The day 2 classes at Dayton are all-level, so they are a bit more chill than day 1. The organizers moved the classes later in the day than they were last year. Many dancers stayed up the night before until 4 am to complete the Josh Forbes Power Hour. Last year, I got a Power Hour Pin. This year, I bailed at about 2:30.

Class 1: Ana Lisa Sutherland & Jon Tigert

Jon and Ana Lisa taught us a combination with a swinging leg turn. Ana Lisa showed us how to use the force of the swinging leg to power the turn. She compared the use of force to a fouetté turn in ballet. She differentiated these turns from pencil turns, which keeps the legs and arms tucked in around the body. In the combination, the follow performs three leg swings to complete a full rotation. The lead provides stability with a cross hand connection. Ana Lisa pointed out that her preferred hand position is slightly above the head.

Doing this exercise exposed my balance problems. While swinging my left leg, I had to concentrate pretty hard to stay on one foot. I have been trying to move my weight more often to the balls of my feet. I am also working on making full weight transfers on all of my steps. This will make my leading more clear. At the Uptown Swingout 2024, Alice Mei said that balance is the secret of rhythm, so hopefully balance training will improve my rhythm as well.

Class 2: Irina Amzashvili & Rafal Pustelny

Rafal and Irina led the last class of the weekend. We focused on feeling the music and getting into the groove. To do so, we practiced a triple step in place which was similar to a pas de bourrée. The triple step could also be simply a step-tap. I noticed a stylistic variation Rafal used where he delayed the step for a millisecond, then snapping down his foot to create a sharp accent. Rafal and Irina got us to sink our body into the steps to get us to feel the music in our cores.

Irina and Rafal used Dawn Hampton as an example of a dancer who felt the music deeply. Here’s a video of Dawn Hampton talking about that very thing.

Near the end of class, a Smackdown dancer left us with a great fact. Dawn Hampton was born in Middletown, Ohio, which is just over 30 minutes away from Dayton.

Note, 2025-03-02

I’ve been thinking more about what Dawn Hampton says, “Learn the songs. Learn where the breaks are” (02:55). I’ve not thought about breaks as literal breaks in the music, where the rhythm section stops playing. Dawn says, “Whenever the band takes a break, you take it with them.” I never thought of it that way, probably because my first engagement with a break was during the Shim-Sham, where the music is accompanied with a TOBA break.