Hello all,
Oftentimes at One Night Gigs, I'll do a mix of circle and longways set
dances. With scatter mixers and specialty dances, I can fill an evening.
But sometimes I get a group that "wants contras" or is looking to grow
their familiarity with the dance form.
I think Becket dances without lark/robin distinctions and no neighbor swing
are AN easy option into "hands-four" contras. There are other ways in, but
I'm looking for more Beckets that match that description. For a while I've
had "Pluck It" in my box as a friendly option:
Pluck It
Contra/Becket-CW
A1 -----------
(8) Circle Left
(8) Circle Right
A2 -----------
(8) Left hand Star
(8) Right hand Star
B1 -----------
(8) Partner Do-si-do
(8) Partner swing
B2 -----------
(8) Neighbor Do-si-do across set
(8) Long lines, yearn left
This is, in my opinion, pretty close to the traditional mixer Scatter Shot
but done as a keeper in Becket. (It does have a DSD across the set, which
in a recent thread was listed as a no-no for some callers. While I wouldn't
use that move at a dance weekend, for One Night gigs I think it's
accessible and acceptable). You don't have to teach ballroom swing, and if
folks want to elbow swing and swap roles with their partner it doesn't
really impact the dance (this is a small advantage of Becket over improper
for this type of dance; different position on the side is less disorienting
than different side of the set).
What other Becket dances do folks have that don't rely on roles? No larks
allemande or robins chain, etc.
On the drive home from my gig last night I came up with this one (which may
already exist), written for Naomi who organizes the community dance I was
at:
A Pillar of Weathersfield
Contra/Becket-CW
A1 -----------
(8) Balance the ring and spin to the right (petronella)
(8) Balance the ring and spin to the right (petronella)
A2 -----------
(16) Partner balance and swing, end facing down the hall
B1 -----------
(8) Down the hall, four in line (turn as couples)
(8) Return and face across
B2 -----------
(8) Long lines, forward and back
(8) Promenade across the Set, turn as a couple and progress
(Go between the ones you danced with, passing by left shoulder, and the new
couple on your right, turn to take hands with new couple)
I'd be curious what else folks have that they use for entry-level contras
when you don't have a critical mass of experience for improper dances with
neighbor swings.
Thanks!
Luke Donforth
Burlington, VT
I’m think you both make good points — to that end I did whip up a script that will take json from the callers box website and output a markdown file in my template, I can share if there’s interest.
I think to me the difference between transcribing and understanding is the boilerplate — that is, I don’t want to rewrite my template, but I would rewrite the directions to, say, omit slurs and go from more of a positional point of view. But what’s not useful to me is rewriting my markdown table.
Sent from my mobile device, please excuse my brevity.
~James Slaughter
On Jan 12, 2025, at 4:02 PM, Erik Hoffman via Contra Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
From Louise Siddons:
Also, specifically in terms of programming (which someone mentioned), there are aspects of calling where experience is a key element of the learning process. Shortcuts will be detrimental to the caller’s experience even if the dancers don’t notice.
From me:
This is much like late Larry Jennings’ decision to transcribe dances in his book, Zesty Contras and Give-and-Take with abbreviations and in a form that was not common in the time. His thinking was people using his books would have to think about the dance they were planning to call had to think about the dance as they re-transcribed it. I recall the challenge of putting dances down on a card (remember those?) (and I know people still use cards…) from Zesty Contras and doing just what Larry intended: thinking a dance through as I put it down in my re-abbreviated cards.
Cheers,
~Erik Hoffman
Oakland CA
From: Louise Siddons via Contra Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2025 12:35 PM
To: Shared Weight Contra Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
Subject: [Callers] Re: Unifying contra dance formats with AI
AI is resource-intensive and an environmental disaster. Using it for trivial purposes feels worse than pointless to me.
Also, specifically in terms of programming (which someone mentioned), there are aspects of calling where experience is a key element of the learning process. Shortcuts will be detrimental to the caller’s experience even if the dancers don’t notice.
In the spirit of slow food, might we not consider ‘slow folk dance’ as taking a positive, sustainable position in relation to the climate crisis? There is no actual need to make anything related to contra dancing more efficient.
(I’m reminded of the joke that dancing is a very complicated way of going nowhere. Surely in some sense we embody the idea that the journey is the destination?)
Louise.
(Winchester, UK)
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Hello callers. I have been calling a dance I notated at a Swing into Summer
weekend at Pinewoods several (10+?) years ago, that has always been fun for
my advanced-beginner-to-intermediate contra community. I call it the
Mystery Dance, because I never did find out the name or source. Perhaps one
of you can identify it for me. Thanks!
A1 Bal. & Sw Nbr (16)
A2 M Allemande LEFT 1 ½ to Ptn (8)
Swing Partner (8)
B Balance the ring, petronella twirl 4X,
Pass through to new Nbr.
--
www.huntandallison.nethttp://thsmaritime.com/www.centralhallcommons.org
Please put this date on your calendar! The Country Dance and Song Society (CDSS) honors Tony Parkes with a Lifetime Contribution Award on Saturday, November 22, at the Scout House in Concord, MA. We'll heat up the hall with a dynamic evening of dance with amazing music by Stove Dragon and calling by Annie Kidwell, Ben Sachs-Hamilton, and Lisa Greenleaf. Also, an afternoon session of square dancing to Tony's recorded calls, potluck, and of course the award presentation. It will be a great celebration of dance in the past, present, and future!
