1. Follower's right in Lead's left, clockwise turn

Demonstration
Have a look at this class of halo turn:

merengue_halo_lead_advanced_rinl.avi (7.0 Mb)

The essential characteristic is that the lead traces a halo around his/her own head, causing the follower to move in circle around the lead.

Observe how:

• Nathan's orientation does not change i.e. he faces the same direction throughout the halo;
• Shirin maintains the same arm and body position throughout the entire walk;
• Nathan keeps the fingers of his left hand pointing outward of the halo;
• Nathan rotates his left wrist so that the back of his hand faces him (to overcome the wrist constraint) as Shirin is led past his right side. Watch it closely on the clip;
• Nathan's wrist continues to rotate until his palm faces the ceiling as Shirin is led past his left side.

Nathan and Shirin are using a slightly more advanced version of the manoeuvre, where: Nathan lowers his hand before Shirin is completely in front of him; and the entire turn is combined with a circular partnership rotation (which we will cover in a subsequent tutorial).

Preparation
Stand facing each other with partnership offset, follower's right hand in lead's left. The set-up is identical to that of the “HALO™ turn for Followers” tutorial.

Description
(you should refer to the clip and use the seek bar when in doubt)

1. Lead: raise both your partner's and your own hands, straight up to a height just above your own head. Ensure that the hands arrive at that position with your partner's palm in contact with the back of the fingers of your left hand. Your hand should form a “gun”, with your fingers parallel to the floor and pointed to the right.
   Follower: curl your fingers loosely over the edge of your partner's fingers to form “little hooks”.
    
2. Lead: imagine that you are wearing a perfectly circular and level halo, slightly less than shoulder-width in diameter.
    
3. Lead: align the handhold to your centreline, with your halo passing through the centre of your palm.
   Follower: this halo turn begins with a pull lead, so you should increase the muscle tone of your right arm to establish firm contact pressure with your partner via the pads of your fingers.
    
4. Lead: trace a clockwise circle around your head, maintaining a constant hand speed throughout. Try to ensure that your halo passes through your hand during the course of the turn, and that you remain facing the same direction while pedalling on the spot.
   Follower: an increase in contact pressure is your signal to move. Try to keep your right arm positioned in the north-east sector relative to your body (assuming your centreline is north). If the lead pressure is relentless, you will have no option but to merengue walk around your partner.
    
5. Lead: you will experience an increase in wrist tension as you lead your partner to circle past your right side. At this point rotate your wrist through 180 degrees, so that your halo passes through the back of your hand as you continue the circle.
   Follower: make sure you maintain firm contact pressure with an open grip, to allow the lead's hand to adopt the necessary conformations.
    
6. Lead: as your hand travels along your halo, it will continue to rotate until your palm faces the ceiling by the time it reaches your left side.
    
7. Lead: continue with the halo until your partner is in front of you. You should find the follower's orientation to be at about 90 degrees to yours with her/his right shoulder nearest to you.
    
8. Lead and Follower: to return to the start position, both of you should perform the final quarter of “HALO™ turn for Followers, clockwise, follower's right in lead's left”.

2. Follower's right in lead's right, clockwise turn

Demonstration
No videos currently available.

Preparation
Stand facing each other with partnership offset, follower's right hand in lead's right.

Description

1. Lead: as you raise the hand-hold to a height just above your own head, adjust your hand to achieve palm-to-palm contact with your partner, fingers forming a “gun” pointing to your right.
   Follower: curl your fingers loosely over the edge of your partner's fingers to form "little hooks".
    
2. Lead: imagine that you are wearing a perfectly circular and level halo, slightly less than shoulder-width in diameter.
    
3. Lead: turn your right hand “gun” so your palm faces the ceiling, fingers pointing to your right.
   Follower: the pads of your fingers (right) should have firm downward contact pressure on the upturned finger pads of your partner's (right) hand.
    
4. Lead: trace your right hand along your halo. You will find that your wrist needs to rotate so that your fingers can continue to point outward of the halo. By the time the hand-hold reaches your right side, the halo should pass through the back of your hand.
    
5. Lead: continue with the halo until your partner is in front of you. You should find the follower's orientation to be at about 90 degrees to yours with her/his right shoulder nearest to you.
    
6. Lead and Follower: to return to the start position, both of you should perform the final quarter of “HALO™ turn for Followers, clockwise, follower's right in lead's right”.
    

Principles

• The lead hand traces a simple circle, containing two gradual 180 degree rotations of the wrist around the forearm axis.
   
• This circle should be parallel to the floor, approximately shoulder-width in diameter.
   
• The fingers of the lead's hand should point outwards of the halo as much as possible.
   
• Contact pressure should be even throughout (as outlined in the previous tutorial).