1. Follower's
right in Lead's left, clockwise turn
Demonstration
View the clip:
Notice that:
the hand-hold
is raised indicating a turn;
the hand-hold
does not move relative to the partnership i.e. Nathan
turns while keeping his left hand still relative to Shirin;
Shirin maintains
the same “little hooks” hand shape;
Nathan's hand
pivots in the hold, with his first and second fingers acting
as the contact point i.e. the “gun” fingers.
Preparation
Stand facing each other with a partnership offset, follower's right
hand in lead's left at waist level (as in the “HALO™ turn
for Followers” tutorial).
Description
Lead: raise
the hand-hold vertically to a height just above your head, turning
the palm of your hand to face you, with the fingers pointing upward
as you do so. The tips of your first and second fingers should make
contact with the base of your partner's fingers where they join the
palm.
Follower: form “little hooks” with your fingers. They should
curl loosely over the tips of your partner's fingers.
Lead: pedalling
on the spot, perform one complete clockwise turn. Keep your hand pivot
point in the same place relative to your partner. You will find your
palm rotating to face the ceiling at the beginning of the turn, maintaining
this position during most of the turn, and returning to palm-to-palm
contact at the end.
Follower: you should only feel the pivoting contact of the lead's
fingertips on the base of your fingers.
Lead: lower
the hand-hold to waist level, returning to the start position.
2. Follower's
right in Lead's left, anti-clockwise turn
Demonstration
View the clip (one cycle only):
The procedure
is identical to the previous turn except the turn itself, which is danced
anti-clockwise.
3 & 4.
Follower's right in Lead's right
Demonstration
Clockwise:
Anti-clockwise:
Performed as
in the above turns, except the lead uses his/her right hand instead
of the left.
5. Double-handed
hold, Follower's right in Lead's left, Follower's left in Lead's right,
anti-clockwise/clockwise turn
Demonstration
View the clip:
Notice that:
both pairs
of hands are kept close together when they are raised and during
the turn;
the holds
of both hands obey the same principles (see Principles section below);
Nathan keeps
the hand-hold as low as possible so as not to overstretch Shirin;
Nathan begins
with an anti-clockwise turn, and follows it with a clockwise turn
to unwind his wrist;
At the end
of the first turn, Nathan's hands are positioned right over left.
There are two
components to the variation: one is follower's right in lead's left
which we've already covered; the other is follower's left in lead's
right which we haven't. The latter, practiced on its own, is an exact
mirror image of the former beginning with an anti-clockwise turn
followed by a clockwise one.
6. Cross-handed
hold, right over left, clockwise turn
Demonstration
View the clip:
Cross-handed
holds are symmetrical: follower's right in lead's right and follower's
left in lead's left; it's only necessary to state which hands are above
and below. In the right over left position, Nathan can only turn clockwise
if he wants to maintain a hand-hold without letting go.
7. Cross-handed
hold, left over right, anti-clockwise turn
Demonstration
View the clip:
In the left over
right position, Nathan can only turn anti-clockwise to maintain a hold.
Principles
In this element,
the lead turns without transmitting any lead signal to the follower,
which is interpreted by the latter as a marking of time, or dancing
on the spot.
The lack of signal
is achieved by ensuring:
the hand-hold
remains neutral (unmoving) relative to the follower;
