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Side Chasse (PreBronze)
Commence with weight over ball of RF, heel lightly touching the floor. LF held slightly to side on inside edge of ball of foot, knees slightly flexed and veering inward.
As a preparation to move, use a slight raising and lowering of R heel, accompanied by a sympathetic body rise and fall (Count "a")
Chasse to the Left
| Count | ||
| 1 | LF to side with split weight, small step, L knee flexed. Hips to R (Ball of foot). Use a slight body raise after foot is placed | Q |
| 2 | Move RF toward LF, both knees flexed (Ball flat). Allow body weight to lower | a |
| 3 | LF to side, small step, knee flexed, then softly straighten knee. Return hips to central Position (Ball flat). Use a slight body rise after foot is placed | Q |
A Chasse to right would be the normal opposite, starting with RF
Note
| 1 (Footwork) | Although footwork on 1 is given as "Ball of foot," the heel may lower toward the floor, or even make light contact with the floor. Step 2 is given as "Ball flat," although the heel could lower toward the floor without making contact |
| When turn is made on the last step of the chasse, the footwork could be "Ball" or "Ball flat." At all times, the weight is over the balls of the feet | |
| 2 | A slight bounce action is used on all chasses |
| 3 | There is a freedom of the hips with a natural "contra" hip motion. For example, when the chasse is commenced with the LF, the hips move slightly R; when the chasse is commenced with the RF, the hips move slightly L. Hips return to normal central position on the last step of the chasse |
Note about the Jive Chasse
In its basic form, the chasse in Jive is a group of three steps taken in any forward, backward, or sideways direction, with or without turn, counted "Q a Q." The first step is taken with split weight, the second step is moved toward the other foot, the third step continues to move in the direction required. The chasse may also be danced in place with feet almost closed
| Step 1 | 3/4 beat |
| Step 2 | 1/4 beat |
| Step 3 | 1 beat |
For teaching purposes, the Jive chasse may be replaced with a single step (Count "S") or "tap, step" or "step, tap" (Count "Q Q").
