[Callers] A Question Re: Contra friendly squares

[James Saxe via Callers]

Among the "contra-friendly squares" suggested in John Sweeney's
message of October 16 (full message below) are "Chippenham
Square" by Colin Hume and "Geezy Peezy" by Larry Edelman.

The opening moves of "Chippenham Square" are:

     A1:  Heads right and left through;
          sides swing opposite and face the nearest head couple.

"Geezy Peezy" begins with:

     Head two couples go forward and back, up
       to the middle and back like that
     Forward again with your opposite swing
     Face the sides and form a ring
     Circle left and keep in time

*** My question is, have any of you ever seen something like this
happen?

     The caller (whether you or someone else, and using whatever
     words) instructs, say, the head dancers to swing their
     opposites, face the nearest side couple, and circle with
     that side couple.  In some square, one of the following
     misinterpretations occurs:

        1.  Instead of swinging in a spot directly in front
            of one of the side couples, a pair of head dancers
            swing either very near the gent's home place or
            very near the lady's home place.  (And you believe
            that they aren't intentionally dancing offset from
            their theoretical position to avoid crowding but
            that they actually don't understand where they are
            supposed to be.)

      OR

        2.  Head dancers swing opposites, then fall back to
            home places.  Then they go together with their
            *partners* to circle with whichever side couple
            they consider "nearest".

     OR

        3.  Somehow (whether or not you see exactly how it
            happens) dancers end up in a circle of five and
            a circle of three.

I'm not asking whether you see such things happen in most squares
most of the time.  What I'd like to know is how many of you can
recall seeing, even once, one of the misinterpretations described
above, either while you were calling or while you were at a dance
with someone else calling.


My point in this message, and in my message of October 14 where
I pointed out potential trouble spots in some of the squares
suggested by Lind Leslie, is not to claim that the squares under
discussion aren't contra friendly.  My point is that even bits of
choreography that aren't really difficult can take more care to
teach efficiently and effectively when they are unfamiliar to
many of the dancers present than when they are familiar to almost
all.

--Jim

On Oct 16, 2016, at 8:00 AM, John Sweeney via Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hi Ron,
>       Here are some figures that might fit your needs.  But you also need
> some breaks/choruses that contra dancers will find easy; you don’t have to
> use ones shown with the figures.
> 
> Chippenham Square by Colin Hume
> http://colinhume.com/insts.htm#ChippenhamSquare
> Geezy Peezy by Larry Edelman
> https://www.library.unh.edu/special/forms/rpdlw/syllabus2011.pdf
> Banjos in Love by Erik Hoffman in Contradictions:
> http://www.erikhoffman.com/dancescd.html
> Deer Park Lancers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ1D5IZt_dc
> The Lucky One by Tom Hinds in Bad Hair Decade
> Perceptual Motion by Tom Hinds
> https://www.library.unh.edu/special/forms/rpdlw/syllabus2007.pdf
> Camille’s Quadrille by Walter Lenk
> https://www.cambridgefolk.org.uk/contra/dances/camilles_quadrille.html
> Beaver Lake Jig by Ted Sanella
> https://www.cambridgefolk.org.uk/contra/dances/ted_sannella/beaver_lake_jig.
> html
>  (if the men mess up the first move, then get the ladies to go to their
> left hand man for the allemande right instead – the ladies are often much
> better than the men!)
> 
> Western Quadrille (from Chip Hendrickson) – based on Powell’s First Sett No.
> 3 – 1848
> A1: Men Star Left (Hands Across); Star Right, take Left with Partner to form
> intersecting Waves
> A2: Balance the Wave (L/R), Partner Allemande Left 1/2
>     Balance the Wave (L/R), Partner Allemande Left 3/4
> B1: All Four Ladies Chain Half Way x2 – finish by sending the Lady around
> the outside on to the next Man and turning Left to pick up your Corner
> B2: Corner Promenade to Man's Home
> (Original was Ladies’ Stars, but that makes the end of A2 an Allemande Left
> 1 & 1/4 in four beats)
> 
> Or for a slightly more complex one on the same theme:
> Parisian Star https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzdwHF2EZ_k
> 
> 	Hope that helps.  If you want any of the instructions please e-mail
> me off-list.
> 
>             Happy dancing,			
>                    John			
> 			
> John Sweeney, Dancer, England   john at modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802
> 940 574			
> http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive Events & DVDs			
> http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent