Perhaps I'm not picturing this correctly, but anything that
encourages dancers to give weight with the outstretched arm is
something I would discourage. When I teach the swing, I go out of my
way to teach that the outstretched hand is purely decorative, that
you're not giving any weight there. (I'm not picturing how the first
two points are accomplished by this either, though I suppose I should
try it. As for taking up less room, that's part of why I teach not
giving weight with that arm--if you're not giving weight there, those
arms can be completely tucked in.)
--Read Weaver
Jamaica Plain, MA
http://lcfd.org
On Feb 16, 2012, at 1:40 PM, John Sweeney wrote:
When I learnt contra dancing (after 30 years of dancing other forms of
traditional dancing) I was shown the swing hold from "Zesty Contras" -
depicted on the cover and described on page 15 as "a modified ballroom
position with the man's left hand near the woman's right elbow as
shown
in the "Zesty Contras" logo".
I would describe it more as the man's left hand cupping the lady's
right
elbow, with the lady's arm lying on the man's arm, and her hand
curving
round his upper arm just above the elbow.
I find it an excellent way to swing because:
- it brings you closer together
- it reduces the angle between your bodies and makes it easier to look
at each other
- it provides more support for the lady by holding her elbow
- it takes up less room on a crowded dance-floor
I just spent a weekend in America dancing with 350 people. I use this
hold all the time in a standard swing, but when I initiated this hold
most of the ladies didn't seem to know where to put their arm and
hand.
When I watched other dancers I didn't see anyone else doing it.
Can anyone tell me why this wonderful hold, which appears to have been
the standard 30 years ago, has virtually disappeared?
