Texas Tommy (dance move)
Texas Tommy is the name used in Lindy Hop for a tricky dance move.[1]
Description
The leader executes a standard swingout, but, on the four counts of the return, places the follower's right hand behind her back at waist level and puts that hand in his right hand, a position similar to shaking hands behind the follower's back. The follower then turns in the opposite direction while unrolling her arm, and the couple end up facing each other.[2]
This dance move is used in a number of dances, such as West Coast Swing and Salsa, however the step pattern may vary from dance to dance.[3] The name Texas Tommy was derived from the dance with the same name, which, around 1910, was the first social dance to feature a breakaway step, from which the swingout developed.[4]
References
- ^ Ralph G. Giordano, Social Dancing in America: A History and Reference, volume 2, Lindy Hop to Hip-Hop, 1901-2000 (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 2006).
- ^ Lawrence A. Hostetler, How to Do the Latest Dance Steps (New York, 1947).
- ^ Scott Cupit, Swing Dance: Fashion, Music, Culture, and Key Moves (London: Jacqui Small, 2015).
- ^ Claude Conyers, "Texas Tommy," in The Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd ed., edited by Charles Hiroshi Garrett (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.