Contra Callers July 2019

contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net

35 participants
26 discussions

by Don Veino

Hi Chuck, looking forward to meeting you at our dance this upcoming Monday! Seeing few responses and that you did ask for challenging... 😏 I was on a mission to fit two CC sequences (everyone gets to be active) in one 32-bar dance with the "desired" PNR/NBR swings and this resulted. I believe the sequence is unique? Will Mentor has called Rev 1 a few times, Rev 2 addresses his observations. The dance originally was Becket CW & started with new GNT/LRK reaching on left diagonal to start the reverse CC - dancers had difficulty with the resulting skew and ended up progressing differing amounts. Noodling on this during a dark highway drive home generated the fractional slice idea to align the action (eureka!) led to this revision. Note there are many alternate versions in both Becket CW & CCW, varying by: -the CC being by RH or LH in the center -which role starts -slice fraction -promenade indexing (whom ends opposite) and -slice or promenade first. The version below appears to be a good compromise on progression behavior, next hand predictability/flow and end effects - I believe it should be dependably single progression. There's a Becket CW variation which may get its own name, I'll write up the full set before posting the dance(s) as final to my site. Not heard if Will's tried Rev 2 yet nor had a chance to call it myself in public. Walked it through with dancers on a sideline and that went fine. Would love to hear should anyone give it a go - feedback welcomed overall. Thanks, Don PS: have other multi-CC 40-bar or systematically/automatically alternating (no need to keep track of actives) 32-bar CC dances drafted. Awaiting an opportunity to at least walk them through before calling/distributing. Or seeking a suitable choreography pen pal/review buddy to look them over & exchange feedback before greater exposure. *Contraventional Corners (DRAFT **Rev 2)** - Becket RIGHT/CCW Var. - Don Veino **20170117**, Rev'd 20190329* A challenging dance not for Contra Corners newbies! *A1* Slice Right 1+1/2x* (forward on right diag. until NEW GNT/LRK are face to face, fall straight back) GNT/LRK Turn 1/2x REVERSE Contra Corners (LH w/NBR1 GNT/LRK Center, RH with NBR1 LDY/RVN) *A2* GNT/LRK Turn 1/2x (finish full) Reverse Contra Corners (LH w/NBR1 GNT/LRK Center, RH with NBR2 LDY/RVN) (end facing back along side to) NBR1 Swing *B1* NBR1 Promenade Across (Pass PNR & Opp Role NBR1 by Left) w/tight Courtesy Turn to face back (ends w/LDY/RVN from NBR1 pairs directly opposite each other, a la the GNT/LRKs in A1 Slice) LDY/RVN Turn 1/2x Contra Corners (RH w/NBR1 LDY/RVN, LH with PNR) *B2* LDY/RVN Turn 1/2x (finish full) Contra Corners (RH w/NBR1 LDY/RVN, LH with Shadow) (end facing back along side to) PNR Swing *Slice in 1/2x increments puts same role dancers opposite. First time through could be Slice 1/2x so original foursome GNT/LRK face & start the A1 CC (using some ghost corners - e.g. for GNT2 and LDY2 at the top) & swing with the original NBRs. On Wed, Jul 17, 2019, 2:55 PM Charles Abell via Callers < callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > There was a recent discussion of easy contra corners dances on here. As I > have a nice body of beginner level CC dances, I am looking to add some more > challenging contra corners dances into my repertoire. What do you all got? > (Triplets are okay, but definitely some in contra formation ...) > > Chuck > > Sent from my iPhone > _______________________________________________ > List Name: Callers mailing list > List Address: Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > Archives: https://www.mail-archive.com/callers@lists.sharedweight.net/ >

4 years, 9 months

Moderately Experienced Caller, Seeking Mentor in Southeastern US.

by Jonathan Janzen

My name is Jonathan Janzen (though my friends call me JJ). I've been calling for about 4 years, and have been calling outside of my home dance for about 2 years or so now. I'm wanting to grow my skills in teaching, building programs, and also to work on getting more gigs outside of my home state. I have have asked questions of as many callers as I can, but I do not yet have a Mentor who can work with me individually. If anyone would be interested in Mentoring me as a Caller, please send me an Email at jcgj95(a)gmail.com. Many thanks in advance, JJ.

