Today I’m going to chat about a concept that’s SO important the Travelling Wilburys wrote a song about it: the end of the line.

You’ll hear us talk about the end of the line in class.. A little in Level 1 but then a whole lot in Level 2 and 3.. What are we even talking about when we say this?. What’s the point of it all??. In a nutshell it’s about keeping the connection alive between you and your partner by maintaining a little energy in opposite directions.

The line – The line itself can be seen as two things.. The line a follow takes along the floor after they’ve been given direction from their lead.. Or the “line” made by the Lead and Follow’s arms (I’m going to stick with using the open position here to make it as obvious as possible).. By going to the end of the line the Follow is asked to travel along the line on the floor until she or he is asked to stop by the Lead.. We call the stop the lead gives “giving the end of the line”.

When a Follow continues to the end of their line, and a Lead gives their Follow the end of the line (in open position) they’ll end up with the “line” being their connection through their arms.. It’s a good idea to keep this line a little taught but not too tight.. You want to imagine it as a washing line.

The stretch – When a Lead and Follow have a small amount of energy (or a lot) going in opposite directions we often get a stretch.. The stretch is an amazing feeling in Lindy and can make the difference between a move feeling okay or out of this world.

When we combine going to the end of the line and the stretch we get a wonderful transition between moves and a fantastic way to communicate physically with your partner.. All lines are open and the messages are coming through loud and clear.. Another way to think of this is those old tin radios.. In order for the message to get through the lines need to be taut.

Both partners are frequently working to keep the stretch (or compression) alive and the easiest way to do this, Follows, is to use your body to continue to the end of the line.. Leads, give your partner a clear end of the line so they know exactly where and when to stop.

It can make a world of difference.