Contra Callers September 2016

contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net

1 participants
28 discussions

Fw: Does this dance exist? Calling Joy Greenwolfe - Calling Joy Greenwolfe

by Dan Black via Callers

I was informed by the sage that is Chris Page, that the dance below is very similar to Joy Greenwolfe's dance "The Gypsy Chase", Joy could you confirm and share your dance? Thanks, Dan Black --- On Thu, 9/15/16, Dan Black via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > From: Dan Black via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> > Subject: [Callers] Does this dance exist? > To: "Caller's Discussion List" <callers(a)sharedweight.net> > Date: Thursday, September 15, 2016, 7:18 PM > Hey > Gang, > Been > a member for a while but I haven't posted in a few > years. Does any one know if this dance below has been > credited already? > > > > Alyssa’s Gift > becket > by Dan Black > > A1. 8,8 Slice > on Left Diagonal, Gents allemande Left 1-1/2 > > A2. 8,8 Star Promenade Neigh, 1/2 Hey, > (LR, NL, GR) > > B1. 4,12 Neigh Bal & Swing > > B2. > 4,12 Give & Take to > the Ladies side, Part > Swing > Thanks > all, See ya on the floor soon. > Dan > Black > > > > -----Inline Attachment Follows----- > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net >

8 years, 2 months

Dance Variety

by Rich Sbardella via Callers

As I programed my dance evenings for this weekend, I noticed that close to 80% of my dance cards have just the Ladies in the center doing something, About 10% have the Gents going in, and the remaining 10% or so have both the Lady and the Gent, or neither the Lady or the Gent going in. My observations consider a Hey and Half hey as neutral, and as such I did not include the hey in my estimations. However if the hey was set up by an allemande or chain, those basics were considered. Is this unique to my collection or this generally true of contra dances? Rich Sbardella Stafford, CT

8 years, 2 months

Re: [Callers] ID this dance

by Ron Blechner via Callers

Thanks, Linda! On Sep 18, 2016 4:23 PM, "Linda Leslie" <laleslierjg(a)comcast.net> wrote: > Think Outside the Box by Bob Isaacs > Linda > > On Sep 18, 2016, at 1:08 PM, Ron Blechner via Callers < > callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > > Gah. > > N Bal, Box Gnat, > Star 3/4 > Shadow Alle L 1x > PS > LLFB > Chain to N > R to P, Sq Thru 4 > > On Sep 18, 2016 4:07 PM, "Ron Blechner" <contraron(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >> Sorry, star is 3/4 >> >> On Sep 18, 2016 4:05 PM, "Ron Blechner" <contraron(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> Watching an old video of Gaslight Tinkers with Nils, from Nov 7, 2012 >>> >>> N Bal, Gnat Gnat, >>> Star R 1x >>> - >>> Next N Alle L 1x >>> N1 swing >>> - >>> LLFB >>> Ladies Chain (to P) >>> - >>> R to P, Bal, Sq Thru 4 to new Ns. >>> >>> Thanks! >>> Ron >>> >> _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net > > >

8 years, 2 months

ID this dance

by Ron Blechner via Callers

Watching an old video of Gaslight Tinkers with Nils, from Nov 7, 2012 N Bal, Gnat Gnat, Star R 1x - Next N Alle L 1x N1 swing - LLFB Ladies Chain (to P) - R to P, Bal, Sq Thru 4 to new Ns. Thanks! Ron

8 years, 2 months

headset mics

by jill allen via Callers

Regarding the Sennheiser: Headpiece: ME3-ew Belt pack and receiver: ew 100 G3 I like the headpiece because it stays in place, the sound quality of the system is excellent and I have never had a problem with it in 8 -10 years. Also, I recently purchased a "Compact Powered PA System" by the name of SRM 150. It weighs maybe 10 pounds, I can lift it with one finger, and the one speaker sounds great and fills a big room. Jill

8 years, 2 months

Does this dance exist?

by Dan Black via Callers

Hey Gang, Been a member for a while but I haven't posted in a few years. Does any one know if this dance below has been credited already? Alyssa’s Gift becket by Dan Black A1. 8,8 Slice on Left Diagonal, Gents allemande Left 1-1/2 A2. 8,8 Star Promenade Neigh, 1/2 Hey, (LR, NL, GR) B1. 4,12 Neigh Bal & SwingB2. 4,12 Give & Take to the Ladies side, PartSwing Thanks all, See ya on the floor soon. Dan Black

8 years, 2 months

Name that dance/dance that name!

by Maia McCormick via Callers

Was going through an old notebook and found the following scribblings. Can anyone help identify them, or put choreography to the name? Many thanks, Maia #1, becket A1: circle L 3/4 and pass through new ladies alle. L 1/2, partner alle. R 3/4 to long wave A2: Rory O'Moore B1: ladies start full hey by L shoulder B2: partner b&s #2, improper A1: (w/ new Ns) star R N spiral A2: ladies cross, gents follow to swing N B1: gents alle. L 1 1/2 swing P B2: ladies chain star L to new Ns #3, Country Doctor's Reel, by Merilee Karr

