Contra Callers June 2016

contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net

1 participants
31 discussions

by Jerome Grisanti via Callers

In 2015 I wrote (and called) a dance that may already exist; if it's unique I'm sure it's only slightly so. Wondering if anyone knows of this sequence (or very similar one) under a different title. Thanks! Jerome Grisanti Another Equal Turn By Jerome Grisanti (?) Improper Contra June 2015 A1 (New) Ladies Allemande Left 1X Neighbor Swing. A2 Long Lines, Men allemande Left 1 1/2 B1 Partner Balance & Swing B2 Pass the Ocean, Balance the wave, Women allemande Left halfway, Balance the wave, walk forward to next neighbor Jerome Grisanti 660-528-0858 http://www.jeromegrisanti.com "Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it." --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

8 years, 5 months

Dance I wrote

by Amy Wimmer via Callers

Hi All, Remember that I posted a dance I wrote, which I finished at the WA State caucus (called "Feelin' the Bern")? I called it at Northwest Folklife Festival and it went well. There's a 16-count swing at the end. I got several comments here that that was too long and I should shorten it and add something else. I left it long. That swing was the thing I got the most positive feedback about on that dance. There is video of it on Facebook, courtesy of Matt Fisher, though if you are not his friend you may not be able to see it. -Amy

8 years, 5 months

Anyone know this dance?

by Vicki Morrison via Callers

Hello. I saw a video recently from Raindance with Deb Comly calling. Anyone know the name and author of this dance? Thanks! A1 with current neighbors star L; with former neighbors star R A2 with current N b&sB1 men alle L 1.5; P swing B2 circle L 1.25 (till the ones are looking down, twos looking up); with P zig left past current neighbors, zag right to greet new neighbors Vicki MorrisonTallahassee, FL

8 years, 5 months

Music advice followup

by Kalia Kliban via Callers

The gig itself is not on Wednesday, thankfully. That's just when I fly, and thus my deadline for getting things sorted with the band. The gig is on Saturday night. The structure is that we're tacking a half hour of community dances onto the front of a full evening that this band was already going to be playing. So they'll get plenty of time to shine doing their own thing, and we'll only to work together for a short set. There have been some excellent and very helpful tune suggestions. Thank you all! I've sent the band a list of tunes and links, and will try to connect by phone later today. They claim to have some "folk and country" in their repertoire, and perhaps some of these tunes will be familiar to them. The band's instrumentation is promising -- accordion, banjo, bass, drums, fiddle, washboard, harmonica and guitar. Once again, I want to say how much I appreciate these email discussion lists. It's wonderful to be able to connect with the larger community of callers, musicians and organizers. I'll keep you all posted as things progress. Thank you! Kalia Kliban

8 years, 5 months

Need musical advice

by Kalia Kliban via Callers

Hi all I'm posting this to several different callers' lists (ECD, trad-dance-callers and shared weight) in hopes of some speedy advice. I'm heading off shortly (Weds. evening, 6/8) for an event that is not a dance event, but at which I've been asked to lead a short community dance session on "honky tonk night." The band for this is _not_ a traditional dance band. They're more of a garage band with bar-band aspirations. I wrote to them several weeks ago to check in about music, and when I didn't hear back, wrote again about a week ago. Then again, and finally heard back right as I was getting ready to leave for the airport for a weekend gig, from which I've just returned. Their contact person tells me that sheet music would be useful, which puts me in the position of trying to figure out a very small assortment of tunes to send them. We're doing about 1/2 hour of dancing, so at the most it'll be 3 dances. With 2 jigs and 2 reels I can make this work. The question is "which ones?" And that's where you all come in. I'm looking for recommendations for a small assortment of simple, enjoyable tunes for community dancing. As a non-musican, I have no idea which tunes are easy to pick up quickly and which aren't, so I'm hoping some of you can help me out. Kalia Kliban

