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
I recently had the following exchange on a different list with Michael
Shapiro (guitarist with U4):
Michael wrote:
>>> U4 just played the SwingShift weekend in Lexington/Berea. The caller was
Barbara Groh. She did something that I think most callers should do, but I
haven't seen before. After the sets were formed and people had done the hand
four, she then broke up the beginners sets that had formed at the end of the
lines. She asked then to move forward and intersperse themselves with the
more advanced dancers (so that they were more toward the beggining of the
line and the foursomes were not all beginners).
She was also good at letting the music be heard ...
I wrote:
>> Regarding the caller asking sets to reform in order to spread the less
experienced dancers throughout the hall, much tact is required. Generally,
callers strive to avoid calling attention to particular dancers other than
when asking people to watch a demonstration, but asking people to change
sets can have the effect of making them feel like there is attention on
them. In addition, newish dancers want to dance with people they know, even
if those friends may also be newish dancers.
>> Speaking to the entire crowd, I do encourage experienced dancers to share
their experience by asking someone they've never met to dance at least once
in the evening, and praise the community for being so welcoming to newcomer
dancers. So while I might be thinking "let's break up this clump of
confusion," it would not be good to say something that draws attention to
"you people right here."
>> I have asked, off mic, for a set of experienced dancers to offer to
repartner with a set of inexperienced dancers down the line.
To this list, I ask:
I'd be interested in the wording that Barbara Groh used (which I'm assuming
was quite gentle). I'm also guessing other callers on this list have
developed tactful ways to address this issue.
Thanks,
Jerome
--
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
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
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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
>
Country Dance and Song Society has published "Cracking Chestnuts," a collection
that celebrates the living tradition of classic contra dances. David Smukler is
the primary author and I also contributed some pieces. You'll find detailed
articles about seventeen dances, with suggested tunes typeset by Randy Miller,
an appendix with an additional 20 dances, an introduction to triple minor
contras, and some suggestions for how to introduce and teach chestnuts at your
local series. The book (can be ordered from CDSS (it's $20 plus shipping), and
David and I have copies that we're selling at our gigs. I'm also filling mail
orders, so contact me off-list if you're interested.
As it happens, David and I are each holding book release parties on March 14, he
in Syracuse, NY (with George Wilson and Tom Hodgson) and I in Norwich, VT (with
Northern Spy) at which we'll each present a full evening program of chestnuts.
At the recent Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend, talking about these simultaneous
similar events, we came up with the idea of each of us calling Money Musk as the
first dance after the break, sometime around 9:45 or 10 PM. "Hey," we thought,
"let's invite others to join us!"
So, if you have a dance scheduled for Saturday, March 14 and if you have
musicians who can do justice to the tune and if the dance would be appropriate
for your dancers that night, we invite you to join us in bringing back Money
Musk. [If you're of a Dudley frame of mind, you may refer to it as "The Money
Musk."] And let me know if you did, and who was playing the music and calling,
and where this took place, and about how many dancers were in the hall at that
time, and we'll tally the results. (Callers in other time zones, you could call
it at about 9:45 or 10 PM your local time and we'll count that, too.)
Note: If you're thinking of doing this, please check with musicians ahead of
time. Many musicians will be happy to work up the tune if given some advance
warning, but it's not something to spring on them on just before you announce
the dance!
David Millstone
Lebanon, NH
Dear Callers,
I organize Contra Dances in Northern Arizona. We dance on the third
Saturday of every month (except May) in Cottonwood AZ and the Friday before
that (which is usually the third Friday) in Flagstaff AZ. We
are enthusiastic, welcoming and GROWING dance communities in a
geographically isolated part of the country.
We would welcome callers traveling through the area, or those who
would other wise be planning a trip to the Grand Canyon, Sedona or other
parts of the sunny South West!! Pay is minimal, but the experience
and hospitality promise to be exceptional.
If you are interested, or know of any other callers that might be, please
contact me! Feel free to contact me directly at debcomly(a)gmail.com
Thanks!!!
Deb Comly
AZ We Dance
P.S. We'd welcome traveling contra musicians as well... :-)
I've had a couple of people tell me that the Pass Thru, California
Twirl is the original version.....
J
At 09:21 PM 1/26/2009, you wrote:
I learned Good Friday with simply a R+L through in B1.5 instead of a
pass
through/California twirl -- anyone know which is the original
version? The
pass-->California is an interesting variation on a R+L through with
a
twirl. It hadn't really crossed my mind, though the only difference
is the
gent's hand and people of course end up in exactly the same spot.
