Cast Off variations:
In my experience as a dancer & caller (mostly in northern New England) it's
called a cast off when someone approaches another person from a disconnected
position (as in actives coming up the center of the set and walking around the
inactives). Sometimes it's done w arms around back, sometimes no hands w the
connection just eye-contact. In this case, active always walks forward,
inactive backs up.
I think of a hand cast as being a similar figure, but starting from a connected
position (as in line of four down center, return, hand cast to face across.)
In this case it's done w a hand hold (nicely elastic tension) and the center
people walk forward while the ends back up (giving the center folks a great
whoosh/momentum sensation, sometimes w a bit of a crack-the-whip feel).
I think of a wheel around as being either the hand hold or the arm around the
back. Somehow I think of that term more in squares, although I use 'wheel
around' when explaining how to (a) turn as a twosome for a same gender R&L thru
or (b) turn as a couple midway through a four in line down the hall & back.
Pivot Point:
In all of these cases, I think of it as both people moving, but with the person
who's moving forward doing more of the moving (so their path is longer)
especially on the hand cast. The backer-upper moves in a circular track/arc
too (they're definitely not the pivot point) but it's unequal... they move in a
smaller arc than the mover-forwarder, again especially on the hand cast. And I
think that if you took a long exposure photo of a hand cast and had a light on
the joined hands, that connection would also be an arc. But who knows!
There must be a physics concept to illustrate this pivot point thing. I'd love
to see the formula. Or, alternatively, the time release photo.
Fun to explore language concepts!
Chrissy Fowler
Belfast ME
