Hi,
I am wondering if you have any dances for low numbers of dancers (perhaps 6
or less), when most or all of the dancers are beginners and adults. I am
also wondering if you have any dances (presumably different dances), that do
not require choosing a partner and are good openers for beginner adults.
Thanks as always to all,
Rickey Holt.
I can only speak with reference to calling at NEFFA, as I have never applied to DownEast. As some of you may know that Linda Leslie is NEFFA's program chair, I will note that the program chair does not select performers for contra sessions.
Regarding NEFFA 2007, the following notice is now posted at http://neffa.org/perf_app.html - The Program Committee is not prepared to take your application at this time, since it is too late to apply for this year's NEFFA Festival. Please note that the application to perform is always available during the month of September, with a deadline in October. If you'd like to get an e-mail notice of application availability, send a blank e-mail to NEFFA_Performers-subscribe(a)yahoogroups.com
So you can note on your calendar that September is a good time to check the NEFFA web site, and also arrange for a notice to pop up in your e-mail.
The NEFFA application invites you to come up with a briefly-described theme for your session, with a title of 20 characters or less. IMO, use your own judgment as to how important the theme is. If you are offering a concept that's really meaningful to you, don't be afraid to describe it. If what you really want to do is just call some hot contras, then IMO I wouldn't go overboard on the theme.
Unlike Northwest Folklife, callers and bands apply SEPARATELY to the New England Folk Festival. And I believe that this is a very good thing for beginning callers who hope to have a chance at getting onstage. This mix-and-match policy gives a fresh perspective for experienced performers, and can be an eye-opening experience for newcomers who may get to work with seasoned veterans. I will never forget calling at NEFFA with Northern Spy, a band that has worked with caller David Millstone for 25 years. And where was David during this session? Out on the floor, happily dancing to the music of his own band. NEFFA's selection process made that wonderful hour possible for me.
For what it's worth, the first year I successfully applied I asked for a "Festival Orchestra" slot, which means that instead of calling a themed, hour-long session I called two dances in the Main Hall with the assembled orchestra and then got off the stage as the next Festival Orchestra caller had a turn. IMO, the key here (as well as in submitting a session proposal) is to choose dances that you know by heart, can teach well, fully believe in, and love to share with a crowd. You don't want to have second thoughts as you approach the microphone.
If you're wondering why performer applications are required so far in advance of a festival, note that NEFFA may have 1700 performers, many of whom perform in multiple sessions (perhaps performing alone, and with a participatory dance group, and also with a concert performance group!). You can't doublebook a performer (or larger groups to which she may belong), you have to give her time to move from one venue to another, plus a bunch of other scheduling etceteras that would drive me loony to contemplate further. How scheduling was done in the days before computers is beyond me.
--
Robert Jon Golder
164 Maxfield St
New Bedford, MA 02740
(508) 999-2486
If there are a lot of children, and no other contra dancers, for the
first workshop, don't start with a contra.
Start with something that breaks the ice and is easy and gets them
facing each other in long lines.
For my "one night stands", weddings, etc., I start with a dance
sometimes called "The Hat Dance" - except I use a large stuffed
animal gorilla, so people call it the "gorilla dance' - you know,
three chairs at the top of the set, two lines on either side, one
person sits in middle with gorilla on lap, one head of each line sit
on the side, band starts up and plays like a house afire, mid person
gives gorilla to one of the seated people, dances down set with the
other in a sashay or polka or whatever they choose, gorilla receiver
moves to mid seat, next two sit down. I don't know why this is so
successful, but people love this dance. They love watching other
people get or give the gorilla. I gave up on the hat idea because w.
kids there may be head lice. Really. The gorilla is cuter anyway.
This gets people moving, touching, laughing, and standing in two
lines and learning top of set and bottom of set.
Then follow perhaps with a reel, like Virginia reel. This gives a
vague concept of progression and doing something different at
different positions in the dance. There are some other simpler reels
than Virginia reel as well, without the strip the willow but with the
follow around and arch and under.
I think the one of the easiest contras is Ellen's Green Jig. I don't
have time to put it up here, maybe someone else could if you don't
know it, but it's one where everyone pretty much is in contact all
the time so it's hard to screw up, has just balance and swing, do-si-
do and circles pretty much, and the progression is oh-so-obvious, and
it doesn't matter if the genders get all screwed up as long as ones
are ones and twos are twos.
Oh, I called for a dance where 15 foreign exchange students showed up
with limited English. I'd keep the calls in English as you are a
beginning caller and it would be too much to think of to do it in
Japanese as well. But just pick the way you are going to call the
figure, e.g. Ladie's Chain - and NEVER vary it. It will always be
Ladie's Chain, not "Chain the women", not "women chain" not "chain
across" just flat out plain "Ladies Chain". People will catch on.
Martha
On Oct 2, 2007, at 4:00 PM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote:
> Send Callers mailing list submissions to
> callers(a)sharedweight.net
>
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Japan dance and self intro/update
> (sharedweight.99.kyoto(a)spamgourmet.com)
> 2. Re: Japan dance and self intro/update (Lindsay Morris)
> 3. Re: Japan dance and self intro/update (Greg McKenzie)
> 4. Re: Japan dance and self intro/update
> (Alan Winston - SSRL Central Computing)
> 5. Re: Japan dance and self intro/update (Lisa Sieverts)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2007 11:59:28 -0700 (PDT)
> From: sharedweight.99.kyoto(a)spamgourmet.com
> Subject: [Callers] Japan dance and self intro/update
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Message-ID: <74363.4139.qm(a)web38705.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>
> [n.b. this has been 'cross posted' to the yahoo traditional callers
> list, in case anyone is on
> both lists...]
>
> This post from a llooonnnngg time dancer and first time caller who is
> requesting some advice for an unusual situation...but as it is my
> first post, I will explain a little about myself, and along the way
> that will explain the unusual situation and help guide and refine any
> replies.
>
> My name is david crespo, a name some of you no doubt fear -- I mean
> recognize -- or would (recognize, that is) (if you saw my ugly
> mug) (well, maybe fear...) from my 20 odd (quite odd) years of
> dancing and involvement in the dance community in New England, mostly
> Vermont (Etna, Norwich, Thetford, to Northern Spy etc.) and Maine
> (SMFA (Yarmouth), Falmouth, Bates, Bowdoinham...). As some of you
> thus know, about 3 years ago, at a Wake the Neighbors Bates dance I
> was met by a cute and not very frightening Japanese exchange student,
> Yukie, who with a very little gentle nudging at Deffa a week later,
> eventually (rapidly, that is) was able to parlay that happenstance
> circumstance into what is now a beautiful and happy marriage. She
> returned to Japan shortly after we completed our courtship and about
> a year later I followed. We're living in Kyoto.
>
> Alas, there is one tragic note attending this otherwise joyous and
> perfect scenario. Japan, you see, is a land thouroughly devoid of one
> essential nutrient: contradancing. You can imagine my dismay, tears,
> and lamentations. Sadly, then, since my arrival, I have been quietly
> (well not so quietly) teaching english while secretly incubating evil
> plans to conquer Japan, then Asia, then the world in 64 (drastic)
> measures (hmmm--- good name for a dance). This month, my long patient
> agony of waiting has begun to pay off. I have been given the
> opportunity to indoctrinate a few trusting and innocent souls into
> the sublime mysteries of la dance du contra and create an army of
> swiftfooted robots, ready and willing to do my bidding at every call.
> SOON I WILL CONQUER THE WORLD!!!
>
> ahem.
>
> please excuse me while my medicine kicks in. Ah, yes, thank you. OK,
> where was I? The fact is, my wife and I have been invited to lead a
> contradance workshop at a local festival on October 20. When we found
> out, we began doing as much research as we could on calling and so
> on. We found a few basic dances, like Baby Rose and Diane's Visit and
> Atonement Reel that we like and figured would be suitable and we have
> been practicing calling them. But I really welcome any suggestions...
>
> Actually, above and beyond some decades of doing things proper and
> improper, I took a caller workshop or two from Rick Mohr (thanks
> Rick) so I have a rough idea of what's involved. And I've learned a
> bit from practicing calling and writing a few ad hoc dances on my
> own. For example, I learned that being a dancer has habituated me to
> act ON the beat, but as a caller I need to act BEFORE the beat,
> eh....this flustered me at first. Are there any other typical first
> caller pointers we should be on the lookout for?
>
> In addition, there are a few other associated circumstances in this
> project that create the aforementioned unique situation. In brief
> (HA! fooled you), since I've rattled on too long, here is what I mean:
>
> I don't speak more than the rudiments of Japanese. My wife is still a
> beginner dancer, to wit, she isn't a strong enough one to call on her
> own. Between us we are trying to teach each other what the other
> lacks and hopefully make one good caller out of the two of us. One
> question that has come up is is it better to keep the standard names
> for the figures, or to Japanify them. (We are leaning to the
> former...Japanese has a very high percentage of english loan words,
> and they learn english (poooooorly) in school.) Still, has anyone
> ever tried to call across a language barrier?
>
> Japanese are touch sensitve. They don't touch, they don't give eye
> contact. They don't give weight. (They give wait). They don't hug.
> They don't even say I love you. They are very shy. For example, I am
> told that this is to the point that standing in a line of men facing
> a line of women is likely be uncomfortable, even for the younger
> generation, so Yukie feels we should use mixed couples with armbands
> to distinguish "gender"--I mean position. As we build a community of
> experienced dancers, it would be expected that some of this
> inhibition might wear off...). You can see why they need to dance. On
> the other hand, they are good followers. Any advice for working with
> a shy crowd?
>
> Some or many of the attendees at this workshop, we just found out,
> are likely to be children. Depending on the percentage, it may be
> necessary to do a kids dance, or at least a dance kids could enjoy. I
> am good at working with kids in general, but I would love any advice
> for doing a dance with young people. I don't know or haven't been
> able to find any children's dances, though I assume the Family Dance
> in Yarmouth is still up and I plan to contact Jeff Raymond about it,
> because I can't remember the caller's name (Nancy....) (though we
> have danced and chatted about dancing and calling several times at
> the May Day Festival...gads! say hi if you're listening..).
> So, children's dances are one thing I am looking for.
>
> We are working in a small space...maybe two lines of six couples
> each. Advice for small spaces???　
>
> We are doing three workshops. If the same people return, we may do
> more advanced things, or we may just repeat teh workshop...but I
> would like to try different dances each time, for my practice.
