I'm fascinated by this discussion about mixers. with most of the comments so far
indicating that a) the authors don't like 'em, b) they don't use them, c) they
don't see the point, and d) dancers don't like 'em.
This strikes me as another example of people liking what they are accustomed
to. One of my caller mentors was Ted Sannella, who usually programmed a mixer
as the third dance of an evening; Tony Parkes, also, I believe, puts one there
for similar reasons. By this time, the caller can assume that the bulk of the
dancers have arrived, and a mixer gives everyone a chance to see everyone else
who's there. Mixers come in all shapes-- Sicilian circle, big circle / big set,
scattered couples, lines of three... They are a systematic way of taking new
couples clinging to each other and mixing them up. They give experienced helpful
dancers a chance to learn who's new, to note that person to ask later in the evening.
They add choreographic variety to a program.
I applaud the Charlottesville community for putting such an expectation in place.
In a short time, dancers there will come to expect a mixer in the program as the
normal thing. Who knows? Perhaps we can look forward to other communities giving
explicit instructions to callers: "We'd like the evening's program to contain
a few dances that are not duple improper or Becket contras" or maybe "We'd like
the caller to go onto the floor at least once in a night to illustrate a style
point."
As a caller who gets to work in a variety of venues, I love it when a community
has formulated such guidelines. It lets me know that what I'm doing that night
fits into an established pattern, that those local dancers are accustomed to some
variety in their program, or that they look forward to improving their dancing
skill.
Larry Jennings coined the "zesty contras' moniker and worked hard to bring that
ideal into reality. Among his most useful contributions to us all was stressing
the importance of "vision" for a caller and for a dance series. At this fall's
"Puttin' On the Dance" weekend conference that attracted 80 dance organizers from
the Northeast and beyond, the very first session for everyone focused on that
key ingredient. The notes from that conference are here:
http://www.puttinonthedance.org/post-conference/archive/
David Millstone
Lebanon, NH
I agree.
Does anyone else think that Men allemande Left 1 1/2 is overused?
How about Circle Left 3/4? Lately, I've been programming specifically to
avoid having a circle in each dance. It's surprisingly difficult to find
dances that don't have circles.
Donna Hunt
"Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should
dance." -unknown
In a message dated 2/27/2012 12:18:02 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
95sg23(a)comcast.net writes:
I like the "Gang of Four" much better, as IMHO men AL 1 1/2 is the most
over-used figure in contradancing, and the other dance has (yikes!) two of
them.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joy Greenwolfe" <joy2the(a)mindspring.com>
To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Sent: Saturday, February 25, 2012 12:46:36 AM
Subject: Re: [Callers] Does this exist?
Hi Luke and all,
This is strongly reminiscent of Gene Hubert's Gang of Four, but I
think yours is distinct.
Joy Greenwolfe
Durham, NC
For comparison:
Gang of Four by Gene Hubert, Jan '92
duple contra Becket
A1
Circle L 3/4
N swing, end facing in promenade position in large oval (gents L
shoulder to the inside)
A2
Promenade around the oval CCW, going around the ends like a bicycle
chain (about 6 steps)
Ladies turn back to swing the new gent behind
B1
All circle L in large oval
Forward and back (make sure you're across from P by the end)
B2
(new) Ladies allemande R 1+1/2
P swing
On Feb 24, 2012, at 11:00 PM, Luke Donforth wrote:
> I can't tell if I'm remembering or writing a dance. Anyone recognize
> this?
>
> Becket, ccw
> A1
> Men allemande Left 1.5x
> Neighbor swing, end facing cw in big oval (women inside)
> A2
> Promenade with neighbor
> Women turn back and swing new neighbor
> B1
> Promenade back until across from partner
> Men allemande Left 1.5x
> B2
> Partner gypsy (R) and swing
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> Luke Donforth
> Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com <Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com>
> www.lukedonev.com
> _______________________________________________
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> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
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Of course, in the real Dublin Bay the line of four falls back first.
So rather than:
Down forward, turn! down backward
Up forward, turn! up backward
(as in Sue Rosen's dance), it is:
Up backward, down forward, turn!
