Okay, that covers all of our seven most-common not-too-difficult steps, we've suggested the chaparral cha-cha and alternative two-step near the end of the intermediate segment, and now it's time to offer and discuss six-count swing, alternative cha-cha, and possible misc-steps, none of which are too difficult by now, or at least some time in your future when you get around to them. This should give us a total of seven attainable main steps, and four more difficult or obscure steps, seven to eleven, and one more categary as a safety valve to do whatever else we might need to do---it should be no more difficult than the twelve-step program they offer to alcoholics and drug addicts. This should help you to be a totally versatile dancer who can adapt and improvise with a stranger on the western dance floor . . . to almost any decent danceable country-western song that's out there.
Six-count Swing---III
Again, I wish I knew more about measures and the way music is written, but some of the best musicians probably don't know any more than I do, and they get by with their instruments. The swing songs all through this manual are mostly four-count western swing songs, and this type is the most prevalent beat in country music. There is though---and don't panic---such a thing as six-count swing, as in the following songs: "The Fireman" and "Gone As a Girl Can Get"
by George Strait, "Bump Bounce Boogie" and "Boot-Scootin'
Boogie" by Asleep At the Wheel, and "Hey, Good Lookin'"
by Hank Williams Sr.
During the Big Band Era, the six-count swing beat in-
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volved something called the Lindy Shuffle, I believe, which is really a sort of Texas two-step done in a restrictive mode, as with footprints painted on the floor. The Texas two-step fits six-count swing in its timing and an exacting physical execution, and it may very well be what the authorities had in mind with their legislated Lindy Shuffle, but I don't think it fits emotionally---and dancing is emotional. Both the six-count swing rhythm-step and the Texas two-step require either three-quarters or one-n-one-half measures of music, whereas four-count swing and the Montana two-step take each measure right on. Now, in keeping with an outlaw spirit, I am not a big subscriber to the Lindy Shuffle; the heinsian six-count swing rhythm-step is simple, and it does not restrict the feet: "to-ge-e-ther, apart, to-ge-e-ther, apart"--
-simply stay together twice as long as you would in your normal four-count swing rhythm-step. On the "to-ge-e-ther,"
you do a right-footed triple-step, followed by a shift to your left toes and then to the heel---that left foot step could be considered one slow or two quicks on the same foot from toe to heel.
Some more faster classic six-count western swing songs, like "Get Your Kicks On Route 66" and "Beat Me, Daddy, Eight To the Bar" by Asleep At the Wheel, you're probably familiar with, but I don't recommend a steady diet of these for anyone trying to learn to dance---with these songs, you need to put it in overdrive and keep your RPMs up. Again, the reason I didn't mention the six-count swing until now is this: it might have kept many people from mastering four-count swing rhythm, which is so much more prevalent and way too neglected anyhow. And, again: to adapt six-count swing songs, all you need to do is stay together twice as long as you would in the four-count rhythm: lead with your right foot, as a horse would---you don't need the ball-n-chain rock-step of that Lindy Shuffle. ---Still I strongly prefer and recommend four-count swing over six-count swing songs for fine dancing; but, if you must do the six-count swing songs, it may be that they're just culturally more the style you're
The Art & Science of Western Swing--III -- 119
after, and I can understand that.
For the record---and I barely want to touch on this,---
there may be something out there called rockin' swing, both four-and six-count, which is really nothing more than swing songs done with a more up-beat flavor so as to make it questionable whether it's country or not, and these may be some of the songs that perpetuate too much runaway triple-step. Four-count rockin' swing is something a I personally don't subscribe to, but I'll list a few four-count rockin' swing songs, just so you get an idea of what I'm talking about:
"Steal of the Night" by George Strait, "Walk On and "Somebody Up There Likes Me" by Reba McEntire. . . . And six-count rockin' swing might include: "Every Time It Rains" by George Strait, "A New Love" and "Love Will Find Its Way To You" by Reba McEntire. Basically, what rockin' swing is . . .
is lively non-country music done by a country artist.
Chaparral Cha-cha---III
We got you going with the chaparral cha-cha back in the intermediate section. The step is easy, provided you have the right song and don't overdo the step all the way through:
"quick, quick, cha-cha-cha, quick, quick, cha-cha-cha."
