Gainesville Ocala Israeli and Folk Dance Newsletter 2015-01-12

Israeli Dancing Tonight, Contra Dance Saturday, Vintage Waltz Sunday, Followers Must Follow

Hello and Gainesville Ocala Israeli and Folk Dancers,

Join our small group for Israeli Dancing tonight, Monday, at 7 pm for circle dances at B'nai Israel, 3830 NW 16 Blvd. $5. Or come from 8 to 8:30 for Israeli Partner Dances for free. Usually we are in the social hall around the left side. If we are not there, go around the right side, to the back entrance.

This upcoming weekend is the third Saturday Contra Dance at the Boltin Center, 516 NE 2 Avenue. Cost is $8. No experience needed. No partner needed. If you just want to dance and have fun, without having to take classes for years, this is the dance for you. There is a lesson at 6:30, dancing starts at 7. Come at 5:30 for social waltzing.

Speaking of waltzing, the Vintage Waltz Brunch is on Sunday at 10:30 at the Movement, 1212 N Main Street. $10

Sign up now for Line Dancing at the Senior Center, which starts January 22. Also, sign up now for Line Dancing and Square Dancing in Hawthorne, which starts Tuesday, February 3 and runs for 4 weeks. Sign up by calling Jennifer 352-395-5193 or visit Santa Fe College Community Education.

See below for an article on following.

Happy Dancing,
Andy

publish@gainesvilledance.com
352-327-3672

Dance Calendar for Gainesville and Ocala

www.DanceCalendar.info/u/event.asp?idarea=19

Note: if you do not see the calendar in color, click the compatibility view in your browser. In Internet Explorer, press alt-t, then check Compatibility View.

Dance Quotes

Life is full of surprises and serendipity. Being open to unexpected turns in the road is an important part of success. If you try to plan every step, you may miss those wonderful twists and turns. Just find your next adventure - do it well, enjoy it - and then, not now, think about what comes next. ~ Condoleeza Rice, 1954-present

Dance Schedule

Confirm all programs before going

1. Monday 1/12 - English Country Dancing
2. Monday 1/12 - Israeli Dancing with Andy
3. Tuesday 1/13 - Square Dancing with Lon Ligon
4. Thursday 1/15 - Israeli Dancing with Kol Simcha
5. Saturday 1/17 - Contra Dance
6. Sunday 1/18 - Vintage Waltz Brunch
7. Thursday 1/22 - Line Dancing with Andy at the Senior Center 1 of 6
8. Thursday 1/22 - Beginning Argentine Tango with Andy 1 of 6
9. Thursday 1/22 - Beginning Salsa Dancing with Andy 1 of 6
10. Friday 1/23 - International Folk Dancing
11. Sunday 02/01 - Contra Dance
12. Tuesday 2/03 - Line Dancing with Andy in Hawthorne 1 of 4
13. Tuesday 2/03 - Square Dancing with Andy in Hawthorne 1 of 4
14. Friday 2/13 - Contra Dance in Melrose

Ongoing Dancing

• Line Dancing with Terrie Nielsen, beginner and intermediate, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30 to 7 pm, at Trinity Methodist Church on NW 53 Avenue, $3, terrienielsen59@aol.com

Classes with Andy

To sign up for classes offered via Santa Fe College Community Education (SFC) call Jennifer 352-395-5193 or visit www.sfcollege.edu/cied/communityed

1. Israeli Dancing at 7 pm, Israeli Partner Dancing at 8 pm, on Mondays at B'nai Israel, 3830 NW 16 Blvd, only $5, drop in, no sign up required, ongoing.
2. Line Dancing on Tuesdays at 6 pm at Hawthorne High School, sign up via SFC. Next series starts February 3, 2015
3. Square Dancing on Tuesdays at 7 pm at Hawthorne High School, sign up via SFC. Next series starts February 3, 2015
4. Line Dancing on Thursdays at noon at the Senior Center, sign up via SFC, ongoing. Next series starts January 22, 2015
5. Beginning Argentine Tango Dancing on Thursdays at 6 pm at Gainesville High School, sign up via SFC, ongoing. Next series starts January 22, 2015
6. Beginning Salsa Dancing on Thursdays at 6 pm at Gainesville High School, sign up via SFC, ongoing. Next series starts January 22, 2015
7. Private Lessons, classes for Novice Dancers, Wedding Dances, also for Argentine Tango, Contra, Hustle, Lindy, Line, West Coast Swing, Vintage Waltz contact Andy

