[Callers] Oval Petronella critique

[John Sweeney]

Hi Austin,
	I’ve always found balances in lines to be fun.  Yes, it is a different feeling from a Wave Balance, but so is a standard Petronella Balance.  The whole line spinning together is great as well.

	I can’t agree that the “ideal” Wave Balance is Right/Left.  That is only true when the next move is something like Allemande Right.  If the next move is Allemande Left then you end up too close together for a satisfying Allemande; in that situation Balance Left/Right is much more satisfying.  And if the next move is to move forwards to a new Wave (i.e. Extend) then a Balance Forward/Back gives a much more satisfying help to your forward momentum.
	
	I wish more callers would specify which way to balance!  When they don’t and the dancers are balancing the wrong way, then I tend to do it Forward/Back; Forward/Back works well whichever direction you are going in next.

	Regarding terminology, Balance and Set are synonymous. See Ralph A Piper’s article “50 Variations of the Balance”: “the term balance superseded the term “setting” to partners or corners”.  In my experience when people do a Petronella Balance, some go Step-Stamp and some go 1-2-3.  They are both included in Ralph’s document.  My understanding is that Contra Dancers in the 1950s liked to do a different balance each time they did a Balance & Swing down the line, showing off how clever their footwork was.  The older term was Foot-It, which I generally assume to mean, “Fill the rest of the music with fancy footwork to impress your partner”.

	As Larry Jennings says in “Zesty Contras”:
“Balance: Dance most any appropriate way for four counts; use your freedom and fit your mood. ... It is left to the dancers, perhaps with advice from the caller, to move forward and back, or to move from side to side.”

	In this figure I would advise the dancers to move side to side, going to the right first.  When they get used to it I am sure dancers will make something of the move.

	So when I use the term “Set” in my notes I could equally well have said “Balance”.  :-)

            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			

From: Callers <callers-bounces at lists.sharedweight.net> On Behalf Of Austin Paul via Callers
Sent: 18 October 2018 19:53
To: callers at lists.sharedweight.net
Subject: Re: [Callers] Oval Petronella critique

Regarding the Oval Petronella figure:

Admittedly, I haven't tried dancing it, but it doesn't seem that appealing.

Most of the satisfaction I get from a balance comes when two dancers are both moving towards or away from a shared handhold and can share weight accordingly. 
Think of your ideal balance in ocean waves of 4: step right, step left. Now contrast that with a wave balance where your neighbor steps the wrong way first, meaning the two of you move in the same direction: that shared handhold loses all its energy. It's very underwhelming.

If the balance is done in long lines with everyone moving the same way, then the hand hold lacks energy. (As an aside: LLFB doesn't even tend to get the good handhold energy it deserves). I did notice John Sweeney called it "Long Lines Set Right & Left" on his website, and not in fact a Balance, which seems much more accurate. Not wanting to get into the issue(s) of wanting contra dancers to appreciate "setting" and other figures from ECD, I see it devolving into a hokey 4-beat 'shuffle' on the floor.

Granted, that's one opinion. I'm sure others disagree.

Best,
Austin