MYSTERY OF THE TEXAS TWOSTEP

CHAPTER FIFTY NINE:

CONFRONTATION

Written by Rick Archer 

THE USE OF FRAME IN WESTERN DANCING
 

There was one significant difference between the Disco Era and the Western Era.  Disco partner dancing is danced apart the majority of the time.  Twostep and Polka were both danced using 'Closed Position'.  This meant the man's hand remained on the lady's back throughout the song.  As a result, Glen had to teach me the concept of 'Frame'. 

'Frame' is an essential element of Ballroom dancing.  This is a Lead-Follow technique used in Closed Position dances such as Waltz, Foxtrot, Rumba and Tango.  I never heard of 'Frame' during the Disco Era because I had no need for it.  However, since the Country-Western Twostep was a close relative of the Foxtrot, Glen explained why 'Frame' was important.  It is used as a way to guide the woman in different directions. 

'Frame' is a technique whereby the man and woman square their shoulders to one another.  Since a woman's feet are directly under her shoulders, by keeping her shoulders parallel to the man's shoulders, her feet automatically match whatever the man's feet are doing.  In order for Frame to work, the man must cover the woman's left shoulder blade with his right hand.  Then the lady must learn to keep her back pressed against the hand on her back.  It is not easy to teach Frame.  Although everyone seems to understand the concept, it is difficult to convey the proper amount of hand pressure simply by demonstration. 

'Frame' is highly effective once both partners know what they are doing.  However, students often get frustrated during the learning process.  It takes a lot of patience plus trial and error to develop the skill necessary for this technique to work properly.  That is why it helps to have a teacher talented enough to explain it properly.  At this stage of my career, I lacked that talent.  For example, I had not yet learned the importance of physically dancing with every woman in class to test their understanding of the technique.  As for the men, they would not dream of letting me dance with them.  Nor did I want to. 

For the past hundred years, Texas men had placed their hand or wrist at the back of the woman's neck.  Meanwhile the woman looped the fingers of her left arm into the man's nearest belt loop.  In general the men liked this style because it required no skill.  In addition, the man enjoyed resting his arm on her shoulder. 

However, the women hated it.  The weight of his arm, the discomfort of his hand on her neck, the sense of confinement plus the irritating odor from the man's armpit were enough to drive any woman crazy.  So why did the women allow it?  Well, ask yourself why Arab women submit to wearing the obligatory hajib head scarf.  Because their Religion tells them to.  I suppose Texas women found it easier to submit to the neck wrap because Tradition demanded it and because it was not worth starting an argument.

Now that tables were turned, the men began to object.  The men found placing his hand on the woman's back can be distinctly uncomfortable if the woman does not know the proper Frame technique.  After a man places his hand on the woman's back, she is expected to place her left arm on top of his right arm.  Even though their arms touch, the woman is supposed to support the weight of her own arm.  Unfortunately many women tend to use the man's arm as an arm rest for her left arm.  Few women realize how heavy their arm is.  Unless someone explains the problem, the temptation to use her partner's arm for comfort is fairly irresistible.

I can attest that a long night of supporting the woman's left arm has worn me out on many an occasion.  If it is just a nuisance, I tolerate it.  However, when the pain becomes too great, I say something.  Invariably the woman apologizes, then adds, "I had no idea my arm was uncomfortable for you."   Then she goes and does it again.  Why?  Because resting her arm on mine seems natural.

So if the Frame technique is so complicated, why bother?  Good question.  As long as the woman is willing to dance backwards all night long, the Neck Wrap works just fine.  However, using 'Frame' is similar to using a steering wheel in traffic.  Frame avoids collisions.  Having his hand on the woman's back allows him to safely guide his lady through heavy traffic on the dance floor.  Without Frame, there is no way to weave in and out of the other couples on a crowded floor. 

