So I've been experimenting with the new ChatGBT program, mainly to determine whether my job as an English teacher is in danger of becoming obsolete (it's not). While I was at it, I decided to see if it could write a functional contra dance. This is what I entered, and what it produced.
Write a 32-bar contra dance that starts improper, includes a partner swing, a neighbor swing, and a full hey:
(8 bars) Start improper with your partner, swing left and right, Come back to place with a do-si-do in sight
(8 bars) Swing your neighbor with a smile on your face, Then circle left, it's a wondrous embrace
(8 bars) Swing your partner with a twirl and a spin, Then switch places, and let the fun begin
(8 bars) Full hey now, join hands and take a bow, The contra dance is just getting started now!
End the contra dance with a grand finale, Swinging and smiling, what a perfect finale!
I don't think callers' and dance choreographers' jobs are in much danger either!
I am super excited about this as I too have been looking for material that
meets this kind of crowd need!
Thank you :)
Emily in Ottawa
On Fri, Jan 27, 2023 at 12:00 AM <
contracallers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
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> than "Re: Contents of Contra Callers digest..."Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: dances in that space between community and beginners
> (Meg Dedolph)
> 2. Re: dances in that space between community and beginners
> (John Sweeney)
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Meg Dedolph <meg.dedolph(a)gmail.com>
> To: "Tepfer, Seth" <labst(a)emory.edu>
> Cc: Contra Callers <contracallers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Bcc:
> Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2023 09:01:32 -0600
> Subject: [Callers] Re: dances in that space between community and beginners
> Thanks, Seth. I agree there’s a shortage of repertoire in that sweet spot
> around Family Contra/ Jefferson and Lincoln, etc, so I’ll be trying these
> dances out soon.
> Meg
>
> On Mon, Jan 23, 2023 at 10:15 PM Tepfer, Seth via Contra Callers <
> contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>> Hello Callers
>>
>> Last Saturday I found myself at a dance that had a large number of first
>> time dancers (50+) and a fair number of experienced dancers. This is a
>> fascinating place to be - more than Galopede, but pre-Chain in teaching.
>> Family Contra by Sherry Nevins is the canonical dance. (
>> https://www.ibiblio.org/contradance/thecallersbox/dance.php?id=10422)
>>
>> I was inspired to come up with 3 others. Have you seen any of these
>> before? Are they simply re-writes of existing dances?
>>
>> Title: untitled
>>
>> Author: Seth Tepfer
>>
>> Formation: Improper
>>
>> Date: 1/21/2023
>>
>> A1: Circle Left; Neighbor Swing
>>
>> A2: Long Lines (8); 1s DSD (8);
>>
>> B1: 1s ‘lady round two, gent drop thru; gent round two, lady drop through’
>>
>> B2: 1s balance and swing
>>
>>
>> Title: Dahlonega Cozy
>>
>> Author: Seth Tepfer
>>
>> Formation: improper
>>
>> Date: 1/21/2023
>>
>> A1: N DSD (8); neighbor swing (8)
>>
>> A2: Down the hall, come back cozy
>>
>> B1: cloverleaf 3 places (8); partner swing (8)
>>
>> B2: Circle left 3/4 (8); bal ring (4), pass thru (4)
>>
>>
>> Title: Dahlonega ContraFlow(tm) and Weave
>>
>> Author: Seth Tepfer
>>
>> Formation: Sicillian
>>
>> Date: 1/21/2023
>>
>> A1: [weave left, weave right] x2
>>
>> A2: N DSD (8); neighbor swing (8)
>>
>> B1: larks allemande left 1.5 (8); partner swing (8)
>>
>> B2: bal ring 2X (8); circle right 3/4, weave right
>>
>>
>>
>> Seth Tepfer, MBA, CSM, PMP (he, him, his)
>> Senior IT Manager, Emory Primate Center
>> _______________________________________________
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>> To unsubscribe send an email to
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>>
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: John Sweeney <john(a)modernjive.com>
> To: "'Contra Callers'" <contracallers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2023 15:44:40 -0000
> Subject: [Callers] Re: dances in that space between community and beginners
>
> Hi,
>
> I work with many groups that aren’t skilled in contra, so I
> wrote these. I hope some of them help.
