The wrist lock is the common star formation in the Northwest, with a hands across being the exception. -Amy Seattle
On Oct 10, 2016 5:37 AM, "Dave Casserly via Callers" < [email protected]> wrote: > Jeff Kaufman wrote a paper on regional variations in contra dance. Here's > what > he found > <https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/linguistics/2007_kaufman_jeff.pdf> > for wrist-grip stars (page 31 of the link). Basically, they're common > everywhere in the US except in some parts of the South. This is based on > data from ten or more years ago, so I'm not sure if that's still true. I > would not be surprised if it isn't-- there's enough cross-contamination > that wrist-grips could have taken over even in the South. We do have > people from Georgia and North Carolina on the list; hopefully they'll chime > in. > > -Dave > Washington, DC > > On Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 4:31 AM, John Sweeney via Callers < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi all, >> I have been to contra dances and festivals all over America and >> everywhere I have danced everyone automatically uses a wrist-lock star >> (unless the caller has specified hands-across because of the subsequent >> choreography). >> >> But I am constantly challenged in England by people claiming that >> wrist-lock stars are not the standard in America. >> >> When I go to somewhere like The Flurry and see 600 people from all >> over the country all doing wrist-locks it seems to me that it must be the >> standard way of doing things. >> >> And obviously it has been common in America for a long time; this >> video is from 1964 in Northern Vermont and shows wrist-lock stars: >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZubTju7g_s >> >> So, are there still significant communities that don't use >> wrist-locks? >> >> Is the wrist-lock the de facto standard? >> >> Thanks. >> >> Happy dancing, >> John >> >> John Sweeney, Dancer, England [email protected] 01233 625 362 & 07802 >> 940 574 >> http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive Events & DVDs >> http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Callers mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net >> > > > > -- > David Casserly > (cell) 781 258-2761 > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net > >
