Hi Andrea,
Absolutely. All moves should be taught explicitly as not a grip.
Amazing! There is always something new to learn. I have been
dancing the cupped elbow hold for over 50 years, and taught it to literally
thousands of dancers. I have never heard about there being a challenge
regarding bust contact. I checked with my wife and she has never encountered
it either.
Just to clarify: I was not suggesting in any way that either
forearm hold should be used in modern American contra dancing. I was just
clarifying the various version of the move in response to someone’s query about
what the hold is.
The cupped elbow hold definitely has its place in various parts
of the wonderful spectrum of traditional/folk/country/contra dancing.
I would only ever suggest it as an option in contra dancing if
someone had an injury and didn’t want to use the standard contra Allemande
hold. It could also be offered in self-defence, instead of the fist-to-fist
“hold”, when encountering someone in the line that you know is likely to hurt
you.
The standard contra Allemande hold is undoubtedly here to stay.
It is by far the best option for moves like Rory O’More and Swing Thru, and it
is established across the world as the way to do a modern American contra dance
Allemande.
So, all we can try to do is improve people’s technique.
Quite often a new caller will learn how to call a dance, get up
in front of an experienced crowd, walk through the dance calling the moves,
then call the dance, calling all the right words at the right time, and relying
on the experienced dancers to help the beginners through the dance. The dance
works. The caller will then consider themself to be a contra dance caller,
without ever having actually taught anything at all.
In the UK the EFDSS changed the name of the person holding the
microphone from “teacher” to “caller” some time in the 1950s.
I feel that very few modern callers realise that teaching is part
of the job.
We callers are the only ones who can improve the dancers’
technique. I just wish that all callers realised this and took responsibility
for it. It only takes a few seconds during each walk-through to drop a pearl
of wisdom into the mix. It doesn’t take long to say one of these:
Allemande: It’s not arm-wrestling - if your hand moves towards you, you lose!
Allemande: Make a good connection then relax - your muscles are for fighting
centrifugal force, not your partner.
Allemande 1.5: Keep your hands mid-way between you with nice W-shaped arms and
take bigger steps.
Circle Left 3/4; Pass Through: It’s six steps for the circle and two to pass
through - don’t be late for your new neighbour.
Swing: Plan the end of the move so your are both facing the right way on time.
Wrist-Lock Stars: Make sure your thumb is on top with your fingers so that you
can’t grip.
Etc.
I have often though of putting a poster at the door saying,
“Leave your thumbs at the door!”
Maybe we could all share our favourite teaching phrases and make
a database of them to encourage all callers to do some teaching.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England [email protected] 01233 625 362 & 07802 940
574
http://contrafusion.co.uk/KentCeilidhs.html for Live Music Ceilidhs
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive DVDs
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