>
>
>
> http://contrafusion.co.uk/Dances/ChainnHey.html
>
> http://contrafusion.co.uk/Dances/CheekboneCity.html
>
> http://contrafusion.co.uk/Dances/Dopeca.html
>
> http://contrafusion.co.uk/Dances/FindingYourBalance.html
>
> http://contrafusion.co.uk/Dances/GirlsofOakhill.html
>
> http://contrafusion.co.uk/Dances/GrapevineJig.html
>
> http://contrafusion.co.uk/Dances/Pestchye.html
>
> http://contrafusion.co.uk/Dances/TrainingWheels.html
>
> http://contrafusion.co.uk/Dances/BalancingAct.html
>
> http://contrafusion.co.uk/Dances/TheMadGypsy.html
>
>
>
>
>
> Happy dancing,
>
> John
>
>
>
> John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802
> 940 574
>
> http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
> _______________________________________________
> Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
Hello Callers
Last Saturday I found myself at a dance that had a large number of first time dancers (50+) and a fair number of experienced dancers. This is a fascinating place to be - more than Galopede, but pre-Chain in teaching. Family Contra by Sherry Nevins is the canonical dance. (https://www.ibiblio.org/contradance/thecallersbox/dance.php?id=10422)
I was inspired to come up with 3 others. Have you seen any of these before? Are they simply re-writes of existing dances?
Title: untitled
Author: Seth Tepfer
Formation: Improper
Date: 1/21/2023
A1: Circle Left; Neighbor Swing
A2: Long Lines (8); 1s DSD (8);
B1: 1s ‘lady round two, gent drop thru; gent round two, lady drop through’
B2: 1s balance and swing
Title: Dahlonega Cozy
Author: Seth Tepfer
Formation: improper
Date: 1/21/2023
A1: N DSD (8); neighbor swing (8)
A2: Down the hall, come back cozy
B1: cloverleaf 3 places (8); partner swing (8)
B2: Circle left 3/4 (8); bal ring (4), pass thru (4)
Title: Dahlonega ContraFlow(tm) and Weave
Author: Seth Tepfer
Formation: Sicillian
Date: 1/21/2023
A1: [weave left, weave right] x2
A2: N DSD (8); neighbor swing (8)
B1: larks allemande left 1.5 (8); partner swing (8)
B2: bal ring 2X (8); circle right 3/4, weave right
Seth Tepfer, MBA, CSM, PMP (he, him, his)
Senior IT Manager, Emory Primate Center
Hopefully a fun question. At the same time as the pandemic, I moved to my
rural hometown, and (after some years of hunkering) have gone from
'sometimes' to 'occasionally' to now monthly hosting a barn dance with a
great band on a wonderful dance floor here.
I have promised the dancers "as we get practice, and as we build up skills
in the community, gradually we can start doing dances with more moves," and
some of the regulars asked for a 'practice dance' with a few of these fun
ones, so I now get to plan one. But I suddenly realized, I haven't myself
danced contra in such a long time that most of the names of the 'old
favorites" have abdicated the brainspace they used to hold.
So, *what I'm asking for: *
*Remind me the names of simple, fun dances that include some of my favorite
figures (roll-away with half sashay, Rory O'Moore, maybe box circulate or
butterfly whirl?) *I want to give them a taste for "why it's worth it to
get more complex" without actually getting TOO complex yet (probably going
to avoid becket formation, and I don't think I want to teach heys yet. I
haven't taught courtesy turns (chain, R&L through, et al) yet, but I could
probably do so either at this practice or a future one. Most of our
progression thus far have been "pass through", but if there's a good
candidate dance with a non 'pass through' progression, I can modify it a
skosh to keep things consistent.
I am attaching the program from our last dance to give you a sense of where
we are ( https://contradb.com/programs/278 ). This practice dance is going
to have 12 dancers, who have understood progression as we've done it in Do
Si Three and in Jefferson's Remorse, and on the dance floor they've been
some of the ones helping newcomers understand.
Thanks in advance for your recommendations!
Allison
--
Allison Jonjak
allisonjonjak(a)gmail.com
allisonjonjak.com
We had an interesting and challenging situation come up at Contra Knights,
the UCF student contra club, last night. I’m interested in your thoughts
and advice, in case it has come up before, which it must have. I’m going to
relate it as I perceived it, though someone more perceptive might have made
some observations early on that would have alerted them to the nature of
the situation.
Last night was the second dance of the semester and officer elections were
scheduled during the break. Just at the end of my newbie lesson, a group of
nine women dribbled in as a group. They were really enthusiastic to learn,
and they were about 30% of the people in the room at that point, so I
rewound the lesson a bit to at least teach them the swing.
