Contra Callers July 2015

contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net

1 participants
29 discussions

by Rickey

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.

2 years, 7 months

Re: [Callers] Festival Applications

by robertgolder＠comcast.net

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

5 years, 1 month

Itty-bitty dances, triplets, odd numbers

by Kalia Kliban via Callers

I just called a tiny dance last night, and went through several of my triplets along with a big pile of English 3-couple dances that we did to old-time tunes (that was a little weird for me but the dancers enjoyed them, so what the heck). I was grateful to have the few triplets I had, and I'd like to expand my collection. The ones I used were Microchasmic, David's Triplet #7 and Ted's Triplet #24, which all have distinctive bits in them (contra corners, round two/drop through, and a cast to invert then 1s lead up, respectively). I like triplets that have some choreographic substance to them, something for the dancers to chew on. Do you have favorites you enjoy dancing as well as calling? I get the impression sometimes that triplets are "that thing you do to fill time until the real dancing starts," but 3-couple sets can be a whole lot of fun. And sometimes they can save your butt as a caller. We had lots of odd numbers last night, so in addition to the triplets and 3-couple English dances I used dances like Domino 5 (5 dancers) and Pride of Dingle (for 9). For a short while we had 4 couples and did contras but most of the evening was "other." Got any good dances for odd numbers? Kalia

9 years, 8 months

Re: [Callers] [Musicians] worthiness of a tune for contra?

by Erik Hoffman via Callers

I, too, had no trouble hearing phrases of 4-beats, 8-beats, and the major parts. (In music speak: 2-bar phrases, 4-bar phrases, and 8-bar parts.) I would have no trouble calling to either tune in that video. Thus, I'm also curious about what makes it hard to hear, for those of you who have trouble with it. ~erik hoffman oakland, ca On 7/30/2015 6:52 PM, James Saxe via Musicians wrote: > After Emily Addison asked about the tunes in this video > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DkJQ9xNGuU > > several people commented that they found the phrasing of > the jig (Jim Rumboldt's Tune) deceptive. I'm curious to > know what any of you--or other list members--think after > listening to it at 1.25x speed, as described in my previous > message (quoted below). > > I did a little searching for other videos of the tune. > This one > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx_E3qeZAfQ > > is played at about 165 bpm. If it were played at a > normal contra tempo and with a clear four-beat intro, but > otherwise in the same style as in the video, I think it > would be fine for dancing. Yes, there are a couple places > where, if I started the video at a random point in the > tune, I could momentarily wonder whether a particular note > was a pick-up note or the true beat 1 of a new phrase. > But, to my ear, there are enough other places where the > phrasing is quite clear so that it's not a problem. I'd > be interested in reading other people's reactions. > > I found another rendition starting about 3:15 in this > video > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCnFlmrN1mk > > with tempo in the high 140s. I can't make sense of > the phrasing in this one at all. It seems to me it's a > different, and genuinely crooked, variant of the tune. > Does anyone disagree. > > After watching that last video, I tried searching for abc > notation or pdfs of sheet music or tablature to see whether > I'd find notation for different versions--straight vs. > crooked--of the tune. So far, however, I haven't turned > up any notation at all. > > --Jim > >> On Jul 30, 2015, at 1:58 AM, James Saxe <jim.saxe(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> >> I'm a mere caller and pretty much a musical muggle, but >> here are some observations about the jig for what they're >> worth. >> >> First off, in the video the jig is played at about 93 or 94 >> beats per minute (based on my stopwatch timing, which also >> appears to agree closely with the YouTube time counter). >> You might get a better idea of how it would sound as a dance >> tuen by playing it at 1.25x speed. (Click on the gear-shaped >> "Settings" button near the lower right of the YouTube video >> frame; then click on the Speed box (typically defaulting >> to "Normal"); then click "1.25" in the menu that pops up. >> YouTube should then play at 1.25x normal speed but with the >> audio pitch-shifted back down to normal pitch.) > <remainder snipped> > > > _______________________________________________ > Musicians mailing list > Musicians(a)lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/musicians-sharedweight.net > > >

9 years, 11 months

Re: [Callers] "Flash Mob" dances

by Claire Takemori via Callers

Alan, I went to the demo contra last year. I had only been doing contra for a year and found it a little intimidating to ask strangers out of the crowd to join us. For me, it would've been great to add in the FB announcement a little blurb about having experienced dancers ask the crowd to join before each dance. That way those of us who might be intimidated by that can prepare a little mentally for the task..... I love the ideas Linda wrote for an initial crowd gathering technique. I'd also really LOVE to do a REAL flash mob contra sometime, and maybe we can get someone to do a nice video for BACDS. Could be a fabulous promo. It would be cool to start with a violin and 2 couples , then have folks/musicians dribble in by 1s or 2s. Obviously everyone knows the first dance by heart already. Then the caller comes at the end to start a new dance! Thanks for doing that again Alan! Looks like a great time. Claire Takemori Message: 1 Date: Sun, 26 Jul 2015 20:52:13 -0700 From: Alan Winston via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> To: <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> Subject: [Callers] "Flash Mob" dances Message-ID: <55B5AAED.4020808(a)slac.stanford.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; format=flowed Over in San Jose we've just done a second annual not-really-flash-mob dance. Symphony Silicon Valley does a free public series of Pops concerts, get permission from them, pick one, get a bunch of volunteer dancers and a pickup band, print up some flyers and put up a sign with the sponsoring organization logo and URL, We put up a sign with the name of the organization, set up in the path of foot traffic to the concert spot, and do an hour and a half (or so) of easy contra dances, encouraging passersby to join in and hooking them up with more-experienced partners. This is successful in terms of getting some exposure, and today we got somewhere between a half-dozen and a dozen new people to actually try it, and probably moved 25 flyers. Nobody got hurt, some of the dancers stayed for several dances, etc. We flushed out some old square dancers (who of course wanted to swing once around and wait for the next call) and some previous non-dancers of various ages. (I was calling. First round was missing many volunteer dancers and had multiple newbies, so I did a one-night-stand dance ("Up the Sides and Down the Middle") rather than a duple-minor contra; then Cranky Ingenuity, Inflation Reel, Kitchen Stomp, and Delphiniums and Daisies.) Posting to ask if people who've done this kind of thing have any tips or tricks to get things going. As caller I relied on my volunteer dancers to do the recruiting, and people had different comfort and skill levels doing that. Is there something I can tell them that will increase their comfort in talking to strangers? Thanks! -- Alan

