How to Whirl a Butterfly

The prep calls, annotated:
Larks allemande left 1x or 1.5x (ok.)
Pick up your partner for a star promenade halfway (yay! I'm with my partner!)
When you reach the other side, release left hands for a butterfly whirl with your partner (internal groaning)

The standard butterfly whirl:
Robin walks forward, lark stumbles backward, using robin's stability to keep from falling over (because, apparently, we don't recall that we normally walk backward just fine whenever we need to). Internal monologuing by lark ensues about why the heck anyone ever thought that was fun, even though they should be just fine with it from how many well executed courtesy turns?

The fun one, which I'm convinced must be how it was done when invented:
Both give weight away from their mutual middle while holding on in cast-off style, inner arms around waists/sides, lark's arm on top.
Both buzz-step, lark traveling backward, executing a side-by-side swing, but going counter-clockwise.  No stumbling, as heels are off the ground.
Spin TWICE in the normal time to turn once, if partner is up for it.
The splufty exit: Lark raises right arm to release robin's left arm, which drops to robin's side, and TWIRLS alone one more turn.  This quickly unwraps the robin's arm without dragging it across lark's back and under lark's right arm.  Robin enjoys the unencumbered release.  Lark has too much fun for snarky internal monologue.
If the next move is a robins chain or other robin-only figure, robin has momentum for it.  If it's long lines or the like, robin can counter-twirl the exit clockwise.

People are sometimes skeptical from the description. Just try it a few times, giving yourself and your partner a chance to get the side-by-side swing right.  I really look forward to butterflies, now.  I used to hate them.

--jh--



On Wed, Jul 17, 2024 at 7:44 PM Abigail Sorg via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
I'd love to hear some specifics of how people word these messages to the dancers!
- Julian's note about No/loose thumbs - I've described this as pretending you have hands like a Lego minifig, just a sort of gentle curve to the hand to allow for reliable connection that be easily escaped, not sure how others talk about it and whether the Lego analogy has any unintended bad consequences.
- Joe, can you elaborate on "how to make a butterfly whirl... [not] a backward, stumbling mess"? I think that's something my dance community could work on as a whole :)

Abbie
she/her
Tucson, AZ

On Wed, Jul 17, 2024 at 3:46 PM Joe Harrington via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
How to offer, follow, or refuse an underarm twirl.
(Related) The medical reason (adhesive capsulitis) never to force someone's elbow above their shoulder (nor, really, to force anything at all, but this explanation has very high convincing power).
Never grab.  Hand positions for allemandes, box/swat, etc. that allow all dance functions and weight sharing, but are easily escaped/refused.
Pre-rotating swings and allemandes, and other flow techniques.  And, how to compensate when your partner unexpectedly throws in an extra solo twirl when you were pre-rotating the upcoming swing.
Encouraging women to ask people to dance and to lead flourishes.
Encouraging newbies to ask experienced people to dance and for advice, if they want it.
How to make a butterfly whirl feel like one of the best moves in contra rather than a backward, stumbling mess.

--jh--


On Wed, Jul 17, 2024 at 5:25 PM Julian Blechner via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

Good hand placement on swings

No/loose thumbs

Flourishes are optional

How to accept or decline a basic Twirl

Looking at the other dancer even if no eye contact

Opportunities for eye contact - especially in dances where you can connect and one role follows the other without contact

Looping wide where appropriate (hey for four, other various examples where one role has momentum and can flow into another move)

Good shared weight, especially for beginner crowds

End effects, as relevant and not intuitive from the choreo

How to properly do a pushback in a ricochet hey

Spinning the correct way in a petro spin

How a courtesy turn is two people moving as a unit, not one person scooping the other around

1 step per beat of music, forwards usually - (newbs love to side shuffle on swings, ya know?)

When a move has extra time to fill, or arrive early, etc

Asking people who sat out to dance

A swing should be smooth, not skipping

Optional swings (like the Shadow thread, or a same role alle R in the middle, sometimes)

After walking through a few connected moves, conveying how to flow them together

Prolly more, but, I'll stop here. :)

In dance,
Julian Blechner
He/him
Western Mass


On Wed, Jul 17, 2024, 4:24 PM Harris Lapiroff via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
I’m trying to add more style points to my teaching. What are some of your favorite brief style or safety tips to deliver from the mic? Ones that are relevant to specific sequences, general tips, for beginners, or for experienced dancers, I’m interested in any and all of them!

Harris Lapiroff

Dance Caller and Organizer
Boston Intergenerational Dance Advocates Board (Cambridge MA)
Pinewoods Camp, Inc Board (Plymouth MA)

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