4 years, 9 months

Mad Robin + Lady/Raven combos

by Ron Blechner

I'd like to hear examples of contra dances with combos of Mad Robins with Lady/Raven figures, such as: Chain Mad Robin (Counterclockwise) Ravens Alle R / DSD / Lead a hey Or especiall a Mad Robin progression to Mad Robin with a Lady/Raven role on either/both end. Thanks, Ron Blechner

4 years, 9 months

Re: [Callers] dances

by Charles Abell

There was a recent discussion of easy contra corners dances on here. As I have a nice body of beginner level CC dances, I am looking to add some more challenging contra corners dances into my repertoire. What do you all got? (Triplets are okay, but definitely some in contra formation ...) Chuck Sent from my iPhone

4 years, 9 months

Re: [Callers] Mad Robin + Lady/Raven combos

by Bill Baritompa

Hi Ron, Bob’s dance looks nice with all you want. Thus one has lady/raven move surrounding the mad robin. http://christchurch.contradance.nz/dances/Mad%20Robin%20Imagination%20%28MR… Cheers, Bill > On 18/07/2019, at 05:30, Ron Blechner via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > > I'd like to hear examples of contra dances with combos of Mad Robins with Lady/Raven figures, such as: > > Chain > Mad Robin (Counterclockwise) > Ravens Alle R / DSD / Lead a hey > > Or especiall a Mad Robin progression to Mad Robin with a Lady/Raven role on either/both end. > > Thanks, > Ron Blechner > _______________________________________________ > List Name: Callers mailing list > List Address: Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > Archives: https://www.mail-archive.com/callers@lists.sharedweight.net/

4 years, 9 months

Voice coaches

by Bob

I want to improve my spoken calling voice. Can anyone in the Boston area recommend a voice coach? How do I evaluate a coach before deciding to work with one? If you reply privately I’ll assume you don’t want it republished to the group. Public replies might be more helpful to everyone, though. Many thanks. \Bob

4 years, 9 months

Building Safe Dance Communities

by Emily Addison

Hi fellow Shared Weight Callers, CDSS hosted a webchat about Building Safe Dance Communities last Thursday. Wow was it great! The speakers were fantastic and they covered the topic from many different angles. While the workshop was primarily for organizers, I think many of you would likely find it quite interesting. You can check out the audio and slides here. https://www.cdss.org/resources/how-to/organizers#cdss-web-chats Emily Addison Writing from Ottawa, ON <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> Virus-free. www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

4 years, 9 months

Helvetia Hoot 2019 - Mountain Music, Dance, Craft, & Culture

by T Claw

Hi Friends, I am excited to announce the dates for Helvetia Hoot 2019! We used to call it Dare to Be Square, but we wanted to make it an event for more than just musicians and dancers (so bring your friends). Food, craft, and mountain culture workshops have been added to the usual gamut of music and dance opportunities. Helvetia, settled by Swiss in 1869, is a sweet mountaintop town with a current population of 59. The community is known for maintaining Swiss cultural traditions in their seasonal gatherings such as Fasnacht and monthly dances. Rustic camping is available in a tree lined field alongside the creek between the town's two dance halls, general store, and Swiss restaurant. It's 1 hour from Elkins and a 3 hour drive from the Pittsburgh airport. I hope you'll put it on your calendar and try to bring the whole family. I'm happy to help coordinate ride-shares and work trade if that makes it easier for you to come. Even if you can't make it this year, we could really use help promoting, so we get enough folks to keep it affordable. Send me your mailing address if you want handbills to distribute. https://www.facebook.com/events/661652307617330/ Hold Fast and Never Let Go, T-Claw ___________________________________________________________ HELVETIA HOOT HELVETIA,WV August 31 – September 2, 2019 Looking for a Labor Day Weekend adventure? This weekend, formally known as Dare to be Square, is designed for aspiring and advanced callers, dancers, musicians, singers and those eager to try something new. Foodways, craft, and mountain culture sessions are also in the works. Workshops will be held Saturday and Sunday. Come up for just a day, or the whole weekend! Come experience a local West Virginia square dance Friday night at the Jackson Mill Jubilee in Weston. Camping will be available Friday – Monday morning. Workshops will be offered by Ginny Hawker, Val Mindel, Jesse Milnes, Mack Samples, Bill Ohse, Lou Maiuri, Becky Hill, T- Claw, Ellen & Eugene Ratcliffe and many others yet to be determined! Workshop highlights include Helvetia Fiddle Tunes with Jesse Milnes, a Gospel Sing with Ginny Hawker, Old Time Helvetia Baking, Calling 101 & 102 with T-Claw, Glenville Style Square Dances with legendary WV Callers, Flatfooting 1 & 2 with Becky Hill & friends, Appalachian Foodways with Mike Costello & Amy Dawson, Old-Time Singing with Val Mindel and so much more! There are two beautiful dance halls and there will be many opportunities to practice calling! Evening dances are open to the public on Saturday & Sunday nights with jam sessions at all hours. EVENT CHECK-IN: will start at 10am on Saturday, August 31 in the Community Hall Please bring CASH or CHECK when registering at the gate. VOLUNTEER: Please let us know if you can't come due to not being able to afford the admission price. There are several volunteer opportunities available for partial and full tuition. There are also several scholarships available to eager beginning callers! calling.t.claw(a)gmail.com for inquiries. SCHEDULE Public Nightly Dances start at 8 p.m. Admission is $10. Friday, August 30 – Jackson Mill Jubilee Square Dance Saturday, August 31 – Jesse Milnes & Friends Sunday, September 1 – Big Possum Stringband More details about workshops and schedule coming soon... SLEEP Rooms are available for rent at the Hutte: 304-924-6435 and Kultur Haus: 304-924-5160. To reserve a room please tell them you are with “Dare to be Square/ Helvetia Hoot”. For more information visit www.helvetiawv.com CAMPING Rustic camping is a $15 – 20 donation for the weekend. No showers are available, there is a small creek to play around in. There are real restrooms within walking distance of camping field. DIRECTIONS! Be warned that GPS to Helvetia doesn’t always work. There have been several hilarious adventures that involve people getting stuck in swamps. Please use these directions from the Hutte. There will be signs posted. Most cell phones will not get reception in Helvetia. >From Elkins: Take Route 219 to 250 South for 16 miles to Mill Creek. In Mill Creek Turn Right on County Route 46 (Helvetia Road) 20 Miles to Helvetia. >From Buckhannon: Take Route 20 South for 12 miles to the West Virginia Wildlife Center. Turn Left onto County Route 11 (Alexander Helvetia Road) 20 Miles to Helvetia. MEALS Saturday August 31st Breakfast: We will have COFFEE available (please bring a mug) Lunch is on your own. Dinner: POTLUCK 6 – 8pm (please bring a dish to pass) Sunday September 1st Breakfast: We will have COFFEE available (please bring a mug) Lunch is on your own. Hutte will be open noon to 7pm. Dinner: TBD Snacks, beer, t-shirts, postcards and other small items are available at the Helvetia General Store. There is no ATM, gas station or large grocery store in Helvetia. http://helvetiawv.com https://mountaindancetrail.org/364-2/ https://www.facebook.com/events/661652307617330/

