[CeeCee]

I recently had the dubious honour of being harrassed by a chap at a regular venue who pestered me to show him the double pretzel.

I'm not a fan of this family of moves. The sight of the leader's spare hand behind his back to signal the impending torment can be enough to make me cringe and want to cry or crumble into an unhappy heap on the floor. The first few posts on this ancient but relevant thread illustrate just some of the reasons why I detest the pretzel. Many leaders try to do it quickly and roughly long before they are ready to lead it properly and the follower’s life is made miserable during the learning process.

I happily abort the move with a guy I don’t trust because my shoulder joints are more important than his ego. Only a couple of guys I know lead it comfortably and my many favourite dancers (thankfully) don’t have it in their repertoire at all.

With this in mind, I declined the invitation, as pretzels of any kind are right at the bottom of my list of moves to be encouraged.

He refused to let it rest. He repeatedly asked me, I explained I don't like the move, I suggested he ask a teacher, he returned later in the evening to attempt to demonstrate it on me. I was not happy.

Why was his desire to do this move more important than my desire to avoid it?

originally posted by Heather
Seriously, a lot of us ladies would prefer several simple moves, well executed and in time to the music, than a lot of these complicated moves that, when not done properly, make you look a real prat, and feel like a knitting pattern.

Well said Heather, "feel like a knitting pattern" is a great description.

As Stuart M said we can feel like we're being tortured.

Oh and why so many hideous variations?

pretzel
pretzel plus
almost pretzel
double pretzel
open pretzel
open pretzel sway
Cynthia's pretzel
Cynthia's pretzel double basket
almost Pretzel Sway Walkaround
double pretzel duck comb elbow walk
oh dear, I hope I don't regret supplying this list.

Why not keep the moves simple, keep the moves comfortable, let's both enjoy the dance.
As Heather asked nearly four years ago,

What do other ladies think? What do you prefer?