Lindsey: Followers, we have just done a move that has sent us backward with a Cha Cha action, a Chasse action, on our left foot into Fan Position. So this is where I'm starting, weight backwards on my left, ready to move my right. The leader's movement of the hand will inspire me, and also I'll know because I'm in Fan position, this is what I always do, to close my Right foot to my Left. You can put a little bit of an inverted ronde in there if you want to be fancy, but what we want to do is bring our right foot up underneath us and switch our weight onto it. That's beat Two.

Beat Three, I am walking forward on my left foot, and then I've got my chasse I action. It's just a forward little chasse which will end me in front of the leaders. So, the leaders will have done their sort of, blocking their eyes from the sun move there, and that will inspire me to shift my chasse forward in front of them. As they do the Cuban cross that's going to change my angle slightly, so I've been all on the one line at this point.

They're Cuban cross will make me turn an eighth [1/8] or 45 degrees to my left as I take that next step. So it will be Two; walking forward on the left. Nothing will change really about my position here for this next step, so I'll take my next step along that line, Three. That's my right foot, but this is where the leader's hand will drop down and I will turn. This is quite usual for a Hockey Stick, but as Ian said, he will take me slightly further and I will end up in this sort of dapper cross legged position, in a spiral position. I haven't changed my weight though. My weight is still on my right, and then I will be guided to do my last chasse ready on my left foot, forward, Left-a-Left for my Four-and-One.

We should be in a nice Counter Promenade Position, ready for something like a New York. So the following steps again I have:

[Demonstration of Followers Steps]

[Demonstration with Counts]

[Demonstration with Music]

Lindsey: There you go dancers, the Hockey Stick in the Cha Cha. So, remember that this move does and certainly can end in open position, where we're facing each other. Leader chasse-ing forward, follower chasse-ing backwards. So the one that we just showed you is an alternate for you to play around with. So try it out on the social floor, see how you go with it. Let us know what else you'd like to say and we will catch you next time.

Ian: Well, that's it for this blitz boys and girls. Don't forget to like,

Lindsey: comment,

Ian: share,

Lindsey: and subscribe.

Ian: See you next time.