Calling a Halloween dance tonight? Try this circle mixer...
by Amy Cann via Callers
I try and call the dances of Rich Blazej whenever I can and this one's a
Halloween favorite, re-done as "Werewolves and Zombies".
*Garfield's Escape* -- circle of couples PLUS ONE EXTRA in the center
(Garfield)
A1 All into the center EIGHT steps and back, menacing the Garfield
A2 Circle left, circle right
B1 Women (werewolves) promenade single file to the right, while men
(zombies) "star" by the right -- each man puts his right hand on right
shoulder of the man in front - including Garfield.
B2 Caller hollers "Escape!" ("Boo!", or maybe "Braaaiiins") and all men
run to the outside and swing with a woman in the outer circle. A new
Garfield remains in the center.
Rich himself named this after Garfield the comic-strip cat, way back when
he was cynical and funny (the cat, not Rich).
"The single man remaining at the end of the dance is entitled to a pan of
lasagna and some fresh kitty litter".
My favorite normal tune for this is the minor jig Coleraine, played at a
slightly slower lurch-y tempo, but if I'm lucky the band'll do the Alfred
Hitchcock theme.
Have fun, just thought I'd share -- and I'd love to hear how it goes if you
do it, and what variations emerge.
Cheers,
Amy
5 months, 1 week
Looking for "fun" dances
by sdgola＠aol.com
Sure they're all fun (we hope). I'm looking for a few dances that are particularly playful, quirky, silly....something that typically gets the dancers laughing.
Some examples would be "Over the Hill and Still Chased" with the lady round two/gent cut through figure, or Beneficial Tradition when the dancers throw their free arm up and shout "Wooo!"
You get the idea. What are your favorites?
Sue Gola
Princeton, NJ
10 months, 3 weeks
What is a contra?
by Richard Hopkins
The name of my local dance community, chosen >30 years ago, is Tallahassee Community Friends of Old-time Dance. Many dancers now prefer evenings made up entirely of contras, narrowly defined, but some still prefer our traditional mix of formations. When I advertise our dances on Facebook, I subtly call the events that I expect to be all-contras ‘contradances’, and the others ‘old-time dances’. I don’t know whether anyone notices. We aren’t the only such organization with ‘old-time’ in our name.
Richard Hopkins
850-544-7614
hopkinsrs(a)comcast.net
Sent from my iPhone
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> ***************************************
1 year, 9 months
What is a contra?
by Colin Hume
I'm in Germany, and I'm speaking for the next few days at a Conference run by the European Callers and Teachers Association.
Several of my sessions are about Contras, and speaking to the Contra Coordinator as we drove to the hotel I realised we had very
different ideas about what a contra is. I say it is an American (or American-style) dance, longways duple or triple. He classes
three-couple dances (such as Ted's Triplets), four-couple dances and circles as contras. He even classes my dance "Sting in the
Tail" as a contra. This is for two three-couple sets side-by-side and involves siding into line, set and turn single. I would
regard this quite definitely as "Playford"-style, and I think Americans would categorise it as English. But what is a contra? I
know the hot-shots would say that it's longways duple improper or Becket with a partner swing and preferably a neighbor swing, but
is that your definition? What about an early American dance such as "The Young Widow" - is that a contra? Can a dance in waltz
time be a contra? I think of a contra as mainly danced to reels or jigs, though I know there are a few to slip-jigs. Within
reels I would include marches and American hornpipes, which are smooth, but not English hornpipes which I would dance to a
step-hop. And not Strathspeys. I would say contras are done to a walking step, apart from the swing which is often a buzz step.
But do you agree with me?
Answers fairly quickly please!
Colin Hume
Email colin(a)colinhume.com Web site http://colinhume.com
1 year, 9 months
Fwd: What is a contra?
by Folk Dance
Also from ECTA's definition:
"Contra Dance is mainly danced in two long, facing lines of couples, the
longways. There are different setups relating to the position of the
partner in the formation (e. g. Proper, Improper and Becket) and relating
to the number of couples dancing together (Duple, Triple, Triplet). A
different formation is the Sicilian Circle. Facing couples create a ring in
which in each group one couple is dancing counter clockwise and the other
clockwise.
Contra Dances are mostly danced to reels and jigs, but also to hornpipes.
The music consists of the melodies A and B, which each contain 16 bats and
are repeated so that a melodic structure of AABB is created. The set of
figures is danced to this AA BB structure of 64 beats. There also are
deviant structures like AB BA.
The Prompter explains each dance and calls the figures to the music a
little ahead of time. Like this it is possible for both experienced and new
dancers to dance. Through the repetition of the set of figures the dancers
learn the dance and the Prompter can shorten his calls or reduce them bit
by bit. The set of figures is written so that after dancing through it once
a new group of dancers meet. This is called the progression. In formations
with a fixed group of couples the position within the formation changes.
"[sic]
Bob
1 year, 9 months
New dance composition, star to next neighbor hey
by Luke Donforth
Hi folks,
I ran this at a monthly dance, and it was well received; so I figured I'd
share it around. To my knowledge it's new. Please correct me if you know of
a prior.
The interesting/odd bit is the transition from B2 to A1, where the ladies
role comes out of a left hand star with old neighbors to start a hey by the
left shoulder in the middle with new neighbors. It flows well, but is
unexpected.
*Hubert Humphrey Deserves More Than Just a Song By Tom Lehrer*
by Luke Donforth
Improper, duple minor contra
A1
Ladies start full hey by the left
A2
Neighbor gyre and swing
B1
Circle Left 3/4
Partner Swing
B2
Ladies chain across
Left Hand Star 1x
As for the title, well, I was on a presidents and folk music kick. Writing
titles is harder than writing dances...
Enjoy.
--
Luke Donforth
Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com <Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com>
1 year, 9 months
hearing impaired
by bill fischer
good day!
thanks for providing this outlet for us!
does anyone have experience with hearing impaired calling?
has anyone used signing for dances?
or other solutions to make the dance accessible?
grateful for your thoughts
billy fischer
312 litchfield turnpike
bethany ct 06524
203-393-3464 land
203-314-0221 cell/text
www.billthedancecaller.com <http://www.billthedancecaller.com/>
1 year, 9 months
Sunshine & Dancing - Where to go in Jan/Feb?
by John Sweeney
Hi all,
Karen and I like to get some winter sunshine (temperature
averaging at least mid-sixties) with lots of dancing (ECD, contra, square,
etc.) on our USA vacations in January or February, taking in a dance
festival if we can.
Any recommendations as to the best place to go?
Thanks.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Caller, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 &
07802 940 574
http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive Events & DVDs
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
1 year, 9 months
Need caller July 21
by Mary Collins
Buffalo. NY. Pay lousey, perks great! We'll feed you, put you up, be
grateful.
Caller scheduled has health problems, I think I've called the last 6
dances...we need a different voice for a reunion of Hey Diddle Diddle.
Message me if you can help a girl out.
Thank your band, thank your caller...
Mary Collins
1 year, 9 months
