White Heather Jig - 25th April 2012

[Donsel]

It looks in the video that when the dancers are turning their parteners they are holding each other by the elbow/forearm. I am curious if that is common practice in your area, assuming that I am seeing the video correctly.

[Chas]

It looks in the video that when the dancers are turning their parteners they are holding each other by the elbow/forearm. I am curious if that is common practice in your area, assuming that I am seeing the video correctly.

Hi Donsel,

Oh, yes. There are fast turns and there are slow turns. If it is a fast turn then the elbow grip is used. It allows the partners to pivot round each other without putting stain on the forearm. If you notice, in this case, there are only eight bars to do four turns, so a person has to get a move on.
There is a half-way house grip, where the partners hold their forearms almost vertical. The problem there is that both partners must be reasonably of the same height otherwise the shorter partner could damage their shoulder.

Regards

Chas