Luke wrote:
> I'm sitting at home writing a contra (they get in my head and won't > leave me alone till I write them down). I unfortunately don't have a > closet full of dancers to pull out and test things on, but I've got a > question about flow. > When the ladies are standing to the right of their neighbor on the > side of the set, facing their partner, and are going to allemande > over to their partner for a balance and swing, should it be an > allemande Right or Left? I feel like the R is more traditional for > ladies, but an allemande L would leave their R hand free for a > smoother transition to a balance and swing (I feel lead's L, follow's > R is a better 1 hand balance to go into a swing with than lead's R, > follow's L). > To put it in context, consider the following dance: > Sample dance 1, Improper > A1: N bal & swg > A2: long lines, fwd & back > Ladies Allmnd L 1+ to partner > B1: ptr bal & swg > B2: ladies 1/2 chain > star L 1x, on to next > I think the ladies should allemande L there, but I'd be curious what > other people think of the flow. > If it was something like going to a R hand R hand balance for a box > the gnat, it would seem to force the issue, but it seems more open > when it's just going into a swing. Preferences? Thoughts? Ladies allemande right. The main reason is that they're used to doing it, and they won't have to think about it. They're *so* used to allemanding right (as men in those spots are so used to allemanding left) t that they'll probably have to think about it every time, which means that the thing you're doing to improve flow will turn an easy flowing thing into a hiccup. Secondarily: If it's right hand, partner can help with a little tug or guidance on the left hand, which moves the lady in the right direction to catch hand - same lead as on a ladies' chain, so most guys know how to do that. If it's left hand, the guy is holding her left hand and the lead would have to be pushing that hand away from him, which won't be communicated at all unless she's giving him a much stiffer arm than you usually get in contra. So it's unusual, and your partner can't help you. Also, if you're concerned about hand alternation, you're going from her left hand held by partner into her left hand held by other lady, so you're not accomplishing hand alternation. Dancers are so used to balance and swing that it really doesn't matter what hand is free - 1/3 of them will make it a two-hand balance anyway, 1/8 will do some funky swing dance move to get into the swing, others will be able to balance by the hand they get and change hands if needed on the way into the swing. -- Alan -- =============================================================================== Alan Winston --- [email protected] Disclaimer: I speak only for myself, not SLAC or SSRL Phone: 650/926-3056 Paper mail to: SSRL -- SLAC BIN 99, 2575 Sand Hill Rd, Menlo Park CA 94025 ===============================================================================
