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I’m learning golf.

I’m also learning tango.

It’s fascinating that both of them have, at heart, the creation of a coil via twisting. Lindy Hop is much more focused on creating springy compression, but coil isn’t something I often did (was I doing it wrong?).

Golf’s coil is the famous backswing. You guide that left arm backward and around as your torso coils above your waist. Then the release: the torso swings forward, the arms follow, the wrists propel and the follow through digs the ball up and into the air (when you do it right).

Tango coils in its most basic pattern. You step back and pull the lady close. You step left and bound her by coiling to the left, you keep her coil bound by sliding your right foot to the outside of her, and hold the tension one more step with the left. You shift your weight and release the coil, her legs cross into the famous tango step of the same name. And then a slow, careful box step unwinds (yep, it’s a sexy dance).

I see coils all around.

Last night we went down to Austin Swing Syndicate’s Thursday night dance at the Fed. At 8:15 we took the introduction to Balboa lesson as given by 4 on the floor directors Matt Jones and Laura Malloy.

Laura has a fantastic way of explaining dances physically. She and Matt did a great bit where she said something like:

“You all know Charleston ( big exaggerated moves ) well, people liked it. But they made the music faster and more people came so the moves got faster, smaller, and closer ( same moves, but just tighter and faster ) and it got faster, and faster, and ( they start dancing Balboa ).”

It’s an interesting dance, it’s a bit more regal than the Lindy Hop’s exaggerated hoppity-hop rhythm. It was also a product of Orange County, CA, just like my favorite dance partner, who knew?

…and they’re doing it to “Sweet Georgia Brown”—pass the ball

This weekend the same talented pair will be teaching a workshop on Balboa at Austin’s Uptown Dance.

Afterwards was the main dance, it was one of my favorite co-student’s birthday, so I even dashed into the birthday circle to give her a birthday twirl. The other fun game that was played was called “Snowball”. You start with 2 people at the center of a circle, they dance until “Snowball” is called and then they each get 2 partners from the circle. Well, it gets bigger and bigger, and partners get harder and harder to come by, so it winds up becoming a mad dash for free partners.

Lauren and I booked out at 11:30, got home and a few snacks down the gullet, slept like the dead.