There are more nice chaparral cha-chas than you can count, songs like: "If You're Ever Down-n-Out This Way Again" by Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers, "The Goodbye Girl" by David Gates, "Luchenbach, Texas" by Waylon Jennings, "Sweet Country Woman" by Johnny Duncan, and
"You Don't Have the Heart . . . To Break Mine In Two" by Charly McLain---we can't forget that one.
Remember, unlike your simpler and easier two-step beats, this step may be substituted a fair amount with Montana two-step, slow-dance, and fabulous one-step . . . in many given chaparral cha-cha songs. So your turns could be after a slow right if not after a right-side triple-step, . . . and they may be done during several quicks in a row---just be brave enough to experiment and follow the music.
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Alternative Two-step---III
We got you going with this step in the intermediate section. Mainly you just need a little time to let it grow on you.
It's "quick, quick, slow, . . . slow, . . . slow, . . ."---but, remember, you might need to slow dance several beats before you feel like you're starting out at the right time.
Here are a couple more alternative two-steps to think about:, "He Hurt Me Bad In a Real Good Way" by Patty Loveless, "One Promise Too Late" by Reba McEntire,
"Workin' For the Man and Me-n-You" and "You Could Know As Much About a Stranger" by Gene Watson.
Remember, you'll get extra credit for knowing when you are on your last slow right, the time you would think about starting any turns, if the song wants any.
Alternative Cha-cha---III
Okay, probably the most unknown viable step finally: the alternative cha-cha. Just as a chaparral cha-cha is about the same speed as a Montana two-step, only busier, . . . an alternative cha-cha is like a spiced up alternative two-step.
Here are some great alternative cha-chas, in my opinion:
"Morning Sun" by Carol King, or "Changes In Latitude" by Jimmy Buffet, or "Daylight Loving Time" by Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers, "What Do You Give the Girl Who Has Everything?" by Reba McEntire.
Our alternative cha-cha goes like this: "quick, quick, slow, . . . slow, . . . cha-cha-cha, quick, quick, slow, . . . slow, .
. . cha-cha-cha"---for a total of eight beats, I believe, compared with half as much for the quicker chaparral cha-cha.
It's a combination of the alternative two-step and regular cha-cha. Just take your alternative two-step . . . and replace that third slow with a triple-step, the same as we did to spice-up a Montana two-step to a cha-cha earlier; or take your chaparral cha-cha and add two extra slows in the middle of it. Another way to see it is as a Texas two-step with a triple-step added after it, which makes it an alternating step, half to the left and half to the right.
The Art & Science of Western Swing--III -- 121
Again, any swing moves you might do would probably come easiest after your right-side triple-step---but I won't be as strict on this as I am with the easier two-steps. This step is a little bit complicated in that it combines all three of our basic foundation steps: quicks, slows, and triples---this is our only combination step that does this so far, and this can be a lot to concentrate on in itself. But, since this step is so big, I would understand if you would lose it once in awhile during a song; so, if you ever need to get it back, you can maybe just either slow-step or triple-step an extra measure or two till it feels like a fresh beginning with your two quicks.
Again, it may be a good idea to not cha-cha all the time, probably doing the toned-down alternative two-step when there's a lull in the action.
Some of you might ask about the difference between a cha-cha and a polka or triple-step---think of it this way: when a triple-step comes at the end of a step, it's a cha-cha; when a triple-step comes at the beginning of a step, it's polka-mode.
Possible Misc-steps---III
Again, this is our safety reservoir, where we adapt and improvise with new steps or combinations if the need arises.
It could be that we may want to do several different steps in a given beat: it's a peculiar almost-confusing beat where several different steps may work, but it could certainly be out there, as dancing is so subjective---I'm not talking about great songs with several familiar beats here. Or it could be a whole new or old song-type that hasn't been dealt with properly yet: after all, four-count western swing was sitting dormant getting Texas two-stepped to death until this book came out. Most likely, what possible misc-steps are for . . . is that occasional great song that none of regular steps seem to do justice---if it sounds danceable, you want to be able to do whatever it takes.