>
> The room will be full of beginners, so no experienced dancers to rely
> on. Ballroom dancing had a certain following here (and in Kyoto there
> is a small set dancing group that we visited...small 14 or so... and
> a square dancing group that we plan to visit. ) but not enough to be
> helpful, in the sense that there are few cultural supports for
> learning (i.e. in the US most everyone knows (even if they don't
> admit it) how to at least fake a waltz or ballroom position...not
> here.) Think martian territory...
>
> I should add that we are seriously working towards starting a regular
> dance here (we've found an available and very suitable space, a
> church hall in a nearby church, for example) and this is for us a
> tryout and possible stepping stone. We want to whet people's
> appetite, and leave them wanting more. We have a half hour to do it...
>
> OK...apologies for the verbose and windy post. Fond regards to all of
> you I know, hajimemashite ("nice to meet you" in japanese, literally
> "beginning") to the rest and many thanks in advance for your time and
> help...cheers...david
>
> nothing rhymes with nostril...
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ______________
> Don't let your dream ride pass you by. Make it a reality with
> Yahoo! Autos.
> http://autos.yahoo.com/index.html
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2007 15:23:07 -0400
> From: Lindsay Morris <lindsay(a)tsmworks.com>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Japan dance and self intro/update
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Message-ID: <47029A9B.1020203(a)tsmworks.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Wow, you're biting off too much.
> Teach them community-dance stuff first - circle mixers, easy
> things to
> get them used to touching, allemanding, and giving weight.
> If they refuse to take hands and circle left, then I suggest you
> fake a
> heart attack and get out.
> Lindsay Morris
> Principal
> TSMworks
> [1]www.tsmworks.com
> 859-539-9900
>
>
> [2]sharedweight.99.kyoto(a)spamgourmet.com wrote:
>
> [n.b. this has been 'cross posted' to the yahoo traditional callers
> list, in cas
> e anyone is on
> both lists...]
>
> This post from a llooonnnngg time dancer and first time caller who is
> requesting some advice for an unusual situation...but as it is my
> first post, I will explain a little about myself, and along the way
> that will explain the unusual situation and help guide and refine any
> replies.
>
> My name is david crespo, a name some of you no doubt fear -- I mean
> recognize -- or would (recognize, that is) (if you saw my ugly
> mug) (well, maybe fear...) from my 20 odd (quite odd) years of
> dancing and involvement in the dance community in New England, mostly
> Vermont (Etna, Norwich, Thetford, to Northern Spy etc.) and Maine
> (SMFA (Yarmouth), Falmouth, Bates, Bowdoinham...). As some of you
> thus know, about 3 years ago, at a Wake the Neighbors Bates dance I
> was met by a cute and not very frightening Japanese exchange student,
> Yukie, who with a very little gentle nudging at Deffa a week later,
> eventually (rapidly, that is) was able to parlay that happenstance
> circumstance into what is now a beautiful and happy marriage. She
> returned to Japan shortly after we completed our courtship and about
> a year later I followed. We're living in Kyoto.
>
> Alas, there is one tragic note attending this otherwise joyous and
> perfect scenario. Japan, you see, is a land thouroughly devoid of one
> essential nutrient: contradancing. You can imagine my dismay, tears,
> and lamentations. Sadly, then, since my arrival, I have been quietly
> (well not so quietly) teaching english while secretly incubating evil
> plans to conquer Japan, then Asia, then the world in 64 (drastic)
> measures (hmmm--- good name for a dance). This month, my long patient
> agony of waiting has begun to pay off. I have been given the
> opportunity to indoctrinate a few trusting and innocent souls into
> the sublime mysteries of la dance du contra and create an army of
> swiftfooted robots, ready and willing to do my bidding at every call.
> SOON I WILL CONQUER THE WORLD!!!
>
> ahem.
>
> please excuse me while my medicine kicks in. Ah, yes, thank you. OK,
> where was I? The fact is, my wife and I have been invited to lead a
> contradance workshop at a local festival on October 20. When we found
> out, we began doing as much research as we could on calling and so
> on. We found a few basic dances, like Baby Rose and Diane's Visit and
> Atonement Reel that we like and figured would be suitable and we have
> been practicing calling them. But I really welcome any suggestions...
>
> Actually, above and beyond some decades of doing things proper and
> improper, I took a caller workshop or two from Rick Mohr (thanks
> Rick) so I have a rough idea of what's involved. And I've learned a
> bit from practicing calling and writing a few ad hoc dances on my
> own. For example, I learned that being a dancer has habituated me to
> act ON the beat, but as a caller I need to act BEFORE the beat,
> eh....this flustered me at first. Are there any other typical first
> caller pointers we should be on the lookout for?
>
> In addition, there are a few other associated circumstances in this
> project that create the aforementioned unique situation. In brief
> (HA! fooled you), since I've rattled on too long, here is what I mean:
>
> I don't speak more than the rudiments of Japanese. My wife is still a
> beginner dancer, to wit, she isn't a strong enough one to call on her
> own. Between us we are trying to teach each other what the other
> lacks and hopefully make one good caller out of the two of us. One
> question that has come up is is it better to keep the standard names
> for the figures, or to Japanify them. (We are leaning to the
> former...Japanese has a very high percentage of english loan words,
> and they learn english (poooooorly) in school.) Still, has anyone
> ever tried to call across a language barrier?
