Greg

You and Isaac Banner have inspired me. Yes, Left Hand chains flow so nicely - especially for larks to then move forward into allemande or hey or what have you. Your work inspired this dance which I have been calling frequently (4 times at weekends in the last 6 weeks). I'm doing my part to make Left hand chains a regular part of our dance vocabulary.

Title: New Neural Pathways

Author: Seth Tepfer

Formation: duple minor, improper

A1: Long lines (8); Robins Left hand chain* to partner (8) 

A2: Robins pass left ½ hey (8); partner swing (8)

B1: Larks left hand chain** (8); Larks see saw (8)

B2: Neighbor Balance and Swing (16)

Notes: 

Robins Left hand chain: Robins allemande left 1/2, give right to partner, put left hand behind back, larks take right hand in right hand and put left hand around the robins back. Robin moves forward, larks back up; all end up facing neighbors across set with robins on the LEFT and larks on the right.

Larks left hand chain**: Larks allemande left 1/2, give right to partner, put left hand behind back, robins take right hand in right hand and put left hand around the larks back. larks move forward, robins back up; all end up facing neighbors across set with larks on the LEFT and robins on the right.

Seth

---

From: Gregory Frock via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net>
Sent: Monday, March 24, 2025 8:51 AM
To: John Sweeney <john@modernjive.com>
Cc: Shared Weight Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net>
Subject: [External] [Callers] Re: New Names for Ladies' Chains

 

Hi John,

In response to your query, I would say nothing definitive. I have been using Right-Hand Chain and Left-Hand Chain for at least 10 years. I started with Right-Hand Chain because I wanted to imply the existence of a Left-Hand Chain, an underused choreographic element IMHO. Since I define a RH chain as "whoever is on the right side, extend right hands and pull by... [etc]", it seems to me that it would also function as positional. I have experienced a 99%+ success rate with these terms and descriptions, including when I add in the rate chain along the line.

LH chains are still rare and somewhat awkward for experienced dancers in my experience. But as their appearance increases in frequency, the awkwardness dissipates.

Greg

On Mon, Mar 24, 2025 at 6:49 AM John Sweeney via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

Hi all,

              Please could you let me know what the new gender-free names for Ladies’ Chains are?  Has anything evolved as the definitive new name?

 

              Thanks.

 

            Happy dancing,

                   John                      

                                   

John Sweeney, Dancer, England   john@modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574

http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent                                         

 

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