1st injury to my partner....arghh

H

hksalsa

Changui
I feel so so bad. I know it was just an accident but still.....

First thing my bachata instructor told us regarding dips and swings...."make sure you look where you are going and dipping your partner"

It was end of bachata song, everything was slowing down so I decided to dip and do a slight swing of the girl I was dancing with.
Basically I didn't look at where I was going to end the dip/swing and her face (eye) connected with a guy's elbow as the guy was moving back.....( I stupidly assumed he wasn't going to move back)

her first dance of the night, and also last dance.

stupid beginner mistake :(
 
Ouch...I've gotten a black eye while dancing (also from an elbow, not from a dip though) and it was definitely not fun at all...but at least it sounds like you learned from this.

I know lots of guys love dips, but, like in this example, they can be really dangerous (except when they are very small dips, then they are pretty safe). Even if the guy looks around very carefully basically doing all he can to ensure safety, unexpected things can happen on the dance floor, especially when it is crowded, that can end in the girl getting badly injured. In this case it sounds like she will be ok, but much worse accidents can happen, especially with fast big dips.

There are lots of ways to end a song other than dips. Or if you really like them, you can do the very small version which is more like a hug with a very slight dip. (And save the bigger dips for when you're not dancing on a crowded floor)
 
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Well this is why, as a general rule folks will generally say to avoid dips in social dancing. I know it's par for the course in other social dances, but honestly you can have all the effect without the risks. You can certainly adopt 'upright dips' etc, and in general this will avoid such matters. On the other hand I have headbutted my teaching partner at least once when social dancing, so things happen. The important thing is to learn from them - if you do, then in the long run you've grown, and not simply helped to cause some poor lassie a black eye.
 
The fact that you have thought about why this happened is a really good sign.

Don't feel too bad, accidents happen but it is ok as long as you learn from them.
 
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