>
> Japanese are touch sensitve. They don't touch, they don't give eye
> contact. They don't give weight. (They give wait). They don't hug.
> They don't even say I love you. They are very shy. For example, I am
> told that this is to the point that standing in a line of men facing
> a line of women is likely be uncomfortable, even for the younger
> generation, so Yukie feels we should use mixed couples with armbands
> to distinguish "gender"--I mean position. As we build a community of
> experienced dancers, it would be expected that some of this
> inhibition might wear off...). You can see why they need to dance. On
> the other hand, they are good followers. Any advice for working with
> a shy crowd?
>
> Some or many of the attendees at this workshop, we just found out,
> are likely to be children. Depending on the percentage, it may be
> necessary to do a kids dance, or at least a dance kids could enjoy. I
> am good at working with kids in general, but I would love any advice
> for doing a dance with young people. I don't know or haven't been
> able to find any children's dances, though I assume the Family Dance
> in Yarmouth is still up and I plan to contact Jeff Raymond about it,
> because I can't remember the caller's name (Nancy....) (though we
> have danced and chatted about dancing and calling several times at
> the May Day Festival...gads! say hi if you're listening..).
> So, children's dances are one thing I am looking for.
>
> We are working in a small space...maybe two lines of six couples
> each. Advice for small spaces???　
>
> We are doing three workshops. If the same people return, we may do
> more advanced things, or we may just repeat teh workshop...but I
> would like to try different dances each time, for my practice.
>
> The room will be full of beginners, so no experienced dancers to rely
> on. Ballroom dancing had a certain following here (and in Kyoto there
> is a small set dancing group that we visited...small 14 or so... and
> a square dancing group that we plan to visit. ) but not enough to be
> helpful, in the sense that there are few cultural supports for
> learning (i.e. in the US most everyone knows (even if they don't
> admit it) how to at least fake a waltz or ballroom position...not
> here.) Think martian territory...
>
> I should add that we are seriously working towards starting a regular
> dance here (we've found an available and very suitable space, a
> church hall in a nearby church, for example) and this is for us a
> tryout and possible stepping stone. We want to whet people's
> appetite, and leave them wanting more. We have a half hour to do it...
>
> OK...apologies for the verbose and windy post. Fond regards to all of
> you I know, hajimemashite ("nice to meet you" in japanese, literally
> "beginning") to the rest and many thanks in advance for your time and
> help...cheers...david
>
> nothing rhymes with nostril...
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ____
> __________
> Don't let your dream ride pass you by. Make it a reality with
> Yahoo! Autos.
> [3]http://autos.yahoo.com/index.html
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> [4]Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> [5]http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
> References
>
> 1. http://www.tsmworks.com/
> 2. mailto:sharedweight.99.kyoto@spamgourmet.com
> 3. http://autos.yahoo.com/index.html
> 4. mailto:Callers@sharedweight.net
> 5. http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
I'm a novice caller, and will be taking the Callers Workshop with Lisa Greenleaf at Pinewoods this August.? Wednesday, August 13th will be the 36th International Lefthanders Day, and I've written the following dance which I hope to call there that evening, since its Campers Night?-- it?dances okay in my head.? Any input?
Name of Dance:? August 13
Duple Improper, double progression.
A1? LEFT hand star (8) morphing into LEFT hand Allm w/neighbor (8)?(like Al's Safeway Produce)
A2? Ladies pass LEFT shoulders across the set to B/S partner (16)? Face LEFT diagonal
B1? On the LEFT diagonal, half a hey, ladies leading.? Ladies turn back over their LEFT shoulders to LEFT gypsy partner (16).? Face across.
B2? Circle LEFT --? (One and 1/8 places?)?(8 counts) Far enough to balance the ring (4) and then pass LEFT shoulders (4) into a new LH star with the next.??
April Blum
Must have left my brain somewhere while cleaning!! Let's try again.....here is the dance that I need a title & author for!
Duple Improper
A1 Star Left
Gents Almd Left
A2 Pick up Neighbor in Star Promenade 1X round
(back to original side), Butterfly Whirl
B1 Ladies Chain Over & Back
B2 Hey for 4
Jane Ewing
Huntsville, AL
All those lefts YIKES! makes my hip's hurt just thinking about it :-)
wouldn't this be fun in a medely with the next dance being all the
right moves!
Have a great time at the wkshp... Lisa will thech you lots!
Original Message:
-----------------
From: hgrastorf(a)aol.com
Date: Fri, 30 May 2008 16:31:04 -0400
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Subject: [Callers] August 13, International Lefthanders Day
I'm a novice caller, and will be taking the Callers Workshop with Lisa
Greenleaf at Pinewoods this August.? Wednesday, August 13th will be the
36th International Lefthanders Day, and I've written the following dance
which I hope to call there that evening, since its Campers Night?--
it?dances okay in my head.? Any input?
Name of Dance:? August 13
Duple Improper, double progression.
A1? LEFT hand star (8) morphing into LEFT hand Allm w/neighbor (8)?(like
Al's Safeway Produce)
A2? Ladies pass LEFT shoulders across the set to B/S partner (16)? Face
LEFT diagonal
B1? On the LEFT diagonal, half a hey, ladies leading.? Ladies turn back
over their LEFT shoulders to LEFT gypsy partner (16).? Face across.