In other words, the new version of the Texas Twostep demanded a change in the way a man held his woman.  Putting a hand on the woman's back was the only way to make the complicated New Style Twostep and Polka work.  So there you have it, the Easy Way versus the Hard Way.  If girls go backwards, the Neck Wrap will suffice.  No training necessary.  However, once the ladies began complain about dancing backwards, 'steering' became an important element.  If girls wanted to have more fun, then both she and her partner needed to learn Frame. 

One more thing.  The Cowboy Way involves being stoic and tough.  Cowboy Culture is known for men who are rough and not particularly sensitive to what makes a woman happy.  And if this kind of guy feels disrespected, a fist fight or nasty argument becomes a real possibility. 

LIMBO MONTH seven
Thursday, JANUARY 10, 1980

AN UGLY ARGUMENT
 

It was Thursday night, January 10th, in the first week.  Just when I thought things were going smoothly with my January Beginner Western classes, I ran into a very intense showdown.  The use of 'Frame' became a very controversial subject.  Due to my lack of experience, I probably did not explain the mechanics quite as eloquently as it needed to be said.  To my surprise, a cantankerous old guy seriously objected to being told to put his hand on his partner's back. 

His name was Hank.  He was twice my age and twice as mean. 

"Sonny boy, I've been dancin' with my hand on women's necks for fifty years and if you think I'm going to change things and do it your sissy way, you can forget about that now."

I was so taken aback by the fierceness of his challenge that I was momentarily speechless.  Hank took advantage of my stunned silence to deliver a lecture.  He proceeded to tell the entire class I was out of my mind... which was partially true due to my mad scientist tinkering. 

"What is wrong with you, buddy?  You some kind of city slicker?  Unlike you, I actually grew up in the country and I know what I'm talkin' about.  A hundred years ago pioneers from Germany and Czechoslovakia came over here to fight off Indians and Mexicans for the right to farm this land.  A lot of men died fighting Indians and they died at the Alamo fighting Mexicans so Texas could become a great state.  Do you think maybe we should honor them?

One way to do that is preserve long-time Country traditions.  They brought guns with them, but they also brought fiddles and dancing to remind them of home.  Country women have been dancing backwards ever since they put foot on Texas soil.  What gives you the right to think you can change the way things are done around here?  Son, you're messing with 100 years of Texas Tradition.  You need to teach Country dancing the right way or people are going laugh your students off the dance floor."

It was very embarrassing to be dressed down like that.  At the time I had divided the class, women on one side, men on the other.  This made it easier for people to see and hear me in a crowded room.  There were at least 30 people in here.  After Hank's speech, the entire room was so silent you could hear a pin drop.  My heart was pounding.  What am I supposed to do, agree with him, argue with him, or put up my fists?

In the blink of an eye, things went from bad to worse.  Thanks to this old geezer, another male student announced he agreed with Hank and was very reluctant to change.  Immediately several other men rebelled, leaving me incredulous.  Right before my eyes, most of the men sided with my nemesis.  When they strongly objected, the future of my career seemed very threatened.  If I am stuck with the Texas Twostep in this primitive form of development, I might as well hang up my hat.  My entire 'New Country' system depended on teaching Frame.  What was I going to do? 

I figured that's it, game over, turn out the lights.  I stood there helpless to know how to escape this jam when an unknown lady came to my rescue.  Her name was Henrietta.  She was a grey-haired lady in her 50's, probably the same age as Hank.  She took a step forward and stared the ringleader straight in the eye.  It was just like an Old West Showdown. 

"Hey, Mister, I don't why you're so disagreeable.  I don't know about the other ladies in this room, but I for one would like to go forwards once in a while when I dance.  And for your information, I don't like having some guy's sweaty arm around my neck."