8 years, 2 months

Amy Cann

by Claire Takemori via Callers

Hi Amy and all, I’m a new family dance (and contra) caller. I’d love to see your new inspired program, as I don’t have an archive of Shared Weight emails YET. I’d love to hear about other folks favorite family/community dances? (I know the Spiral, basic CL, CR, in/out, Sasha, longways from a few books) I get to call for our son’s nature class, which has preschool up to adults. And it’s outside, WITHOUT amplification…. I also get to call at our local contra during the break, as we are a Sunday afternoon dance and families show up with kids! Thanks for sharing! Claire Takemori (Campbell CA) On Sep 11, 2016, at 1:02 PM, via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: Message: 1 Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2016 17:14:48 -0400 From: Amy Cann via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>> To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net <mailto:callers@sharedweight.net>> Subject: [Callers] Just had to share this: Message-ID: <CALZWU+szPyZwnQ3FcqCmSTA-twvJGxk_zdx1Lg+fA5q86awEWw(a)mail.gmail.com <mailto:CALZWU+szPyZwnQ3FcqCmSTA-twvJGxk_zdx1Lg+fA5q86awEWw@mail.gmail.com>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" It's 5:00. At 7:30 tonight I'll be calling a dance for about 150 Putney School teens freshly-returned from their Long Fall wilderness trips. They'll be smelly and exuberant. An hour ago at 4:00 I was planning my program and had a sudden wave of "Gosh, I'm sick of my own material." You know how it's easy to stick to the tried-and-true favorites you *know* will work? But once in a while your repertoire starts to feel like the pillowcase when you've been stuck sick in bed for too long? You turn it over and over but you can't find a fresh cool spot anymore? So I went to my gmail <sharedweight> archive, typed in "circle mixer", browsed a bunch of old threads, and am now going out the door freshly invigorated. What a vital, valuable, inspiring community this is. Thanks, all of you. Amy

8 years, 2 months

Just had to share this:

by Amy Cann via Callers

It's 5:00. At 7:30 tonight I'll be calling a dance for about 150 Putney School teens freshly-returned from their Long Fall wilderness trips. They'll be smelly and exuberant. An hour ago at 4:00 I was planning my program and had a sudden wave of "Gosh, I'm sick of my own material." You know how it's easy to stick to the tried-and-true favorites you *know* will work? But once in a while your repertoire starts to feel like the pillowcase when you've been stuck sick in bed for too long? You turn it over and over but you can't find a fresh cool spot anymore? So I went to my gmail <sharedweight> archive, typed in "circle mixer", browsed a bunch of old threads, and am now going out the door freshly invigorated. What a vital, valuable, inspiring community this is. Thanks, all of you. Amy