B2? Circle LEFT --? (One and 1/8 places?)?(8 counts) Far enough to balance
the ring (4) and then pass LEFT shoulders (4) into a new LH star with the
next.??
April Blum
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While "Spring Cleaning" my desk I discovered this dance noted.
Can anyone supply the title and author? It's one of those "NO Swing" dances!
Thanks
Jane Ewing
Huntsville, AL
Hi.... I've posted 4 videos of Lisa Greenleaf, Ron
Buchanon, and Becky Hill calling, A Pirates Life for
Me, The 24th of June, Are you 'most done, and one
unknown dance. All this is on the caller's corner
page of contrausa.com.
Can anyone look at these and let me know some of the
dance names, the author's data and any other
comments on the calling and dances?
By the way, the dancing and music is great also...
and you may see your friends in there :)
best wishes ...
Richie Katz
Tampa
Here is a real easy dance that has the circle balances and Pet twirls. I
don't know who wrote it or the name.
It us an improper contra. I've used it at dances where there were large
numbers of beginners (80% beginners) and it
goes over really well. the new dancers pick it up easily.
A1, A2 in a circle balance and spin to the right. repeat this three more
times.
B1 Circle left. swing neighbor.
B2 Long lines forward and back, actives swing.
Tom
Original Message:
-----------------
From: callers-request(a)sharedweight.net
Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 10:28:40 -0400
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Subject: Callers Digest, Vol 45, Issue 8
Send Callers mailing list submissions to
callers(a)sharedweight.net
To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
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or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
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You can reach the person managing the list at
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When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of Callers digest..."
Today's Topics:
1. Re: petronella (Jack Mitchell)
2. Re: petronella (Bob Isaacs)
3. Re: petronella (Michael Barraclough)
4. Re: petronella (Dave Colestock)
5. Dance Debrief (Jack Mitchell)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 15:30:32 -0400
From: Jack Mitchell <jamitch3(a)mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: [Callers] petronella
To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Message-ID: <E1JsNR5-0005XF-Hn(a)elasmtp-masked.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"; format=flowed
Hmmm...this doesn't seem to have come through.
Jack
At 03:17 PM 5/3/2008, you wrote:
>Content-Type: multipart/related;
> boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0169_01C8AD30.CC9FCF80"
>Content-language: en-us
>
>Cure for the Claps by Bob Isaacs
>
>[nb timing is in measures/bars, not beats]
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Michael Barraclough
>
>http://www.michaelbarraclough.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net
>[mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Jack Mitchell
>Sent: Saturday, May 03, 2008 3:09 PM
>To: Caller's discussion list
>Subject: Re: [Callers] petronella
>
>
>
>While we're on the topic, does anyone have The
>
>Cure for the Claps, by Bob Issacs written
>
>down? I had it, but can't find it in my box.
>
>
>
>Jack
>
>
>
>At 01:11 PM 5/3/2008, you wrote:
>
> >The simplest Petronella dance is probably
>
> >Petronella itself. Issues for some might be that
>
> >it is a proper dance and there is no swing with
>
> >anyone at all. But it is the standard and we
>
> >still enjoy it here. David Smukler has a very
>
> >nice description of the dance here:
>
> >http://www.davidsmukler.syracusecountrydancers.org/petronella.htm
>
> >
>
> >Where in France are you located?
>
> >
>
> >Rich Hart.
>
> >
>
> >B?atrice De'N?ve remarked on 5/3/2008 12:38 PM:
>
> >>Hello,
>
> >>
>
> >>I am a French contra dancer, trying to introduce contra in France. We
have
>a
>
> >>small group of 20 dancers who are able to dance most of the main
figures.
>I
>
> >>would like to introduce 'petronella' and 'balance the ring', I'm looking
>for
>
> >>a contra with 4 'balance the ring' and 4 petronella, do you know a
simple
>
> >>one ?
>
> >>Beatrice
>
> >>_______________________________________________
>
> >>Callers mailing list
>
> >>Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>
> >>http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
> >>
>
> >>
>
> >>
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >_______________________________________________
>
> >Callers mailing list
>
> >Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>
> >http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
> >
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>
>Callers mailing list
>
>Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>
>http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
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>Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 15:35:30 -0400
From: Bob Isaacs <isaacsbob(a)hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Callers] petronella
To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Message-ID: <BAY129-W41764FB01B7132632FA075AAD50(a)phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Jack and All;
I do;
The Cure for the Claps Improper, 8/19/03
A1. 4,4,8 Balance, Petronella, partner swing
A2. 4,4,8 Balance, Petronella, neighbor swing - face down
B1. 8,8 Down hall in line/4 - turn alone, up hall and bend line
B2. 8,4,4 Circle L, balance, California twirl
When this first started circlulating, it was often called The Cure for the
Clap, but that's a whole different story. This
is a rarity among modern contras - no fractions.
Bob Isaacs> Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 15:09:03 -0400> To:
callers(a)sharedweight.net> From:
jamitch3(a)mindspring.com> Subject: Re: [Callers] petronella> > While we're
on the topic, does anyone have The >
Cure for the Claps, by Bob Issacs written > down? I had it, but can't find
it in my box.> > Jack> > At 01:11 PM
5/3/2008, you wrote:> >The simplest Petronella dance is probably >
>Petronella itself. Issues for some might be
that > >it is a proper dance and there is no swing with > >anyone at all.
