George, that's an interesting point, and I'm glad you mentioned it, because
it's definitely one that hadn't really entered my consciousness. I've
definitely experienced a forceful allemande approach as, while not *the* norm,
definitely a viable means of entering an allemande. The force level I'm
referring to is roughly equivalent to a high five--I don't know if that's
the sort of thing that would cause you pain, or if you're talking about
even harder allemandes. It seems to me to be a way of adding energy to the
dance, and even more specifically, a rhythmic accent (both in terms of the
physical contact and the noise it produces)--akin to a foot stop or the
claps on a petronella.
All that said, I'm glad you pointed out that it's not for everyone. I'll
definitely be more mindful in the future. I haven't really had the
experience of going in for a forceful allemande approach and meeting
someone who's not reciprocating--there's something about the wind-up that
provides a clue, I think--but I'll certainly keep an eye out. Yay for not
hurting people!
Maia
On Tue, Feb 18, 2014 at 9:12 AM, George Mercer <geopmercer(a)gmail.com> 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.
On Tue, Feb 18, 2014 at 7:45 AM, Lindsay Morris <lindsay(a)tsmworks.com
wrote:
Don's photo illustrates the
"OSHA-approved" grip I mentioned. It's not
the
> intuitive thing to do, so callers would do well (IMHO) to promote it.
>
> Jonathan, the "thumbs-up" position is different, and puts one at risk of
> injury or just awkwardness (like, when a new dancer grabs my thumb with
> their whole hand- ick).
>
> "Hand manners" in general would be a good topic - and how callers can
> promote good ones.
>
> --------------------
> Lindsay Morris
> CEO, TSMworks
> Tel. 1-859-539-9900
> lindsay(a)tsmworks.com
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 17, 2014 at 10:03 PM, Don Veino <sharedweight_net(a)veino.com
>
wrote:
>
> > [Lots of other posts trimmed...]
> >
> > Similar to a previous comment, and knowing one size does not fit all, I
> try
> > to preface any "style points" with a fellow dancer with "it
would help
me
if..." and then describe or show my desired interaction behavior. Puts
the
> issue totally on me and makes it sound like I'm asking a favor of them
to
adjust to
my needs, not correcting them -- if it leads to further good
form
from them generally thereafter, so much the
better. I've not had a
negative
reaction to this since I started doing it.
BTW, for allemandes I use a connection that I picked up somewhere in my
contra travels (which sounds a lot like some of he best practices
described
to this point). I find this to be fairly common
where I dance. As a
picture
> is worth a thousand words, here it is (note I'm torqued slightly in
these
> due to holding the camera with the other
hand for the photo -- the
normal
connection is neutral and unstressed but results in good weight):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3My2DFMxZpOb3g1MVJWSS1lOGc/edit?usp=shari…
-Don
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