Contra Callers May 2007

contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net

24 participants
29 discussions

Earth and Sky, Slapping the Wood and The Rendezvous

by Rickey

Earth and Sky Rick Mohr I am preparing for a gig and just got back from calling Earth and Sky to a few friends for practice. Everyone loved the dance but we did have trouble with the transition from the hey to the left shoulder gypsy with our old neighbors. People found it more natural to gypsy right at this point, but of course we did not want to, and did not, so we could enjoy the transition from gypsy left with old neighbor to gypsy right with new neighbor. The men did not end the hey quite back where they started. Rather we ended the hey in a line across the set, looking at old neighbors from there. That seemed to fit the music. We found that if the men turned a bit extra to the right after the last change of the hey, then they could comfortably get into that gypsy left. But that took some getting used to. It is a great dance and well worth the trouble. Does anyone have an easier way of setting this up? Slapping the Wood Don Flaherty The version I have has a B2 that goes: Circle left ¾ Balance the Ring (once) and California Twirl with your partner. Someone suggested that if we took 6 counts for the circle left ¾ we would have time to balance the ring twice. Once seemed to leave a bit of time empty, but twice seems pretty tight. How do people call this? The Rendezvous Dan Pearl B2 has Circle left once, then with the men leading slide on to the next couple and circle left ¾. There was some confusion about where the neutral couple should wait out the dance, to be ready to dance with the couple that is sliding to meet them. Have you called (or danced this dance)? What worked best? Thanks for your help as always. It is wonderful to be able to ask you, and even more wonderful to hear from you. Rickey Holt.

17 years, 6 months

Do you know the name and author of this dance?

by jeffrey.petrovitch＠verizon.net

Hello Everyone: Discovered this dance on a video of LEAF. Wondering if anyone knows the name and author. I believe this is the correct dance sequence: Becket Formation A1: (8) Circle Left 3/4 (8) Neighbors Swing A2: (8) Right And Left Through (8) Star Left B1: (8) With New Neighbors Star Right 7/8 (4) Previous Gentlemen (from A1) Allemande Left (4) Partners Allemenade Right B2: (4) Shadows Allemenade Left (4) Partners Gypsy (8) Partners Swing, Slide Left Thanks, Jeff

17 years, 6 months

throat again, oops

by TF

Hi all - Oops - I forgot to give you the full recipe for the honey/lemon/whisky concoction. You should not eat it straight, but rather add those to a cupful of hot water. Much better that way! Tina Hindsight Now! ____________________________________________________________________________________Yahoo! oneSearch: Finally, mobile search that gives answers, not web links. http://mobile.yahoo.com/mobileweb/onesearch?refer=1ONXIC

17 years, 6 months

Re: [Callers] Caller's Throat

by TF

I'm new to calling, but have been singing for many years, some of that in musical theater, which can easily strain one's voice. When I've overdone it, I've found that slippery elm bark can help quite a bit - and it's healthy to boot. Thayer's makes a good slippery elm bark lozenge. It's inexpensive, easily portable, and even comes in two flavors. Honey with lemon is another old standard for soothing the throat (and after the gig, you can add a slug of whiskey). Drinking a lot of water is a very good idea, especially if you're getting that thick mucusy quality to your voice. You can also use expectorants like guaifenesin if necessary (a rainforest plant product); this isn't an emergency fix though, so start early. For general toning, there are many herbs that support the respiratory system in general - such as mullein, nettles, fritillaria. These should be fixed up in tincture or tea formulation and taken fairly often. If you're interested in playing with these, I suggest you consult an herbalist or good book by someone like David Hoffmann, Rosemary Gladstar, Susun Weed, or Michael Tierra for more info before making them; that way you can make something perfect for your situation. There's also an over-the-counter homeopathic concoction out called "Sore Throat Relief" by Natra-Bio. I've been trying that recently and had some luck. Whatever you do, do *not* use that anesthetic throat spray. All it does is make you unconscious of the damage being done. Yes, it can get you through a gig but I've seen people permanently ruin their voices through its use. If you're not already doing this, I'd also suggest several tips that singers use regularly: *practice calling from your chest voice instead of your throat voice (causes less strain overall) *practice breathing from deep in the chest (imagine your lungs as a vase being filled from the bottom up) - this also gives you more staying power and groundedness *loosen your jaw muscles overall through goofy-looking yoga type exercises (like the lion pose where the mouth is wide open w/ tongue stuck far out, & eyes rolled upward); neck & shoulder rolls *whenever you think of it, relax your jaw by opening your mouth a bit & letting your jaw hang slack, and breathing deep. These might not work in the middle of a call <g>, but if practiced regularly, will make calling easier on your body, therefore less likely to get strained. Best of luck to you and your throat's health! Tina Fields > I have been suffering some with what may be mild > laryngitis. I had been > practicing pretty regularly for an upcoming gig, but > I did not feel that I > was straining my voice. I have been drinking a lot > of water. What else do > you do - if anything - to help once you have throat > or voice problems? I > still have about 2 weeks before the gig. > > Thanks as always, > > Rickey Hindsight Now! ____________________________________________________________________________________Got a little couch potato? Check out fun summer activities for kids. http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=oni_on_mail&p=summer+activities+for+kids&…

