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Dance Positions |
| Two Rules of the Road |
| by: Shawn Trautman |
| There are two major rules in couples dancing that every dancer must have tattooed in his or her memory. |
| 1. Ladies are always right. |
| 2. Men always get what is left. |
| Ladies Are Always Right |
| The lady's first step in every dance will always be taken with her right foot. Hence, ladies are always right. It is not clear why this was initially established, but it has been opined that the original inventors of the rules of dance decided that the ladies were always right to compensate for the fact that the men were the designated leaders of the dances. The rules of leading and following will be discussed at further length later in this chapter, but in the meantime, let it suffice that ladies are always right. Consequently, the follower needs to become accustomed to waiting in ready position, with her weight on her left foot, ready to take the first step with the right. |
| Men Always Get What's Left |
| Speaking of the men, those of you who are learning the leader's part of the dances need to remember that men always get what is left. This means that you will always start a dance with your left foot. So, when you are waiting in a ready position for a dance to start, you will be standing with your weight on your right foot, ready to take that first step with the left. |
| The practical aspect of these two rules is geared toward the prevention of toe-smashing. This is easily demonstrated if you and your dance partner stand facing each other, about 12 inches apart. Both men and women stand in your ready position, as just described. On the count of three, men will take one step forward and ladies will take one step backward. One, two, three.... Were you successful in toe-smashing avoidance? Hopefully you ended up with the man having his left foot in front of his right and the lady with her right foot behind her left. Had you both stepped with your right or both stepped with your left, the lady’s toes most likely would have been crushed, and that would have been the end of that lesson or evening out! |
| Remember—ladies are always right, and men always get what's left. |
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