Contra Callers June 2015

contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net

1 participants
45 discussions

What Dancers Need to Know and Gender Free Calling

by Michael Fuerst via Callers

So, what do dancers need to know in order to progress through a duple contra dance? (1) At the end of a swing, who finishes on which side. Thus we need some words and concept of these two roles, whether men and women, larks and ravens, or P's and Q's. (This seems really important when neighbors swing, and less important in ECD.) (2) The identity of their current and future neighbors. (Tells dancers which way they are progressing.) (3) A consistent way to designate positions within a group of four. For the moment consider "first corners" to be the positions of woman 1 and man 2 at the start of the a duple improper dance. Prudent use of all of these seems important over the various contra formations: improper, proper, becket (progressing left or right), indescent (2's crossed), and dances where the "1's" (those moving away from the music) start below the "2's." For beginning and intermediate dancers, callers' use of (1) is often easier than (3). In dances with unusual end effects, caller's use of (3) can be difficult. In general using (1) is clearer, because (a) it is easier to find a person, and (b) one's position changes throughout the 32 seconds or so of a contra. I can think of quite a few dances which become much more difficult to convey to the dancers when (1) is avoided. For example: (a) "Second corners chain on the left diagonal" will always seem obscure.(b) Who rolls in front during a roll away, or moves in front during a Mad Robin(c) dances with partial heys (d) Many proper dances Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217 239 5844

9 years, 6 months

Re: [Callers] Another approach to Gender Free calling

by John Sweeney via Callers

Andea asked, "I would love to hear from those who have danced Morris or other single gender sets in hands four whether they use numbered corners or some other designation." Most Cotswold Morris is six men - two lines of three. And, yes, we say First Corners for the long right diagonal (what ECD would call First Long Corners) and Second Corners. The two men in the middle of the two lines of three are Third Corners. I use the same nomenclature (Third Corners) when calling dances like Black Nag. There are not many situations where you have the equivalent of "hands four" in Cotswold Morris. One exception is the Lichfield Hey - Lichfield is an 8-man dance. You will hear the men chanting, "First, Second, Pause, Change". First and Second here refer to POSITION, so you alternate between being a First Corner and a Second Corner. = = = = = = = = = = = I notice that neither http://heatherandrose.org/terms.shtml nor http://lcfd.org/gf-ecd-calling-conventions.html seem to have the word "Swing" anywhere on the page! This seems to me to be a major omission! There do appear to be people who think that ECD doesn't include swings, and maybe in some American ECD clubs they don't. But country dancing in England most definitely includes swings in all sorts of styles. Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent

9 years, 6 months

Re: [Callers] Another approach to Gender Free calling

by Bob Stein via Callers

This discussion of ECD just made me realize that the one move that is usually specifically gender related -- Ladies Chain -- is actually 2nd corners chain. If the idea of first and second corners is introduced to contra dancers than there would be no problem with most of the moves: chains, allemandes, heys. It all becomes position oriented. Bob

9 years, 6 months

Re: [Callers] Global terminology in contra dances

by Don Veino via Callers

Note, that page doesn't use the phrase "Global Terminology". More specifically, the word "global" doesn't appear anywhere on it. It does include a "Heather and Rose Terminology" section which is what I believe is being referenced. I only bring this up because it caused me some confusion at first, as it was not clear in which section the referenced "global" material was. On Mon, Jun 1, 2015 at 12:51 PM, Linda Leslie via Callers < callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > In an earlier email, David Casserly shared the following link, which > defines the approach very, very well! > http://heatherandrose.org/terms.shtml > Linda > >

9 years, 6 months

Jets / rubies genderfree terms redux: gems?

by Ron Blechner via Callers

For those interested in gender free contra dance terms: 1. Do you like or dislike jets / rubies ? 2. How would gems / rubies compare? In dance, Ron Blechner

9 years, 6 months

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Contra Callers June 2015