I wholehearted agree with Susan Elberger, and with Greg a bit as well.
In general, at regular open dances I announce dance names and authors just before I begin the walk-through. It is my acknowledgement, in lieu of a license fee, to the person whose creativity I am taking advantage of by calling their dance. I tend not to announce my own name, as I feel uncomfortable even bragging a little bit.
At one night stands, I do not announce names or composers because in that setting I want to make every syllable count, and I want the music to start as soon as possible.
So that's what I do. Inconsistent? Yeah. Reasoned? Who knows...
Dan
(Hello folks - I'm a beginning caller, happily lurking here of late...)
Though I haven't tried other styles, I'll second the recommendation for Capezio Dansneakers. I finally just bought my first pair of dance shoes right before going to a weeklong camp - brilliant plan for breaking them in, no? But they felt totally comfortable as soon as I tried them on (granted, my feet are probably pretty "normal"), and I came out of 8 nights in a row of exuberant dancing in them with no problem. Also, I found that they offered enough but not too much traction (I don't like or at least am not used to much slipperiness), and I could also put my weight back on the heel if I chose in order to spin fast. Plus, not that expensive!
And while I'm certainly a comfort-over-fashion sort, I didn't think they were that ugly. ;) Besides, aren't we all gazing into each other's eyes anyway?
Wishing joyful dancing and calling to all,
Susan Pleck
Oakland, CA
----- Original Message ----
From: Tina Fields <tfields8(a)yahoo.com>
To: "callers@ sharedweight.net" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2008 2:50:54 PM
Subject: Re: [Callers] tic tac shoes
Hi folks -
Like a couple of you who've posted, I too have little
"tortilla feet" - short and wide, women's 6-1/2 D. I do
wear kids' shoes sometimes; that's excellent advice. But
the best shoes I've found for contradancing are Capezio's
Dansneakers. They are ugly to look at, but so comfortable
that I can dance one of those 12-hour events and still go
hiking the next day. I figure my late-night bounciness more
than makes up for the lack of glamour in the shoe
department.
Tina
Tina R. Fields, Ph.D.
(707) 824-9318
"Hindsight Now!"
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Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
Hi folks -
Like a couple of you who've posted, I too have little
"tortilla feet" - short and wide, women's 6-1/2 D. I do
wear kids' shoes sometimes; that's excellent advice. But
the best shoes I've found for contradancing are Capezio's
Dansneakers. They are ugly to look at, but so comfortable
that I can dance one of those 12-hour events and still go
hiking the next day. I figure my late-night bounciness more
than makes up for the lack of glamour in the shoe
department.
Tina
Tina R. Fields, Ph.D.
(707) 824-9318
"Hindsight Now!"
Hi Callers,
I need a substitute caller in Exeter, NH for AUGUST 9th. The dance starts at
7:30 p.m. YOU WILL NEED EXPERIENCE TEACHING BEGINNERS. MANY OF THE DANCERS
PRESENT WILL NEVER HAVE DANCED BEFORE. You can expect about 30 dancers to
show up. As we share the gate, you will not make a lot of money. We have a
great house band (Stone Soup), and you are very likely to have a great time.
Let me know if you are available and I will send you directions.
Rickey Holt.
Hi,
I just recently did a dance with 2 Petronella Turns in it, the dance is
below, and realized that I had a question about it. If any of you remember
the dance Petronella, from which the figure was copied, you will remember
that when we moved one place to the right, we moved from the line to the
SPACE between the lines, then to the opposite line, then again to the SPACE
between the lines, then home (when we did it with four people this was still
the amount moved). Describing this from the point of view of one particular
dancer, when we do a Petronella turn today, it seems to me, that dancer
moves what we would have called 2 places to the right to end up in the other
line, then one place up the line, then 2 places to the other line then one
place down the line. From the point of view of the other dancers this is
similar. I assume that this is true of all modern contras that borrow this
Petronella turn. Is this how you see it?