They had joined the teaching circle with their purses and backpacks. I
invited them to put their stuff on the chairs at the sides, including their
jackets, as we dance to up-tempo pop music and it can get sweaty. That’s
where it got interesting. Some put their stuff down, but they couldn’t
take off their jackets. That’s when I noticed some of them wearing
headscarves. Ok, no worries, wear jackets, that’s fine. We love diversity
here.
I tried matching them with experienced dancers, which some accepted and
some did not. Some said they just wanted to dance together and not with
anybody else. O-kay. I explained that in this dance we all dance with each
other in a sequence and we don’t control whom we’re dancing with. Well,
that’s ok, as long as we don’t touch men.
This, of course, explained the refused partners; they were all men. How
are we going to manage that in a gender-neutral dance? It’s not like I
could put them in the men’s role. Someone suggested they turn all moves
into do-si-dos. I was at a momentary loss, when our club president-to-be
(elected later in the night) suggested putting them in a line of their own.
That made them happy, though it was a very short line.
Then the rest of what turned out to be the Lebanese Student Society came
into the room. Their meeting in a neighboring room had just ended. There
were more women, enough to make the small line danceable. There were a lot
of men, and they had a really difficult time taking partners. I had minor
sets with five or six dancers (yes, experienced dancers can do it). I told
them it would not work that way, but they said they’d make it work, and
nothing I could say got anywhere. I was conscious of the original dancers
who had been there 30 minutes now, had done the workshop, and were eager to
dance.
So, the men also got their own line, but things in that line got a bit
crazy during the first walk-through. Possibly because of the discomfort
some may have felt dancing with other men, many there were more interested
in goofing off or boasting to one another than in paying any attention to
me, even after I cranked the mic volume way up and admonished them to be
quiet and listen. There was some genuine interest in that line, and one of
the louder argument points I heard was someone shouting to quiet the line,
as they were here to learn.
At this point there were around 30 Lebanese students in two lines of 3-4
minor sets each and 20 originals, who had joined through the newbie
session, which was evenly split between newbies and experienced dancers.
Their line was quiet, but getting quite impatient at this point. I was
afraid to lose them. I was really afraid of what would happen in the
election later on if the Lebanese club stayed, as they outnumbered the
originals.
It became clear that the Lebanese men were not going to get far, but they
didn’t realize it yet. I really didn’t want to throw them out, since some
really did want to learn and we are an inclusive club with too few members.
I did say I would kick them out if they didn’t quiet down, which worked
momentarily.
I decided to forge ahead and call to the group of 20. Either the guys were
going to get it or they’d maybe leave. If their noise disrupted the line of
originals, then I would ask them to leave. I put on a tune and called an
easy dance, cranking the volume above the din. The originals danced it fine
and seemed to have a good time. The guy line dispersed and said they’d come
in time for the workshop next time. The ladies left with them.
The originals nearly all stayed. We had a fun rest of our night and held
our officer election. While last night was a unique event, 50% newbies is
common and we think it’s why we get so few dancers to stay in the club more
than three nights. So, one of the changes is a new, occasional, no-newbies
night, so the experienced dancers can dance something more complex than
Airpants.
Are there ways to calm an unruly crowd? I have a fairly decent one-night
stand routine, but I worried I’d lose my originals if we went over to that.
I felt I could have taught them something if only I could just have gotten
their attention. Throwing them out would have been uncomfortable, at best.
So, could I have done this any better? Has your dance ever been invaded,
and how did you handle it?
Thanks,
—jh—
Joe Harrington
Faculty advisor and caller to Contra Knights, the UCF contra club
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
The short version of this post is, how should I organize my dances? But,
I'm sure if I ask that, the thread will have 100 replies and lots of
confusion. My search of the list archives and web were surprisingly spotty
on this question, with lots of anecdotes and no summary or comparison. And
I'm not just asking for myself. While I've got a whopping 15 evenings of
dance calling under my belt, I'm being called on to train some students to
call for our college club, and they're asking the same question.
So, I'm looking for one or more summaries from those wiser than I (ok, low
bar!) of the kinds of systems for cards. This might better be asked as,
what are the different approaches to programming dances, and what
organizing systems make each of those easier?
In a workshop of his last summer, Bob Isaacs related his system of colored
cards for easy, hard, bouncy, flowy, sweetheart, and divorce-reconcile
dances (I think those were the categories). Call easy dances first, call a
sweetheart right after the break when they're most likely to dance with the
person they came with. Save hard for festivals. Give them variety.
But, I've wanted more categories, and what about finding the bouncy
sweethearts? I'm really busy, so the idea of re-copying a hundred or more
cards to make a new system doesn't thrill me, if I don't like my initial
system. Maybe I'll get a database system to select dances with, and then
have a set of alphabetized printed cards for the actual calling, though
what if I'm wrong and need to change my program, as has already happened a
few times when a ton of newbies shows up? I'm interested in hearing about
anything particularly clever or efficient, especially if it doesn't involve
a computer or tablet.
A comparison of the different computer systems would also be welcome. I'm
aware of programs by Will Loving and Colin Hume. I asked on one Facebook
group for a comparison of these but got no response. Is the Caller's Box
up to real-time dance selection at an event? That presumes wi-fi, of
course, or at least cell signal.
I'll toss in one amusing and possibly workable paper system, for a
dedicated and extremely nerdy caller, which might be me...
I heard recently (I believe from Angela DeCarlis) of a mechanical sorting
system based on the Jacquard loom concept that became the Hollerith punched
card system. I've never seen it in use. Does anyone do this?
Figure out the ten or so characteristics you might want to sort on. For
example, easy, medium, hard, bouncy, flowy, separates partners, sweetheart
(keeps partners together), etc. Take a stack of cards and drill holes near
the bottom edge, one per characteristic (you can drill a stack of cards if
you sandwich them between wood and clamp them). Now, on a given card,
punch out the rest of the paper between the hole and the edge of the card
for each hole the card DOESN'T match. So, for an easy dance, you'd punch
out the rest of the paper for the medium and hard holes (among others), but
leave the easy hole intact. If you make a mistake, just fold a piece of
tape over the gap above the hole to close the gap.
Now, when you want to look at your easy, flowy, sweetheart dances, flip the
stack so the holes are up, push a pencil or knitting needle through the
"easy" hole and lift. Then, in the ones you pulled, push through the flowy
hole and lift, and finally for that set poke through the sweetheart hole
and lift. Those are the easy, flowy, sweetheart dances. If you want the
medium or hard dances that are bouncy and that separate partners, you pull
first the medium and then the hard dances, combine them, and then pull the
bouncies from that set and the separators from that third pull. And so on.
Good hole alignment and clean punching would matter, I think. If you are a
real dance sorting fanatic, you could get like 30 holes around the card
edges, but that would limit the writing space.
I predict this will be all the rage, post-apocalypse...at least until we
run out of cards. ;-)
--jh--
Joe Harrington
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Faculty Advisor, Contra Knights, the UCF contra dancing club
contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
Hi fellow callers :)
I'm doing a big reorg of my dance cards. This includes looking closely at
the dances I have, hunting out new material to fill some gaps, and also
rethink how I organize my dance cards (which are on paper). I have a
related question....
Do you use any highlights, underlines, or other ways to visually emphasize
specific moments in your dances?
For instance, maybe you highlight swings or underline recovery spots in a
dance?
I'm currently wondering about marking the spots where movements
stop/change.
I remember being in a dance musician workshop with Andrew VanNorstrand long
ago where he talked about the key points of the dance being where dancers
stopped their flow in one direction. (I'm not phrasing the concept nearly
as well as he did). ... ... think of the LLFB (that moment of being) or
coming together for a balance.
I'm feeling like those moments would be great to flag in a strong visual
way so I can quickly see them as I think they impact the experience of the
dance, tips to provide the musicians, etc.
However, I'm interested in any visual cues you use on your cards to
highlight key information.
Thoughts on all this???
Thanks!
Emily Addison
Ottawa, Ontario
First contra for new dancers. Inspired by "Jefferson and Liberty" but
doesn't drift down the hall and everybody learns B&S. Named for the black
squirrels of Wooster.
BLACK SQUIRREL CONTRA (Duple Improper)
By Susan English 2023
A1
Star R
Star L
A2
Circle L
Circle R
B1
N. B&S
(end facing down in line of 4)
B2
Down in 4, turn alone
Return, twos arch, ones dive under
It takes teamwork to accomplish the arch and dive
in time for the RH star with the next couple.
Susan [image: 🎶] [image: ☺]
330-347-8155
woosterdance.com
Hello callers and friends
I needed a gentle warm up dance last night and riffed this on the spot. My assumption is that someone has already written and named this sequence:
Formation: improper
A1: Circle left; circle right
A2: right hand star; neighbor do si do
B1: Neighbor balance and swing
B2: long lines; one swing, end facing next neighbors (down)
Seth Tepfer, MBA, CSM, PMP (he, him, his)
Senior IT Manager, Emory Primate Center