But it is the standard and we > >still enjoy
it here. David Smukler has a very > >nice description of the dance here: >
>http://www.davidsmukler.syracusecountrydancers.org/petronella.htm> >>
>Where in France are you located?>
>> >Rich Hart.> >> >B?atrice De'N?ve remarked on 5/3/2008 12:38 PM:>
>>Hello,> >>> >>I am a French contra
dancer, trying to introduce contra in France. We have a> >>small group of
20 dancers who are able to dance most of
the main figures. I> >>would like to introduce '
petronella' and 'balance the ring', I'm looking for> >>a contra with 4
'balance the ring' and 4 petronella, do you
know a simple> >>one ?> >>Beatrice>
>>_______________________________________________> >>Callers mailing
list> >>Callers(a)sharedweight.net>
>>http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers> >>> >>> >>> >>
>> >_______________________________________________> >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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------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 15:59:10 -0400
From: "Michael Barraclough" <michael(a)michaelbarraclough.com>
Subject: Re: [Callers] petronella
To: "'Caller's discussion list'" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Message-ID: <017a01c8ad58$276e0c70$764a2550$@com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
The content was turned into an attached image. However, Bob has provided
the info now anyway.
Michael Barraclough
http://www.michaelbarraclough.com
-----Original Message-----
From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net
[mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Jack Mitchell
Sent: Saturday, May 03, 2008 3:31 PM
To: Caller's discussion list
Subject: Re: [Callers] petronella
Hmmm...this doesn't seem to have come through.
Jack
At 03:17 PM 5/3/2008, you wrote:
>Content-Type: multipart/related;
> boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0169_01C8AD30.CC9FCF80"
>Content-language: en-us
>
>Cure for the Claps by Bob Isaacs
>
>[nb timing is in measures/bars, not beats]
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Michael Barraclough
>
>http://www.michaelbarraclough.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net
>[mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Jack Mitchell
>Sent: Saturday, May 03, 2008 3:09 PM
>To: Caller's discussion list
>Subject: Re: [Callers] petronella
>
>
>
>While we're on the topic, does anyone have The
>
>Cure for the Claps, by Bob Issacs written
>
>down? I had it, but can't find it in my box.
>
>
>
>Jack
>
>
>
>At 01:11 PM 5/3/2008, you wrote:
>
> >The simplest Petronella dance is probably
>
> >Petronella itself. Issues for some might be that
>
> >it is a proper dance and there is no swing with
>
> >anyone at all. But it is the standard and we
>
> >still enjoy it here. David Smukler has a very
>
> >nice description of the dance here:
>
> >http://www.davidsmukler.syracusecountrydancers.org/petronella.htm
>
> >
>
> >Where in France are you located?
>
> >
>
> >Rich Hart.
>
> >
>
> >B?atrice De'N?ve remarked on 5/3/2008 12:38 PM:
>
> >>Hello,
>
> >>
>
> >>I am a French contra dancer, trying to introduce contra in France. We
have
>a
>
> >>small group of 20 dancers who are able to dance most of the main
figures.
>I
>
> >>would like to introduce 'petronella' and 'balance the ring', I'm looking
>for
>
> >>a contra with 4 'balance the ring' and 4 petronella, do you know a
simple
>
> >>one ?
>
> >>Beatrice
>
> >>_______________________________________________
>
> >>Callers mailing list
>
> >>Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>
> >>http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
> >>
>
> >>
>
> >>
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >_______________________________________________
>
> >Callers mailing list
>
> >Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>
> >http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
> >
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>
>Callers mailing list
>
>Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>
>http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Callers mailing list
>Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 21:54:33 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dave Colestock <contradancerdave(a)yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Callers] petronella
To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Message-ID: <813025.14625.qm(a)web52608.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Thanks Lisa, for posting Petronella's Pin. Rather than post my description
of the original here I invite you to peruse
my website at www.davecolestock.com and find it under my dance
compositions.
Basically there is a move called a Give and Take, but in my dance it is
the Ladies who bring the Gents back to their
side for the partner swing (instead of the gents bringing back the ladies).
Nils modified it by changing the Give and
Take to a Gents Allemande Left 1.5x. The G&T allows for a longer partner
swing, since the G&T is a 4 beat move.
The dance Petronella itself presents a slight teaching challenge in that
the figure starts in a diamond formation
rather than from a standard improper formation. This makes it difficult
for dancers who are not used to that
formation, and callers who are unfamiliar with the dance. Check out David
Smuklers site for more on that dance.
I would advise choosing easy dances to teach the figure, then progress
onto the more difficult dances that use the
"Petronella style" figure (the balance, then spin right one place sequence
that has become know as the Petronella
figure). I would consider Cure for the Claps a more advanced dance, since
it splits the Petronella spins into separate
sequences to allow for the swings.
HTH
Dave Colestock
Lisa Sieverts <lisa(a)lisasieverts.com> wrote:
Not 4, but 2, and a surprisingly accessible dance:
Petronella's Pin - 08/05/2005 Dave Colestock (as modified by Nils
Fredland)
Duple, Improper
1. Balance in a Ring of 4, Spin to the Right 1 Place
2. Balance in a Ring of 4, Spin to the Right 1 Place
3. Balance in a Ring of 4
4. Swing Neighbor
5. Men Allemande Left 1?
6. Partner Swing
7. Circle LEFT ?
8. Balance the Ring; Pass Thru to New Neighbors
On May 3, 2008, at 12:38 PM, B?atrice De'N?ve wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I am a French contra dancer, trying to introduce contra in France.
