Floored and floorcraft

[JiveLad]

Last night at Finchley, I watched, whilst seated, a male dancer near the front, 'scythe' the legs from under a female (not his partner) - who promptly ended up on the floor.

This happened towards the end, when it had a thinned out (a bit) and maybe the guy (who is a very expressive dancer to say the least) thought he could go for it.

The 4 people involved stopped dancing to attend to the floored lady. I felt it was a difficult situation - and it was the first time I had seen anyone on the floor. A few questions going thru' my mind:

1. Should the music have been stopped at that moment? (it didn't). (On the next track, I saw a lady slip (no contact) and end up on the floor (so 2 in one night!) - maybe if the DJ had stopped and just said 'Be careful out there' - that might have helped).

2. Is there maybe a little more danger after a busy floor starts to thin out as people think there is more room than there actually is?

3. Should floorcraft be taught (eg. once a month at Ceroc lessons)? (For safety reasons)

4. If the lady in question had been seriously hurt (and that might have been the situation - although I think she was ok-ish - I hope so) - what would be the legal position?

I know this has probably been covered - but it was new for me.

[Lynn]

3. Should floorcraft be taught .Yes.

Some will work it out for themselves. Some will ignore it even if they are aware of it. But most would benefit from a little teaching and explanation on the subject.

[David Bailey]

Huh, I was at Finchley last night - first time in months for me, I have to say I didn't enjoy it... :sad:


Last night at Finchley, I watched, whilst seated, a male dancer near the front, 'scythe' the legs from under a female (not his partner) - who promptly ended up on the floor.
This is why teaching sweeps to most MJ-ers is like giving AK-47s to kids... :rolleyes:

You should never be taught sweeps until you understand the weight-transfer concepts. And you can't understand weight transfer until both halves of the couple understand leading and following. And as these are almost never taught - neither should sweeps be.

Sweeps, done properly, should be elegant and, well, sweep the lady's leg along. Hence the name. They're not kicks.


1. Should the music have been stopped at that moment? (it didn't). (On the next track, I saw a lady slip (no contact) and end up on the floor (so 2 in one night!) - maybe if the DJ had stopped and just said 'Be careful out there' - that might have helped).
Finchley floor is very fast anyhow - I slipped a bit once there myself last night, but managed to turn it into a nice glide-y movement :)


2. Is there maybe a little more danger after a busy floor starts to thin out as people think there is more room than there actually is?
Yeah, I noticed a distinct tendency by one or two couples to gallop around the room when food had been called - more so than I thought wise, certainly.


3. Should floorcraft be taught (eg. once a month at Ceroc lessons)? (For safety reasons)
Yes - and in every class, not "once a month"


4. If the lady in question had been seriously hurt (and that might have been the situation - although I think she was ok-ish - I hope so) - what would be the legal position?
Each Ceroc venue has liability insurance for injuries, so presumably that'd be covered there - although I dunno how that works in practice.

[MartinHarper]

Should the music have been stopped at that moment?

Nah. Worst injury from such things is usually the loss of dignity, so stopping the music would have made things worse. If it was serious, one of the 3-4 people attending the fallen lady could have alerted the DJ and/or surrounding dancers.


On the next track, I saw a lady slip (no contact) and end up on the floor (so 2 in one night!) - maybe if the DJ had stopped and just said 'Be careful out there' - that might have helped).

In that case, I'd say that a risk of falling is part of dancing. Shows that the dancers are doing more than pottering around the floor while holding hands.


This is why teaching sweeps to most MJ-ers is like giving AK-47s to kids...

I think JiveLad is talking about sweeps in the sense of ronde things, rather than Tango whatevers.

[David Bailey]

I think JiveLad is talking about sweeps in the sense of ronde things, rather than Tango whatevers.
Ahh - so it was an accidental thing?

I didn't see it, but I left before midnight anyway...

[MartinHarper]

Ahh - so it was an accidental thing?

Unless it was a new form of stealing.

[Tiggerbabe]

Unless it was a new form of stealing.
Tee hee, sounds like fun, but practice needed to catch the new partner before she hits the ground :respect:

[David Bailey]

Unless it was a new form of stealing.
Stealing gravity, it sounds like :grin:

[JiveLad]

Hi David - I guess you didn't see either of the falls - maybe you had gone by then?

Did you see the other earlier incident (which I missed - but someone told me about) - which was a major fracas between 2 women following a collision....shouting, and nearly coming to blows (apparently)?

I did chat with a guy called David (near the fan at the top right) - not sure if it was you though - as he is the guy the girls refer to as 'Ken Dodd' - he is a great dancer by the way.

[David Bailey]

Hi David - I guess you didn't see either of the falls - maybe you had gone by then?
I left around 11.30.


Did you see the other earlier incident (which I missed - but someone told me about) - which was a major fracas between 2 women following a collision....shouting, and nearly coming to blows (apparently)?
Nope, missed that too. The world passes me by...


I did chat with a guy called David (near the fan at the top right) - not sure if it was you though - as he is the guy the girls refer to as 'Ken Dodd' - he is a great dancer by the way.
Ken Dodd? :eek:

Almost certainly not me, I didn't do much chatting, I was hiding in the far corner (as you come in) mainly.

[jivecat]

I did chat with a guy called David (near the fan at the top right) - not sure if it was you though - as he is the guy the girls refer to as 'Ken Dodd' - he is a great dancer by the way.

:rofl: Which school of tact and diplomacy did you go to? :rolleyes: Can't be our Dave anyway, not enough hair, not sure about his tickling stick!