ROCK 'N' ROLL
Rock 'n' Roll has been around for quite some time but unfortunately, I've only just learned it. Just in case you're interested, I certainly wasn't rocking and rolling in the 50's. Of course, in this age of dancing babies these things are possible but in my day we just didn't have them. Whilst Rockabilly is cool, it's perhaps a bit harder to learn and remember than Rock 'n' Roll. As with Rockabilly, it can be danced to music that might be a little too fast for Jive. Here you will find the very beginnings of what I know in Rock 'n' Roll.

WHY HAVE THE STEPS ON THE WEB?
It's the same story with Rock 'n' Roll steps as it is with the Rockabilly ones. So far I've only found one web site with Rock 'n' Roll steps and they were pretty difficult to decipher. The steps listed here are the ones we’ve learnt at Craig Harle's lessons and Debbie & Martin's lessons in Perth, Western Australia in September 2001 and onwards. The are all pretty good teachers.

As per the Rockabilly steps these ones are - as I have interpreted them. They are not authoritive. Once again, if you haven't actually been to the classes the descriptions of steps would be very difficult to put into practice as the steps here are only a basic outline.

Junior Rock n Rollers competing at the State championships in Perth - November 2001

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The Basic Step
There are six steps to be made within the 4/4 beat. The lady and man face each other in the standard dance position ie mans RH on ladies left waist and mans LH holding ladies RH, away from the body.

Mans steps
Start with feet together
1. Step back on left foot
2. Tap right foot
3. Tap ball of left foot next to right foot
4. Shift left foot to left
5. Tap right foot to the left near where the left foot is
6. Tap right foot to the right where it came from
Repeat ie go back to step 1

Ladies Steps
Start with feet together
1. Step back on right foot
2. Tap left foot
3. Tap ball of right foot next to left foot
4. Shift right foot to right
5. Tap left foot to the right near where the right foot is
6. Tap left foot to the left where it came from
Repeat ie go back to step 1

If you are really sharp you will notice that the basic steps for male and
female are identical except everything is reversed.

THE ROCK N ROLL STEPS

American Spin
- Do a basic step
- On the 3rd step (with the mans left hand holding the womans right hand) he pushes her so that she spins clockwise.
- She finishes the turn on the 5th step and is ready again, after ths 6th step.
- As usual, the man and woman would end this sequence both doing the back step at the same instant

Change Hands Behind Back
- After the 6th step, the man steps forward on the left foot and then forward on the right foot
- At the same time as the right foot goes forward he changes his hold of her RH from his RH to his
LH (this is easily done as she will be behind him and he will be on her RH side) - this change of hands
occurs on the 3rd step.
- On the 4th and 5th step he continues with the anticlockwise turn although it has to be more pronounced
now - at this stage he changes hands again so that he is holding her RH with his LH.
- Now the man and woman will be facing one another again and will be ready for the next step.
- In this - change hands behind back step - the woman maintains her normal steps except that she
walks forward and turns clockwise for the 5th step so that she is ready again for the next step.

Kick Points
- Do the Basic steps
- Top turn - then reverse turn
- After one back step - go into the TWO SETS OF POINTS, however this
has a jump to it rather than the other leg staying on or near the ground

Pretzel
- Do the basic steps
- With mans LH holding womans RH - do a top turn
- With mans LH hold womans RH - do a reverse turn
- Upon return, man lets her RH go and holds her LH with his RH
- At the same time the man holds his Left arm across his back so that his LH is just below his right elbow
- The couple should now be closer together - on the 3rd beat, the woman clasps the mans LH with her
RH - her LH and his RH will now be raised
- She moves across back to back and, at the same time, he raises his LH and lowers the RH
- The man and woman are now looking at each other but their shoulders are side by side - ie his left
shoulder is next to her left shoulder
- He brings her RH past his left shoulder over his head to his right shoulder
- He then rotates her arm over her so that they will be in what is known as the cuddle position - she will
have turned 180 degrees and will be wrapped in his arms - her left shoulder will be touching his right shoulder
- He then spins her out in a clockwise direction - she effectively unravels
- The step usually continues with something like a top turn

The Flirt
- Do basic step
- Do a top turn ie the lady is turned out - rotating in a clockwise direction
- She then turns back in again
- On return, man holds ladies RH with his LH
- Still holding her hand, he lifts his arm behind his neck - at the same time
he touches her waist with his RH palm closed
- He pushes her away from him - not with too much vigour
- He then clasps her RH with his RH and pushes her into a reverse turn

Throwaway
- Do a basic step
- The man leads into the step by pushing her left hip away (hence the throwaway)
- She steps back on the right - replaces on the left & taps on the right foot (ie the normal three steps)
- The fourth step is a back step - then a tap - then back on the left (all of this a basic step except that she moves backwards instead of to the side)
- She now steps back on the right - forward on the left & forward on the right
* At this point the man leans forward (he is still holding her left hand) - he puts her RH behind her back and reaches his RH around her back and grabs her RH with his RH
- He spins her around (clockwise) - this occurs on the fifth beat
- On the sixth beat he passes her RH back to his LH
* At this same point of time (as above *) she steps forward on the left
- She spins clockwise on the right for one beat - the fifth one
- She then steps left for the sixth beat

Two Sets of Points (Kicks)
- After the fifth step the couple each turn outwards ie he turns 90 degrees anticlockwise and she turns 90 degress clockwise
- His left hand will no longer be holding her right hand
- They each do the sixth step and then ...
- The man and woman now kick out their outside legs simultaneously - in place of their normal step
- They repeat with the alternate leg - then the other leg and finally with the other leg -ie 4 kicks in all (the kicks are only small and your feet will hardly leave the ground
- They each now take a back step and then repeat the above four kicks
- The hands meet again and he leads her into an spin

Underarm and around the back
- When the woman returns from a spin the man grabs her right hand with his right hand
- She walks to his right hand side and he lifts his arm for her to go "underarm"
- She keeps walking around the back of him
- When she is around the back - he changes his hold of her from his right hand to the left hand
- When she arrives on his left side he lifts his arm upwards and leads her to a anticlockwise turn

Underarm Turn and Mans Turn
- Do the basic
- Do the top turn ie lady turns out clockwise
- The lady then turns in again in reverse
- On the 5th count of the reverse turn he does a clockwise turn

Washing Machine
- The couple holds both hands
- The hands are crossed over
- The man's right hand is on top
- He leads the woman into a clockwise turn
- Once she returns - he then does a clockwise turn
- Once he returns - he leads her into a clockwise turn
- Both hands are held for the whole duration of the step

These guys were original Rock n Rollers from the Snake Pit in Scarborough Beach in 1956 - 1962. In this demo on Australia Day 2003 they were still going strong (although they do stop to sleep)

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