When the other women nodded and murmured in unison, every guy in the room took a step back in shock at their defiance.  I was just as shocked, but for another reason.  Out of nowhere, I had just been given a reprieve!  Did another cat have to die for this?  Probably so.  God Bless this woman!  Thanks to the lady who spoke up and the ladies who supported her, Henrietta's intervention had given me breathing room to deal with a really tough spot.  It was incredible.  The moment the women backed me up, the men magically grew quiet.  All the men, that is, except Hank.  He was not backing down. 

Practically shouting, Hank replied, "I'll be damned if anyone is going to catch me dancin' backwards with my hand on some woman's back!"

"In that case," Henrietta replied, "you won't be dancing with me!"

When the other women nodded in support, Hank lost his temper.  He said, "Y'all can go to hell," then stomped out of the room.  I guess Hank figured if every woman in the room agreed with their leader, he had worn out his welcome by taking an unpopular stand.  This was exactly the break I needed.  Seeing an opening, I seized the moment. 

"C'mon, guys, going backwards isn't that hard.  Give it a try.  You'll get used to it and the ladies will appreciate your effort."

Immediately the ladies clapped and smiled at the men across the room.  Realizing I had their full support, I told them to find a partner.  Bless their hearts, the women knew just what to do.  Once they began the sweet talk, the men unanimously gave in.  For the rest of the class, the women were snake charmers and dog whisperers rolled into one.  With smiles and soft voices, they quietly persuaded their protesting, tough-talking Fake Cowboys into dancing backwards with his hand correctly placed on her back.  When the women commented on how much more comfortable this way, a couple guys lied and said they enjoyed it too.  Considering how tense I had been, I almost burst out laughing.  Henrietta's confrontation was not exactly Rosa Parks refusing to go to the back of the bus, but it was a remarkable moment nonetheless.  Bonding together, the women's united front persuaded the men it wouldn't hurt to break with Tradition once in a while.  The men never knew what hit them.  In the end they all cooperated. 

During the experiment, it took a while for the guys to catch on that as things stood, they were stuck going backwards.  Eventually one of the men asked the question I had been waiting for. 

"Okay, Rick, you've got us going backwards, but how do we do we turn around?"

Immediately one of the women quipped, "Don't say a word, Rick, just let the men go backwards for the rest of the song!  It's good for the men to feel our pain!"

The women roared.  Even the men smiled a little.  As the laughter died down, a different guy said, "You haven't shown us how to go from forwards to backwards and backwards to forward."

I smiled.  Just the question I hoped for.  It was time to introduce Transition Twostep.  First I told the class to spread out around the room.  With Henrietta as my demonstrator, I began to dance.  Using all 30 students as imaginary obstacles on a dance floor, I skillfully guided her through the crowd going both forwards and backwards.  We made a complete circle around the room.  The way the men gawked, you would have thought I was Harry Houdini.  As for the ladies, they were beaming.  They enjoyed the demonstration of what 'New Country' was supposed to look like.

At the finish, I held my arms out as if to behold the splendor.  "The answer, my friends, is Transition Twostep!  I have just shown how a man can weave a lady in and out of traffic on the dance floor using the Frame technique.  Please note how I used my hand on Henrietta's back to steer through the crowd."

The rebellion was over.  Thanks to Henrietta, my unexpected benefactor, I had regained my authority.  The rest of the night went very well.  By the end of class, the men were smiling thanks to heavy doses of compliments from their gals for being such a good sport. 

The confrontation with Hank was very enlightening.  It was a precursor to the rapidly growing hostility between the Fake Cowboys and the Country Cool crowd.  Throughout 1980, the choice of where to put a man's hand would represent where a man stood in the Old Style-New Style battleground.  For the first time, I finally understood what my friend Joanne had been driving at.  At the Cactus Club, her first venue, every man was an advocate of the Old Style Country.  When she visited Rodeo, most of the men used the Old Style, but several used the New Style, especially the young A&M graduates.  Joanne had been trying to explain that I had landed in some sort of weird no man's land between Old Country and New Country.  As my teacher, Joanne became a pioneer in her own right.  By insisting that I figure out how to copy the New Country style that she preferred, Joanne's influence would be magnified many times over in the coming months. 

