Comb (Partnerwork)

A Framework, Not A Trick 🧩

Combs have been hinted at since the beginner course and they have turned up inside combinations. This module finally gives you the framework.

There are essentially 12 ways you can do combs.

What A Comb Actually Is 💇

A comb is when you bring the elbow up with the hand, and then bring the hand down to the shoulder without bringing the elbow down. The elbow stays where it is, you just bend the arm and bring it onto the shoulder.

The name makes most sense on the versions that go across the head, where it really is like combing your hair.

Up And Down, Never Sideways ↕️

This is the line that separates a comb from a turn:

Combs are always up and down. That is the difference from turns.

A turn goes to the side, and the tension is more outside. A comb goes straight down.

Please go up and down. Otherwise it is very uncomfortable.

The First Four ✋

With a parallel handhold you already have four:

1. parallel, left to right
2. the same with the other hand, right to left
3. across the head, up, across the body, and down behind
4. the same across the head on the other side

All of them use the drop and catch you learned on the Outside Turn: keep the elbow up, release, then ask for the hand again and let gravity do the rest of the job. The hand is always tracing.

The Crossed Four 🔀

Now run the same four with a crossed handhold instead, for example right to right. Start with the Follower:

It's going to be exact same concept, so you're just going to go up here and then behind the head, and you're just going to comb, release, and ask for the hand again.

That is what gets you to 12: four parallel, four crossed, and the self-combs.

Comb Yourself Too 🕺

You can do all of these combs yourself.

You can also come into one straight from the cross body, which is where it looks best:

When you're here in this position you can go 5 6 7 and then go for the cross body. You take this hand into this cross hand hold behind the head and just drop it down, and then you release.

For the parallel one, think of an uppercut in boxing. Scoop with the left, go up with the elbow, place the hand on your shoulder, then release and catch the hand again. You can rotate your torso a little as you go.

For The Followers 💃

The important thing is telling a turn and a comb apart, and there is a clean rule:

If the hand goes outwards, towards the diagonal, he is asking you to turn.

If the hand comes upwards and towards you, it is to comb your hair.

Keep that in mind and you will never guess wrong.

Why This Is Worth The Time 🎩

Once combs are automatic you can put them into anything you already know, an Inside Turn, a Cross Body, any of the variations from this course.

It looks like a pro level thing, but it is just adding those 12 basic moves.

💡 Drill it: The possibilities really are endless here, so practise the four parallel combs until the drop and catch needs no thought. Everything else is those four in different places.

🎯 Community

Practice without judging yourself. Every dancer started exactly where you are. Be patient. This lands in the body over months, not days. Record yourself. You will see things you cannot feel. Post it in the community tab, or on Instagram tagging the page.