19 Feb
2014
19 Feb
'14
5:51 a.m.
I suppose it's something I sometimes do--I think of it as punctuating the phrasing
(it's something I'd only do if I can do it right on the beat). I think I
particularly like it when I've been consistently finding people who are either ahead
of or behind the phrasing, and then find someone who's right on it. Not being able to
clap with someone (e.g., dancers at the end of the line & the move is
forward-and-back), which I think is comparable in force, would come as a surprise to me,
warranting a "Gentle, please" sticker on the person for whom it's a problem
(though I realize all you have to do to avoid that clap is not put up your hand, which you
can't really do on an allemande).
--Read Weaver
Jamaica Plain, MA
http://lcfd.org
On Feb 18, 2014, at 9:12 AM, George Mercer wrote:
I guess this is tangential to the hands/allemande
discussion, but it has
been a source of personal pain for me for some time. Over the past decade
or so more and more people, many of them pretty good long-time dancers
(both men and women), have approached me for an allemande with a percussive
force akin to a punch or slap. Wham! I have a variety of hand/arm issues
and the percussive impact of the initial allemande contact sends a jolt all
the way up to the shoulder. I have been forced to hold my hand/arm back
until the last second (when the force has dissipated) or even set it up so
the other dancer whiffs past my hand altogether. When did whacking
someone's hand for an allemande become acceptable or appropriate? This may
not be a problem for others, but for me it has the same result as the death
grip, bent wrist, thumb wrench, and other allemande problems -- pain.
Thanks.