Down backward, up forward
Of course, what we call "Mad Robin" in the contra dance world is not really like the dance Mad Robin either.
David Smukler
Syracuse, NY
Bob, Linda, David and others - thanks for the fantastic suggestions!
Dorcas, thanks for putting the question out there - i'm sure quite a few of
us with Paddy-related gigs will benefit from the discussion ; )
A couple of other slightly relevant dances based on the cloverleaf and
snake themes -
"The Connectrix" by Rick Mohr -
http://rickmohr.net/Contra/Dances.asp#Connectrix
"Snake in the Hey" by Cary Ravitz - http://ravitz.us/dance/#sh (beware the
tight timing - it has fangs!)
As in the dance "Gay Gordon"
Donna Hunt
"Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should
dance." -unknown
In a message dated 3/2/2012 10:36:47 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
grant(a)grantgoodyear.org writes:
Oops! Sorry about that.
4-in-line (1s between 2s) facing down the hall,
4 steps down the hall and turn alone to face back up,
4 more steps down the hall (backing up, since facing up the hall),
4 steps up the hall and turn alone to face back down,
4 more steps up the hall (backing up, since now facing down).
The trick is to make the 8 steps down the hall one fluid motion, even with
the turn alone in the middle, and the same for the return. In the
walkthrough I call it as "Down, down, down, turn alone, backup, backup,
backup, backup. Forward, forward, forward, turn, backup, backup, backup,
backup". In the dance itself I generally just call it as "Dublin Bay",
since it's a really easy figure for dancers to remember once they get it.
-Grant-
On Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 9:20 AM, Perry Shafran <pshaf(a)yahoo.com> wrote:
> If I may ask, what is this Dublin Bay figure that is noted here?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Perry
>
> --- On Fri, 3/2/12, Grant Goodyear <grant(a)grantgoodyear.org> wrote:
>
> From: Grant Goodyear <grant(a)grantgoodyear.org>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] St. Paddy Day theme dances?
> To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Date: Friday, March 2, 2012, 10:12 AM
>
> Another dance w/ a cloverleaf figure, if not an overtly Irish name, is
Sue
> Rosen's awesome Handsome Young Maids:
>
> Handsome Young Maids (Sue Rosen, 1996)
> --------------------------------------
>
> Improper, 1s bet 2s facing dn in line of 4
>
> ==== ===== ===
> A1. \(16) Dublin Bay, end in ring
> A2. \( 8) Cir lf
> .. \( 8) Bal ring, "cloverleaf"(*) turn single
> B1. \(16) N bal & sw
> B2. \( 8) Long lines
> .. \( 8) 1s sw
> ==== ===== ===
>
> * W turn single over lf sh, M turn single over rt sh
>
> On Thu, Mar 1, 2012 at 7:11 PM, Dorcas Hand <handd51(a)tekkmail.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > I'm calling a dance on March 17 - does anyone have a few - even one -
> > dance that would work to pick up the theme? I guess I'll find a
> > come-back-cozy-to-cloverleaf to use - but I don't think or easily see
any
> > with a GREEN or "luck of the Irish" or... in the title. Heck - I
guess I
> > could even use Snakes.
> >
> > I won't go overboard - but some acknowledgement seems in order.
Besides
> > wearing a green skirt!
> >
> > Dorcas Hand
> > Houston TX
> > _______________________________________________
> > Callers mailing list
> > Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Grant Goodyear
> web: http://www.grantgoodyear.org
> e-mail: grant(a)grantgoodyear.org
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
> _______________________________________________
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>
--
Grant Goodyear
web: http://www.grantgoodyear.org
e-mail: grant(a)grantgoodyear.org
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For many years, musician Bill Tomczak maintained a website with a collection of
essays he had collected and thought worth sharing. Some of these date back to
the heyday of rec.folk-dancing, an internet discussion group that had a lot of
traffic much like that on this list.
After some years, with a move to a different part of the country and a change
in his focus, Bill let the site die
But now, it's back!
www.musaique.com
You'll find some thought-provoking essays that talk about broader issues facing
today's dancers, callers, and musicians. Enjoy!
And thank you, Bill!
