<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Beats out the Farmall Tractors’ square dance easily! I’m ashamed to even compare them.<br class=""><div><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On Apr 15, 2019, at 13:57, Luke Donforth via Callers <<a href="mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net" class="">callers@lists.sharedweight.net</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class="">I'd like to share this because I think it's really fun. <div class=""><br class=""><div class="">Several months ago, I was approached by the coaches of a Theater on Ice team about helping put together a program for their 2018-19 Choreographic Challenge, which was to showcase cultural dance. Burlington's team, "On Thin Ice" wanted to do a contra dance on ice. <br clear="all" class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">There were various restrictions; style and historic elements that they wanted included, coverage of the ring, movement on the ice, etc. What they generated is not a contra dance, but does showcase several elements of a contra dance, and they do it on ice. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">You can check out their performance at </div><div class=""><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EzYx4XtxSs&lc" class="">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EzYx4XtxSs&lc</a> <br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">It was a learning experience for me, and a fun exercise in deconstructing and putting things back together with different constraints. For instance, they needed percussive elements in the choreography; I'd originally tried to sell them on petronellas; but they all balked at the turning over "outside edges" on skates (a harder feat). </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">It's the first time I've every had folks dance to recorded calls, but they wanted them to add to the feeling of a contra (and I won't be travelling with them to nationals in Alabama this June). </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">As a side not, for historical reasons relating to how their program would be judged, I used the term gypsy instead of my preference of an alternative. I still think they do a wonderful job of bringing contra dance to a different corner of the world. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">When I went to my first contra dance, I'd never have guessed where it would take me. Here's to more fun memories and interesting experiences in this community and others. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div>-- <br class=""><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr" class="">Luke Donforth<br class=""><a href="mailto:Luke.Donev@gmail.com" target="_blank" class="">Luke.Donforth@gmail.com</a><br class=""></div></div></div></div></div>
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