Charleston Single Kicks
Critical details concerning Charleston kick technique that often get ignored.
Critical details concerning Charleston kick technique that often get ignored.
This Challenge incorporates standard charleston figures and lead and follow partnered charelston figures. We suggest you move through this progressively so that the higher level figures make more sense. Many of these moves take inspiration from orignal 1920's Charelston and work well for Great Gatsby and Prohibition themed parties and performances.
Hold on for some sliding fun. It's a tad risky, but worth the effort when the conditions are right. Check the weather, check the floor and especially check with your partner. Not everyone likes to slide across a dirty, wet and sticky bar floor so maybe leave it for high quality dance floors and known partners.
As a solo drill it's double kicks, but really this technique is applied to any number of kicks beyond one.
Follow slide variations. You will need a slippery floor and slippery shoes to make these slides impressive. In general, these slides are independent from your partner so they are great for being musical and flashy even when your leader is boring and not leading interesting variations.
Simple flash can be the best flash. Your only risk is perhaps upsetting the "purest" of Lindy Hoppers who might say, "Hey, that's a west coast swing move!" To which you can reply, "But we're having fun....go away!." or if you care to get more particular you might say, "But what dance did west coast swing evolve from?" The answer is Lindy Hop. Also, sharing is caring.
This builds on single and double kick technique and is a key feature for both solo and partnered Charleston moves.
Leader slide variations. You will need a slippery floor and slippery shoes to make these slides impressive. In general, these slides are independent from your partner so they are great for being musical and flashy even when your followerer is boring or not ready for fancy variations.
This southern California staple has it's highs and lows. In the beginning, every outside turn seems to become a quick stop. Therefore we challenge you to use it sparingly, but with great musical accuracy. Overuse may cause creative stagnation, but a well timed quick step is akin to nirvana.
Training drills with music that are great for warming up and preparing you for more challenging movement.