WEEK 9 - April 23rd 2008

Hey Everyone!! Good to see you all yesterday!

We love that all of you are really getting the hang of the cross-body lead. As you can see, week after week, we have given you variations on the cross-body lead, so you can see that it's a really versatile move, with lots of room for creativity.

Last night, we kicked things off with a merEngue (NOT merIngue as my autocorrect function would have me believe!) warm-up. Merengue is a great dance for getting confident and getting comfortable on the dance floor - small marching steps, with all the focus on those arms. Aside from anything else, it's a good laugh!

Our main move was the cross-body with followers rotation.

LEADS: Normal cross-body steps, but raising the left hand to lead the follower to turn on step 5.
Throw in a basic here, just to set yourself up for the next part.
Next, take a 2-hand hold and lead 1-3 of a basic, swinging the hands to your right (on count 1), then to your left (on count 2), and now raise your hands to allow the follower to turn (on count 3). Remember, you are still holding both hands of the follower, so you should end up with your hands crossed over.
Once the follower has completed the turn and faces you again (on counts 5 6 7), its time for your turn. You will be turning anticlockwise (turning toward your left shoulder) on counts 1 2 3 - now, both you and your follower are facing the same direction, and they are behind you.
Your followers hands are still above your head so lets lower the hands on counts 5 6 7, with some merengue marching action in the feet to keep us on time - you can be more creative at this point - and if you were in class last night, you'll know what I mean ;) !!
To get out of this, leaders, take a step to the right on 1 2 3, allowing your follower to come through the space on your left. Give them a little turn, leading with your left hand, and end by trailing that left hand over your head. This last part should fit into 5 6 7.
Now you're both facing each other, with either a 'your left to their right' hand hold, or a double hand hold, ready to start again.

Followers! We haven't forgotten you! Its tough on the leaders since they have to know what they are doing, PLUS what you are doing, so we like to make sure that we are very clear on what they need to do to lead you better. Okay, now your steps:

FOLLOWERS: 1 2 3 of a cross-body, getting ready to turn clockwise (over our right shoulder) on 5 6 7.
Normal basic (1 2 3, 5 6 7).
1 2 3 of a basic - the leader is preparing us to turn by swinging our hands to the left, then the right, then raising them high....which means of course, we turn! Our turn is again clockwise, and we make a full turn to end up facing the leader (5 6 7).
Then they do a turn, and to make sure we all stay on time, we're going to march in place while they turn (1 2 3), and then we both march in place for another three counts (5 6 7).
The leader steps to the side, giving us room to step through (1 2 3), and turns us clockwise (5 6 7) so that we are ready to start again.

Wow, that was complicated to write down, but as you know, its easier when you are dancing it. To slip this into a routine, start off with a normal basic, then a normal cross-body, now CROSS-BODY WITH FOLLOWER'S ROTATION (last nights move), finish off with a basic, and that's you!

Have a great week everyone, see you all next time. And don't forget, if you liked the music selection last night, we have it all on one CD now so just let us know if you are interested in a copy. CDs are available for a fiver.