Checking in from Chicago, where wrist-grip stars are the norm and hands-across stars need to be specified .... When I started dancing, 14 or 15 years ago, in Michigan, many dancers reached for a hands-across star first, though I don't see that so much anymore. Meg
On Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 12:00 PM Robert Livingston via Callers < callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > Millstone or "windmill" - term I've seen used in print for older Canadian > dances. > > Bob Livingston > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Angela DeCarlis via Callers <callers@lists.sharedweight.net> > *To:* Jacob or Nancy Bloom <jandnbl...@gmail.com> > *Cc:* callers <callers@lists.sharedweight.net> > *Sent:* Monday, October 10, 2016 12:45 PM > > *Subject:* Re: [Callers] Wrist-Lock Stars > I've never heard "millstone" or "mill" before, but it sounds like it has > precedence. My guess is that it was (is?) a useful term at dances where > hands-across stars are default. Since that isn't generally the case in many > places any longer, it makes sense that "hands-across" has become the more > useful modifier. > On Oct 10, 2016 11:37 AM, "Jacob or Nancy Bloom via Callers" < > callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > > When I attended the Berea Christmas Dance School forty years ago, and put > my hand on the wrist in front of me during a walk through, someone > complained, saying, "He said a star, not a mill!" > > Is the term "mill", or the term "millstone", commonly used to refer to > wrist stars in areas where hands-across is the default way of doing a star? > > Jacob Bloom > > On Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 10:29 AM, Jerome Grisanti via Callers > <callers@lists.sharedweight. > net <callers@lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote: > > I agree with Chet that Louisville's default star is hands-across, although > weekend festivals in nearby cities tend toward the millstone star. I avoid > the terms wrist-lock or even wrist-grip star, as I prefer the fingers to > lay atop the adjoining wrist without using the thumb to "grip" in any way. > > The Midwest where I dance/call now is pretty solidly wrist-star territory > (St. Louis, Columbia MO, Kansas City, Lawrence). When I call one-night > events (parties, weddings), I dictate hands-across stars, but when calling > for an established contra community I ask for the default. > > --Jerome > > > Jerome Grisanti > 660-528-0858 > http://www.jeromegrisanti.com > > "Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and > power and magic in it." --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe > > On Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 3:31 AM, John Sweeney via Callers > <call...@lists.sharedweight.ne > t <callers@lists.sharedweight.net>> 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 > <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 j...@modernjive.com 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 > Callers@lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/ listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedwei ght.net > <http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net> > > > > ______________________________ _________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers@lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/ listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedwei ght.net > <http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net> > > > > > -- > jandnbl...@gmail.com > http://jacobbloom.net/ > > > ______________________________ _________________ > > > Callers mailing list > Callers@lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/ listinfo.cgi/callers- sharedweight.net > <http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net> > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers@lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers@lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net >