> We have a
> small group of 20 dancers who are able to dance most of the main
> figures. I
> would like to introduce 'petronella' and 'balance the ring', I'm
> looking for
> a contra with 4 'balance the ring' and 4 petronella, do you know a
> simple
> one ?
> Beatrice
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
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------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 10:27:58 -0400
From: Jack Mitchell <jamitch3(a)mindspring.com>
Subject: [Callers] Dance Debrief
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Message-ID: <E1JsfCb-0007Fl-SF(a)elasmtp-spurfowl.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
So, I started writing this out for myself, just to write out some of my
thoughts about the dance -- what went well, what didn't, what I needed
to think about. Once I got it done, I thought there might be some
folks out there who would be interested in reading (or at least
skimming) some of this.... Usually I just mull over a dance
afterwards, sometimes talking it out with another dancer. This is the
first time I've tried to write things out. It's kinda long, so feel
free to ignore it if you're not interested. If you would be interested
in helping me troubleshoot a walk through, but don't want to deal with
it all, I would be interested in any thoughts that you might have on
teaching "Happy as a Warm Pig in Cold Mud" -- it's the first dance I
talk about in detail. If you don't want to plow thorough the rest,
just have a look at it -- start at the bold face text below.
Jack
Here goes.....
Just called a dance at the Greensboro (NC) Grange this evening. We had
a relatively small group -- probably in part because it was a first
Saturday and so we didn't get the folks coming over from the Triangle,
never getting above two lines (but never having to go to just one line
either!). The band was Skylark (Paul Fackler on fiddle, Marilyn
Hartman on piano and Colin Cannell on percussion and mouth harp).
Overall, I was pretty happy with the program I called, but I probably
did try to do 1 too many more involved dances later in the evening.
First half:
The first part of the evening was mostly glossary dances, adding in a
Hey by the 3rd dance of the evening.
* Greetings, by Tori Berone -- a nice simple dance, with Long Lines
after both of the swings, which helps remind the dancers to stop
swinging and move on without my having to call for the whole time
* Summer Sunshine, by Paul Balliet - starts and ends in the same
short wavy lines, introduces Ladies Chain
* Flirting Attempt, by Marian Hepburn - first Hey of the evening,
otherwise, a pretty simple dance
* Salmanella Evening by Steve Zakon Anderson - brings in Petranella
Spins, pretty heavy on allemandes - another great set of tunes - a
set of rip roaring french canadian tunes with both foot percussion
and drum
* After the Flu, by Dean Snipes - a down the hall dance which ends
with a ladies chain into a circle right into (the top of the dance
which is a) circle left with new neighbors. We did it to a nice
set of smooth jigs and once people got the hang of the transition,
it went well. I really love that transition -- circle right into
circle left with new folks.
Inpatient readers, please start here!!
I ended the first half with Happy as a Warm Pig in Cold Mud. I've been
playing with how I want to teach this one, and I'm still not happy with
what I've got, though Eileen gave me some good ideas for things to try
next time (probably when I call at Glen Echo next week)
So, the dance is:
Happy as a Warm Pig in Cold Mud (or in the winter Happy as a Cold Pig
in Warm Mud -- I'm actually not sure which is the original title....)
Mike Boershig Improper
A1 N B&S
A2 Men Allemande L 1.5
P Allemande R 1.5
B1 Leave your partner, Left Hand Star 1x (theoretically with
neighbor, shadow and shadow's neighbor)
Back to your partner, Swing
B2 Circle Left 3/4
Balance the Ring
California Twirl
So, as you would guess, the B1 is the tricky bit. One of the fun
things about this dance is that it doesn't matter which way you go for
the star -- it helps if you and your partner go in different
directions, but even that doesn't really matter -- as long as you go
somewhere, turn a star and then swing your partner. Because of that,
it's a very resilient dance. That being said, what I discovered
tonight was that it can still be confusing for folks even when it
doesn't fall apart -- that's more or less what happened tonight. The
dance kept going, and I was able to stop calling, but new dancers ended
up confused (and keeping calling didn't change much). It was a matter
of getting oriented in the first place. We also had a lower proportion
of experienced dancers to beginners than usual.
What I did during the walk through was have them allemande R 1.5 with
partner, and then get the men back to back in the center. Reach out
with your left hand and star left with your neighbor and the two people
pointing back at you. I also pointed out that in the dance it didn't
matter how many times you allemande with your partner or which
direction you went to form the star -- as long as you go and keep
moving. People still had a lot of trouble figuring out where to go
once the dance got going, and in a lot of cases the new folks just got
the "deer in the headlights" syndrome and stopped completely.
A few options:
1) Point out that (theoretically) you will have a shadow in your star
-- if you're doing a wrist grip star, the gent's shadow will be the
lady whose wrist he grabs to form the star. Problem: If some folks go
the other way, this could be more confusing. Option: Just don't
mention that you can go either way -- have it be allemande 1.5, star
left with shadow, come back swing.