8 years, 2 months

Chains: the other side of the coin

by tavi merrill via Callers

Per Richard's excellent point about separating the courtesy turn from the chain, an approach i too use, i want to address the related questions of - lack of attention to chains beyond the beginner level, resulting in - bad/injurious flourishing, partly due to - gendered dynamics in the standard (New England-style) promenade turn - the rarity of gents' LH chains - a call for choreographers to help address all the above We callers spend plenty of time dissecting how to teach the ladies' chain... and almost never address a corollary issue dancers repeatedly bring up in online forums, largely leaving flourishing as a foregone conclusion. We spend precious little stage time delivering the sort of style points that can help dancers flourish safely, courteously, and with consent. I would argue one reason we don't address that enough is that we are either approaching the courtesy turn from a bare-bones beginner angle, or as a foregone conclusion wherein advanced dancers require no additional teaching. A few callers do teach how to signal and interpret signals indicating a desire for or granting consent for flourishes, and i tip my hat to them. But to the issue many (female) dancers raise: too many male dancers don't ask, and either fail to recognize or fail to respect cues around flourishing. Why? Probably because many male dancers much less regularly end up on the twirling (as opposed to facilitating) side of flourishes. Dancers are going to flourish whether or not we teach them how to do it well. But we can help alleviate rampant bad and/or injurious flourishing if we choose. How? By more frequently adding style points in intermediate settings, and by giving dancers an opportunity to experience the other side of the equation. [Now, many of us agree that contra is not a lead/follow dance form, and some go so far as to suggest that in the traditional promenade and courtesy turn, dancers move as a unit that lacks any lead/follow dynamic. I disagree there: placement of the gent's hand behind the lady's back puts the gent in a position to propel the lady. No interpretation of this dynamic is accurate without considering the historical context our dance form emerges from, in which a gendered imbalance is unmistakably present. Consider the gendered language of singing squares recorded by Ralph Sweet. I say this not to criticize Sweet, or any caller who uses such language (eg "put her on the right" or "chain the ladies," the latter an expression i once unquestioningly used in my own calling), merely to point out that traditionally, the gents' role has been considered the more "active" one, and that this gendered sense of agency is reinforced by the ubiquitous and overwhelmingly lopsided promenade and courtesy turn. Contra dance has historically been a gendered form; to deny this is to perpetuate male privilege - the source of bad/injurious flourishing - by denying its presence in the form. In that many contemporary dancers choose to play both roles on the floor, and in that there is a broad consensus among callers that lead/follow terminology is not appropriate to describe an ideal expression of our dance's contemporary practice, a shift is occurring. Nonetheless this is an active shift. To pretend that contra has always lacked a lead/follow dynamic is ignorant of even recent history.] Despite the hours we spend workshopping the ladies' chain, we spend virtually no time collectively addressing how to teach gents' (left-handed) chains. As a consequence, male dancers miss out on opportunities to twirl; understanding of the importance of cues and flourish best-practices (as opposed to cranking ladies around) remains spotty; and some great dances* rarely get called. As with right-handed chains, getting to a flourish requires first mastering the directional flow of the reversed courtesy turn (right with right in front, left hands behind, lady backs up and the gent goes forward). But whether it's boiling the reversed courtesy turn down to an allemande right or writing gents' RH chain dances, it seems precious few callers care enough to bother with teaching and using the LH chain. We have it, for frell's sake, let's USE it. Dancers CAN and WILL gain familiarity if we do, but such progress can occur only if a critical mass of callers are on the same page. Why does this matter? Because if indeed we believe our tradition to be one in which both roles are equally active, we shouldn't have ladies being twirled against their wishes. Addressing that would be simpler if we agree to stop shortchanging the one move in our choreography that truly challenges the historical gender dynamic. Want to innovate in choreography? What about featuring promenades in reversed hold, or left-and-right through?! Though they exist, rarity renders them the province of advanced dance sessions. Yet every second we spend teaching standard promenade hold turns is something dancers could easily generalize to isomers, if the isomers were on a more equal footing. Because they share a common backbone in the reversed hold (a la Rich's point about the standard RH chain) increased frequency of such isomers would raise dancers' familiarity with the reversed hold, reducing our need to teach it, or isomeric moves, as "unusual," while adding variety to evenings of dance. Should folks indeed be writing them, I am eager to collect such sequences. It struck me a few months ago that, while i have some fantastic dances in my collection involving the gents' LH chain, i knew of none involving a gents LH chain over and back. So here y'all go. This isn't a beginner dance. It's intended for remedial education. Should you use this, I am eager to hear how it is received. "You've Got To Be Carefully Taught (To Twirl)" becket R A1. Partner balance & swing A2. Gents pass L half hey, ladies pushback; Neighbor swing B1. Gents LH chain over & back B2. RH star to meet NEW neighbors in a wave (GR, NL); waves balance, spin right *great gents LH chain dances: "Swain the Hey" by Chris Page, "The Broken Mirror" by Bill Olson, "Rollaway Sue" by Bob Isaacs, "The Curmudgeon Who Ruined Contradance" by Eileen Thorsos, "Generation Gap" by Thankful Cromartie, and the obvious reverse-engineered variation on "Secret Weapon" by Lisa Greenleaf Please note: The preceding theory arguments are premised on a notion that to survive, traditional forms evolve. Some elements of the form - the ubiquity of a historically gendered dynamic that drives problematic dance behaviors - could stand to be lost in this process. I believe that a truly equal dance dynamic would preserve the best elements and tendencies of the form and increase the safety, joy, and appeal of community dance. Practically speaking, we'd be doing all the same moves, just without the lopsidedness, by widely adopting both isomers. In curmudgeonliness, Tavi > Message: 3 > Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2016 11:47:10 -0400 > From: Richard Hart via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> > To: "Callers(a)Lists.Sharedweight.net" <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> > Subject: Re: [Callers] Favorite dance to teach a ladies chain? > Message-ID: > <CAB16f6Ceg6PTXKQrWL60ko8=+hOVC_JD6zaQ3+9TxBVXfN8AgQ(a)mail.gm > ail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 > > I usually try to separate the courtesy turn from the chain. A courtesy > turn is used in a number of moves, including R&L through, and a > promenade. Practice that first with your partner. Man backs up and the > woman gores forward, with arms around your partner's back. .Remember > to stop facing the right direction, and as a caller remember to tell > dancers which way to face. This can be done in a couple of minutes or > so. > > My first dance with a courtesy turn may use it with a promenade, > depending on the crowd. Then move on to dances with a chain or R&L. > Once the turn is understood and well done, the others are easy. > > I agree with Erik (and Dudley!) The walkthrough and instruction should > be short. They'd all rather be dancing, so don't introduce much new > stuff in any single dance. > > And thanks for this discussion. I love seeing new dances to try and > new possibilities to teach when there are a lot of beginners.

8 years, 2 months

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Contra Callers September 2016