Ballroom Blitz #020

Video

youtu.be/ZejrlhhjcvA

Transcript

Ian: Hey guys and girls of the interwebs I'm Ian,

Lindsey: and I'm Lindsey,

Ian & Lindsey: and this is the Ballroom Blitz.

Ian: Welcome back blitzers, today we are blitzing this thing called the Rotary Chasse. It's the first time we've delved into sequence dancing in one of these blitz... es... But, it is something that is worth going over. It does crop up in a number of sequence dances of various sorts. So, let's take a look.

Okay so, a rotary Chasse well what is it?

It's a chasse arrangement of steps so a quick-quick-slow of the form step-together-step that, as advertised, rotates. Please do not call this a Chasse Waltz. That is the most confusing term ever. If you're going to dance the waltz you need a timing of one-two-three. If you're dancing quick-quick-slow it is NOT a Waltz. So, Rotary Chasses are not "Chasse Waltzes". "Chasse Waltzes" don't exist! Now after that little pet peeve, let's have a look at the actual steps.

Ian: So, for the keen eyed among you, you will see that move it does have a lot of similarities with something like a Viennese Waltz specifically the natural turn of a Viennese Waltz. But it does have a few very key differences that make it a rotary Chasse.

One of the similarities though that we will focus on right now is the fact that it has two halves. It has a forward half and it has a backward half and they are basically mirror images of one another and if you are performing the backward half then your partner's performing the forward half, and then you essentially swap to get the rotation. Let's break this type of chasse down before we get into the rotation. A chasse has to be quick-quick-slow, step-close-step. But the steps can go in any direction. What we're going to do with the two halves of a Rotary Chasse is dance:

[Demonstration of Chasse]

Ian: Those are your two halves. Now what we have to do is learn how to rotate. In a nutshell the easiest way to rotate your rotary chassis is to imagine when you are taking your slow step you are walking. And, when you walk you don't walk in circles you walk in straight lines, and when you're dancing you dance around the room. So, if you're walking in straight lines around line of dance, that will get you rotating, initially, it's a good place to start; like so.

[Demonstration of Rotation]

Ian: For the observant among you you will note that the walking down the line steps happens on the slow, which means for whoever's coming forward which will alternate between lead and follow it is a driving power step.

[Demonstration of with counts]

[Demonstration to music]

Ian: And that is it a blitz through the rotary Chasse that is NOT a waltz. It crops up in March Rhythms, Foxtrot Rhythms and it can even be adapted into some Tango Rhythms as well. So, it is quite prevalent in a lot of the sequence dancing. Try it out give it a go hit us up for any comments or more information and we will see you in the next one.