George, that's an interesting point, and I'm glad you mentioned it, because it's definitely one that hadn't really entered my consciousness. I've definitely experienced a forceful allemande approach as, while not *the* norm, definitely a viable means of entering an allemande. The force level I'm referring to is roughly equivalent to a high five--I don't know if that's the sort of thing that would cause you pain, or if you're talking about even harder allemandes. It seems to me to be a way of adding energy to the dance, and even more specifically, a rhythmic accent (both in terms of the physical contact and the noise it produces)--akin to a foot stop or the claps on a petronella.
All that said, I'm glad you pointed out that it's not for everyone. I'll definitely be more mindful in the future. I haven't really had the experience of going in for a forceful allemande approach and meeting someone who's not reciprocating--there's something about the wind-up that provides a clue, I think--but I'll certainly keep an eye out. Yay for not hurting people! Maia On Tue, Feb 18, 2014 at 9:12 AM, George Mercer <geopmer...@gmail.com> wrote: > I guess this is tangential to the hands/allemande discussion, but it has > been a source of personal pain for me for some time. Over the past decade > or so more and more people, many of them pretty good long-time dancers > (both men and women), have approached me for an allemande with a percussive > force akin to a punch or slap. Wham! I have a variety of hand/arm issues > and the percussive impact of the initial allemande contact sends a jolt all > the way up to the shoulder. I have been forced to hold my hand/arm back > until the last second (when the force has dissipated) or even set it up so > the other dancer whiffs past my hand altogether. When did whacking > someone's hand for an allemande become acceptable or appropriate? This may > not be a problem for others, but for me it has the same result as the death > grip, bent wrist, thumb wrench, and other allemande problems -- pain. > Thanks. > > > On Tue, Feb 18, 2014 at 7:45 AM, Lindsay Morris <lind...@tsmworks.com > >wrote: > > > Don's photo illustrates the "OSHA-approved" grip I mentioned. It's not > the > > intuitive thing to do, so callers would do well (IMHO) to promote it. > > > > Jonathan, the "thumbs-up" position is different, and puts one at risk of > > injury or just awkwardness (like, when a new dancer grabs my thumb with > > their whole hand- ick). > > > > "Hand manners" in general would be a good topic - and how callers can > > promote good ones. > > > > -------------------- > > Lindsay Morris > > CEO, TSMworks > > Tel. 1-859-539-9900 > > lind...@tsmworks.com > > > > > > On Mon, Feb 17, 2014 at 10:03 PM, Don Veino <sharedweight_...@veino.com > > >wrote: > > > > > [Lots of other posts trimmed...] > > > > > > Similar to a previous comment, and knowing one size does not fit all, I > > try > > > to preface any "style points" with a fellow dancer with "it would help > me > > > if..." and then describe or show my desired interaction behavior. Puts > > the > > > issue totally on me and makes it sound like I'm asking a favor of them > to > > > adjust to my needs, not correcting them -- if it leads to further good > > form > > > from them generally thereafter, so much the better. I've not had a > > negative > > > reaction to this since I started doing it. > > > > > > BTW, for allemandes I use a connection that I picked up somewhere in my > > > contra travels (which sounds a lot like some of he best practices > > described > > > to this point). I find this to be fairly common where I dance. As a > > picture > > > is worth a thousand words, here it is (note I'm torqued slightly in > these > > > due to holding the camera with the other hand for the photo -- the > normal > > > connection is neutral and unstressed but results in good weight): > > > > > > > > > https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3My2DFMxZpOb3g1MVJWSS1lOGc/edit?usp=sharing > > > > > > -Don > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Callers mailing list > > > call...@sharedweight.net > > > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Callers mailing list > > call...@sharedweight.net > > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > call...@sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >
