Change of hands behind the back in jive: sequence over six beats, prerequisites, common mistakes and how to protect shoulders, ankles and heart rate.
The honest answer to “What is the change of hands behind the back in jive?”: it is a partner figure over one and a half bars in which the woman's hand passes behind the man's back from one hand to the other and the couple ends on switched sides. That is how the Roundalab standard (an American round-dance standard) describes it under the name “Change Hands Behind Back”: it starts with a rock apart and recover, moves into two chassés in which the man steps in quarter turns in front of the woman, and ends in an open position with switched sides [1].
Why is the name not the same everywhere? In the catalogue of the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) the figure is no. 6, “Change of Place behind the Back” [2]. Description (Roundalab) and catalogue name (WDSF) come from different rulebooks; whether your school treats both as the same figure is something your teacher can tell you. This guide explains the principle of the change of hands.
Then the effort: in a simulated Latin competition with 18 top dancers, jive was the most strenuous dance, with an average heart rate of 184.3 beats per minute and a maximum of 194.2; it also got the highest perceived exertion (8.3 on the study scale, rumba 5.2) [3]. An anchor: at a heart rate of 184 you can hardly talk on the side. That means you practise the figure in portions, not non-stop.
How hard is it really? The sequence is quickly explained with a partner. The difficulty is that legs and hands work at the same time, in rhythm, with soft knees. Expect several practice evenings until the figure runs calmly (experience value, no source).
The Roundalab standard says: jive figures usually begin with a rock and recover, steps are taken with a forward poise on the ball of the foot, and the knees stay soft [1]. Milestone: you dance ten rocks in time without locking the knees.
The figure runs as 1, 2, 3a, 4; 1a, 2: eight steps in six beats [1]. That means the chassés “squeeze” two steps into one beat. Count out loud, first without hands. Milestone: you dance the footwork together, in time, without changing hands.
In the description the man places a hand over the woman's right hand, both turn in quarter turns, and the woman's right hand is passed behind the man's back into his left hand [1]. Important: the hand is handed over, not pulled. Practical note without a source: behind the back the shoulder is quickly at its limit, so keep the arm loose and do not yank. Milestone: the hand travels from one to the other without a jerk.
The figure ends in an open position in which the couple has switched sides [1]. Practise the position without music, step by step. Milestone: you end on the right sides, close to the starting distance.
Start slowly, then at tempo. Film yourself from the front and the side: shoulders, knees and balls of the feet in view. Milestone: a video in which the hand changes without a pull.
For the change of hands, shoulders, ankles and heart rate are the topics. Latin is hard on the feet: in a study of 198 elite adolescent dancesport athletes, 49.5 percent had already sprained an ankle and 45.1 percent had chronic instability, and the most common mechanisms were turning and jumping (46.9 percent each) [5]. In a survey of 72 Latin formation dancers, almost 80 percent kept dancing despite pain; in women, hip, groin, ankle, forefoot and toes were affected more often than in men [7]. Stop when it stings, and have figures with a pull on the arm shown only by your teacher. This guide explains and motivates but does not replace supervised training.
A ten-week study with 42 elite youth ballroom dancers improved balance with neuromuscular training three times a week (Y-balance test and error scores in the balance test) [6]. That was not a jive study, but single-leg balance is in every Latin figure. Ten minutes of single-leg balance before training is therefore no waste of time (practical inference from the study, no proof for the change of hands).
A figure in which the woman's hand is handed over behind the man's back; it lasts one and a half bars (eight steps in six beats) and ends in an open position with switched sides. That is how the Roundalab standard describes it [1].
The WDSF catalogue lists a figure called “Change of Place behind the Back” (no. 6) [2]. The Roundalab standard calls it “Change Hands Behind Back” [1]. Which variation is meant depends on the rulebook; your teacher knows.
In the simulated Latin competition, the average heart rate in jive was about 184 beats per minute and the perceived exertion 8.3 on the study scale [3]. As a beginner you dance in portions with breaks.
With a secure change of place and rock and recover it is well learnable, but only with a partner and a teacher. The count and the hand path need a few practice evenings (experience value).
What Is Latin Dance? The 5 Competition Dances