8 years, 5 months

Re: [Callers] Gents doing "ladies" chain

by Rona via Callers

This discussion got me thinking about dances which have both a Gents RH chain and Ladies LH chain. I wasn't sure if any existed, so I wrote a few. I have no idea when I would ever call them, but it was a fun exercise :) On a somewhat related note, I appear to have a thing for writing Becket dances, but I'm proud to say that none of these start with "Circle Left 3 places". In fact, they don't have any circles in them, so they can also help with the "dances without a circle left" campaign. That's Not How We Do ItContra, BECKET, by Rona Wiener, Jan 2016 A1 (4) Balance the Ring (4) Gents Roll away P along set (8) Gents RIGHT HAND chain [To N] A2 (8) Gents [Gypsy] x1 (8) Neighbor Swing B1 (4) Balance the Ring (4) Ladies Roll away N along set (8) Ladies LEFT HAND chain [to P] B2 (8) On Right Diagonal Half a hey [Ladies lead by L] (8) Partner Swing Slightly Less Wrong Contra, BECKET, by Rona Wiener, Jan 2016 A1 (4) Balance the Ring (4) Spin R (as in Petronella), face NN (4) Balance the Ring (4) Spin R A2 (8) Star L x 1 [hands across, gents drop out] (8) Ladies LEFT HAND chain [to N] B1 (8) Star R x 1 [hands across, ladies drop out] (8) Gents RIGHT HAND chain [To P] B2 (4) Pass Through (12) Partner Swing Double NegativeContra, BECKET, by Rona Wiener, Jan 2016 [Starts on side with P, Gents on R] A1 (8) Star R x 1 [hands across, ladies drop out] (8) Gents RIGHT HAND chain [To N] A2 (8) Star L x 1 [hands across, gents drop out] (8) Ladies LEFT HAND chain [to P] B1 (8) Half a hey [Ladies lead by L] (8) Partner Swing B2 (8) Right and Left Through (8) Pass Through, Single File Promenade along the set to NN On Wednesday, January 20, 2016 10:17 PM, Alexandra Deis-Lauby via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: I think I just danced one in CDH which both chains. But I can't remember who was chaining when because I was swapping anyway. But if anyone else was there and remembers... On Sun, Jan 17, 2016 at 7:11 PM, Ron Blechner via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: Anyone know any contras with gents chaining from right-hand position? I have four I wrote on the plane, and I don't think I've ever danced one. And considering the ro swapping I encounter at many of my gigs, maybe it's time I start calling them sometime.I know there's one by Gene Hubert where ladies chain, are rolled away with 1/2 sashay, and gents are right-hand chained from the right. Notes for that appreciated. I'd like dances where gents are doing a regular right hand chain.I'm not talking about "Gents chain", which is from the Left-hand side. For that matter, I want to make it clear that "gents chain" is named poorly. I called "gents, left-hand chain" the other night in Greenfield and it required less explanation than when I've called/taught it as "gents chain". But I digress.Thanks! Ron Blechner _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

8 years, 5 months

Microphones and/or technique for a deep voice.

by Darwin Gregory via Callers

I am a new caller, and I have called two dances. The first, I completely blew the microphone part. Since then, I practiced holding the mic close to my mouth like was suggested to me. The second dnce, I was told that my voice was too deep for the microphone, and I was overpowering it. It was suggested that I hold the microphone further away and project, which I tried, but again, not something I practiced. Someone afterwards suggested that it could have been dealt with by the sound board. Although, the sound guy was sitting there and I'm sure would have done something if it would have helped. So, any advice? Is there a particular mic or mic type that is good for deep voices? Any techniques to practice? Sound guy/gal need to be on the ball? Any advice welcome. ... Darwin

