Monday, June 08, 2009

Waltz - Whisk and Chasse

A lovely set of steps, and one of the more common ones in basic waltz, is a Whisk and Chasse.

Done after a reverse turn (possibly instead of the closed change that we put at the end of the natural and reverse turn sequence) or when you have your Left foot free, gents, Right foot for ladies, the Whisk and Chasse moves you along the floor and allows you to go into Promenade position - which we have not yet done in Waltz!

Leaders'/Men's Footwork

This step starts with your Left foot taking a small step forward (Count 1) and then a step directly to the side with your Right (Count 2) - do not put your heel down on this step! It is also a good thing to try to make your alignment at this stage to be directly facing to the wall nearest to you, as you will need to travel down the LOD which is hard to do if you are still on diagonal.

Pull your Left foot behind your Right foot so that your knees fit into each other and your toes are pointed away from each other. This will also mean that you open slightly into promenade position. As you transfer the weight onto your Left foot, lower the heel. (Count 3) This should also mean that you take all the weight off your Right foot, which ends up ready to take the next step forward. Those three beats are what make up the Whisk.

Next, you are going to take four steps over the course of three beats. This means that the timing is going to become "1, 2-and, 3". Step forward onto your Right foot, moving along the Line of Dance. (Count 1) Allow your body to naturally turn back to the diagonal as you take a step to the side (which ends up still being along the LOD) on Count 2. Close your Right foot to your Left foot on the "and" count, and then step forward and slightly side, now firmly back on the diagonal on Count 3.

You can now go into any natural figure! (You have your Right foot free and the easiest thing to do is to start your natural turn again!)

Followers'/Lady's Footwork

This step starts with your Right foot taking a small step backward (Count 1) and then a step directly to the side with your Left (Count 2) - do not put your heel down on this step! It is also a good thing to try to make your alignment at this stage to be directly backing to the wall nearest to you, as you will need to travel down the LOD which is hard to do if you are still on diagonal.

Pull your Right foot behind your Left foot so that your knees fit into each other and your toes are pointed away from each other. This will also mean that you open slightly into promenade position. As you transfer the weight onto your Right foot, lower the heel. (Count 3) This should also mean that you take all the weight off your Left foot, which ends up ready to take the next step forward. Those three beats are what make up the Whisk.

Next, the Chasse! You are going to take four steps over the course of three beats. This means that the timing is going to become "1, 2-and, 3". Step forward onto your Left foot, moving along the Line of Dance. (Count 1) Allow your body to naturally turn slightly to face your partner again as you take a step to the side (which ends up still being along the LOD) on Count 2. Close your Left foot to your Right foot on the "and" count, and then step backwards and slightly side, now firmly back on the diagonal on Count 3.

This can be followed with any Natural step... so for now, your natural turn!

Notes for Both the Leader and the Follower:

- Be aware of the size of your steps. Some of the steps should be taken smaller than others and a lot of the movement on the Chasse will depend on the speed of the music and the space available in front of you on the floor, to mention just two factors. Make the step dynamic by using different step lengths... i have tried to indicate which ones should always be kept small, but use your own descretion. Dance!!

2 comments:

  1. Great description

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  2. I'm preparing to weeding next month and your description is very helpful. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete