The name of that dance is "Roadkill" by Cary Ravitz. It's a really fun
dance to do, even if it falls apart like the one time that I actually danced it.
Kenny Greer
>Does anyone know the title and composer of this dance?
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQbsl5lvJZc
**************It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms, and advice on AOL Money &
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Hi Contra Callers,
My wife and I have just had 10 days of
fantastic contra dancing here in New Zealand. We
joined up with Ron and Cathy Arps' contra
tour. We had a ball! It was our first chance to
experience real contra dancing.
I've called "barn dances" here for many years, and
call MWSD too. I hope we can get contra going here
in Christchurch. We had a first go last Sunday
(www.baritompa.com/contra)
I've been on the ABC square dance forum for
awhile, which promotes the idea of dances rather
than classes. On the tour I really enjoyed calling
a simple traditional flavour dance to the contra
dancers - who would swing for 8 beats!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4zInEY84UI&feature=PlayList&p=40331DECD14CC…
Since coming back from the tour, I've made contact
via the web with a number of contra callers and
musicians and received so much help and useful
material. The contra community is very welcoming.
Cheers, Bill
Another easy fix for Country of Marriage, which maintains most of the
original dance sequences would be:
A1 and A2 the same
in the B1:
Right and left through (or promenade) and then a Roll away with a
half sashay with partner, ladies rolling to the left, gents moving
right. At this point, the men have their right arms free and can go
into the center more easily for the allemande. In addition, the women
move to the left, and thus help the couple progress more easily.
The rest of the dance remains the same.
Hope this helps!
warmly, Linda Leslie
On Mar 10, 2008, at 12:00 PM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Organizing Dance Cards (Dan Black)
> 2. Re: Organizing Dance Cards (Chris Weiler)
> 3. Re: Organizing Dance Cards (Dan Black)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2008 09:16:10 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Dan Black <blackjunier(a)yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Organizing Dance Cards
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Message-ID: <625143.67882.qm(a)web52209.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> Gang,
>
> By the way, Mary Kays Reel is a favorite and I enjoy changing roles
> in this dance ( the lady role rocks). There seems to be an awkward
> sequence in the B1 in the below referenced dance:
> B1 Promenade (the dance originally called for a right and left
> through
> here)
> Gents allemande Right 3/4 to a fleeting long lineThe gents right
> hand may be behind the lady for the promenade then the gent has to
> reach out with his right hand for an allemande right without
> bopping his neighbor in the head or worse.
>
> Do I have this right? While walking this in my living room it seems
> uncomfortable, has anyone dance this sequence to confirm this?
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Jerome Grisanti <jerome.grisanti(a)gmail.com>
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Sent: Wednesday, February 6, 2008 5:16:05 PM
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Organizing Dance Cards
>
> Susan Kevra's "The Country of Marriage" has that "Mary Cay's" move
> as well,
> done by the men.
>
> http://www.io.com/~entropy/contradance/sequences/the-country-of-
> marriage.html
>
> Jerome
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ______________
> Be a better friend, newshound, and
> know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://
> mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2008 13:36:45 -0400
> From: Chris Weiler <chris.weiler(a)weirdtable.org>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Organizing Dance Cards
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Message-ID: <47D4202D.40005(a)weirdtable.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Dan,
>
> You're right, the move is awkward for the men. If I were going to
> re-write the dance it might look something like this:
>
> A1 Circle left 3/4, gents roll neighbor right
> 1/2 hey (gents pass left)
> A2 Neighbor bal. & swing
> B1 Long lines
> Gents Al. Right 3/4, new gents Al. Left 3/4 (ladies take a step to
> the left)
> B2 Partner Bal. & swing
>
> I have danced other dances with the gent's using this progression, but
> can't think of them right now. Maybe someone else on this list has
> them
> in their collection and would like to share?
>
> Chris Weiler
> Goffstown, NH
>
>
>
>
> Dan Black wrote:
>> Gang,
>>
>> By the way, Mary Kays Reel is a favorite and I enjoy changing
>> roles in this dance ( the lady role rocks). There seems to be an
>> awkward sequence in the B1 in the below referenced dance:
>> B1 Promenade (the dance originally called for a right and left
>> through
>> here)
>> Gents allemande Right 3/4 to a fleeting long lineThe gents right
>> hand may be behind the lady for the promenade then the gent has to
>> reach out with his right hand for an allemande right without
>> bopping his neighbor in the head or worse.
>>
>> Do I have this right? While walking this in my living room it
>> seems uncomfortable, has anyone dance this sequence to confirm this?
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: Jerome Grisanti <jerome.grisanti(a)gmail.com>
>> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> Sent: Wednesday, February 6, 2008 5:16:05 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Callers] Organizing Dance Cards
>>
>> Susan Kevra's "The Country of Marriage" has that "Mary Cay's" move
>> as well,
>> done by the men.
>>
>> http://www.io.com/~entropy/contradance/sequences/the-country-of-
>> marriage.html
>>
>> Jerome
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _____________________________________________________________________
>> _______________
>> Be a better friend, newshound, and
>> know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://
>> mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>>
>>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2008 16:19:14 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Dan Black <blackjunier(a)yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Organizing Dance Cards
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Message-ID: <361141.32214.qm(a)web52205.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> Chris,
>
> Thanks for the fix and I hope all is well.
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Chris Weiler <chris.weiler(a)weirdtable.org>
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Sent: Sunday, March 9, 2008 1:36:45 PM
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Organizing Dance Cards
>
> Dan,
>
> You're right, the move is awkward for the men. If I were going to
> re-write the dance it might look something like this:
>
> A1 Circle left 3/4, gents roll neighbor right
> 1/2 hey (gents pass left)
> A2 Neighbor bal. & swing
> B1 Long lines
> Gents Al. Right 3/4, new gents Al. Left 3/4 (ladies take a step to
> the left)
> B2 Partner Bal. & swing
>
> I have danced other dances with the gent's using this progression, but
> can't think of them right now. Maybe someone else on this list has
> them
> in their collection and would like to share?
>
> Chris Weiler
> Goffstown, NH
>
>
>
>
> Dan Black wrote:
>> Gang,
>>
>> By the way, Mary Kays Reel is a favorite and I enjoy changing
>> roles in this dance ( the lady role rocks). There seems to be an
>> awkward sequence in the B1 in the below referenced dance:
>> B1 Promenade (the dance originally called for a right and left
>> through
>> here)
>> Gents allemande Right 3/4 to a fleeting long lineThe gents right
>> hand may be behind the lady for the promenade then the gent has to
>> reach out with his right hand for an allemande right without
>> bopping his neighbor in the head or worse.
>>
>> Do I have this right? While walking this in my living room it
>> seems uncomfortable, has anyone dance this sequence to confirm this?
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: Jerome Grisanti <jerome.grisanti(a)gmail.com>
>> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> Sent: Wednesday, February 6, 2008 5:16:05 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Callers] Organizing Dance Cards
>>
>> Susan Kevra's "The Country of Marriage" has that "Mary Cay's" move
>> as well,
>> done by the men.
>>
>> http://www.io.com/~entropy/contradance/sequences/the-country-of-
>> marriage.html
>>
>> Jerome
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _____________________________________________________________________
>> _______________
>> Be a better friend, newshound, and
>> know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://
>> mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
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>
>
>
>
>
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>
> End of Callers Digest, Vol 43, Issue 7
> **************************************
Rickey,
I was reminded the other day of a good tool. Since I often use a whole-set
longways dance like Virginia Reel or something like that, I have already
covered "cast down the outside" and it's just a matter of changing it to
"cast down one place." This is appropriate for teaching dances with an
unassisted cast.
--jerome
Hi Callers,
>
> I call a regular contra dance, once a month that is attended by many
> beginners. Yes they really are beginning something as we encourage them
> to
> come back. Often I do a lot of dances that are not contras as this is
> appropriate. Recently I decided to do an evening mostly of easy contras.
> I
> had problems I have had before, so, I have two requests today:
>
> (1) Many of the dances I do would now be called ?unequal? dances as the
> actives do a lot more than the inactives. We often do ?Actives down the
> center, turn alone, back and cast off?, figures that used to be among the
> most basic, but are not often done at today?s dances. Are any of you still
> doing dances that use these calls? Are any of you who do use these figures
> calling to a room made up mostly of beginners? Here is what I have been
> saying (roughly), or at least trying to say:
>
> * Actives identify who you are and notice who your neighbors are.
>
> * You are going to end up changing places with your neighbor, so
> that you are one place down from where you are now, and you will again be
> facing your partner as you are now.
>
> * Here is how you get there
>
> * Actives only, go down the center with your partner 5 or 6 steps
> (the meaning of ?actives?, ?down?, ?center?, and ?Partner? have all been
> previously established)
>
> * Turn alone in place.
>
> * Come back up the hall until you are standing between your
> neighbors.
>
> * Inactives put your arm around your active neighbor?s waists.
