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
Delia,
Cary Ravitz explains one way to diagram a dance on his web page:
http://ravitz.us/dance/chor.php#d
Tom Hinds includes diagrams in his book "Calling New England Squares."
There are other more graphical methods. In general, for each move in a dance
diagrams should indicate where dancers are, differentiate between men and
women, between ones and twos (or 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, heads and sides in a
square). It's also very helpful if the diagram indicates which direction the
dancers are facing. You'll very quickly realize which moves or series of
moves are "neutral," i.e., put everyone back where they just were, facing
the same direction.
If you know Flash or some programming language, you can get really fancy, as
did Martha Edwards:
http://www.westendweb.com/doublegrandsquare/
(Actually, Cary is a programmer, but he's very aware that not all of us are,
so he keeps his web page pretty accessible).
And of course, there's always salt and pepper shakers....
--Jerome
On Thu, Aug 27, 2009 at 11:00 AM, <callers-request(a)sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Send Callers mailing list submissions to
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: which hand (Delia Clark)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:56:05 -0400
> From: Delia Clark <deliaclark8(a)gmail.com>
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] which hand
> Message-ID: <A2FA13CD-B6E1-42E4-9BE6-6EA2E76D1845(a)gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes;
> format=flowed
>
> Not only can I not easily visualize flow, I can't easily visualize
> how you would diagram a dance!! Can anyone scan and post one they've
> done, or recommend a website that shows one?
>
>
> On Aug 26, 2009, at 12:02 AM, Dave Colestock wrote:
>
> > Hi All,
> >
> > Great suggestion Tom. Diagramming dances is the best way to see
> > the flow, especially for those who cannot easily visualize the
> > flow. Thanks for pointing out the Allemande change in Luke's dance
> > - that makes it flow much nicer.
> >
> > Dave Colestock
> > Harrisburg, PA
> > www.davecolestock.com
> > www.frolicinthefall.freeservers.com
> > www.harrisburgcontra.org
> >
> >
> >
> > --- On Tue, 8/25/09, Tom Hinds <twhinds(a)earthlink.net> wrote:
> >
> >
> > From: Tom Hinds <twhinds(a)earthlink.net>
> > Subject: [Callers] which hand
> > To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> > Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2009, 10:14 PM
> >
> >
> > I'd suggest an allemande right in Luke's dance. The reason is that
> > an allemande left would tend to have the couples end their swing
> > slightly staggered. That is, they wouldn't be exactly across from
> > each other. If the women allemande right this isn't an issue. Draw
> > it out and see if that's correct.
> > Tom Hinds
> > On Aug 25, 2009, at 6:11 PM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote:
> >
> >
> >> Send Callers mailing list submissions to
> >> callers(a)sharedweight.net
> >>
> >> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> >> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
> >> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> >> callers-request(a)sharedweight.net
> >>
> >> You can reach the person managing the list at
> >> callers-owner(a)sharedweight.net
> >>
> >> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> >> than "Re: Contents of Callers digest..."
> >>
> >>
> >> Today's Topics:
> >>
> >> 1. question about flow and feel (Luke Donev)
> >> 2. Re: question about flow and feel (Bronwyn Woods)
> >> 3. emerging artists (Bronwyn Woods)
> >> 4. Re: emerging artists (Martha Edwards)
> >> 5. Re: question about flow and feel
> >> (Alan Winston - SSRL Central Computing)
> >> 6. Re: emerging artists (Jeff Kaufman)
> >> 7. Re: emerging artists (Dave Colestock)
> >> 8. Re: emerging artists (richgoss(a)comcast.net)
> >>
> >>
> >>
> > _______________________________________________
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> > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
> > _______________________________________________
> > Callers mailing list
> > Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
> <>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>
>
> Delia Clark
> PO Box 45
> Taftsville, VT 05073
> 802-457-2075
> deliaclark8(a)gmail.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
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>
> End of Callers Digest, Vol 60, Issue 15
> ***************************************
>
--
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
For the good are always the merry,
Save by an evil chance,
And the merry love the fiddle
And the merry love to dance. ~ William Butler Yeats
Hi all -- been lurking for awhile, but posting for the first time now. Sorry for any formatting issues I create.
Jo, I like this new dance. I'd been toying with the idea of a reverse-progression improper dance, but never quite got around to implementing it. Your dance seems different, but still accessible. I'm writing it down.
Laila Lewis
>This is a fairly new dance, just written in June. I've called it twice,
and people like it very much. Callers ask me for it afterwards.
It has two quirks, which need to be explained at the beginning. One is
that it is a reverse progression dance. The ones progress up the hall,
the twos progress down.
The other is that when you and your partner progress out of the line,
during A2, you will naturally swing each other at the end of the line.
After you swing, while you are waiting to get back into the dance, the
lady needs to be on the gent's LEFT.
