This one is really easy to get, probably no explanation is needed except to express why this is less than desirable.
What is ‘Hitchhiker’s Lead Hand’ ?
This is where the Lead creates or cups their Left hand to the point where the Follower can NOT match the palm of their hand, and the only thing left to engage with is to ‘hang’ off the Lead’s Thumb. Which is sort of sticking up like a Hitch Hiker’s Hand.
Is this desirable ?
From a functional standpoint it can be uncomfortable for the Follower in a few ways. Most notably their familiarity with Leads that engage palm-to-palm. Still another is that generally when this idea of a hand-embrace is present there is physiological tension in the hand.
From a VISUAL stand point, it violates, and I don’t mean a break…I mean V-I-O-L-A-T-E-S, the iconic look of the Lead/Follow hand embrace. Radically so. It looks, in my opinion like the Follower is hitching a ride on your thumb.
Further still the Lead’s arm is usually down below their shoulder line, at a very low or shallow level. This creates further pressure on the hand-to-hand contact points. While this may be comfortable for the Lead, it is by no means comfortable for the Follower.
So to answer the question, IMO…NO It is NOT desirable.
This is a choice, it’s also a point of being Lazy. Lazy in the respect that the Lead has a job, several of them, and one of them is to create the frame of the couple. If that frame looks haphazard or violates the iconic representation of the typical embrace then your name had been better Chicho, Sebastian, or Horacio. Otherwise, let’s stick to the hand-to-hand idea.
I know some of you reading this will think that I’m being conformist. I’m not. I am simply pointing out to you that your idea of individuality is best placed in how you interpret the music, not some crazy hand-to-hand embrace format.
From an Active Follower Perspective > Ummmm…most of those dancers that I know that are active Followers will not choose to dance with the Leads that dance like this. The reason ? Tension, Compression, and more importantly the visual lines make the Follower look less than desirable. But don’t take my word for it take the word of a few of my Active Follower friends.
Just a thought from your friendly neighborhood Germany Based Miles (for now).