Contra Callers September 2012

contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net

35 participants
29 discussions

by Laur

I'm looking for interesting/ fun mixers to use at a regular dance series. I haven't had the opportunity to collect any mixers while dancing around this year (they are sometimes few and far between) and so - here I am! Thanks in advance. Laurie P West MI ~ When I dance, I cannot judge, I cannot hate, I cannot separate myself from life. I can only be joyful and whole, that is why I dance. ~Hans Bos~ ~

13 years

Hull's Victory

by David.Millstone＠valley.net

[apologies for duplicate posting] Coming up in ten days is the 200th anniversary of Hull's Victory-- August 19, 1812. Callers who have a dance on that weekend might want to mark the occasion by calling the dance if it's appropriate for your crowd and if the musicians can play the name tune. There's a great story that goes along with the details of the battle between the USS Constitution and the British warship, HMS Guerriere. You can find it told in "Cracking Chestnuts," available through CDSS. If your dancers are up for it, you can spin the yarn, or tell it to those interested during the break. And in A1, I like to encourage dancers to balance forward and back, rather than the usual right and left; it's a physical remnant of the cannons firing and recoiling. David Millstone Lebanon, NH

13 years

Re: [Callers] Hull's Victory/Sackett's Harbor

by David.Millstone＠valley.net

--- You wrote: Can anyone provide contact info for Tod whittemore? --- end of quote --- Done, off list. David

13 years

Re: [Callers] Callers COmpuerized systems for Dnace Notes

by Carolyn Shearman

In response to Kalia and systems for ECD, I have been organizing the ECD program in Arkansas for the past two years and have a number if defining criteria for each program and I don't know if a computer system would help. Please let me know. I still use a spreadsheet for listing which dances were used in each program, a program lists of dance instructions and music, and cards for all the dances used to-date. First, our band insists that we only have 2 new tunes to learn for each monthly dance so I have to track what we have used in each program and not introduce more than two. Next, I need to have 8 main dances and two extras for each program. They need to include easier ones at the beginning and gradually work up to the experienced dances. I like to have variety in the formation so they are not all Longways, Duple Minor. Or start with Set and turn single. I try to include at least one USA dance and I end with a waltz. AND, I try to vary the music with peppy tunes, minor keys, modern music, and classic music. For each program I specify the tune, the dance instructions and a video link to a performance if I can find one. I have 3 additional people who call with me and we divide up the program so I think it helps if they can see "their" dances performed and especially if it is taught in the video as well. Meeting these criteria in each program is a tall order and I could use any help or suggestions you have. It takes me about 4-6 hours per program to set one up and then log everything in my personal system of spread, program list, and cards. Thanks, Carolyn > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers End of Callers Digest, Vol 97, Issue 7 **************************************

13 years

Square Dance Weekend at Brasstown

by David.Millstone＠valley.net

There's another great Square Dance Weekend coming up. If you can't make it yourself. please spread the word! The John C Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC presents: Traditional Square Dance Weekend - October 26-28, 2012 Featuring internationally known callers Kathy Anderson, Bob Dalsemer, and Tony Parkes With amazing music by Sam Bartlett, Claudio Buchwald, Steve Hickman, John Devine Weekend highlights: Friday night square dance Saturday workshops: Modern New England Squares - Tony Kentucky Running Set - Bob Sets In Order: Squares of the 1960's - Kathy The Singing Squares of Otto Wood - Bob Lancers and Quadrilles - Tony New Squares with an Old Feeling. - Kathy Plus: Great Callers of the Past - presentation by Tony Stuntology with Sam Bartlett Saturday evening dance (including some contras) - Sunday morning Farewell Dance The Folk School offers good food, comfortable accommodations, and a beautiful mountain setting. For more information : 1-800-FOLK-SCH (1-800-365-5724) http://www.folkschool.org dance(a)folkschool.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bob Dalsemer Music and Dance Coordinator John C. Campbell Folk School One Folk School Road Brasstown, NC 28902 Phone: 1-800-FOLK-SCH (365-5724) or 828-837-2775 Fax: 828-837-8637 Visit our home page at http://www.folkschool.org

13 years

Bouncy Swinging

by John Sweeney

John W Gintell said "Also emphasize that swinging is horizontal not vertical. I've often noticed beginners bouncing up and down which makes it harder and more tiring - this isn't Irish Set dancing." Hmmm... Sorry, but I have never seen any bouncy Irish Set dancing. Have a look at the swing 0:39 seconds in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj13osgy2M0 - looks pretty smooth to me! Yes, there is slight vertical movement when they are stepping, but, since they bend their knees and do it skilfully the movement is tiny. A much better example for bouncy swinging is English ceilidh dancing. Especially when the music is a slow hornpipe and you are supposed to bounce up and down :-) And of course I agree entirely that a good contra buzz-step swing should be smooth - I always tell people to relax and bend their knees slightly to help reduce the bounce. Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent

13 years

Calling for Absolute Beginners?