Galena
Duple Improper
Jo Mortland, 2009
Begin in wavy lines of four, ones facing down, twos facing up,
women holding left hands, everyone's neighbor is in their right hand
A1 Balance right and left, slide right
Balance left and right, slide left (as in Rory O'Moore)
A2 with neighbor, allemande right half way and walk forward to the
next neighbor (progression is here)
Swing
B1 Circle left 3 places
Partner swing on the side of the set
B2 Circle left 3 places
With neighbor (the one you swung) do si do to wavy lines of four
________________________________
From: "callers-request(a)sharedweight.net" <callers-request(a)sharedweight.net>
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Sent: Saturday, August 29, 2009 9:00:28 AM
Subject: Callers Digest, Vol 60, Issue 17
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
callers-request(a)sharedweight.net
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: which hand (Tina Fields)
2. Re: emerging artists (Mortland, Jo)
3. Re: Help with a contra for newbies (Gillian Carney)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:01:33 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tina Fields <tfields8(a)yahoo.com>
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Subject: Re: [Callers] which hand
Message-ID: <215767.71503.qm(a)web180107.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Re: diagramming dances, Jerome suggested some terrific web flash, then wrote,
> And of course, there's always salt and pepper shakers....
then Alan responded,
> I like coins.? (Different denominations for different numbers - pennies,
nickels, dimes, quarters tells you who's who in a square, face-up or face-down
for? gender, and you can have them face one way or the other.)
Me, I like Extreme Visual, No-Tech style. My dirty secret is this: Smurfs. I borrowed a bunch of figurines from a friend, each of which sports a different-colored hat. I have male and female red, blue, and yellow hat couples. The fourth couple is a pair of green toy soldiers, with the one holding his gun up higher in the air designated as male. I walk them around through the dance, noting when each is facing her/his neighbor, etc., when the progression happens, and potential weird effects. It's goofy but it really works.
Tina
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:07:35 -0500
From: "Mortland, Jo" <j-mortland(a)neiu.edu>
To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] emerging artists
Message-ID:
<9B0B0B8FF2328E48930D4B6273C1B261132CEBC6(a)EXNODE2.univ.neiu.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
This is a fairly new dance, just written in June. I've called it twice,
and people like it very much. Callers ask me for it afterwards.
It has two quirks, which need to be explained at the beginning. One is
that it is a reverse progression dance. The ones progress up the hall,
the twos progress down.
The other is that when you and your partner progress out of the line,
during A2, you will naturally swing each other at the end of the line.
After you swing, while you are waiting to get back into the dance, the
lady needs to be on the gent's LEFT.
Galena
Duple Improper
Jo Mortland, 2009
Begin in wavy lines of four, ones facing down, twos facing up,
women holding left hands, everyone's neighbor is in their right hand
A1 Balance right and left, slide right
Balance left and right, slide left (as in Rory O'Moore)
A2 with neighbor, allemande right half way and walk forward to the
next neighbor (progression is here)
Swing
B1 Circle left 3 places
Partner swing on the side of the set
B2 Circle left 3 places
With neighbor (the one you swung) do si do to wavy lines of four
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:08:32 -0400
From: Gillian Carney <gillcarney(a)hotmail.com>
To: <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Help with a contra for newbies
Message-ID: <COL114-W9CBB61C48C46ECBB239B5C3F50(a)phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Thanks Alan and Lark for the wonderful and positive feedback.
Incidentally, amused to see Cary Ravitz's name in the message following mine - his mother is one of my infrequent dancers who provided me with the loveliest quote. To paraphrase; three hours after the dance I was aching, but found it was my face that was aching because I was still smiling. This is the experience I am used to with my dance group, and the experience I want to bring to the estates contra.
In refering to "real contra", I meant keeping away from set dance or ceili/ceilidh type barn dances which I also call. Nothing against them, but want to emphasize contra. I will be repeating the first session as the second session, and think I can build up to a (one) longways duple improper. But, Alan, thank you so very much for the dances you included.You gave me a lot to consider.
A band member gave me a copy of Good Morning last night, and the estates are working on getting me copies of programmes from dances Ford would have attended. But, I didn't like feeling pushed for time in getting a programme like this together, which is why I asked for help from the list - and I'm glad I did. Thanks, and wish me luck!
Gillian Carney
fortmyersdancers(a)hotmail.com
_________________________________________________________________
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------------------------------
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End of Callers Digest, Vol 60, Issue 17
***************************************
Re: diagramming dances, Jerome suggested some terrific web flash, then wrote,
> And of course, there's always salt and pepper shakers....
then Alan responded,
> I like coins. (Different denominations for different numbers - pennies,
nickels, dimes, quarters tells you who's who in a square, face-up or face-down
for gender, and you can have them face one way or the other.)
Me, I like Extreme Visual, No-Tech style. My dirty secret is this: Smurfs. I borrowed a bunch of figurines from a friend, each of which sports a different-colored hat. I have male and female red, blue, and yellow hat couples. The fourth couple is a pair of green toy soldiers, with the one holding his gun up higher in the air designated as male. I walk them around through the dance, noting when each is facing her/his neighbor, etc., when the progression happens, and potential weird effects. It's goofy but it really works.
