Re : Regional Variations
ZO...@sava.st-andrews.ac.uk
With reference to the discussion on regional variations in dance styles
and movements, I can think of several different types of swings used in Britain.
I'm not sure if all the names are correct, but the descriptions are. Its fun
with a good partner to change the swing between different turns of the dance.
1) Ballroom hold.
2) "Nottingham swing", used for the dance of the same name, or to any
pronounced hop-step - cup partner's right elbow with the right hand (without
putting the thumb on the inside of the elbow - that _hurts_), left hands held
underneath. The Scots use a varient of this with the left hand above for their
pivot swing. It can also be reversed to swing the other way round !
3) Irish : hold right hands with elbows bent, and cup partner's right
elbow with your left hand. (I may have got left and right the wrong way round
on this).
4) Northumberland : hold partner's right shoulder with the right hand,
right elbows linked, hold left hands underneath. Also very useful for a polka.
5) Manx : crosshands hold, but the forarms are tensed between the
partners so elbows are together - this provides more control than swinging at
arms length.
6) "Cuddle hold 1" - Woman puts hands on the man's shoulders, man puts
hands on the woman's waist.
7) "Cuddle hold 2" - Both partners hold each others arms / shoulders
(depending on the relative length of the arms), with elbows slightly bent.
8) Welsh : join left hands, and put right hand between partner's arm and
body to hold the waist. My personal favourite.
9) Tulloch or Hullichan : Stand right shoulder to right shoulder with
partner, put left hand behind your own back, link right elbows with partner, and
take partner's left hand with your right hand behind partner's back. It is
important that the right elbows are linked, if they aren't, there is no control.
10) Cross hands hold - but with the variety above who wants to do that !
The footwork for these is generally a pivot on the right foot, but it
is possible with most of them to use single stepping, double stepping or even
a rant. It is important with all of them, but espeially the tulloch, to give
weight.
With respect to stars; the holding the opposite's hand form is mostly
used, but holding the wrist of the next one around is used in some Morris.
Promenades are generally with a crossed hand hold in front of the couple, but
the 'butterfly hold' (also called the Gay Gordons hold) is used in scottish
dancing for the allemande figure (not the same as an american allemande) -
that's the one with the right hand held at the woman's shoulder level.
Ladies chains - 3 variations : English - man's right hand given to the woman's
waist as she is turned; Scottish - no use of the right hand, this is more of a
left hand turn than anything else; North Country - Man stands still, Woman
turns under man's left arm as she goes past him, and he passes her left hand to
his right hand as she goes behind him.
Happy dancing people. James Williams.
Dana Nau
>
> With reference to the discussion on regional variations in dance styles
Nice article! I thought I knew a lot of swing positions, but you've
described several I've never seen. I can add a few more:
1. Butterfly: like a ballroom position, except that the man's left
hand and woman's right hand are free.
2. Back cross: the man puts his left hand behind his back, palm
outward, and the woman takes it with her left. The woman puts her
right hand behind her back, palm outward, and the man takes it
with his right.
3. Cuddle-up (from swing dancing): take your partner's left hand with
your right and vice versa. The man raises his left arm and turns
the woman under, without letting go of either hand.
4. Man's right hand on the woman's back, and woman's left hand on the
man's shoulder (as in ballroom position). The man puts his left arm
behind his back, palm outward, and the woman takes it with her right.
5. Right hands held palm-to-palm at a 90-degree angle, and left hands
held palm-to-palm at a 90-degree angle, with elbows bent 90
degrees too. Perhaps this is what you mean by a "crosshands
hold"---I'm not sure.
6. Stand right shoulder to right shoulder with your partner, link
right elbows, and take your partner's left hand with your left
hand. Like what you called a Tulloch or Hullichan, but without
putting arms behind backs.
--
Dana S. Nau
Computer Science Dept. Internet: n...@mimsy.umd.edu
University of Maryland UUCP: {allegra,uunet}!mimsy!nau
College Park, MD 20742 Telephone: (301) 454-7932
Robert Lupton
Well, you omitted the ear-nose swing, which I learnt on the east coast
somewhere.
You hold your own nose with your right hand and your partner's right ear
with your left hand, and the footwork is standard. Maybe I should point
out that you interlock right elbows too...
Robert
Dana Nau
>
>Well, you omitted the ear-nose swing, which I learnt on the east coast
Interesting position! I didn't think your posting was serious, until
someone showed me the actual swing a couple nights ago. I tried it at
a dance tonight, and everyone in the line got a big laugh from it.
While I'm at it, here's another swing position I learned this weekend:
The man holds both of his hands in front of him, palms facing him,
with his arms crossing at the wrists. The woman brings her hands up
from underneath to grasp his. (This can also be done with the roles
reversed.)
Andrew Tannenbaum
awkward for the couple to uncouple in time for the dance to continue
properly - this can be pretty annoying for other dancers in the contra
lines. Another potential problem is that some of these swings cause
the couple to become a dangerous entity on the dance floor. Consider
that with the usual waltz armhold in a buzzstep swing, the couple is
protected from hard contact with other couples because the arms form a
protective rail. (Unromantic sounding, but how would you put it?).
In many of the alternate swings, your body is unprotected and may crash
into another person with no arms in place to offer protection or
control. A typical case here is the family of swings where partners
stand right-shoulder to right-shoulder - for instance, with right arm
straight behind the partner's head or back, right hand held by the
partner's left hand. It's hard to swing this way on a single point
axis, your unprotected bodies are flying around, and it's hard to
uncouple at the end of the swing. But gee, it's so much fun. I think
that if the swing is dangerous, awkward to release from, or hard to
control, then it's not worth the effort, even if you think it looks
good.
One of the most common alternate swings here in Boston is where you do
a typcial buzz-step swing with the left hands joined in an arch
overhead. I find this swing a bit cloying, so when encouraged into
this formation by my partner, I like to put the left hands down between
our eyes - sort of a combination of peek-a-boo and a protest against
the over-sweetness. This swing is also a bit harder to uncouple from
than a normal arm-hold, since in a normal swing the man and woman are
holding each other's bodies with their "hinge arms" (man's right,
woman's left), whereas in this symmetrical swing, the woman's left arm
is over her head, and her right arm is doing the same job as the man's
right arm - there is no "hinge arm."
Andrew Tannenbaum Interactive Cambridge, MA +1 617 661 7474