2) Men back to back in the middle (after the allemande). Look away
from your hands 4 for someone of the same gender and form a hands
across star. Turn the star 1 time. Swing your partner. Problem:
Again, could be confusing if someone ended up with he he he she stars
or she she she he stars.
3) Other ideas??
How's the best way to point out the position without having to tie it
either to a particular person or gender? I suspect that with the group
I had, I should probably have just "done it straight" without pointing
out the opportunity to mess around. In that case, which way above
would seem to be clearer? With a larger proportion of experienced
dancers, though, any thoughts on the best way to teach it?
Ok. Impatient readers are done. If you want to read about the second
half and pick up another new dance, keep going!
Second half, I did
* Square Affair, by Becky Hill, a great dance with a square thru,
* Any Jig Will Do, by Mike Richardson (done to Slip Jigs -- I love to
call this one when I have a band that can do slip Jigs, and the
band had put a set together specifically for me. They ended up at
a higher tempo than I've done it at before. It was almost too
fast, but the dancers were able to keep up confortably. For some
reason, once of the new dancers who had been confused and
disoriented for many of the dances was able to get this one with no
problems -- and it's a dance that depends on the men to get the hey
going.
* a simple 4 face 4 (Dance All Night, by Rick Mohr)
* Lundee's Laughter, a new dance by Adina Gordon
On this one, I forgot that I hadn't done the dance I had
planned to do earlier in the evening to introduce the Roll
Away (which came right after a ladies chain, making it
more complicated.) I had planned to start out with Rollin
and Tumblin by Cis Hinkle, but then (for some reason)
changed to another dance instead and forgot that I needed
the roll away for this dance. Also, this is the first
time I've called it at a regular dance -- we tested it out
two weeks ago when the naming rights were auctioned off at
a benefit dance -- but we only danced it a few times then)
The dance is:
Lundee's Laughter
Adina Gordon Becket!!
A1 2 ladies down the hall
Turn alone, come back
(while the ladies are traveling, men face
down)
A2 Partner Gypsy (by inside shoulder -- the one
that's closest), ladies cross
Neighbor Swing
B1 Long Lines
Left Diagonal Ladies Chain (to shadow), and
Roll Away
B2 Partner Swing
Definitely needed to have done a roll away earlier in the
evening like I had originally planned, because this is a
special case for a rollaway and getting to it from the
ladies chain can be tricky to figure out what to do with
which hand even when you know how to do a roll away. It
does flow very nicely into the swing though. The one
problem that we had when we tested it 2 weeks ago was the
progression -- you have to make sure that when you come
back around to the top that it's two NEW ladies to go down
the hall. After the swing, the dancers are likely to need
to shift just a bit to the right to be across from new
neighbors. It's a good dance, and I think with a more
experienced group, would have been fine. As it was, it
never fell apart, it was just a little rough around the
edges, and a number of folks never got the roll away.
This dance isn't a good one to start with for a roll away
because a) it's from an unusual position and b) it's
always with the same person -- your shadow. If neither of
you know how to do a roll away, you'd just sunk.
Fortunately, all you have to do is trade places and there
your partner is, and you've got a nice long swing with
them before you have to do anything else.
Ended the evening with Hey in the Barn by Chart Guthrie -- one of
my favorite
everyone's-brain-dead-and-we-just-want-to-dance-and-not-think
dances. (for those who don't know it: N B&S, L Chain, 1/2 Hey, P
B&S, LC, 1/2 Hey, on to the next.....
If I had it to program again I wouldn't have done Any Jig, Dance
all Night and Lundee's Laughter all together -- too many unusual
dances all in a row, and I think it taxed the dancers a bit. I
also wouldn't have done Lundee's laughter without having done a
roll away earlier in the evening so that they get lots of practice
with different folks. I think that two out of three would have
been ok, perhaps split up by a simpler dance. Ahh, the joys of
programming on the fly in combination with new dances (Dance all
Night was my first ever 4 face 4, and Lundee's Laughter was a new
dance too....)
Fortunately, I had fabulous music to work with. This is my first
time working with them since Colin's been playing with Paul and
Marilyn. Colin just started working with them about 6 months ago,
and the percussion has really added a lot to their sound. I had
called with them a bunch of times as a duo and always enjoyed it.
The addition of a nice solid percussion just makes it that much
better. Almost all of the tunes that they played fit the dances
really well, and I think that everyone (dancers, band and caller)
had a good time.
If you made it this far, I hope that it was interesting (or at
least that you picked up a couple of new dances). If anyone would
like copies of other dances mentioned, just drop me an email and
I'll send them out.
Jack Mitchell
Durham, NC
------------------------------
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End of Callers Digest, Vol 45, Issue 8
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I will compile all lists and, when the project's done, post the
compilation and their paper/presentation so all the rest of us theory
wonks can read it too!
1a - Can you list your three favorite transitions (sequence of two
figures) in terms of flow, how they connect?
1b - What about your three least favorite?
2a - What is the dance that embodies the words flowing, elegant, smooth
the most to you?
2b - What is the dance that embodies them the least?
3a - Are there any dances you know and love, that are wonderfully
satisfying, but are not necessarily smooth or flowing?
3a - Why do these dances work, if it's not the flow?
Note: the students will not see your answers to Question 3a at first.
We're going to let them discover the other "satisfyers" on their own --
good story line, social tension and reward, the "oh cool, that's so
ingenious!" factor.
