Results 1 to 17 of 17

Thread: Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

  1. #1
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Sussex by the Sea
    Posts
    9,276
    Rep Power
    15

    Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor on the class line etiquette thread
    Quote Originally Posted by Gav View Post
    front corner where the "spare" ladies (awful expression, I know) gather and ask someone to join me.
    I do everything I can to avoid saying "spare ladies". I call them "ladies in waiting" I usually put out a line of chairs and call them my ladies in waiting chairs - I keep the name when there's guys over, "move round 3 guys and the guys coming off the end of row 26 please come and sit in the ladies in waiting chairs" sometimes a joke never wears out
    Does anybody have any other alternatives to calling them "spare ladies"?

  2. #2
    Ceroc N.I. Franchise Owner drathzel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Bridport, Dorset!
    Posts
    8,175
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    Does anybody have any other alternatives to calling them "spare ladies"?
    The lovely ladies at the side

  3. #3
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Sussex by the Sea
    Posts
    9,276
    Rep Power
    15

    Re: Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

    Quote Originally Posted by drathzel View Post
    The lovely ladies at the side
    I like the idea of having 10 lovely women on the side

  4. #4
    Ceroc N.I. Franchise Owner drathzel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Bridport, Dorset!
    Posts
    8,175
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    I like the idea of having 10 lovely women on the side
    most men do!

  5. #5
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    South
    Posts
    5,424
    Blog Entries
    22
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

    Some classes space the "spare" ladies out throughout the lines so there are no "spare" ladies.

    If you do this, please make sure that there's one lady waiting to join the first row so that the poor guy at the front isn't left on his own while the next rotation starts without him because the last lady has 1/2 a mile to walk to get to him.

  6. #6
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Sussex by the Sea
    Posts
    9,276
    Rep Power
    15

    Re: Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Gav View Post
    Some classes space the "spare" ladies out throughout the lines so there are no "spare" ladies.

    If you do this, please make sure that there's one lady waiting to join the first row so that the poor guy at the front isn't left on his own while the next rotation starts without him because the last lady has 1/2 a mile to walk to get to him.
    I do this in intermediate lessons where there's room. I call it the ladies in the gaps rotation and it takes constant management. The problem with it is that the lady that comes off the end doesn't always appear to be the one lady waiting to come back on. I think she stops on her half mile walk and has a chat, goes to the loo, etc. I have to keep getting other ladies from the gaps to be guy number 1's partner - probably on every second or third rotation in my experience.

    The ladies in the gaps works much better when you are teaching in a circle. I would rather not use it for classes in lines as it is such a pain with the management of disappearing ladies. However, it does mean that the class runs faster because one lady on is quicker than 13 ladies on.

  7. #7
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Worcester, UK
    Posts
    4,157
    Rep Power
    12

    Re: Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

    "extra followers"
    "women over"

  8. #8
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    bedford
    Posts
    4,899
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    I do this in intermediate lessons where there's room. I call it the ladies in the gaps rotation and it takes constant management. The problem with it is that the lady that comes off the end doesn't always appear to be the one lady waiting to come back on. I think she stops on her half mile walk and has a chat, goes to the loo, etc. I have to keep getting other ladies from the gaps to be guy number 1's partner - probably on every second or third rotation in my experience...
    If there are even number of rows you can pair the rows and have the lady off row 2 coming onto row 1, and off row 4 onto row 3. Very little room to "get lost".
    Last edited by bigdjiver; 13th-September-2007 at 12:38 PM. Reason: beautifully constructed ascii diagram lost alignment

  9. #9
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Sussex by the Sea
    Posts
    9,276
    Rep Power
    15

    Re: Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver View Post
    If there are even number of rows you can pair the rows and have the lady off row 2 coming onto row 1, and off row 4 onto row 3. Very little room to "get lost".
    This is true and would work in some venues. However, the venue I mosly do this has a bit of a Catch 22. I can have 4 lines quite comfortably. But putting the ladies in the gaps makes it a bot crowded so I need to change to 3 lines.

    I've tried getting the last guy in Line 3 to tell the lady coming off that she's needed at the front. This works until some other guy joins the end of row 3. This usually means he grabs the lady coming off as well. And, yet another time, I have to find a lady from the gaps for guy number 1. And, as the new "last guy" hasn't been briefed he lets the ladies wander about at random.

  10. #10
    Registered User spindr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Brizzle
    Posts
    1,617
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    Does anybody have any other alternatives to calling them "spare ladies"?
    Loose women?

    SpinDr

  11. #11
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Waltham Abbey
    Posts
    5,534
    Rep Power
    12

    Re: Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

    Quote Originally Posted by spindr View Post
    Loose women?
    If that Carol McGiffin starts jiving, I'm off to Salsa classes.

  12. #12
    Registered User frodo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Posts
    1,156
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    Does anybody have any other alternatives to calling them "spare ladies"?
    I'd prefer 'additional' men/ladies. Not strictly correct in that it doesn't mean spare or over, but the word is at the positive end of the spectrum and likely to be understood.

  13. #13
    Registered User NZ Monkey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Auckland, NZ
    Posts
    1,109
    Rep Power
    9

    Re: Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    I do this in intermediate lessons where there's room. I call it the ladies in the gaps rotation and it takes constant management. The problem with it is that the lady that comes off the end doesn't always appear to be the one lady waiting to come back on. I think she stops on her half mile walk and has a chat, goes to the loo, etc. I have to keep getting other ladies from the gaps to be guy number 1's partner - probably on every second or third rotation in my experience.

    The ladies in the gaps works much better when you are teaching in a circle. I would rather not use it for classes in lines as it is such a pain with the management of disappearing ladies. However, it does mean that the class runs faster because one lady on is quicker than 13 ladies on.
    This is exactly how things are usually run in NZ, and I have to admit that I thought it was completely backward when I found out the common opinion was that "filling in the gaps" required too much management and was really messy when I was in London. It had virtually never been a problem where I came from and as Andy says - it makes the classes move faster. It also has the added advantage of meaning you really do get to dance with everyone and not just every fourth or sixth person which occasionally happens.

    I guess it's more a case of what the punters are used to than anything else. I suspect if we were to have a line of ladies in waiting here in Auckland it'd be confusing moving them all on a number greater than 1 for a while.

  14. #14
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Nottingham
    Posts
    1,541
    Rep Power
    9

    Re: Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

    I never say "Spare Ladies"... I was Ceroc trained

  15. #15
    Registered User Daisy Chain's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    By the stage
    Posts
    955
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    Does anybody have any other alternatives to calling them "spare ladies"?

    Wallflowers?

    The Unwanted?

    The Rubbish? (A teacher at one of the venues in the Bath area refers to "The Ladies in the Bin")
    Last edited by Daisy Chain; 19th-September-2007 at 12:12 PM.

  16. #16
    Registered User Tessalicious's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Kentish Town
    Posts
    1,650
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

    Surely the best alternative to spare ladies is to get more men?

  17. #17
    Registered User nebula's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Norfolk
    Posts
    349
    Rep Power
    9

    Re: Alternatives to "Spare Ladies"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    Does anybody have any other alternatives to calling them "spare ladies"?
    One of the teachers up here simply says "ladies without partners"

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Jive Bar alternatives?
    By DaveD in forum Social events
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 20th-May-2004, 10:46 PM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •