Dave,
During Ralph Page Legacy Dance weekend I was introduced by the emcee as being from the western shores of NJ. Couldn't resist, and it must be in the advance geography class.
See ya,
Dan
----- Original Message ----
From: Dave Colestock <contradancerdave(a)yahoo.com>
To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Sent: Thursday, May 1, 2008 4:16:06 PM
Subject: Re: [Callers] idea for a longer contra medley
Hey Dan -
When did NJ acquire a Western Shore??? I thought it only had an east coast ocean exposure!!! Or do I need to brush up on Geography 201?
Dave Colestock
Dan Black <blackjunier(a)yahoo.com> wrote:
One thing that has been helpful being involved in medeleys, is the chance to become familiar with calling a no walk through dance. Sometime I can include one quick dance at the end with a no walk thru. People seem to enjoy and this dance is usually has more dancers than the previous. Secondly it is better than a medley because you don't have to call as many times and keep track of how many times til the change.
Chris great comment about the band, just think playing the fiddle for 26 minutes straight. My shoulder gets sore thinking about it.
There was a time when I'd call a three dance medley and it seemed to go over well. Maybe it is time to do that again. Nice thread.
Dan Black
Western Shore of NJ
----- Original Message ----
From: Chris Weiler (home)
To: Caller's discussion list
Sent: Thursday, May 1, 2008 2:49:31 PM
Subject: Re: [Callers] idea for a longer contra medley
Speaking as a caller who made a mistake during his medley, it was
eternal. 8^)
Right now 6 dances repeated 6 times works out to roughly 19 minutes.
That's just enough time to get set up, form lines, recite the
warning/welcoming poem and be done in time to allow the bands to change
for the next set. 6 dances repeated 8 times is almost 26 minutes. That
doesn't leave any time for the band change.
Koren's idea of having two medleys in a session might be more practical,
but I have another concern: What about the musicians? It's a long time
to play and I've talked to some after playing for a medley and heard how
fatigued they are.
Happy Dancing!
Chris Weiler
Goffstown, NH
Janet Levatin wrote:
> I like some of those ideas. I would at least like to see the 6 dances
> each repeated 8 times, or 8 dances each repeated 6 times. Or maybe two
> 6 x 6 in a row. I just thought the whole thing was a bit too short.
> Janet
>
>
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One thing that has been helpful being involved in medeleys, is the chance to become familiar with calling a no walk through dance. Sometime I can include one quick dance at the end with a no walk thru. People seem to enjoy and this dance is usually has more dancers than the previous. Secondly it is better than a medley because you don't have to call as many times and keep track of how many times til the change.
Chris great comment about the band, just think playing the fiddle for 26 minutes straight. My shoulder gets sore thinking about it.
There was a time when I'd call a three dance medley and it seemed to go over well. Maybe it is time to do that again. Nice thread.
Dan Black
Western Shore of NJ
----- Original Message ----
From: Chris Weiler (home) <chris.weiler(a)weirdtable.org>
To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Sent: Thursday, May 1, 2008 2:49:31 PM
Subject: Re: [Callers] idea for a longer contra medley
Speaking as a caller who made a mistake during his medley, it was
eternal. 8^)
Right now 6 dances repeated 6 times works out to roughly 19 minutes.
That's just enough time to get set up, form lines, recite the
warning/welcoming poem and be done in time to allow the bands to change
for the next set. 6 dances repeated 8 times is almost 26 minutes. That
doesn't leave any time for the band change.
Koren's idea of having two medleys in a session might be more practical,
but I have another concern: What about the musicians? It's a long time
to play and I've talked to some after playing for a medley and heard how
fatigued they are.
Happy Dancing!
Chris Weiler
Goffstown, NH
Janet Levatin wrote:
> I like some of those ideas. I would at least like to see the 6 dances
> each repeated 8 times, or 8 dances each repeated 6 times. Or maybe two
> 6 x 6 in a row. I just thought the whole thing was a bit too short.
> Janet
>
>
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Hi All,
The dance in question is Sunday on the Green, written by Jim Kitch. I've
called it lots of times and it's a great dance. I agree with Alan's notation
of the timing below, and his comment to NOT drop the balances. They make the
dance. I've added some comments that help me teach and call it as well as a
bit about the B2, that might help the rest of you. So here's my take on it:
(starts in an Alamo ring, ladies face out/gents in)
A1 1-2 Balance the wave R/L
3-4 Partners allemande R half way and reform the wavy circle
5-6 Balance the wave L/R
7-8 With #1, allemande L half way and reform the wavy circle
A2 1-2 Balance the wave R/L
3-4 With #2, allemande R 1x
5-8 With #1, allemande L 1 1/2 times
B1 1-8 Partners balance and swing
B2 1-6 Promenade around the circle
7-8 Partners drop R hands, keep holding L hand, ladies loop L to the
inside of the circle and around current partner, and gives R to new partner
to reform the wavy circle.