17 years, 6 months

Re: [Callers] Caller's Throat

by TF

I'm new to calling, but have been singing for many years, some of that in musical theater, which can easily strain one's voice. When I've overdone it, I've found that slippery elm bark can help quite a bit - and it's healthy to boot. Thayer's makes a good slippery elm bark lozenge. It's inexpensive, easily portable, and even comes in two flavors. Honey with lemon is another old standard for soothing the throat (and after the gig, you can add a slug of whiskey). Drinking a lot of water is a very good idea, especially if you're getting that thick mucusy quality to your voice. You can also use expectorants like guaifenesin if necessary (a rainforest plant product); this isn't an emergency fix though, so start early. For general toning, there are many herbs that support the respiratory system in general - such as mullein, nettles, fritillaria. These should be fixed up in tincture or tea formulation and taken fairly often. If you're interested in playing with these, I suggest you consult an herbalist or good book by someone like David Hoffmann, Rosemary Gladstar, Susun Weed, or Michael Tierra for more info before making them; that way you can make something perfect for your situation. There's also an over-the-counter homeopathic concoction out called "Sore Throat Relief" by Natra-Bio. I've been trying that recently and had some luck. Whatever you do, do *not* use that anesthetic throat spray. All it does is make you unconscious of the damage being done. Yes, it can get you through a gig but I've seen people permanently ruin their voices through its use. If you're not already doing this, I'd also suggest several tips that singers use regularly: *practice calling from your chest voice instead of your throat voice (causes less strain overall) *practice breathing from deep in the chest (imagine your lungs as a vase being filled from the bottom up) - this also gives you more staying power and groundedness *loosen your jaw muscles overall through goofy-looking yoga type exercises (like the lion pose where the mouth is wide open w/ tongue stuck far out, & eyes rolled upward); neck & shoulder rolls *whenever you think of it, relax your jaw by opening your mouth a bit & letting your jaw hang slack, and breathing deep. These might not work in the middle of a call <g>, but if practiced regularly, will make calling easier on your body, therefore less likely to get strained. Best of luck to you and your throat's health! Tina Fields > I have been suffering some with what may be mild > laryngitis. I had been > practicing pretty regularly for an upcoming gig, but > I did not feel that I > was straining my voice. I have been drinking a lot > of water. What else do > you do - if anything - to help once you have throat > or voice problems? I > still have about 2 weeks before the gig. > > Thanks as always, > > Rickey Hindsight Now! ____________________________________________________________________________________Get the Yahoo! toolbar and be alerted to new email wherever you're surfing. http://new.toolbar.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/index.php

17 years, 6 months

Re: [Callers] Wax, Dancer Safety and a Caller's Throat

by Jerome Grisanti

For a caller's throat, Kentucky caller Chris Bischoff recommends Singer's Saving Grace (Google it to find a distributor or retail store). I've not tried it myself, but Chris raves about it. Regarding insurance, often dance organizing groups will carry insurance but I would still recommend callers carry their own liability insurance for gigs such as parties and weddings. Jerome -- Jerome Grisanti 660-528-0858 660-528-0714 http://www.jeromegrisanti.com