Article: Followers Are to Follow No Matter How Good Or Bad the Leader Is

Saw some followers helping, or worse, arguing, with leaders recently in a few different places. This always happens in my new beginner classes. Thought I would share a little from my book How to Dance with a Partner on this subject.

"Anyone who knows anything about partner dancing knows, what makes a woman a good dancer is she follows the man's lead, no matter how good or bad he is," ~ Mona, hustle dance instructor

Why does the woman follow the man?

You learned the technical reason of why to follow, which is so you can dance as one with your partner. While you may suppose this is the only reason, the more important reason you follow is the emotional reason.

Whenever you engage with another person, you are going to have times when you disagree, sometimes over important issues. You have already learned that dancing happens too fast for negotiation, so only one person's will can prevail. That has to be the leader's, because of the leader's responsibilities. The leader is responsible for the couple as a whole.

You have one responsiblity, follow the leader. You must acquiesce to the leader on all points that do not have to do with safety, courtesy or comfort. Otherwise you are going to have a fight and there is no fighting in social dancing.

... The man has a difficult job. He is under pressure to lead a dance for about three minutes. When he asks you to do something, he asks you because this is what he feels he needs you to do for you both to have a better experience. You should do it.

... While the man has all the responsibility he can handle, your only job is to follow. This is hard enough without taking on the leader's responsibilites too.

You cannot and should not try to help the leader. The leader can only do what he can do. He may already be at his limit, even if he does not seem that way. You do not know which of the many things the leader is focusing on. When you try to assist the leader, you overload him, stressing him out and making him want to quit. When I dance the follower's role, I do not help the leader, even when I am the teacher.

... Why did we spend so much time telling followers to follow? Because followers do not follow! If you do not follow, there is no point to moving on to learning how to communicate unambiguously, because you will not be able to do it.

I help out in Kay's novice ballroom class at the fitness center. Kay always says the followers must follow, yet two seconds later, half the wives are telling their husbands what to do.

Every book on and every teacher of partner dancing says followers must follow. Yet they do not, and I am not talking just about novices. ... Not following is common at every level, all the way up to the top. I was dancing West Coast swing with a professional and I was having a difficult time. She was gracious and a beautiful dancer, but she was so used to dancing with her regular partner, she was unaware that she was not following. She was turning her hand over and back, like some guys do, but not me, and she anticipated certain moves even though I led others.

Even those that do not know how to dance can get decent results if they follow. At my first Round dance, Doree said to me, "That was amazing, how did you pick up the dances so fast?"

"Lucky for me, Soojin does not know how to dance, so she had to follow me," I replied. "And every time she looked at another couple, I said to her, 'Don't look at anyone else, follow me.'."

"We are supposed to follow too," said Doree. "No one does, but we should."

If every teacher says followers are to follow, whose fault is it when followers do not follow and what can we do about it? The fault lies with the teachers. You cannot just say once or twice or ten times, that followers must follow. You must say it all the time. You must prioritize following. You must relentlessly drill following into followers. You must not tolerate not following. At any indication of not following, you must stop and make an example in front of the class.

When I hear a woman telling a man what to do, even if he asked her, I stop the class and I tell the women, your job is to follow, not help the man. The man is the captain of the ship. Your job is not to keep the ship from sinking. Your job is to go down with the ship.

Israeli Dances

See www.IsraeliDancing.info for videos to the Israeli dances we have been doing.

Line Dances

See www.LineDancing.info for videos to the line dances we have been doing.

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Andrew Weitzen, publish@gainesvilledance.com, 352-327-3672, Gainesville, FL