Instead of patting your thighs, you can also try patting your knees. Choose the motion that is most comfortable for you. You can sit or stand while doing the hand jive. [2] X Expert Source Bridgette BorzilloDance Instructor & Artistic Director Expert Interview. 10 September 2021.
This motion is sometimes called the hammer because you are hamming your fists together.
Use this video to help you learn and practice the dance: https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=n5FXpc1nPr0
Although these songs are most commonly used for the hand jive, you can perform the dance moves to almost any song. Try choosing an upbeat song that you enjoy and see how it looks. Avoid slow ballads. The jive is supposed to be relatively quick and works best with songs that have a faster beat.
For example, when you pat your thighs twice count in your head 1. . . 2 to the beat of the music. Then when you clap your hands count in your head 3. . . 4, when you cross your hands (right over left) count 5…6, and then when you cross your hands (left over right) count 7. . . 8. Once you get to 8 counts, you should start over at 1 again. This means when you pound your fists (right over left) you will count 1. . . 2, and then when you pound your fists again (left over right) you will count 3. . . 4, followed by thumbs up over the right shoulder and count 5…6, and finally thumbs up over the left shoulder and count 7. . . 8.
If you are already finding the jive difficult, you can also try slowing down the movement. Instead of taking 16 beats (2 sets of 8 counts) you can take 32 beats (4 sets of 8 counts). This means that you would double all of the movements. For example, instead of patting your legs twice, you would pat them 4 times. Continue the dance by doubling all of the movements.
Similarly, there are other versions that include a hand roll instead of the hand crossing section.
Remember to always choreograph the moves to counts of 8 in order to stay in time with the music.
