Thank you all for your feedback :-) The overwhelming opinion is that the R hand allemande is more natural.
I think it's in part a circle L versus circle R kinda thing, where one is more comfortable because it's done more and folks know how to make it smooth. I also think it's a really small effect, and that dancer comfort is an important consideration. It's been pointed out to me that the sample dance I put up is very close to Contraindicated by Peter Stix (replace the allemande with a do-si-do, thus sidestepping the issue). The sample dance was actually a simplification to just address the lines->allemande transition. The dance I'm was working on that brought it up: They're a right bunch of dancers Becket A1 Circle L 3/4, gents lead out to the left; zig and zag the set to new couples A2 Circle R 3/4 ladies 1/2 chain B1 long lines fwd & back ladies allemande R 1 1/2 to ptr B2 ptr bal & swg Which I wrote to end with a partner balance and swing (something I like to close a set with). Thanks again for all the feedback and information. On Tue, Aug 25, 2009 at 4:59 PM, Luke Donev<[email protected]> wrote: > Hello all, > > 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? > > -- > Luke Donev > http://www.lukedonev.com > [email protected] > -- Luke Donev http://www.lukedonev.com [email protected]