8 years, 5 months

Re: [Callers] here it is - sorry

by Ron Blechner via Callers

That article had a few interesting *new* points, for me. 1. That Roma are in the US, not just Europe, and face continued discrimination. 2. That Roma in the US often don't speak up about their identity out of fear of discrimination. 3. That perhaps the use of "gypsy" as a term isn't as bad as non-Roma self-identitying as "dance gypsies". Roma wander because they are persecuted or can't find work. When we talk about "dance gypsies" beig wandering from place to place, we're comparing our having fun traveling to various dances to the widespread persecution of an ethnicity (the worst being the Holocaust). On Apr 1, 2016 10:03 AM, "via Callers" <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > I was thinking that very thing, but didn't have any experiences. > Something I read recently pointed out that Romani people in Spain proudly > refer to themselves as "Gitano" which translates to Gypsy. > > This is issue is not as cut and dry as many of us would like it to be. > > Thanks for sharing this story. > > > ****************************************************************************************************** > Amy Carroll > amy(a)calleramy.com > 206-330-7408 > http://www.calleramy.com/ > > > > On April 1, 2016 at 9:02 AM Rich Sbardella <richsbardella(a)gmail.com> > wrote: > > There are still at least two sides to this argument. Although I am using > the term less and less, I want to relate a recent experience. > > I was dancing in one of MA biggest contra venues as a caller walked the a > dance with a "two eyed" turn. A dancer in my line became more than a > little upset, yelling it "it's a gypsy". Turns out the dancer is Romani, > and the term "gypsy" is one he proudly owns. > > I do not think the Roma people as a whole have come to a consensus. (For > example, The Gypsy Kings proudly use the term as a reference to their > heritage.) > > Rich Stafford > > > On Fri, Apr 1, 2016 at 4:56 AM, Michael Fuerst via Callers < > callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > > Ms Carroll: > > Quite frankly a fairly useless article for us. > Ms Raessi is "a Romani/Métis researcher and activist" so it seems logical > that she dislikes the term gypsy. > She lists alleged myths stereotypes about Romani people > Every ethnic group has an associated set of myths and stereotypes. > Every ethnic group tries to purge the negative stereotypes and retain the > positive aspects of their heritage. > Ms Raessi writes "many people find that using this term is wrong because > it perpetuates misinformation about our origins" > This makes little sense. Anyone person bigoted enough to entertain > any of her alleged stereotypes has no idea about the origins of Romani > people. > > Ms Raessi writes "...the term has been used as a racial slur and is > loaded with stereotypes ..." > Yes the word gypsy has been used to deprecate Romani people but over the > years it evolved to mean a free-spirited or nomadic person. > Other ethnic slurs (such as kike, chink, jap or nigger) have not similarly > evolved, and thus their use remains offensive. > This article discusses some English words or idioms that evolved from > ethnic slurs: > http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/offensive-words-_n_4144472.html > > The ongoing discussion during the past year of the word gypsy has included > claims that some persons of Romani descent embrace gypsy and its positive > aspects of current usage, most don't care, and some hate the word. And > of course only those who object will speak out. > As long the common usage of gypsy keeps evolving towards a free-spirited > or nomadic person, keeping it in the contra lexicon seems appropriate > > > Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217 239 584 > > > On Thursday, March 31, 2016 11:32 PM, via Callers < > callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > > > http://bellydanceu.net/culture/520/ > "What's wrong with the Word 'Gypsy'?" > > ****************************************************************************************************** > Amy Carroll > amy(a)calleramy.com > 206-330-7408 > http://www.calleramy.com/ > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net > > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net > >

8 years, 5 months

Re: [Callers] ID This dance? Square thru, shadow DsD

by Dugan Murphy via Callers

Hi, Jack - Yes, indeed. The dance is "Vallimont's Silver Hammer" by Luke Donforth. Luke shared it on Shared Weight recently. If the video you're talking about is https://www.facebook.com/DuganMurphyContraDanceCaller/videos/10367957730752…, that's me! Dugan Murphy dugan(a)duganmurphy.com > Date: Thu, 02 Jun 2016 22:30:01 +0000 > From: Jack Mitchell via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> > To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net> > Subject: [Callers] ID This dance? Square thru, shadow DsD > Message-ID: > < > CAP+XMj40fp4XDMRt1FyBYO5Pr6RKfXKQRvxaY_xh_O-8UcZNYA(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Spotted on a video earlier today..... > > A1 Circle L 3/4, N Sw > A2 N Promenade, Ladies Chain > B1 RH to N balace, N pull by R, Partner pull by L; Shadow DsD > B2 P B&S > > -- > Jack Mitchell > Durham, NC >

8 years, 5 months

Warm weather dancing

by Lindsey Dono via Callers

Hi Callers, I’m booked to call a dance this Saturday; the temperature is predicted to be 98F. This is an unusually hightemperature for the area and time of year- this organization does not hold summerdances. I’ve emailed the organizers asking for their thoughts/contingency plans.My first priority is keeping the dancers safe. While I’m waiting to hear back from them, I’m brainstormingideas for how to make a hot weather dance a safe and fun experience (presumingit isn’t cancelled due to heat). Here’s what I’ve come up with generally: -Remind dancers to take time to hydrate/change shirts etcrather than rushing to maximize the number of dances called. -Offer ice/popsicles at the break. And specifically as a caller: -Run dances shorter. -Moderate band tempo -Select dances where ladies/gents/ones/twos/first corners/second corners get “solos.” Thehall tends to consist of two long lines, so I imagine that I might want to makeshorter lines if I call something uneven. -Avoid butterfly whirls -Walk all dances, but avoid unnecessarily long walk-throughs. Other thoughts? Are there figures that tend to take lessenergy? I’m imaging that sequential balances are less tiring than full heys,but I’m not certain of this. Also, suggestions for interesting dances with more recoverytime? A dance that comes to mind is Tecumseh (Dylan Bustin). Thanks! Lindsey (Tacoma, WA)

8 years, 5 months

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Contra Callers June 2016