by Maia McCormick

Hey folks, My name is Maia, and I'm new to this listserv, though I've been lurking around for a few weeks. I call college dances at my school in Western Mass, and every now and then I do an area dance. I've got two questions for your collective wisdom. The first: I'm curious how you all put together programs when calling for a group of complete beginners. What's generally the progression of moves that you teach? Do you think dances with the most basic of moves (say, a dance that's all circles, stars, and long lines, not even a partner swing) are helpful in getting people oriented to dancing, or are trivial and boring and will make people think contra is dumb? (People "thinking contra is dumb" is actually a bit more of a concern for me calling college dances, where most of the folks to turn out aren't necessarily of the 'contra mindset' and so it's important to hold their interest and make them think that what they're doing is exciting and worth their time--they're not necessarily going to stick with it for the evening, or even for more than one dance, if they're not immediately into it.) The second, which ties into the first: how do you teach good contra etiquette--*especially* how to swing properly--when you don't have experienced people in the crowd to show the way? At my dances at school, most of the swings are tensionless and/or an awkward sideways gallop; very few of us go to outside dances, so the overall experience level seems to be capped. Have you found an effective way to *teach* proper swinging, besides throwing a beginner into a crowd of experienced dances so that they eventually absorb it by osmosis? How can I get swings at my college dance up to snuff? Cheers, Maia

13 years

Re: [Callers] Computerized organization systems for dance notes

by David.Millstone＠valley.net

I've used my iPad for English gigs, and I'm about to get Ralph Canapa's Dancing Master program after seeing Gene Murrow with it at Pinewoods. Gene said something to the effect that it's the greatest invention since "set and turn single." I'm not planning to go that route for contras and squares, simply because I have so many already on 3x5 cards going back over three decades, whereas my ECD material is more recent and is largely stored on my computer as PDFs or word processor files. In the past on my iPad, I've had to create new file for each gig and convert that to a PDF, which is not at all efficient. Ralph's program looks to do exactly what I want. (I like that it includes a database-- it'll be easy to reformat my own and import that-- that among other things will let me generate a list of tunes not in Barnes and will create a set of files that can be e-mailed to musicians. David Millstone

13 years

Re: [Callers] Computerized organization systems for dance notes

by Will Loving

David, My Callers Companion program was primarily designed for contras and is in use by over 50 callers at this point. I've added some enhancements specifically for ECD and Linda Leslie (and perhaps a couple of other people) have been testing those changes and giving me additional feedback. You might want to talk with her and compare notes. Callers Companion runs on the iPad using FileMaker Go and I'm hoping to shortly release a version that will run on the new free version of FileMaker Go (based on FileMaker Pro 12) rather than the original version (based on FileMaker Pro 11) that costs $40. Sincerely, Will Will Loving Downtown Amherst Contra Dance http://amherstcontra.org -----Original Message----- > From: David.Millstone(a)valley.net > To: callers(a)sharedweight.net > Date: 09/05/2012 03:21 PM > Subject: Re: [Callers] Computerized organization systems for dance notes > > I've used my iPad for English gigs, and I'm about to get Ralph Canapa's Dancing > Master program after seeing Gene Murrow with it at Pinewoods. Gene said something > to the effect that it's the greatest invention since "set and turn single." > > I'm not planning to go that route for contras and squares, simply because I have > so many already on 3x5 cards going back over three decades, whereas my ECD material > is more recent and is largely stored on my computer as PDFs or word processor > files. > > In the past on my iPad, I've had to create new file for each gig and convert that > to a PDF, which is not at all efficient. Ralph's program looks to do exactly what > I want. (I like that it includes a database-- it'll be easy to reformat my own > and import that-- that among other things will let me generate a list of tunes > not in Barnes and will create a set of files that can be e-mailed to musicians. > > David Millstone > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > >

13 years

Computerized organization systems for dance notes

by Kalia Kliban

I'm primarily an English country dance caller, just now getting started as a contra caller, and am finally admitting that I need a better way to organize my notes than the box of index cards I've been working with all these years. There seem to be several options out there. One is Will Loving's Caller's Companion (http://callerscompanion.com/). This one was apparently extensively beta tested by folks here on this list, and from what I hear is a superb organizer for contra, but apparently not as strong for ECD. One thing I've seen is that the programming matrix has a maximum of 32 elements. My ECD matrix so far has about 55 elements (granted, some of those are different flavors of heys, but they need to be distinguished from each other), and that doesn't include the contra vocabulary. Will, can that matrix be expanded? In the "Sets" function, is it possible after a dance to include a paragraph or three of notes about the event ("Great evening, but major problems with audibility. Bring own mic next time to be able to get off stage for demos. Make sure band is extra clear about the transition from B2 to A1 of Companions. Lots of very happy new dancers.")? Another is Colin Hume's Dance Organiser (http://www.colinhume.com/download.htm). This is written in something called Delphi. I looked at it years ago when I was first getting started with calling, but haven't researched it recently. Anyone have experience with it? Number 3 just came to my attention recently, and it's Ralph Canapa's program, called The Dancing Master (http://www.transportedproductions.com/TheDancingMaster/Instructions.pdf), for iPads. This one requires creating your own data entry protocol, either scanning existing source material or entering it in a consistent document style. It does link to iTunes files. I don't currently use an iPad for calling, due to terror of it going "blip" in the middle of an evening, but might consider it. I know a lot of callers LOVE their pads. Of those of you out there _who call both styles_, can you offer any advice on this subject? So far Will's system seems the most evolved (based on my somewhat rusty memories of Colin's system). If you use Caller's Companion _and_ you call English, what limitations have you encountered, if any? If you use something else entirely, what is it? Kalia

13 years

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Contra Callers September 2012