Re: [Callers] Foreshortened Hold for a Swing

I'm with John Sweeney. I love to swing in more-or-less the position that is depicted on the Zesty Contras cover. I'd encourage the women not to rest their hand where it's shown in that illustration, though; a better place in most situations is somewhere in the vicinity of my right shoulder blade, so that the woman's left hand and arm are supporting herself as much as my outstretched right ones. I keep my left thumb closer to my other fingers, too, to avoid a death grip squeezing on my partner's right arm. I love this swing for many reasons. With our joined arms, we can make a small circle and I like the rounded feeling. Also, as Larry Jennings pointed out, such a swing is much better for crowded halls; your outstretched arms won't smash into someone else (or be smashed into), you're taking up less space, and that circle of arms and bodies that you make is sort of a protected zone that you and your partner inhabit. David Millstone Lebanon, NH