Yeah, I don't understand the problem with no thumbs--I go out of my way to teach the no-thumb hold to beginners, mostly to avoid twisted thumbs from the person who doesn't let go in time. Is there some thought that it leads to the bent-wrist hold?
On Jun 26, 2013, at 9:37 PM, Jacob Bloom wrote: > As for the no-thumb allemande: Years ago, I started having a problem with > my left thumb aching for days after a dance, from the allemande lefts. > This started almost 30 years ago, so I can't blame that problem on > advancing age. As far as I'm concerned, doing an allemande without locking > thumbs is an improvement which has been made necessary by the modern > tendency to do an allemande all the way around in four beats instead of six > or eight. I'm always delighted when I run into another dancer who gives me > a no-thumb allemande. Anything that prevents injury is a good thing. > > Jacob Bloom > [email protected] > > > On Wed, Jun 26, 2013 at 12:00 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 00:03:40 -0700 >> From: Erik Hoffman <[email protected]> >> To: jean francis <[email protected]>, Caller's discussion list >> <[email protected]> >> Subject: >> >> Re: [Callers] First-time Contra Dancers and similar figures >> >> [1] An aside: many people call this the "wrist grip" form. I encourage >> us all to remove the word "grip" from out teaching lexicon, as gripping >> has led to griping, and that (IMHO) horrid no-thumb allemande... The >> connection is through hooks and surfaces to lean on, not through >> gripping. And, although I don't like the no thumb allemande, when do I >> teach this form of star, I encourage all five fingers, thumb included, >> going over the top of the wrist in front - no grip. >> >> erik hoffman >> ~oakland, ca
