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Reverse
Fallaway
by
Sandi
& Dan Finch
Every dancer at some point
struggles with the reverse
fallaway and its follow-on, the slip pivot. The difficulty posed by
that
combination makes one wonder why it is standardized by Roundalab at
phase IV
for the reverse fallaway alone and only phase V with the slip pivot.
All of the
ballroom rating systems place it at their highest level. (That should
give you
some comfort, the next time you struggle through it.)
The basic figure and its combination are prevalent in our
form of dancing, done in foxtrot, waltz, tango, and quickstep. As the
name
suggests, the basic figure is a left-turning (going reverse) figure
that ends
in fallaway position, i.e., stepping backwards into semi-closed
position,
facing the opposite direction of travel. The reverse fallaway itself is
three
steps, SQQ in foxtrot, 123 in waltz. Adding the slip pivot will give it
many
possible timing variations, from 12&3 or 123& in waltz,
SQ&Q or
QQQQ in foxtrot and tango (and give you a headache). Sir Alex Moore,
MBE, the
ballroom guru and author of Ballroom Dancing, suggests you could
foxtrot
through the figure into a double reverse spin with this timing: SQQQ
QQ&Q,
stealing time from the first step of the double reverse for a smoother,
more
comfortable slip pivot.
Alex Moore liked the figure so
much, he included it in five
popular variations, identified in that book called “The
Popular Variations” to catalog amalgamations
considered suitable for competition but too difficult for general
dancing. [In
ballroomese, the figure is called fallaway reverse but is described the
same as
ours.]
[An aside about Alex Moore: He
published a monthly
newsletter about figures, and what he saw being done wrong with them in
competitions as he traveled around the world judging and coaching. He
began
coming to the U.S. in the 1960s to certify professionals and test avid
dancers
for medals on their competence with the ISTD syllabus. He became so
popular
that on one trip in 1967, the state of New Mexico made him “colonel,
aide-de-camp,
ambassador of good will” on the governor’s staff. Not quite the same as
being
knighted by the Queen, but then not many people get either honor.]
Starting nearly always from
closed position, Man facing
diagonal line and center (DLC), the reverse fallaway slip requires
nearly all
the tricks we know about dancing: Recognizing the three-dimensional
space of
two bodies turning at the same time, inside/outside of turns, not
falling
backwards onto your heel while going backwards, side leading, CBMP. For
the slip
pivot, Man must step back R with toe turned in. Lady must wait until he
is out
of the way before she attempts to step forward for her pivot. Moore
suggests
the figure is easier if Lady keeps her head to the left. Considering
how many
concepts can be mastered to learn it, and how much it is used, it is
probably
worth the struggle to learn.
From a club newsletter, March 2014,
and
reprinted
in the Dixie Round Dance Council (DRDC)
Newsletter, November 2016.
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