[Callers] Hand Turns & Safety

Mon May 20 16:22:08 PDT 2019

Here is a link with a square dance using the forearm allemande at 30
seconds in.  As a dancer and caller in both worlds, I prefer the contra
allemande over the forearm allemande.  It is easier ti give weight and I
would suspect it is faster going 1-1/2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2Y-NdyZtKM

On Mon, May 20, 2019 at 6:58 PM Richard Fischer via Callers <
callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Andrea, could you describe the forearm allemande?  I don't think I've seen
> it and can't quite picture it.  Or maybe send a link to a video that shows
> it?
>
> Of possible interest to some, one of the scenes portrayed on the Shield of
> Achilles in the Iliad shows youths and maidens dancing, "holding their
> hands on one another's wrists."
>
> With best wishes,
>
> Richard Fischer
> Princeton, NJ
>
> On May 18, 2019, at 12:14 PM, Andrea Nettleton via Callers <
> callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> I’m going to add a controversial note.  I also loathe the many poor
> allemandes I get, unweighted, awkward handed, arm pulled in like a chicken
> wing, what have you.  As a MWSD, I have come to love the forearm allemande
> for arm turns.  Callerlab made the switch some years ago, and at first I
> was like, wut???  But it’s a position which save everyone’s hands and
> wrists, and even shoulders, is intrinsically very stable, and makes the
> chicken wing almost impossible.  I started using it for dances with
> revolving doors, as a dancer, because those turns are so brief and
> necessarily tight and need a quick strong connection.  I was so pleased I
> began using them elsewhere.  People generally go along with it.  I have
> been wishing Contra could just switch to this for all allemandes.  I know
> it would be an uphill struggle to get everyone on board. But I had to put
> it out there.
>
> Currently I still teach an old fashioned allemande.  I demonstrate and
> emphasize meaty parts of the thumb together, fingers curled around the base
> of the opposite’s thumb, flat wrist.  And I always add that the thumb
> itself is an injurious device which lands at a tender spot if depressed, so
> leave it loose.  Then I demonstrate how to produce enough connection to
> make a 2 person unit that turns on a post.  I’m sure everyone on this list
> has similar teaches.
> If teaching this allemande was ever going to work, it would have by now.
> I suspect it’s failure as a hold is why callerlab opted for the forearm
> hold instead.
> My 2c,
> Andrea N
> Arlington VA
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On May 17, 2019, at 6:01 PM, Erik Hoffman via Callers <
> callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> John Sweeny below hoped we callers would teach more about hand turns and
> the like.
>
> I’ve been thinking on this for quite a while. Years ago I had a discussion
> with Brad Foster. We both lamented the loss of the allemande with mildly
> interlocking thumbs to the modern overprotective thumb against the side of
> the palm allemande. At that time I think I was still in Santa Barbara, thus
> it must have been pre 1994. I wrote an article for our dance rag called,
> “If Allemande Left, Where’d Allemande Go?”
>
> I talked about what I do when someone grips my hand—and I think all of us
> should remove that word, “grip” from our caller’s vocabulary…
>
> But the most important thing I discussed is:
>
>    - Our Wrist is Strongest When It’s Straight
>    - Our Fingers are Strongest When Curved
>    - Thus, however one does an allemande, it should be a hook, with
>    curved fingers and a straight wrist.
>
>
> Lately I’ve seen teachers promote the straight fingers, bent wrist, and
> flat palm method. The almost always makes one person’s wrist uncomfortable.
> Not as bad as when someone draws the others hand into that
> almost-Aikido-put-them-on-the-ground position, but usually quite
> uncomfortable.
>
> Thus I hope most of us learn the curved fingers, straight wrist, no grip,
> and, no thumb clamping allemande, ECD hand turn, two hand turn type hand
> connections.
>
> ~Erik Hoffman,
>    Oakland, CA
>
> *From:* Callers <callers-bounces at lists.sharedweight.net> *On Behalf Of *John
> Sweeney via Callers
> *Sent:* Friday, May 17, 2019 2:09 PM
> *To:* 'Caller's discussion list' <callers at sharedweight.net>
> *Subject:* Re: [Callers] Name that Dance
>
> Hi Rich,
>               I would just call it a “Big Set Mixer”.  It is a slight
> variation of the one in the Community Dances Manual.  Callers just make up
> a 32 bar sequence that works for their dancers.
>
>               While it is a good example of all ages having fun together,
> I really wish callers would teach the dancers just a tiny bit about how to
> do better hand/arm turns and swings :-)
>
>             Happy dancing,
>                    John
>
> John Sweeney, Dancer, England   john at modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802
> 940 574
> http://contrafusion.co.uk/KentCeilidhs.html for Live Music
> Ceilidhs
> http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
>
> http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive DVDs
>
>
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