<div dir="ltr">I agree with Chet that Louisville's default star is hands-across, although weekend festivals in nearby cities tend toward the millstone star. I avoid the terms wrist-lock or even wrist-grip star, as I prefer the fingers to lay atop the adjoining wrist without using the thumb to "grip" in any way.<div><br></div><div>The Midwest where I dance/call now is pretty solidly wrist-star territory (St. Louis, Columbia MO, Kansas City, Lawrence). When I call one-night events (parties, weddings), I dictate hands-across stars, but when calling for an established contra community I ask for the default.</div><div><br></div><div>--Jerome</div><div><br></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr">Jerome Grisanti<br>660-528-0858<br><a href="http://www.jeromegrisanti.com" target="_blank">http://www.jeromegrisanti.com</a><br><br><div><span style="color:rgb(20,24,35);font-size:14px;line-height:19.3199996948242px"><font face="georgia, serif">"Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it." --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe</font></span><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 3:31 AM, John Sweeney via Callers <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net" target="_blank">callers@lists.sharedweight.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Hi all,<br>
I have been to contra dances and festivals all over America and<br>
everywhere I have danced everyone automatically uses a wrist-lock star<br>
(unless the caller has specified hands-across because of the subsequent<br>
choreography).<br>
<br>
But I am constantly challenged in England by people claiming that<br>
wrist-lock stars are not the standard in America.<br>
<br>
When I go to somewhere like The Flurry and see 600 people from all<br>
over the country all doing wrist-locks it seems to me that it must be the<br>
standard way of doing things.<br>
<br>
And obviously it has been common in America for a long time; this<br>
video is from 1964 in Northern Vermont and shows wrist-lock stars:<br>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZubTju7g_s" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?<wbr>v=pZubTju7g_s</a><br>
<br>
So, are there still significant communities that don't use<br>
wrist-locks?<br>
<br>
Is the wrist-lock the de facto standard?<br>
<br>
Thanks.<br>
<br>
Happy dancing,<br>
John<br>
<br>
John Sweeney, Dancer, England <a href="mailto:john@modernjive.com">john@modernjive.com</a> 01233 625 362 & 07802<br>
940 574<br>
<a href="http://www.modernjive.com" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.modernjive.com</a> for Modern Jive Events & DVDs<br>
<a href="http://www.contrafusion.co.uk" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.contrafusion.co.uk</a> for Dancing in Kent<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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</blockquote></div><br></div>