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View Full Version : Footwork on a right-handed archiespin



robd
10th-July-2006, 02:02 PM
Quotes from http://www.cerocscotland.com/forum/showthread.php?p=680


What about the right-handed archiespin? I know most men hate it... though I suspect it is a feet problem rather than a hand one.



The Right-handed Archie is a great move, and done well is very fluid, smooth, and can create that 'Wow' factor... But more often than not, it ends up looking like a pachyderm attempting a triple salto!

Doing the move well requires good balance / body awareness, spinning / turning technique and a good lead so that the timing can be perfect!


Assuming this is the move I think it is (man spinning CW 1.5 turns - or more :what: - as he leads a r/h travelling return), could people who feel competent doing this tell me which foot you spin on? I do attempt this quite frequently and can seem to
a) get round on time
b) lower my hand on time at the end of it
However I have noticed that I always step in on my right then spin on my left foot which contradicts advice somewhere else on the forum about (generally) spinning on the foot that's nearest your direction of spin i.e right for CW, left for ACW. The net effect is that at the end of a spin I will plant my right foot and the left will then come round to join it in a semi-ronde fashion which may look good, bad or indifferent to anyone watching but feels less controlled than it should do.

So, which foot do you use for spinning on a R/H archie? And are there any other secrets to its success?

Robert

Andreas
10th-July-2006, 07:52 PM
If it is the move I think it is then it is two half turns, left-right foot. It is a 'Bachata turn' or reverse turn. But not sure where you get the third rotation from. Perhaps I got the move all wrong. I am assuming you are leading the Archie Spin reverse, i.e. you are actually progressing forwards as opposed to the usual backwards motion? Otherwise it will be exactly the same footwork as with a left-handed Archie Spin, only feet swapped around right/left/right instead of left/right/left.

David Franklin
11th-July-2006, 01:23 PM
If it is the move I think it is then it is two half turns, left-right foot. It is a 'Bachata turn' or reverse turn. But not sure where you get the third rotation from. Perhaps I got the move all wrong. I am assuming you are leading the Archie Spin reverse, i.e. you are actually progressing forwards as opposed to the usual backwards motion? Otherwise it will be exactly the same footwork as with a left-handed Archie Spin, only feet swapped around right/left/right instead of left/right/left.A normal UK archie spin involves a change of places, which adds an extra half turn.

robd
12th-July-2006, 08:05 PM
Hmm. I'm not sure if I am referring to the move by the right name.

However, I did watch a vid of Camber Nov 2005 where Mikey taught something he called a right-handed archies in a Sat night icebreaker and this is the move I am thinking of. It does involve a change of places and Mikey's footwork pattern did seem the same as I currently do.

It's not a mirror of a normal archiespin since that would involve man's right to lady's left.

David Franklin
13th-July-2006, 03:09 PM
Hmm. I'm not sure if I am referring to the move by the right name.

It's not a mirror of a normal archiespin since that would involve man's right to lady's left.Many dance styles have something that looks like an archie, but unlike in MJ, the partners don't change places. In such a move, both people do an even number of half turns. You can also have a "right handed archie" like that, and again both do an even number of half turns (I think).

I was guessing that was what Andreas had in mind. In contrast, in the UK, the "normal" way of doing an archie involves a change of places. In a UK LH archie, the woman does 1.5 turns and the man does a half turn, in a RH archie it's the opposite.