Tina
Lisa Greenleaf is going to give a fantastic callers workshop in Chicago in
October! It's cheap, there are still spaces available!
The music is going to be amazing!
Email me with questions, and let me know to expect your mail! (applications
due soon, but we can be flexible)
Website at: http://fac.uchicago.edu/leadership.html<http://fac.uchicago.edu/leadership.html>
Just wanted to add my 2 cents on Luke's (Lisa's?) dance
I would hesitate to have the last 3 moves in the dance be a partner swing, ladies half-chain, star left, since it seems that more modern contras end with those moves than with any other 3-move combination (eg. The Nice Combination, The Baby Rose to name two) This makes it tough to fit such a dance into a program, if you would like to have other callers call your dance from time to time
If I were trying to finish a dance that had a partner swing (on the gent's original side) in B1, I'd rather go with the slightly less common long lines, ladies half-chain in B2
Mark Widmer
ps I seem to be the only one who thinks the women should do a left allemande in the dance Luke posted -- mainly because of the balance that follows it
Bronwyn made the point that the neighbor can better assist leading into a right-hand allemande, but since the preceeding move is a long-lines-fwd-&-back, I'm not sure that is as important here
That being said, I just don't get to dance the ladies role very often these days, so will defer to a woman's opinion about the best flow for this dance
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:17:39 -0400
From: Bronwyn Woods <woods.bronwyn(a)googlemail.com>
To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] question about flow and feel
Message-ID:
<a8bd02ee0908251417m12d7e671vbb42d90aa5988d9(a)mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
I would find a left allemande awkward. For me, the issue comes before the
allemande rather than after. When the ladies are on the right, their
neighbors can assist them into a right allemande. The neighbor cannot
assist into a left allemande, so the ladies have to break the connection to
their neighbor before beginning the figure. This connection is more
important to me than which hand begins a balance.
-Bronwyn
On Tue, Aug 25, 2009 at 4:59 PM, Luke Donev <luke.donev(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I'm sitting at home writing a contra (they get in my head and won't
> leave me alone till I write them down). I unfortunately don't have a
> closet full of dancers to pull out and test things on, but I've got a
> question about flow.
>
> When the ladies are standing to the right of their neighbor on the
> side of the set, facing their partner, and are going to allemande
> over to their partner for a balance and swing, should it be an
> allemande Right or Left? I feel like the R is more traditional for
> ladies, but an allemande L would leave their R hand free for a
> smoother transition to a balance and swing (I feel lead's L, follow's
> R is a better 1 hand balance to go into a swing with than lead's R,
> follow's L).
>
> To put it in context, consider the following dance:
> Sample dance 1, Improper
> A1: N bal & swg
> A2: long lines, fwd & back
> Ladies Allmnd L 1+ to partner
> B1: ptr bal & swg
> B2: ladies 1/2 chain
> star L 1x, on to next
>
> I think the ladies should allemande L there, but I'd be curious what
> other people think of the flow.
>
> If it was something like going to a R hand R hand balance for a box
> the gnat, it would seem to force the issue, but it seems more open
> when it's just going into a swing. Preferences? Thoughts?
>
> --
> Luke Donev
> http://www.lukedonev.com
> Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com
> _______________________________________________
Thanks Alan and Lark for the wonderful and positive feedback.
Incidentally, amused to see Cary Ravitz's name in the message following mine - his mother is one of my infrequent dancers who provided me with the loveliest quote. To paraphrase; three hours after the dance I was aching, but found it was my face that was aching because I was still smiling. This is the experience I am used to with my dance group, and the experience I want to bring to the estates contra.
In refering to "real contra", I meant keeping away from set dance or ceili/ceilidh type barn dances which I also call. Nothing against them, but want to emphasize contra. I will be repeating the first session as the second session, and think I can build up to a (one) longways duple improper. But, Alan, thank you so very much for the dances you included.You gave me a lot to consider.
A band member gave me a copy of Good Morning last night, and the estates are working on getting me copies of programmes from dances Ford would have attended. But, I didn't like feeling pushed for time in getting a programme like this together, which is why I asked for help from the list - and I'm glad I did. Thanks, and wish me luck!
Gillian Carney
fortmyersdancers(a)hotmail.com
_________________________________________________________________
Hotmail® is up to 70% faster. Now good news travels really fast.
http://windowslive.com/online/hotmail?ocid=PID23391::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:…
Hi all,
In January, the NYC contra is holding a dance themed around "emerging
artists". I will be calling to Stunt Double (Laurie Tupper, Christopher
Jacoby, Dave Casserly, Julie Vallimont). It should be a great dance.
Anyway, in keeping with the theme, I would like to call some dances by
"emerging" choreographers. I'm currently looking for dances that fit this
loose description - "emerging" can really be defined however you want. So,
if you know of dances that you like that you think fit the bill, let me
know! Also let me know if the dances have been called before or still need
to be given a trial run.
Thanks,
Bronwyn