The obvious misc-step is what I call our latent triple-step, the old polka or triple-step to non-polka music. It kind
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of makes me cringe, but I know some of you are going to find a way to triple-step to almost any song out there. So, as a safety-valve, I go ahead and offer the latent triple-step:
"one-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-three." I might not list any songs for it because I don't exactly condone it; still, there might be a song or two out there where this step is the only natural thing to do, if you insist on dancing to it. This latent triple-step . . . is so easy, it tends to be what neophytes do nine-times-out-of-ten without even thinking, when they don't have any real dance steps in their repertoire---but then it does take up two of our regular beats, four-count western-swing and polka. The danger of doing this undisciplined step freely to too many kinds of beats: . . .
it teaches people to be a runaway back to the barn. Besides riding a nervous colt behind slow cattle, there is nothing more exasperating than trying to get the attention and respect of a stranger who, out of bad habit, can only triple-step. Remember, early on in this manual, I said everything we do should be done slow and smooth with plenty of follow-through---you do the triple-step to a couple of not-so-fast songs, you'll be lucky to ever get her slowed down again for the other steps. You know how I feel about this step; so, please, don't overdo it. I might have mentioned it in the beginner segment . . . so that you might stay clear of it when there are better things to do, because, again, most neophytes learn it without having to be formally taught, like a horse with a bad habit. If a song is a true triple-step, it may be a song that I personally wouldn't want to dance to---the ironic thing about Linda Ronsdadt's classic song "Different Drum" .
. . is that it may be a true triple-step, if not a cha-cha. Again, I personally don't believe in this step because of its usual lack of discipline causing runaways on the dance floor, but it is a step and should be listed. I would only hope that there is more than one interpretation of Linda's "Different Drum."
Whereas the two-steps and the cha-chas lend themselves to being easier to tinker with and find music for in different modes or hybrids, the all-too-easy triple-step is another ani-
The Art & Science of Western Swing--III -- 123
mal, perhaps more dangerous. Here's a step that I laid awake at night worrying about---but then I ultimately decided . . . the Public has a Right-To-Know. ---But I don't think it's a coincidance that it would be Number 13 on my list. What I might call the alternative polka-step: "left-two-three, slow, . . . slow, . . . right-two-three, slow, . . . slow, . . .
." I don't know that I've ever done this step out in public with a stranger; but, if you ever find a song that really wants this step, have at it. It's not a difficult step, and it's sort of a hybrid of polka and Montana two-step, or maybe polka and alternative two-step, because it alternates unlike the Texas two-step---so don't let the two slows fool you. Though it is not like the Texas two-step, it does, however, take the same exact timing as the Texas two-step, probably one-n-one-half measures. It could be, when you find a song you would really like to dance to . . . but none of our regular steps seem to fit, this could be the step that works. Like always, if you do turns with it, they would probably come easiest after your last slow-right. For the record, I was going to call this step the alternative triple-step, but the label of "ATs" is already taken by the alternative two-step, hence alternative polka-step.
For the record, if I haven't mentioned it already, to sort out the difference between true cha-chas and generic triple-steps, think of it this way: when a triple-step comes at the end of a step, it's a cha-cha; when a triple-step comes at the beginning of a step, it's generic triple-step or polka-mode. It is funny though . . . how a "cha-cha-cha" . . . is easier called a
"cha-cha"---just something a stickler for good writing and punctuation notices, but it does work.
Now we come to one of the rarest steps I've discovered that may be possible in country-western music. A hybrid combination of alternative two-step, polka, and Texas two-step, it's a step I hardly ever do myself, but I think I have it in my repertoire just in case. What I call a Texas polka-step is another one of my own inventions or discoveries---for fast songs that are not polkas and not quite cha-chas, songs like .
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. . "Barometer Soup" by Jimmy Buffet, or "Carolina Sunset"
and "Running Like the Wind" by the Marshall Tucker Band,
"Ventura Highway" by America, "The Matador" or "Rainbow Rider" by Sylvia, and "Back On the Chain Gang" by The Pretenders . . . with a Texas two-step one-sidedness to it. .
Moist people end up doing a darn too-busy triple-step to the songs I'm talking about here, or they'll show that a Texas two-step might work, but that could be because they don't know what else is possible to do. This step is a brave attempt to offer something better; but, I have to admit, it may still be in the experimental stage as to what kinds of songs it may fit---even though I am a fully appointed U.S. Dance Teacher, I may not try to enforce this step too strictly.