Tonight the support of my lady students had turned the tide.  They helped create the upset victory of the New Style over the Old Style.  In a blinding flash, I realized I could exploit the rift between Old Country and New Country by using the women to act as my deputies.   From this point forward, whenever there was a disagreement, all I had to do was glance at the women and they would back me up.  It never failed. 

So what went wrong in tonight's class?  So far, 99% of my students had no idea what 'Country Dancing' was supposed to look like.  That meant I could teach whatever I wanted without resistance.  Considering Hank said he had been dancing country for 50 years, what was he doing in my class in the first place?  But in a way, I was glad.  Hank had forcefully presented the argument for keeping things they way they were.  From here on out, I would be far better prepared to deal with any protest.

From now on, if someone objected, I would claim it was 'New Country' and give the girls my Boy Scout 'Secret Wink'.  As long as the women backed me, I could get away with murder.  So you now know the secret of my success.  Women love to dance.  As long as the ladies liked what I was doing, they were on my side.

Thanks to Henrietta and women like her, the Era of Male Dominance on the dance floor was over.  Or, to be more accurate, it was over in my classes.  The whole point of taking dance lessons is to please women.  So why argue about something important like Frame?  Call it the 'Right Frame of Mind'.  The men were so ready to please their women, they turned to putty the moment the girls put their foot down.  

Men like to think they are in control, but women have considerable power in shaping men's behavior.  Yet again I thought of 'Operant Conditioning'.  From where I stood, at least when it came to dancing, the men were the guinea pigs in a giant laboratory experiment run by women. 

From this point on, if the girls liked a new move, that was good enough for the men. 

"Yes, Dear, I really like this new move.  It is very attractive.  If that is how you prefer it done, then that is how I will do it!" 

Not every guy was married, but even the single guys instinctively followed the Golden Rule of Matrimony: Happy Wife, Happy Life.  Mind you, I was single at the time, but even I knew that much.

Thanks to Joanne, thanks to Henrietta and thanks to some very persuasive women in my Beginner classes, their willingness to champion the changes allowed my innovations to take hold.  Starting in the January, once my male students began dancing in the clubs, they could see for themselves that Transition Twostep was far superior to the Girls Go Backwards Prairie Twostep.  However, the switch from Neck Wrap to Hand on the Back was not instantaneous.  Oddly enough, the western clubs broke down the middle.  Half the clubs played the Outlaw music and championed Old Country dancing.  The other half played Progressive Country, added a little Disco, and sanctioned the new style of dancing Country.  However, right from the start I knew the new style would win.  Why?  Because women preferred it.

There were six months to go till the June debut of Urban Cowboy.  Sure enough, during the period the percentage of men using Frame increased slowly but surely.  This marked improvement was responsible for a bizarre development.  By the time the movie finally made its June arrival, practically every man in Houston could dance the Twostep better than John Travolta.  You think I am kidding, don't you?  No, I am completely serious.  Watching John Travolta dance the Prairie Twostep in Urban Cowboy was the most disappointing thing I have ever seen.  Did I smile at how pathetic the dancing was?  Hell no.  I wanted to see something I didn't already know!

SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY
 

The history of Partner Dancing in America is cyclical.  Partner dancing comes and then it goes.  Partner dancing originated during the Jazz Era of the Roaring Twenties.  It started with the Charleston.  The Charleston was originally danced apart, but men had a hard time keeping their hands off those gyrating young ladies.  Somehow the men learned how to turn the Charleston into a partner dance called the Lindy.  Then came the Big Band Swing Era.  Unfortunately, when World War II ended, so did the popularity of partner dancing.  It took the Sock Hop Jitterbug Era of the late Fifties to bring partner dancing out of hibernation. 

