Archie Spin (3 counts ; 6 musical beats) : Brief Description

The Archie Spin is reputedly named after James Archibald Cronin, one of the founders of Ceroc^®. The Archie Spin should be led with a very light handhold, e.g. fingertip to fingertip, if the lady doesn't follow the lead, the man must let go of their hand — since the move has the potential to wrench an arm.

Steps

1: (Step back)

The man leads the lady to move backwards and rotate slightly anticlockwise (with weight on her left leg) — by pushing her right hand slightly with his left hand — as he moves backwards and rotates slightly clockwise (with weight on his right leg).

Some men signal the Archie Spin by twisting their left hand and the lady's right hand anticlockwise (from his viewpoint) so that their palm faces up with the elbow pointing down. Some men will also place their left thumb on the back of the lady's right hand to avoid losing grip — providing that the handhold remains loose and both partners can let go easily.

2: ()

The man leads the lady to move forwards-right and rotate 90+^o clockwise (with weight on her right leg) — by “untwisting” and raising his left hand (and the lady's right hand) from waist height to above head height, i.e. rotating the hands clockwise (from his viewpoint) continuing the motion to start to form the arch — as he moves forwards-left and rotates 90+^o anticlockwise (with weight on his left leg), so that both partners twist in towards each other.

3: ()

The man leads the lady to move right and finish the turn (placing weight onto her left foot as a brake and then stepping back on her right leg) — by bringing his left hand (and the lady's right hand) over both partners' heads to waist height — as he moves left and finishes the turn (placing weight onto his right foot as a brake and then stepping back on his left leg).

4: (Finish)