Cross-Hand Hold

The cross-hand hold is exactly what it sounds like: both hands joined with the arms crossed (right-to-right and left-to-left, one over the other). It's a hold rather than a figure, but learning to enter and dance in it is what makes the whole Sombrero/Balsero family reachable, because those moves all begin from crossed hands. Documents the hub the cluster hangs off.

• Lead: Lead the cross by passing one hand under or over to meet the other — make the swap smooth and keep the joined hands at a comfortable, untangled height. Settle into the basic so she can read the new frame.
• Follow: Receive the crossed hands without gripping; keep light tone so you can feel which arm will unwind first when the figure comes.
• Timing: Establish over any 8-count; dance the basic inside the hold until the lead opens a figure.
• Common mistake: Crossing the hands too low or too tight so they bind, leaving no room to unwind into a sombrero. Keep them roomy.

This is the beginner entry the cross-hand cluster assumes — Sombrero (SL038), Balsero (SL044), and Montaña (SL045) all start here. Teaching the hold on its own means those figures don't have to re-explain their own setup.