4 years, 9 months

Contra Corners Dance

by Rich Sbardella

Friends, I have been asked to call a contra dance with contra corners in it. Can anyone suggest an interesting dance that is relatively easy forr a dance floor with many newbies? Thanks for any ideas, Rich Stafford, CT

4 years, 9 months

Hand Turns & Safety

by Erik Hoffman

John Sweeny below hoped we callers would teach more about hand turns and the like. I've been thinking on this for quite a while. Years ago I had a discussion with Brad Foster. We both lamented the loss of the allemande with mildly interlocking thumbs to the modern overprotective thumb against the side of the palm allemande. At that time I think I was still in Santa Barbara, thus it must have been pre 1994. I wrote an article for our dance rag called, "If Allemande Left, Where'd Allemande Go?" I talked about what I do when someone grips my hand-and I think all of us should remove that word, "grip" from our caller's vocabulary... But the most important thing I discussed is: * Our Wrist is Strongest When It's Straight * Our Fingers are Strongest When Curved * Thus, however one does an allemande, it should be a hook, with curved fingers and a straight wrist. Lately I've seen teachers promote the straight fingers, bent wrist, and flat palm method. The almost always makes one person's wrist uncomfortable. Not as bad as when someone draws the others hand into that almost-Aikido-put-them-on-the-ground position, but usually quite uncomfortable. Thus I hope most of us learn the curved fingers, straight wrist, no grip, and, no thumb clamping allemande, ECD hand turn, two hand turn type hand connections. ~Erik Hoffman, Oakland, CA From: Callers <callers-bounces(a)lists.sharedweight.net> On Behalf Of John Sweeney via Callers Sent: Friday, May 17, 2019 2:09 PM To: 'Caller's discussion list' <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Subject: Re: [Callers] Name that Dance Hi Rich, I would just call it a "Big Set Mixer". It is a slight variation of the one in the Community Dances Manual. Callers just make up a 32 bar sequence that works for their dancers. While it is a good example of all ages having fun together, I really wish callers would teach the dancers just a tiny bit about how to do better hand/arm turns and swings :-) Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574 http://contrafusion.co.uk/KentCeilidhs.html for Live Music Ceilidhs http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive DVDs

4 years, 9 months

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Contra Callers July 2019