I'm not
really a fan, though. For one thing, it takes a standard figure and
alters
it in what I see as a needless way. It's kind of like calling a
chain and
mandating that all dancers do a twirl. But more importantly it
messes with
the timing. Pass-->California takes nowhere near 8 counts -- the
dancers in
the video were halfway round in in the circle before the start of
B2.
I have seen, and called, that combination before in "Roll 11" by Sue
Rosen
and Larry Jennings,
B2. Pass through across, California twirl
Circle left 3/4, California twirl to new neighbors
and I think it works very well because of the symmetry, and because
there's
another figure at the end of the section to take up the rest of the
music.
-David Giusti
On Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 8:02 PM, lynn ackerson
<callynn1(a)pacbell.net> wrote:
> Looks like Kirston Koths' Good Friday.
>
> --- On Mon, 1/26/09, PARKER MANN <M_P_Mann(a)shaw.ca> wrote:
>
> From: PARKER MANN <M_P_Mann(a)shaw.ca>
> Subject: [Callers] Looking for name and author of this dance
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Date: Monday, January 26, 2009, 4:36 PM
>
> I saw an interesting dance video from Austin's 2008 Fire Ant
Frolic
> festival
> on the web recently. It can be found at the following address:
>
> [1]http://www.strimoo.com/video/14265122/contra-dance-Vimeo.html
>
> I'd like to call it but I'd also like to know the name and
author. I
> couldn't find a contact for the caller, so I thought I'd pass it
out to
> the community. Can anyone tell me what the dance is?
>
> In the event you can't access the video, here are the moves and
timing as I
> interpreted them. It's a duple improper dance.
>
> A1:
> Starting in ocean waves of four across the set, Rory O'More
balance and
> slides. Bal R-L-slide R, balance L-R-slide L. (16 beats)
>
> A2:
> N allem R 1/2 (2)
> G allem L 1/2 (2)
> P swing (12)
>
> B1:
> LLFB (8)
> Pass through across (4)
> P California twirl (4)
>
> B2:
> Circle L 3 places (8, more or less)
> N d-s-d 1 1/2 to progress (8)
>
> Thanks.
>
> -Parker
>
>
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> [2]http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> [3]http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
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References
1. http://www.strimoo.com/video/14265122/contra-dance-Vimeo.html
2. http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
3. http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
4. http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
I saw an interesting dance video from Austin's 2008 Fire Ant Frolic festival on the web recently. It can be found at the following address:
http://www.strimoo.com/video/14265122/contra-dance-Vimeo.html
I'd like to call it but I'd also like to know the name and author. I couldn't find a contact for the caller, so I thought I'd pass it out to the community. Can anyone tell me what the dance is?
In the event you can't access the video, here are the moves and timing as I interpreted them. It's a duple improper dance.
A1:
Starting in ocean waves of four across the set, Rory O'More balance and slides. Bal R-L-slide R, balance L-R-slide L. (16 beats)
A2:
N allem R 1/2 (2)
G allem L 1/2 (2)
P swing (12)
B1:
LLFB (8)
Pass through across (4)
P California twirl (4)
B2:
Circle L 3 places (8, more or less)
N d-s-d 1 1/2 to progress (8)
Thanks.
-Parker
In answer to Sue Robishaw <sue(a)manytracks.com> on the subject of "Young Children at Dance"
Hi, Sue!
I do tons of family dances and get to work with lots of families with kids of all ages, from pre-ambulatory (not a problem!) on up. My general approach at the beginning of the evening is to recommend that kids who are too young to ride a bike dance as cling-ons (hanging onto a parent or other willing friend of the family), rather than as someone's partner. I then recommend that young kids who can ride bikes but have never danced before should be partners with an adult. I strongly recommend that young kids not partner each other unless they have some experience or the dance is specifically intended for kids.
Recommendations to dancers notwithstanding, I might still end up with a knot of really young kids intending to dance together. Then it's up to me to adjust--select a dance I know will work, such as a stripped-down variant of the Virgina Reel or a really, really easy contra; ask the kids to come up to the front of the line and have adult couples between the kid couples; come down on the floor and use the kids to demo moves for the walkthrough--whatever it takes.
If I judge that a contra will work, my favorite never-fail dance for first-timers with lots of kids is Ellen's Green Jig (it's in "Zesty Contras" among other places).
Chip Hedler
chiph(a)rumney.org