The dance I called was Kitchen Stomp, by Becky Hill
(A1) Neighbor balance and swing / (A2) Men Allemande Left (1 and ½ ),
Partner Swing / (B1) Ladies Chain over, Petronella Balance and Turn / (B2)
Petronella Balance and Turn, Star Left.
Thanks,
Rickey Holt,
Fremont, NH
Rickey, I don't understand the difference as you see it. In the original version
of Petronella, where just the active couple does the turns, yes, those dancers
start on the side, move to the space, then to another side, then to a space, and
back again to their starting place.
When all four dancers became involved-- the version that Dudley dubbed
"Cirtonella" and which became the most common version in New England for several
subsquent decades-- once the active couple had completed the first turn, all
four dancers were in a diamond. Each of the three subsequent turns moves each
dancer one-quarter around the, counterclockwise. Because the actives had started
first and had four such movements, they ended up at home, while the inactives
ended up in the middle space (inactive man above, inactive woman below) and they
needed to move out of the way to their own proper side to allow room for the
actives to proceed down the center.
Today's many dances that incorporate Petronella twirls-- David Smukler lists
more than 100 of what he's dubbed Petronella spinoffs-- tend to start with
dancers in lines. That four person ring is oriented squarely across the set,
rather than on the bias at a 45-degree angle to the lines, but the geometry
holds true. Each dancer moves one-quarter of the way around the ring with each
turn. The difference, such as it is, is in orientation, not in amount of
turning. If you start on a side, you either end up on the side again or across
the set. (e.g., if you were the left-hand dancer in a couple facing across,
after one turn, you'd be where the person on your right had been, and after a
second turn, you'd typically be across from that spot.)
However, the business of moving from a position in a line to another position in
a line also allow the possibility (clever possibility in such dances as Pigtown
Petronella and Maliza's Magical Mystery Motion) of making one turn, then joining
hands in a new foursome to make a second turn.
David Millstone
Lebanon, NH
I need some clarification on the circle dance Levi Jackson Rose...I received the directions in a previous post. Having never called it, I'm tending to take things literally, but the B1 I received sounds like the arms are interior to the circle in the basket....uncomfortably on the women's bellies rather than over the heads and behind backs thus supporting the centrifugal force as in most baskets. Is this a "whole 'nother" type of basket or was something missing in the directions I received below:
B 9-16 16 Ladies go under arch made by partner's L arm, move to the left and come out the next arch, continue left and go under the next arch, 5 ladies join hands in the center while men bring their joined hands over the ladies heads to form the "Rose"
Thanks. I"m in the process of typing all my
danes, and I'm trying to get the author's
original version of each dance, so at least I
know what I'm starting from when I start messing around with a dance....
Jack
At 03:16 AM 7/12/2008, you wrote:
>On 7/10/08, Jack Mitchell <jamitch3(a)mindspring.com> wrote:
> > In Lost in Interstellar Haze, is the Partner Swing in B1 a B&S or just a
> > Swing? If just a swing, it's a really long one.
> >
> > Here's the dance as I have it:
> >
> > A1 RHS 1¼
> > Shadow Alle L (7/8)
> > A2 Straight Across Hey (not with P, Gs lead by R Sh)
> > B1 P Sw / P B&S
> > B2 Ladies Chain
> > LHS 1x
> >
>
>
>The book "Midwest Folklore" puts it as a swing, with a
>printed alternate of "balance and swing."
>
>So it's up to you.
>
>But this is a general principle -- I regularly modify dances,
>sometimes as a general change, and sometimes to help
>the dance fit into the program, like avoiding too many
>circle lefts. Or cut swings shorter because it's hotter. Or...
>
>The catch is to know which is correct for a given situation.
>Luckily, there's often many right answers.
>
>Cheers,
>-Chris Page
>San Diego
>_______________________________________________
>Callers mailing list
>Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
Hi Folks,
A friend of a friend asked for a description of the dance/dance movement
called "Sugar on the Floor." It is not in my repetoire by that name, so i
turn to your collective wisdeom.
Thanks,
Tom
--
Tom Senior
Dance while you can.