>
> * Actives you are going to separate from your partner
>
> * Inactives pivot your neighbor around, actives continuing
> forward,
> inactives backing up about ? of the way around until
>
> * The actives are one place down, below their neighbors, and all
> are
> facing their partners across the set as I showed you earlier.
>
> OK, I probably do not say all of this, all of the time, but I come close
> (I
> have recorded myself so I can check). There cannot be anything left to
> say
> can there? Do you think that there is something else to say or something
> to
> say differently? A demonstration preceded this. What do you do to teach
> these figures?
>
> (2) I also need more ?equal? beginner and ?very beginner? contras. My
> favorite is ?Family Contra?. Do you have other equal contras for
> beginners
> and very beginners. I have several set dances and a few Sicilian circles
> for such folks, and I normally do them first so that dancers can get the
> idea of progressing to new neighbors, before we try contras. What I seem
> to
> need more of are ?equal? contras for beginners and ?very beginners?. What
> do you have that you can send me?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Rickey Holt
>
> Fremont, NH
>
>
--
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
660-528-0714
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
At the risk of overstating the case-- and thank you, Jack, wherever you are, for
chiming in- I'll quote from another of David Smukler's essays. In this case,
he's discussing Chorus Jig but his comments about the role of the twos are
relevant in the Rory O'More context:
-----
Valuing the role of the "supporting cast"
As in many other chestnuts, the twos have an important and perhaps
underappreciated role... Just think of your slow progress toward the top of the
hall as paying your dues in the contra world. Keep dancing. Sooner or later,
whether this time or another, you will reach the head of the set. Your turn will
come to be a number one couple for time after time, supported by all those other
dancers whom you helped out on other occasions.
But, aside from the importance of being there for the ones, could it be that
there are other hidden opportunities in the number two role? Absolutely! First
of all, you have the gift of time. You can watch other dancers, and learn from
observing them, an increasingly rare opportunity in our contemporary
everyone-moving-all-the-time contra choreography. Some of this observation is
social (Who's dancing with whom tonight? Look at the amazing matching smiles on
those two!), and some is dance-related (Oh, that's how Mary and Tom do that
really neat balance!) (Aha! They only go six steps down the center and then they
take two full beats to turn alone).
Another benefit can be found in the reduced physical demand placed on you as a
dancer. After being active for a while, enjoy this time to relax as an
"inactive," required only to ensure that turning contra corners goes well. A
program that varies the activity level from dance to dance will allow more
people, young and old, to participate in dancing, and to feel energized and not
exhausted by their participation. However, if you are not ready for a rest, you
have an invaluable opportunity as a number two dancer to improvise some clogging
steps during the first half of Chorus Jig. This sort of "jigging"--a free-form
way to play along with the band--has become rare in the contemporary dance
scene. Freestyle clogging while standing out as a number two dancer is only
possible if the inactives are, well, inactive. If everyone is moving, there
simply is no opportunity for the solo foot percussion that resonated on dance
floors in years past.
Speaking of the band, the number two role also offers you the chance to devote
more of your conscious attention to the music.
------
As Jack says, some of these older dances really validate the notion of this
being a community-centered dance form, rather than the couple-centered activity
that many seem to think it is.
David
P.S. Shameless plug: CDSS is publishing Cracking Chestnuts, the collection of
essays by David S. and myself on some twenty classic dances. Music, detailed
commentary, an appendix with more suggested dances... We're told that it should
be available by this fall.
Hay Rickey,
I have collected a 'book' of begginer contra material that I will be glad
to share
with you. The next time we cross trails will probably be in Kingston. I'll
bring it
with me.
Gale
Original Message:
-----------------
From: Rickey holt.e(a)comcast.net
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:43:32 -0400
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Subject: [Callers] Two Requests
Hi Callers,
I call a regular contra dance, once a month that is attended by many
beginners. Yes they really are beginning something as we encourage them to
come back. Often I do a lot of dances that are not contras as this is
appropriate. Recently I decided to do an evening mostly of easy contras. I
had problems I have had before, so, I have two requests today:
(1) Many of the dances I do would now be called unequal dances as the
actives do a lot more than the inactives. We often do Actives down the
center, turn alone, back and cast off, figures that used to be among the
most basic, but are not often done at todays dances. Are any of you still
doing dances that use these calls? Are any of you who do use these figures
calling to a room made up mostly of beginners? Here is what I have been
saying (roughly), or at least trying to say:
* Actives identify who you are and notice who your neighbors are.