. . . At any rate---or, I should say, at the right rate that warrants it,---to do a Texas polka-step, simply start with the guy's left: "left-two-three, slow, . . . slow, . . . slow, . . . left-two-three, slow, . . . slow, . . . slow, . . . ." This may seem to be related to your alternative two-step in that you have three slows, but it is actually more akin to the Texas two-step because of the one-sidedness caused by the one triple-step and odd number of slows, all of which in-effect takes the same amount of beats as one measure or four slows. But, because of the one-sidedness, it can be trickier to get going than the alternative two-step, because you always need to come from a slow-right and never a slow-left---the safe-n-easy way to get started is to stand on your right foot for as many beats as it takes to feel like launching your left-triple.. If it gets too redundant, or if it feels like it's not fitting that fast Latin- or Texas-type song, go ahead and experiment with different combinations of triples and slows, maybe even a few quicks, till it feels right to start with your left triple-step---you might have trouble getting started on the measure anyway, so you might as well experiment. At least we're not giving you something too complicated to remember like the merengue.
. . . There does seem to be a percentage of songs out there that are not true polkas, not two-steps, not cha-chas, but they have a Latin feel to them and a lopsidedness reminiscent of
The Art & Science of Western Swing--III -- 125
the Texas two-step, so here are a few more samples of what I believe to be a latent triple-step: "Goodbye, I Love You" by Firefall, "The Power of Gold" and "Tell Me To My Face" by Dan Fogelberg---but we might be straying too far away from the far country.
I know that's a lot to write about a possible step, but it's just that we may not have everything totally figured out yet.
Look at it this way: they keep changing the number of true planets on us, and they keep changing the official way to do CPR, . . . so what's wrong with a dance manual that doesn't doesn't claim to be perfect?
I may have come up with another new combination-step in the final hours of finishing this book. Let's call it the Texas cha-cha: all we have to do is take our Texas two-step and replace the second-slow with a triple-step: "quick, quick, slow, . . . cha-cha-cha, quick, quick, slow, . . . cha-cha-cha"---
it's a one-sided step just like the Texas two-step, and it takes the exact same amount of time, probably one-n-one-half measures. This would be only our second step of fifteen . . .
to use a combination of all three of our foundation steps, quicks, slows, and triples. . . . It's too early to know what songs to do this new step to. But, if you do any turns with this step, they would come after that one right-triple-step. . .
. . . At any rate, I just want you to keep in mind, since every song is different, and there are more song types out there than anyone can list, sometimes you've just got to get out on the floor and adapt-n-improvise with your triples, slows, and quicks . . . and maybe a dwell now and then to keep her wondering while you're wondering---I believe our flexible approach to the fabulous one-step, chaparral cha-cha, alternative two-step, and latent triple-step . . . will help teach you to do just that. Like I said, I believe I've explored all the feasible combinations of slows, quicks, and triples, and then I fitted them to the common song types in country music, but I may have missed something---and even I don't dance exactly the same every night of the week, the same way Ray Benson & Asleep At the Wheel plays their great
126 -- Heinsian WESTERN SWING
music.
I guess what it boils down to is . . . I'm still a student just like you. It's true that, if you aren't willing to try something new and different from time to time, you'll never reach your fool potential---er, I mean, full potential. It's the dreamers of this world, and the experimenters, that keep us from being stuck in the Status Quo---never forget that. It's not the large groups or committees that figure things out for the better, it's us courageous Individuals that have room to think without being stifled by our compadres. . . . Still, when you've got a good thing, stick with it---Lord knows there's a fine line between changing things for the better . . . and changing them for the worse (---see my ski books, where I know that better than anyone).
We had better wrap this manual up, before I discover some more complicated stuff to add---or worse, if I were to convert to some new religion where dancing is totally frowned upon, where we could lose the whole darn spiritual philosophy and practical system that we've got here.