David Millstone
Lebanon, NH
--- Dorcas wrote: I'm calling a dance on March 17 - does anyone have a few - even
one - dance that would work to pick up the theme?
In The Country Dance Book, by Beth Tolman and Ralph Page, you'll find a chapter
entitled "Thanks to the Irish." It includes St. Patrick's Day in the Morning (a
48 bar dance), Larry O'Gaff, and, of course, Rory O'More.
Do you want to include a singing square? The Lloyd Shaw Foundation has complete
instructions for Four Leaf Clover on its website:
http://lloydshaw.org/Catalogue/CueSheets/Square/FourLeafClover.htm
It's a simple dance that could be used in lots of settings, and I bet you'll get
dancers joining in on the refrain.
David Millstone
Lebanon, NH
> Bill Baritompa wrote:
>
> Hi David,
>
> Yes it's not fair, females get all the fun :-)
> Here's a dance for you (maybe it already exists)
>
> Let's Be Fair
>
> A1: N Bal & Sw
> A2: Gents Left Allemand 1 1/2; P Sw (ladies must wait 8 beats doing
> nothing)
> B1: Ladies chain over and back
> (so now the gents have to wait 4+4, but optionally may twirl or
> jig
> on the spot)
> B2: Bal the ring, Petronella roll; Bal the ring, California Twirl
> note: during the first 12 beats of B2 dancers can discuss whether 4+4 = 8
>
> Cheers, Bill
>
>
For what it's worth, I've been calling a very similar dance for a couple of
years now. I don't know if it's original but I finally gave it a name last
month to keep it out of my "unknown or untitled" section. Of course, here
is no ladies-only move to balance the men's allemande, so it doesn't
address the fairness issue for Bill or David.
--Jerome
PetroCaliTwirlification By Jerome Grisanti
Duple Improper Contra
A1
Circle L 1X,
Neighbor Swing
A2
Long Lines Forward & Back,
Men allemande Left 1 1/2
B1
Partner Balance & Swing
B2
Ring Balance, Petronella Twirl,
Ring Balance, California Twirl.
--
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
I asked Rick Mohr (who is not on this list) and this is his reply.
I'm not too particular about "formation" because it seems funny to
categorize an entire dance by where you happen to be at one certain point. These
days most dancers automatically line up improper, so when possible I save
words/time by starting there and making slight adjustments to the walkthrough.
For example, in "Becket" dances that start with circle left 3/4 and swing
neighbor I usually start improper and circle left all the way.
-Rick
Donna
In a message dated 2/28/2012 10:35:05 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
melodiouswoodchuck(a)gmail.com writes:
So i feel a bit silly walking into this discussion with such a simplistic
answer, but - to me it only merits referring to a dance by an alternate
formation if there's absolutely no way to set the dance up as a standard
formation (eg, a becket-indecent). Unlike a dance which starts with a wave
balance, "Chuck the Budgie" simply starts with a gents allemande L. I've
had no trouble calling it from a standard improper starting point; it just
makes the first allemande a little less than once.
> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:28:54 +1300
> From: Bill Baritompa <staf186(a)ext.canterbury.ac.nz>
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: [Callers] What formation is this improper dance?
> Message-ID: <4F4C5806.2040404(a)ext.canterbury.ac.nz>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Hi,
>
> This may seem like a silly question. It concerns Rick Mohr's
> improper dance
> "Chuck the Budgie" (on his webpage and shown on a youtube video there).
>
> I thought an improper dance has the #1's facing down the hall, facing
their
> #2's who are facing up the hall. All gents have their partners on their
> right side.
>
> Although the dance description says it's improper, it actually starts in
a
> short
> wave which you get into by Nbr Right Allemand 3/4 to have gents in the
> center
> with left hands joined. (the last 4 beats of B2, (next nbr) Right
Allemand
> 3/4
> forms the next short wave).
>
> So this dances has a formation (consisting of short waves) with the #1's
> facing up
> the hall facing their #2's who are facing down the hall. Gents have their
> partners
> on their left. Does this have a name? Are there any other dances in this
> formation?
>
> Questioningly yours,
> Bill
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
> End of Callers Digest, Vol 90, Issue 40
> ***************************************
>
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