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Man's Wrap

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Cuddle

Lady/Man Underarm Turn

Closed Throwouts

Hustle (4 Count)

Hustle Song Samples

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4 beats/measure; 28-32 meas/min

Hustle had it roots in New York City in the early 1970s. Jeff Allen has said that, in the '60s, the Twist all but destroyed ballroom dancing. No longer did the dancer need to learn steps or even have a partner. Then the Hustle came along , and partner dancing was back. Dancers could touch. The Hustle was hugely popular.

The word "hustle" makes this dance rhythm sound a lot faster and more frantic than it really is. Hustle is related to swing, and the music is a pounding disco, but the tempo is slow — closer to West-Coast Swing than to Swing or Jive. Hustle is light, smooth, and flat, a soft gliding back and forth in the slot, with the man moving gracefully out of the woman's way. There are a lot of changes of directions and turns and spins by both the woman and the man. She especially may get to feeling like a yo-yo, but a smooth and flowing yo-yo, not a jerky, bouncy one. Jive is "hot," but hustle is "cool." If you want to see what it looks like, check Saturday Night Fever (1977) out of your local library.

John Travolta & Karen Lynn Gorney Hustle figures mostly consist of four steps. We can do them on the beat, and four-count hustle is danced, 1, 2, 3, 4; The same figures can be danced in only three beats of music, and three-count hustle is danced &/1, 2, 3. Actually, the syncopation in three-count hustle can be danced anywhere: 1&23, 12&3, or 123&.

Peekaboo/Hammer Lock

Description above courtesy of  RoundDancing.Net

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