9 years, 12 months

"Flash Mob" dances

by Alan Winston via Callers

Over in San Jose we've just done a second annual not-really-flash-mob dance. Symphony Silicon Valley does a free public series of Pops concerts, get permission from them, pick one, get a bunch of volunteer dancers and a pickup band, print up some flyers and put up a sign with the sponsoring organization logo and URL, We put up a sign with the name of the organization, set up in the path of foot traffic to the concert spot, and do an hour and a half (or so) of easy contra dances, encouraging passersby to join in and hooking them up with more-experienced partners. This is successful in terms of getting some exposure, and today we got somewhere between a half-dozen and a dozen new people to actually try it, and probably moved 25 flyers. Nobody got hurt, some of the dancers stayed for several dances, etc. We flushed out some old square dancers (who of course wanted to swing once around and wait for the next call) and some previous non-dancers of various ages. (I was calling. First round was missing many volunteer dancers and had multiple newbies, so I did a one-night-stand dance ("Up the Sides and Down the Middle") rather than a duple-minor contra; then Cranky Ingenuity, Inflation Reel, Kitchen Stomp, and Delphiniums and Daisies.) Posting to ask if people who've done this kind of thing have any tips or tricks to get things going. As caller I relied on my volunteer dancers to do the recruiting, and people had different comfort and skill levels doing that. Is there something I can tell them that will increase their comfort in talking to strangers? Thanks! -- Alan

9 years, 12 months

Sticky floors

by jean francis via Callers

another option is to buy shuffleboard wax (ebay or large janitorial supplies) aka ballroom wax. This is a fine powdered wax that comes in various "slipperiness" grades...a tiny bit of a moderate slipperiness goes a very very long way. A container the size of a kitchen cleanser 'can' could last an entire dance community a year. Since it is a wax, I imagine it is good for wood floors, however the venue must be consulted and there is some danger from exuberant use such that folks could end up horizontal. Sprinkling it evenly around the floor and then sweeping it off before the dance will generally leave a beneficial amount. Alternate solutions might be to offer a 'step in' tray of it, where those who found the floor too sticky might smoosh their shoes in it briefly or a bottle could be passed around so dancers could put a pinch in their palms and rub it on the bottom of their dance shoes from time to time. I suspect this works best on smooth soles (suede, leather, composite) and not so well on 'tread' soles like athletic shoes. I carry a small plastic bottle of this to all dance events to rub on my own shoe soles.

10 years

sticky floors

by Mary Collins via Callers

Has anyone experienced issues with their wooden dance floors becoming sticky during humid weather? If so, what if anything has been done to alleviate the problem? thanks. Mary C. - Buffalo -- “Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass ... it's about learning to dance in the rain!” ~ Unknown

10 years

Origins of East Meets West

by John Sweeney via Callers

I am going through some old English Dance & Song magazines and found this from December 1964: = = = = = = = = = = = = = East Meets West This dance has been in vogue for many years now and in response to repeated requests, we reprint it here. It was composed, we understand, by Ralph Page after a visit to the west coast of the U.S.A. and called " East Meets West ' as the dance incorporates certain west coast square dance movements within the framework of a New England style contra. Formation: duple improper. Music: 32 bar reels (see note below) although some prefer jigs. A.1. Lines of four move down the room (holding hands, ones between the twos), turn towards contrary and return, bringing twos in front of ones (progression). A.2. Circle four, left and right. B.1. Western style do-paso, i.e. men turn contrary lady with left hand, cross and turn partner with right hand, cross again and turn contrary lady with left hand straight into ... B.2. Half promenade across, and half right and left back. NOTE: if the tune " Little Old Log Cabin " (Swing Partners, p. 7) is used, the following singing call might be found useful : Oh go down in fours together, turn round and come back home, To that little old log cabin in the lane, Then you circle to the left and then you circle back again To that little old log cabin in the lane. Allemande left your corner; allemande right your own And give left hand to that corner girl again. Then you promenade across the set and right and left back home, To your little old log cabin in the lane = = = = = = = = = = = = = But Zesty Contras (1983) says: = = = = = = = = = = = = = East Meets West (by Herbie Gaudreau) Contra; Improper A1 Neighbour Allemande Left 1/2; Ladies' Chain; Ladies' Chain back A2 Circle Left; Circle Right B1 Neighbour Allemande Left; Partner Allemande Right; Neighbour Allemande Left B2 Half Promenade; R & L Through Only a decade ago this was a very innovative dance = = = = = = = = = = = = = The reference to a "decade ago" seems to imply that Herbie wrote the dance around 1973. But the version at the top claims to be old in 1964. They are obviously the same dance since they have the same name and only differ in the A1 (and I can understand why the A1 was changed as the transition from R&L Thru into Lines of Four doesn't appear to be particularly smooth!). Does anyone know any more about the history of this dance and its various versions? Thanks. Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent

10 years

Re: [Callers] sticky floors

by Bree Kalb via Callers

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Contra Callers July 2015