* You are going to end up changing places with your neighbor, so
that you are one place down from where you are now, and you will again be
facing your partner as you are now.
* Here is how you get there
* Actives only, go down the center with your partner 5 or 6 steps
(the meaning of actives, down, center, and Partner have all been
previously established)
* Turn alone in place.
* Come back up the hall until you are standing between your
neighbors.
* Inactives put your arm around your active neighbors waists.
* Actives you are going to separate from your partner
* Inactives pivot your neighbor around, actives continuing forward,
inactives backing up about ¾ of the way around until
* The actives are one place down, below their neighbors, and all are
facing their partners across the set as I showed you earlier.
OK, I probably do not say all of this, all of the time, but I come close (I
have recorded myself so I can check). There cannot be anything left to say
can there? Do you think that there is something else to say or something to
say differently? A demonstration preceded this. What do you do to teach
these figures?
(2) I also need more equal beginner and very beginner contras. My
favorite is Family Contra. Do you have other equal contras for beginners
and very beginners. I have several set dances and a few Sicilian circles
for such folks, and I normally do them first so that dancers can get the
idea of progressing to new neighbors, before we try contras. What I seem to
need more of are equal contras for beginners and very beginners. What
do you have that you can send me?
Thanks,
Rickey Holt
Fremont, NH
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At our dance on Saturday night, I had half a dozen people there at the start of
the evening who'd never done this kind of dancing before. As part of a very
short beginners' session, I had people lined up across from a partner, and
improvised this sequence:
Circle left; Circle right
Right-hand star; LH star
Long lines forward and back; all do-si-do partner
Down the center four in line (ones in the middle), back up still holding hands
in line, ones arch, pull twos through
In essence, it's Jefferson's Reel without that dance's B1 (actives only down the
outside and back), and it worked fine. One nice thing about the dance-- a
feature it shares with Family Contra-- is that dancers are connected with others
for virtually all of the dance so there's less opportunity to go astray.
> I have several set dances and a few Sicilian circles for such folks, and I
normally do them first so that dancers can get the idea of progressing to new
neighbors, before we try contras.
Alternately, you could do one of those set dances, one of these simple contras,
go back to another longways or Sicilian circle, then to a simple scatter mixer
for variety (Ted's Solo Mixer or Set a Crochet come to mind), and then another
simple contra.
David Millstone
Hi Callers,
I call a regular contra dance, once a month that is attended by many
beginners. Yes they really are beginning something as we encourage them to
come back. Often I do a lot of dances that are not contras as this is
appropriate. Recently I decided to do an evening mostly of easy contras. I
had problems I have had before, so, I have two requests today:
(1) Many of the dances I do would now be called unequal dances as the
actives do a lot more than the inactives. We often do Actives down the
center, turn alone, back and cast off, figures that used to be among the
most basic, but are not often done at todays dances. Are any of you still
doing dances that use these calls? Are any of you who do use these figures
calling to a room made up mostly of beginners? Here is what I have been
saying (roughly), or at least trying to say:
* Actives identify who you are and notice who your neighbors are.
* You are going to end up changing places with your neighbor, so
that you are one place down from where you are now, and you will again be
facing your partner as you are now.
* Here is how you get there
* Actives only, go down the center with your partner 5 or 6 steps
(the meaning of actives, down, center, and Partner have all been
previously established)
* Turn alone in place.
* Come back up the hall until you are standing between your
neighbors.
* Inactives put your arm around your active neighbors waists.
* Actives you are going to separate from your partner
* Inactives pivot your neighbor around, actives continuing forward,
inactives backing up about ¾ of the way around until
* The actives are one place down, below their neighbors, and all are
facing their partners across the set as I showed you earlier.
OK, I probably do not say all of this, all of the time, but I come close (I
have recorded myself so I can check). There cannot be anything left to say
can there? Do you think that there is something else to say or something to
say differently? A demonstration preceded this. What do you do to teach
these figures?
(2) I also need more equal beginner and very beginner contras. My
favorite is Family Contra. Do you have other equal contras for beginners
and very beginners. I have several set dances and a few Sicilian circles
for such folks, and I normally do them first so that dancers can get the
idea of progressing to new neighbors, before we try contras. What I seem to
need more of are equal contras for beginners and very beginners. What
do you have that you can send me?
Thanks,
Rickey Holt
Fremont, NH
Hi David,
I ran across your post searching for contra
dance Japan. Do you have anything going?
I am a caller in New Zealand. Our son lives in
Osaka and we come to Japan often.
Cheers, Bill Baritompa