Partner Dancing disappeared the moment the Twist arrived in 1960.  After that a series of fad dances such as the Watusi, Hand Jive, and Cool Jerk caused partner dancing to remain out of style during the Sixties and Seventies.  Thank goodness for John Travolta.  His fabulous partner dancing in Saturday Night Fever inspired dancers throughout America to resurrect the lost art of partner dancing after a 20-year absence. 

Well aware of what Travolta had accomplished with Disco, the Houston media claimed he would do the same thing for Country-Western dancing.  It is my theory that Clay Felker was responsible for planting this rumor.  Desperate to substantiate his claim that Urban Cowboy was a 'Sequel', I imagine Felker pushed the dancing angle to the hilt. 

So now we are back to the unusual 'Western Transformation' that took place during 1979.  I am convinced this Transformation was Felker's doing.  Once he sold the movie to Paramount, his next step was to promote it here in Houston every way he possibly could.  It is well-documented that Felker spent a lot of his time in Houston while the movie was being filmed.  I imagine he talked to a lot of people during this time.  For example, I have explained how Lance McFaddin took advantage of Felker's inside information to create Cowboy.  If not for Felker's vision, where would McFaddin have gotten the idea to try a new-fangled western club that dared to be beautiful and play a different type of country music?  If Felker could persuade McFaddin to invest three million dollars in a risky experiment, I am positive he could sweet-talk a Houston TV personality into believing John Travolta was going to revolutionize Western dancing.  And just how was this supposed to happen?  No doubt Travolta would demonstrate some amazing new Twostep moves in Urban Cowboy and everyone would rush to copy him. 

So now we know how the rumor started.  Did it work?  Did John Travolta revolutionize Western dancing?  No.  Ironically, it did not happen.  John Travolta did not revolutionize a damn thing. 

Now for more irony.  But it happened anyway!!!

Theoretically, 'Trends' are a cause and effect phenomenon.  Many famous trends have been caused by movies.  For example, Aubrey Hepburn's little black dress in Breakfast at Tiffany's and her Capri pants in Roman Holiday turned into major fashion trends.  Ditto for Travolta's partner dancing in Saturday Night Fever. 

But in the case of Urban Cowboy, the improvement came BEFORE THE MOVIE.  How weird is that?  During the six month January to June approach to debut, something very curious happened.  Western Dancing in Houston improved so much that even the average guy could dance Western better than John Travolta in the movie.  My friends and I went to the movie expecting all kinds of revolutionary new ideas only to discover we were better dancers than Travolta.  His dancing was so lame most of my students knew more than he did.

Nevertheless, the expectation that Travolta would revolutionize Western dancing turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy.  So who gets the credit?  John Travolta?  Hmm.  Yes, but with an asterisk.  His upcoming presence in the movie is what inspired the Houston media to go haywire.  Without Travolta, I doubt seriously Urban Cowboy would have gotten half the fanfare it generated during the filming process. 

I give much of the credit to the Houston media.  Newspapers and television news were responsible for planting the rumor that Western was the next big thing in Houston.  Without their hype, the Meyerland Club would have never scheduled a gala with a Western theme.   Without their hype, I would never have had 200 people show up in January for my Western classes. 

That said, I give most of the credit to Clay Felker, the Wizard of Oz.  He was the one who persuaded all the Discos to go dark and reemerge as Western clubs.  Left with no place to dance Disco, every dancer in Houston had to learn Western if they wished to keep dancing.  And that is when the progress began.

When the movie began filming in Houston and Pasadena in June 1979, only the Old Country style existed.  So that is what Travolta was taught to use.  At the same time, due to his popularity and expectations of the movie being a big hit, the Discos closed and were remodeled as Country-Western dance clubs.  Attendance was so-so at the new C&W clubs in 1979, but then came the New Year's Resolutions.  Why wait for June to start the party?  Let's start now!  As a result, the Evolution of Western Dancing began in earnest six months before the debut.