The Art & Science of Western Swing--III -- 127
Summary-------------------------------------------------------------------
There. That's one man's opinion of a western swing dance progression, but I challenge you to find a more efficient program for teaching the man to lead a woman, almost any stranger, on any dance floor: ninety-some percent of the country-dance instruction available out there is more herd-bound line-dance than for couples, taught by female non-leads; then, influential platinum ballroom videos, mal-pack-aged with the man leading with his right hand, don't mention timing until you get ten minutes into the tape; and many videos use the same song over and over even for different steps, never helping the dancers identify which step goes with which song-type; the most unprepared teachers find themselves stressing any important points as awkward afterthoughts. It's hard teaching dancing nowadays, because you have to get through and rise above the same kind of dysfunctional status-quo and grid-lock that troubles the whole nation (written in 1992 and even more true now in 2010).
Anyhow, I have not really invented any new moves or steps here, just as a chemist cannot invent new elements and a horse trainer should not go around inventing new artificial gaits; I have only discovered, observed, and organized . . .
what I consider to be the main moves and steps that he-n-she and the band will be happy with. Without getting too far-out, we looked at more than thirty-three fundamental swing moves, which enable us to go almost anywhere with the music at any time, with the forces of nature and with infinite combinations, and without the need for any choreog-raphy whatsoever. And, by just using simple combinations of quicks, slows, and triple-steps, we found about seven basic gaits, or gears, maybe as many as twelve, which help us to keep our RPMs in control as we adapt to the variety of songs offered---and you know you can put as much effort
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into a fabulous one-step as you do a swing song or a polka.
And, unlike the Latin dancers, who probably relate their dancing more to swimming, we learned to keep our hips quiet and in the middle, "Butt-First" economy-of-motion which also makes for balanced riding and balanced skiing---
we thoroughly touched on some simple cha-cha and briefly on something else sort of Latin, without stepping on anyone's toes really. We did not take for granted just plain slow-dancing to a song like George Strait's "Marina Del Rey," we noted how useful it is to know; we didn't monkey around with songs that aren't danceable, waiting patiently on the bar-stool till the right song comes along; we gave you more swing-move options than even I can remember, yet we stressed the importance of not over-doing it with fine songs like George Strait's "Fool-Hearted Memory"; and we admit that some songs like Marshall Tucker's "Last of the Singin'
Cowboys" have a real foreign beat that makes you just want to burn this book and get out there and wiggle your hips finally. I offer plenty in this book to keep you and your partner from getting bored your whole life-time, but you will have your own style and preferences---only you can decide what to do to a particular song, as my tastes are my tastes.
It's still true they dance different in different parts of the country (---sadly, this is barely true since line-dancing and some other national programs have been strongly marketed)---some of these regional style differences can be attributed to the differences in culture and the music played by the local bands, and some of this is simply a matter of the individual indolently following the herd of the region: When I'm not observing a hundred city-slickers memorizing some canned line-dance like "Slappin' Leather" or the "Tush-Push," I see innocent dudes Texas two-stepping to a waltz and triple-stepping to a perfect fabulous one-step or Montana two-step; I notice proud Texans Texas-two-stepping to countless perfect four-count swing songs; I feel Jackson Hole dancers caught, under the pretense of etiquette, in some sort
The Art & Science of Western Swing--III -- 129
of spring-thaw swift-current no matter what the song or season---they will run you over in the name of etiquette; . . . and I constantly witness a percentage of Montana cowboys dancing dysfunctional with runaway women in rough-ntumble black-belt cowboy jitterbug, a jerry-rigged form of western swing. ---No wonder they usually don't let a crowd dance at George Strait concerts: most of our nation's dancing is too dysfunctional to really let the masses have at it.
Unlike the average western dance teacher, I don't pretend to want to dance to every song or artist that comes along; however, unlike the others, I have been known to dance with almost any stranger who comes along---and that is a step toward World Peace, my friend. . . . Anyway, a band has got to decide what its mission in life is: Does it want the people to sit down and listen as to Chet Atkins?
does it want to simply provide background ambience that'll bed the cattle down for the night like the Sons of the Pioneers? or does a band want everyone to get up and dance finally the way Bob Wills did? . . . I am particular about the music I dance to, and I try not to squander my moves, as dancing is something special to me; and, . . . whenever I find myself in a new song, a new situation, with a new partner, or whatever, I always ask myself: "What would Gary Heins do?"