17 years, 6 months

Re: [Callers] insurance [was "Wax, Dancer Safety and a Caller's Throat"]

by David.Millstone＠valley.net

I'm sorry to hear of this accident, Rickey, and hope that the injured dancer is going to be okay. I cannot speak to the other questions you raise, but I will use your unfortunate incident as an opportunity to encourage callers to carry liability insurance. Caller's liability insurance offers some protection in case you get sued as the result of an accident. (It is also increasinly necessary to show such coverage as a condition of renting many halls.) It is available at minimal cost through Callerlab, the national association of square dance callers, and members of the Lloyd Shaw Foundation and/or Country Dance and Song Society are eligible to purchase it. You can find an overview of the CDSS arrangements here; http://www.cdss.org/membership.html#membcallerlab For CDSS, contact Caroline Batson (office(a)cdss.org) for more information. David Millstone

17 years, 6 months

Wax, Dancer Safety and a Caller's Throat

by Rickey

Hi, We had a dancer injured at our last dance. A man fell and broke his hip. In perhaps 30 years of dancing I have never seen this before. Our hall is small. We had two sets in longways formation. To me it looked as if maybe a foot from one dancer in another line might have just touched his heel. I am not sure. He lost his balance. His feet may have slipped out from under him and he landed on the hip. I am wondering what to do to help prevent this in the future. I am especially interested in assessing the floor. How do you decide if it is too slippery? I know that there is a dance wax. Is it for making the floor more slippery or less? How do you know when to use it? Where do you get it? There was some confusion among some of the dancers at that part of the evening, which I was trying to fix, but it did not look as if this contributed to the accident. Have you had experience with dancer accidents while you were calling? What else besides possibly the wax, might help reduce what I always thought was a very small risk. I have been suffering some with what may be mild laryngitis. I had been practicing pretty regularly for an upcoming gig, but I did not feel that I was straining my voice. I have been drinking a lot of water. What else do you do - if anything - to help once you have throat or voice problems? I still have about 2 weeks before the gig. Thanks as always, Rickey

17 years, 6 months

Re: [Callers] Programming an Evening - Variety

by David.Millstone＠valley.net

I'll second Cynthia's comments. If you're calling for one night stands or for newcomers, having familiar figures reappear is an asset, rather than a problem. If your crowd is made of hard-core dancers, then you'll want to look for dances that have something different. You won't want to include three dances in an evening with Petronella twirls, for example. (Heck, look at the number of dancers who want to have every dance include a partner swing and a neighbor swing-- talk about repetition!) And if your crowd is a mixture of the two-- newcomers and hard-core dancers alike-- then congratulations! That sort of dance is really important to keep going, and, by the way, it's also the hardest to program. Not long ago, when I was calling for a group of enthusiastic dancers-- they only wanted contras, no other formations, obligatory partner swing in every dance, that sort of event-- I designed a program where each dance of the evening had a special figure that appeared in that dance and only that dance. Thus, there was a dance where couples acted as a unit, there was another dance that moved dancers from a wave on one side of the hall to a long wave on the other side, and so on. The rest of each dance could recycle the same basics and no one minded or even noticed. There was, though, something unique about each dance and that made a memorable program. David Millstone

17 years, 6 months

Programming an Evening - Variety

by Rickey

Hi all, I am programming an evening. Probably most of the dancers will have at least enough experience to know most of the figures. I have a question about variety for this program. There are some figures that you expect to see in most dances in an evening. Swings for instance today, and Right and Left Through in older dances could be in every dance without seeming too repetitious. More unusual figures, perhaps bucksaws in beckets (Right and Left Through on the diagonal, and then across), or California Twirls might not bear as much repetition during an evening before it might start to go stale. First question about variety: Where would you place Ladies Chains, and Do-si-dos in this spectrum. The evening I have just programmed has a Ladies Chain in between one half and two thirds of the dances (all but one over but not back), and a Do-si-do in from one third to one half of the dances, depending on my final selections. Does this seem like too many? Second question about variety: Does it seem as repetitious to do dances that use the same figures if the rest of the dance has a very different feel; if perhaps the "hook" (the unique figure) is very unique and different. For instance two dances that I am considering have a ladies chain into a hey - a wonderful transition. They are "Young at Heart" by Steve Zaikon-Anderson, which adds an allemande left twice into the Ladies Chain to start the sequence, and Don Flaherty's "Slapping the Wood" which does not use the allemandes to a ladies chain, but ends and starts with a Balance-the Ring to a California Twirl to a Do-si-do Neighbors As-a-Couple that gives the dance its flavor. So two questions about variety. What has been your experience? Rickey Holt

17 years, 6 months

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Contra Callers May 2007