Have you ever wondered why more women than men want to swing dance? I am beginning to believe some men look upon swing dancing as "too tough, can't do" or, even more ridiculous, hard work.

It is true, men have to learn two skills, which must be done simultaneously: ability to dance the steps and ability to lead the steps. Women, on the other hand, need only to learn to dance the steps. It is unfortunate that dance teachers don't dissociate, for teaching purposes, these two skills for men; but rather, most assume that a man can learn them at the same time. In my experience, when my partner and I cannot properly perform a step, it is my fault. Usually it is a break-down in one of the two male skills needed for the step. If I concentrate on leading, I stop dancing. If I concentrate on footwork and positioning, my lead may be missing, may be inappropriate, or may come too soon or too late.

All too often, the upshot for a man is the fol-lowing scenario. Your partner can perform the step perfectly in the hands of a practiced man, but try as you may; you cannot get the job done. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who thinks who is klutzy here.

Further, it is incumbent on the man to manage floor space, since he dictates which steps will be danced. He must gauge how much floor will be needed for a particular step and the likelihood that the necessary floor will be available when he needs it. In this regard, calculus (the accurate measurement of changing things) might prove handy.

Further yet, the man must quickly assess the skills of a new partner, in order not to embarrass her by leading her into difficult steps; but he should still provide a dance which matches her skills. Toward this end, the man must have a good grasp of which steps should be avoided if there is a big height dis parity between them, which steps are easy to lead, which employ subtle leads, and which are unleadble (requiring either agreed in advance choreography or partner familiarity).

Still further, the man should try to program the dance so that it utilizes steps in logical sequence with respect to hand-holds (left to right, right to right, or doubled; uncrossed or crossed, and if crossed, which hand-hold is under). As well, the man must chose steps utilizing partner positioning (facing, closed, open or apart, and if apart, which way the pair is facing with respect to one another).

In addition, the man should try to program the dance so it is not repetitious, take advantage of the music breaks and match the intensity of the music. And, he should try to close the dance on a step that ends with the music. In order to do this, the man should be familiar enough with the structure of the 32 measure American song form (four, 8 measure segments to a chorus) and the structure of 12 measure blues so he can predict when the music breaks will occur and be able to anticipate the end of the music. Counting, one-two-three-four, two-two-three-four, three-two- three-four, and so on, while dancing helps immeasurably (if you will forgive the pun).

And still further yet, the man should try to show the lady to best advantage, share the steps which showcase each partner, be careful where his hands land, and generally, the man should try to look stylish to properly grace the pair while dancing. All the while, the man should reinforce his leads, by looking in the direction he wants the lady to go; but otherwise, he must maintain eye contact with the lady and smile relentlessly to show that he is in no way under any duress. Is there any wonder why men avoid swing dancing?

(Reprinted from The Dallas Push Club newsletter November-December 2005 and from Jitterbug Magazine, October 1994)