ABSTRACT
This chapter targets conventional mutual touch in dance hold positions and shows how dancers orient to extended out-of-dance holds as being awkward and illegitimate. It focuses on transitions from teacher instruction to practice in classes of Lindy Hop that recurrently pose practical problems for the students: when to take hold of the prospective dance partner and how to let go, in case the projection of an upcoming practice is suspended through further teacher talk. The chapter documents practices of diverting and releasing touch and shows that they involve various types of self-grooming, as well as steps and shifts in balance away from the prospective partner. A dance hold release is a distinct social achievement that is accomplished jointly as soon as possible after the prospect of a dance is delayed.
