Whip ride

A leader cannot lead a ride, but he can strongly coax the follower onto a ride. In a ride, the follower stands on one leg as the lead walks around her while maintaining a closed position, causing her to rotate in place. Maintaining balance is very difficult for the follower. Both the lead and the follower must know what they are doing.

By not being able to lead a ride, I mean to say that there is nothing that the lead can do to prevent the follower from simply opting to walk in a rotating fashion as opposed to standing on one leg.

The handwork and footwork is the same as in a regular whip up to but not including 3&. In a regular whip, 3& are done in place on the left side of the slot while facing 3 o’clock. When doing a ride, the & step in the 3& is progressive toward 3 o’clock because step 4 must be on the right side of the slot, with your body pointing somewhere between 3:00 and 4:30 o’clock, signaling the follower that we are about to go into a ride. Note that the leader must grab the right hand with this left hand for improved balance, and the right hand must be placed on the follower’s teres major, at the top of the armpit, and on the shoulder blade. The right-hand elbow should be locked straight. Every step after the 4 must be a half-step. In other words, 4 & 5 & 6 & 7 & 8, as opposed to 4 5 6 7 8. Short, shuffling, smooth, fast steps are better for balance than single 1-beat steps. Make sure not the push or pull the follower off-balance. She is merely using your right arm as a rest while you both rotate. You are providing angular momentum with your right arm, but not pushing or pulling, just holding.