Loophole (5 counts ; 10 musical beats)
Also known as: Man/Lady Breakthrough or Octopus.
Steps
- 1: (Step back)
The lady faces south directly in front of the man, who faces north.
The man holds the lady's right hand in his left hand.
The man leads the lady to move backwards — by pushing her right hand slightly with his left hand — as he moves backwards-left off the lady's line, leaving it free for her to step forwards and offers his right hand for the lady to take his right hand in her left hand.
- 2: (Step in, and wrap the lady)
The lady faces south stepped away in front of and slightly on the right of the man, who faces north.
The man holds the lady's right hand in his left hand and holds the lady's left hand in his right hand.
The man leads the lady to move forwards and turn 90o anticlockwise (with weight on her left leg) under his left hand (and the lady's right hand) — by pulling her left hand slightly with his right hand at waist height and pulling her right hand slightly with his left hand and raising his left hand (and the lady's right hand) from waist height to his right over the other hands for the lady to turn under — as he moves forwards and rotates 90o clockwise (with weight on his right leg).
- 3: (Release, and step back)
The lady faces east close to directly in front of the man, who faces east.
The man holds the lady's right hand in his left hand and holds the lady's left hand in his right hand — the lady's arm is wrapped in front of her body so that her left and right hands is available on her side.
The man leads the lady to move right and turn 90o anticlockwise (with weight on her left leg) under his left hand (and the lady's right hand) — by pulling her left hand slightly with his right hand — as he moves forwards-left, rotates 90o clockwise (with weight on his right leg) and releases the lady's left hand from his right hand.
- 4: (Step in, and wrap the man)
The lady faces north stepped away in front of and slightly on the right of the man, who faces south.
The man holds the lady's right hand in his left hand and holds the lady's left hand in his right hand.
The man leads the lady to move forwards and rotate 90o clockwise (with weight on her right leg) — by pulling her right hand slightly with his left hand at waist height and pulling her left hand slightly with his right hand, bringing his left hand (and the lady's right hand) up and to his left, over the other hands — as he moves forwards and turns 90o anticlockwise (with weight on her left leg) under his right hand (and the lady's left hand).
- 5: (Release, and step back)
The lady faces east directly behind the man, who faces east.
The man holds the lady's right hand in his left hand and holds the lady's left hand in his right hand, the left-to-right hands are over the right-to-left hands — the man's arm is wrapped in front of his body so that his left and right hands is available on his side.
The man leads the lady to move forwards-left and turn 90o clockwise (with weight on her right leg) under his right hand (and the lady's left hand) — by pulling her left hand slightly with his right hand — as he moves right, rotates 90o anticlockwise (with weight on his left leg) and then releases the lady's right hand from his left hand.
- 6: (Finish)
The lady faces south stepped away directly in front of the man, who faces north.
The man holds the lady's right hand in his left hand and holds the lady's left hand in his right hand.
Notes
Variations
Alternate endings include a wrapped Catapult ending: maintain both handholds so that the man becomes wrapped by the lady, from here the man can release both of the lady's hands, drop his hands behind his back, catching the lady's left hand in his left hand behind his back. From here, the man can now lead a Catapult ending. The main difficulty with the Loophole is to transition from the circular motion of the Loophole to the straight-line motion of the wrapped Catapult ending.
The man and lady Loophole do not have to be performed in any particular order. Leading consecutive lady loopholes is a leadable variation. Because the order is irrelevant, the man can lead himself first to provide additional indication of how the move progresses, when dancing with a lady unfamiliar with the move.
Multiple spins during the Loophole can be performed, providing that you can break and regain hold, e.g. right-to-left handhold for a lady Loophole,
Lady loopholes can be led as a “tease” by continually offering the right hand slightly out of the lady's reach — the lead then becomes part visual, part expectation and part exasperation — but it can make a change to the usual lead and follow, and is a useful exercise for trying to keep your leads “light”.
Links
- Loophole at Bath Leroc. Hosted at The Internet Archive.
- Loophole at Cardiff Le Roc and Dance. Hosted at The Internet Archive.
- Loophole at leroc.net. 2001. Hosted at The Internet Archive.
- Octopus at Robert Pepper's Website. Hosted at The Internet Archive.
- Octopus at Ceroc Kidderminster.
- Octopus at Dance Yourself Dizzy. Alternative link 1.
- Loophole at Elmgrove LeRoc.
- Loophole and Shoulder Slide at Leroc Scotland.
- Loophole at The Third Row.
Books
- Octopus in Learn To Dance Modern Jive. Robert Austin and Claire Hilliard. Sigma Leisure, Sigma Press, 1 South Oak Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 6AR, UK, 1998. ISBN 1850586020.
Videos
- Octopus in Beginners Modern Jive — The Easy Way To Learn. QLD Dance, 1A Great Northern Street, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE29 7HJ, UK, volume QLDVD6010, 2003.
- Girl Breakthrough in Le Jive, Le Video — The Complete Instruction Video. Robert Austin and Claire Hilliard. DD Video, DD Video, 5 Churchill Court, 58 Station Road, North Harrow, Middlesex, HA2 7SA, UK, 1995.
- Man breakthrough in Le Jive, Le Video — The Complete Instruction Video. Robert Austin and Claire Hilliard. DD Video, DD Video, 5 Churchill Court, 58 Station Road, North Harrow, Middlesex, HA2 7SA, UK, 1995.