Pivot turns and penguin walks

[Sparkles]

One other point of note - when you're going to do this move don't think in your head: "Oh *****, I'm going to do that move now, I hope it doesn't all go horribly wrong!!!"
... because chances are you'll tense up, distort your frame and it won't work at all .

Just be confident, stay nice and relaxed and it'll all just happen, trust me

[Lory]

honourable mention to Lory (who was feeling under par at the time - and who'll be the first to quote that out of context??) where I felt the turns went so well I could barely stand up after coming out of them

Having had another go at this on Friday (I wasn't feeling underpar this time ) I would say, you've definitely got this move nailed

But, Can I be so bold as to give some constructive advice...

practice learning how to stop

[robd]

practice learning how to stop

But that's when the dizziness kicks in if we keep turning then I keep focussing on my partner and don't feel dizzy.

I must come across as obsessed with this move since I think you were expecting it to follow every first move turnout I did on Friday

[Sparkles]

I must come across as obsessed...

You? Nooooooooooo, surely not!

[Lory]

But that's when the dizziness kicks in if we keep turning then I keep focussing on my partner and don't feel dizzy.

And there's me thinking those little yelps, were yelps of pleasure

[Cruella]

But that's when the dizziness kicks in if we keep turning then I keep focussing on my partner and don't feel dizzy.

Is that why you only did one turn last night? So you didn't have to look at me to stop getting dizzy!

[robd]

Is that why you only did one turn last night? So you didn't have to look at me to stop getting dizzy!

Found out again!

Actually I thought I needed to get you back to Paul just in case a WCS track was imminent

[Dizzy]

{snip} So you didn't have to look at me to stop getting dizzy!

He didn't get me??!! Well ok, we have one dance

[Cruella]

:Actually I thought I needed to get you back to Paul just in case a WCS track was imminent

Sorry.

[Gav]

One other point of note - when you're going to do this move don't think in your head: "Oh *****, I'm going to do that move now, I hope it doesn't all go horribly wrong!!!"
... because chances are you'll tense up, distort your frame and it won't work at all .

Just be confident, stay nice and relaxed and it'll all just happen, trust me

Hopefully that might help me. It's a move I've always wanted to be able to do 'cos it looks so good when other people do it, but it always goes horribly wrong for me. I've done it in 2 or 3 lessons and managed to get through the whole lesson without getting it!
Did it again last night and thanks to some clever "backleading" (thx Bettie ), I finally got it.
It's gonna take some serious practising tho. I might have got the basics but I'm still struggling to get it flowing properly.

Oh and I now know that it doesn't just look good, it feels good too (before I get flamed for being pervy again , I don't mean the close contact, I mean moving quickly together as one!)

[robd]

I've had to slow down a little on the pivot turns lately

Unfortunately I have had a few problems with my right wrist which is exacerbated by the tension put on it during a pivot turn.

Interesting that

This move was also taught during Cat & Lee's recent Nightclub 2 step workshop, where emphasis was placed on rocking from heel to toe and back again as you pivot. (Probably not a very helpful explanation.)

as I believe (and have been informed by knowledgeable sources ) that I am maybe rocking back too much and lifting the toe on my right foot as we rotate thus sometimes catching the lady's foot and interfering with the smoothness of the move. I'll be concentrating on keeping the rocking action controlled and toe down (as well as keeping my shoulders down and relaxed) in future attempts and will see if this smooths out the action.

Robert

[MartinHarper]

So Last Sunday I had a Lindy workshop on Frame/Connection/Lead/Follow, which kinda covered pivot turns. I tried to see what the difference was between what I was taught there and a more MJ-style of the move. So:

1. Both dancers look "into the circle". So leader looks to his left, follower looks to her right.
2. Lots of emphasis on the follower connecting into the leader's right arm.
3. Quick rotation vs slow rotation, no rotation and reverse rotation, travelling vs on-the-spot, and pauses. Way too many variations to think about.
4. Space between the dancers. It's close, sure, but we're not talking about belly buttons touching.

Surprising how different a move can be just because it's done within a different dance.

[Franck]

So Last Sunday I had a Lindy workshop on Frame/Connection/Lead/Follow, which kinda covered pivot turns. I tried to see what the difference was between what I was taught there and a more MJ-style of the move. So:

1. Both dancers look "into the circle". So leader looks to his left, follower looks to her right.
2. Lots of emphasis on the follower connecting into the leader's right arm.
3. Quick rotation vs slow rotation, no rotation and reverse rotation, travelling vs on-the-spot, and pauses. Way too many variations to think about.
4. Space between the dancers. It's close, sure, but we're not talking about belly buttons touching.

Surprising how different a move can be just because it's done within a different dance.

Odd, as apart from the looking 'into the circle' bit, I would normally teach the above advice, especially the connecting to the leader's right arm and space between dancers.
I wouldn't cover all the above variations either as most people are still struggling to get into, maintain and exit the basic rotation.

[MartinHarper]

I would normally teach the above advice, especially the ... space between dancers.

Hmm, maybe. That isn't the advice given on this thread.
When I lead this stuff in MJ I do seem to end up with a lot of body contact. It mostly works fine, though. My recurring problem in MJ seems to be with followers who want to run round my right hand side during the turn - we end up almost running after each other, and it just doesn't work very well.

[Franck]

Hmm, maybe. That isn't the advice given on this thread.
When I lead this stuff in MJ I do seem to end up with a lot of body contact. It mostly works fine, though.

Yes, there is a lot of varying advice on the thread. The space thing comes from connecting with the lead's right hand. Many followers take the increase in connection as an invitation to get closer instead of balancing the compression. This doesn't mean that there 'must' be space for the move to work as you found out, once the connection is balanced (especially back to right hand) then it is possible to be very close, touching or not and have a perfect pivot / penguin. For most people who don't balance the connection naturally, telling them to keep space between them and their partners can help (in a 'lie to children' kind of way)

[kermit]

Is there a difference between pivot turns and penguin walks?

Would some kind person answer this little conundrum?