(Old partner is in left hand, new partner in right)
I typically tell dancers that they'll move away from their partner by 2
people and then come back to balance and swing them. I think it helps to
give them the markers. Also, I particularly like the transition from the
promenade back to the wavy circle because you keep the connection with the
partner the whole time.
Hope that helps,
Bev
>Message: 7
>Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:59:16 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Alan Winston - SSRL Central Computing
> <winston(a)slac.stanford.edu>
>Subject: Re: [Callers] 2 questions
>To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
>Message-ID: <01MU8J6EYIMM8XO7P3(a)SSRL.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU>
>Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=us-ascii
>
>Parker wrote:
>
>> 1. I have run into the following mixer dance and I'm not sure how best to
>>call it. I don't know the name and author or I'd ask him/her. The
>>problem is
>>that no beat counts or A1-A2-B1-B2 divisions were given.
>
>> The formation is a wavy circle with gents facing in, ladies facing out,
>>partners by the right. The moves are:
>
>(I have modified this with measure counts, assuming 2 beats to a measure)
>
>A1 1-2 Balance the wave R/L
> 3-4 Allemande R half way and reform the wavy circle
> 5-6 Balance the wave L/R
> 7-8 Allemande L half way and reform the wavy circle
>
>A2 1-2 Balance the wave R/L
> 3-4 Allemande R 1x
> 5-8 Allemande L 1 1/2 times
>B1 1-8 Partners balance and swing
>B2 1-6 Promenade around the circle
> 7-8 Partners drop R hands and reform the circle.
> Old partner is in left hand, new partner in right.
>
>> The problem is I can't make the timing look right. The first five moves
>>look
>>to all be four beat moves, but then there are 12 beats left for the
>>allemande R
>>1x and allemande L 1 1/2. If not, moves are falling across the phrase.
>
>I don't actually know this dance either, but can see this working. The
>allemande R 1x works up some momentum which you don't have to damp to get
>into
>the allemande L, and you _can_ get all the way around an allemande in four
>steps. If you like you can encourage the dancers to try to do that. (What
>will really happen is that the two allemandes will blur into one figure
>(which
>will feel a little bit like a do pas o), and the timing will vary a bit
>from
>person to person. But everybody's motivated to be on time for the balance
>(which is definitely at the top of B1), so it will work, and if anybody's
>late
>they can just get a shorter swing with their partner, so it won't break
>down.
>
>> Has anyone tried this dance or know anything about it? I'm thinking that
>>drop the third balancing of the wave would work best, but that means a
>>half
>>allemande, full allemande, and 1 1/2 allemande consecutively.
>
>Don't drop the balance. You'll only confuse their muscle memory. And 12
>beats
>is enough time to do the allemande figures.
>
>-- Alan
Thanks to both Amy and Will for your comments.
Amy asked:
>****Do I sense a certain amount of subtext here?***
Subtext? I'm only trying to help.
We all have different goals at a dance. The
caller, I believe, takes responsibility for
knowing the common goals of the entire hall and
working toward that end. This is a big
challenge, and few of us will ever excel at
it. It requires leadership and an understanding
of the subtle influence a caller can have on both
the evening's event, and on the tradition of
contras over time. That is the real challenge of
calling and I hope that I will someday be good at it.
I understand that there are some dancers, and
many callers, who enjoy the challenge of
medleys. A caller should also know that even a
flawlessly executed medley will not be enjoyed by
some people and that those people are likely to
include new dancers and those who enjoy dancing with newcomers.
When I attended NEFFA some years ago I was one of
those who, during the medley, took the time to get my dinner.
Will spoke of, " novice dancers who know the
basics." I think this is a self-canceling
phrase. Clearly there is a role for contra
medleys in the current culture of dance camps and
festivals. (This may partly explain why you
don't see me at such events designed exclusively
for dance enthusiasts.) The question here is
whether medleys have a role at regular community
dances that are open to the public. The caller,
in that context, plays a different role than at
an event intended only for dance enthusiasts.
The real question is: What is the purpose of the
dance evening, and what is the role of the caller
in achieving that purpose? Answering that
question is the ultimate challenge of contra dance calling.
Just a thought,
Greg McKenzie
