The edge of security

Last night in ballroom class the instructor used me to demonstrate a throwaway. (See this page for examples of the throwaway position, including the picture at left.) He's done this before, and I like to think that he chooses me because I'm comfortable doing the position, it looks right when I do it (with him, anyway), and I trust him. This is the trust that you have to give your partner in order to dance successfully. If you don't trust your partner, it's likely that you'll move more tentatively or offer more resistance. There are some moves that simply don't work if you do that, but that work rather easily if you throw yourself into them, and I mean that literally. Of course, you sometimes get dropped on your head whether you trust your partner or not, but that's where you gain advantage being a ballet dancer - that bun serves as a pretty good shock absorber.

Anyway, the teacher was trying to make a point about the man's position in the throwaway and how to support the woman. I went into the throwaway, and he put me lower. And lower. And lower. It got to the point where I felt if I went just a little further, I'd fall over, and my instinct was to resist it. Instead, I decided to trust him, and I let him take me just that little bit further. It was the most extraordinary feeling - he had taken me just to the brink. I was perfectly balanced, not falling backwards, but no longer leaning into him. This guy really knows what he's doing. What made it so satisfying was the soft collective gasp the class let out when I went that last bit, which totally surprised me. Now if only someone'd had a camera so I'd know just how far you have to go to get that gasp.