In general dancing there are two distinct moves:
Rollaway - where the roller stays stationary (moving backwards and forwards
is OK)
Rollaway with a Half Sashay - where the roller steps sideways (sashays) into
the place of the person who is rolling across.
The Rollaway happens in dances like Circle Waltz, but is not very common.
The default is usually that the man rolls the lady on his right into his
place as he moves into her place, but either gender can roll either way.
You always need to specify who is rolling whom from where to where.
The MWSD definition is:
"From a couple, the dancer on the right (or the directed dancer) "rolls"
across in front of the other dancer, turning a full 360 degrees to end on
the other side, as the other dancer steps back and then forward, adjusting
sideways as necessary, to move smoothly into the vacated position. At the
completion of the call, the dancers have exchanged positions."
Note it says "or the directed dancer", again showing that anyone can roll
anyone in either direction.
MWSD goes on to say, "In the past, "Rollaway" has also been called
"Rollaway With A Half Sashay". This is improper language and should not be
used."
That is OK if you are only doing MWSD, but is completely wrong in general
dancing where the two moves exist and are different and you need to make it
clear which one is happening. The default would appear to be "with a half
sashay", so it is probably most important to make it clear there is no
sashay on the rare occasions that that happens.
When walking through a contra I always state:
- who is rolling
- which hand they are rolling from
- whom they are rolling (partner or neighbour)
- the direction of the roll: along the set or across the set
- if there is no sashay
If it is "Men, roll neighbour from right to left, along the set" then it
usually works OK. For any other rollaway there will always be some who have
done that default roll without listening to the rest of the instruction! :-)
Most contra dance choreography uses the Half Sashay, but not all. For
example, "Roll Away" by Stohl & Rob uses two Rollaways without Half Sashays
to make the progression.
Hope that helps.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
Hullo folks,
Of those using, or considering using, a tablet computer for dance
directions ("cards") and programs, what size do you use or contemplate
using?
I have a crappy 7" one that I haven't truly used for this and would
think I'd like something a tad larger (8, 8.4, 8.0/9, likely not a 10")
that I might see most/all of the directions at a type size I don't need
reading glasses for.
I've seen small brackets for the top of music or mic stands, or to add
to the side of one. Any thoughts on those?
I'll share a summary, of sorts, some time, between the lists if I have
energy.
Cheers, John
--
J.D. Erskine
Victoria, BC
Island Dance - Folk & Country
dance info - site & mail list
http://members.shaw.ca/island.dance/
I think I found the dance, after digging deep into my calling box...
Becket - No Name - by some unknown choreographer
A1: Left Diagonal Ladies Chain
Right Diagonal Ladies Chain
A2: Right and Left Thru Across (This is with the same person every time)
Ladies Chain Across
B1: Circle Right 3/4
Zig Right past one couple
Zig Left to couple with partner
B2: Partner Swing
Alternate Bs
B1: Circle Left 5 places
Zig Left past 1 couple
Zag Right to next couple with partner
B2: Partner Swing
If anyone has the name or author of this dance, that would be fantastic!
Valerie
On Wed, Aug 19, 2015 at 7:51 AM, Valerie Young <valeriedancing(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
> Thanks everyone for your dance brains! Flirting With Love Again by Cary
> Ravitz I think is the dance I had. I can't wait to try the other ones too!
> Thank you all.
>
> On Tue, Aug 18, 2015 at 9:09 AM, Lewis Land <lewisland78(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> It's possible that you're talking about one of the versions of Flirting
>> with love again, by Cary Ravitz. The dance has two diagonal lady's chains,
>> and a surprise ending in B2 where you suddenly find yourself face to face
>> with your partner, after traveling far away from him/her. Another
>> possibility is Reunion, by Gene Hubert. Here are my notes:
>>
>> *Becket-double prog. **Flirting with Love Again-v.1** Cary Ravitz*
>>
>> *A1* Long lines go forward & back 8
>>
>> Circle left once
>> around 8
>>
>> *A2* Ladies chain on the left diagonal 8
>>
>> Ladies chain on the right diagonal to their first 8
>>
>> trail buddy
>>
>> *B1* Star left
>> 8
>>
>> (look away from the star &) allemande right 8
>>
>> your second trail buddy 1 1/2
>> *B2* Partners balance & swing
>> 16
>>
>>
>> *Becket –cw-dbl prg **Reunion** Gene
>> Hubert*
>>
>> *A1* Ladies chain on left diagonal to a new neighbor 8
>>
>> Ladies chain across the set to your shadow 8
>>
>> *A2 *Hey for 4, ladies start, passing right 16
>>
>> *B1 *Partners balance & swing 16
>>
>> *B2 *Circle left 3/4 w/original neighbors, 8
>>
>> and *pass through* along the set to a newer set of
>>
>> neighbors with whom you…
>>
>> Circle right 3/4 to the original side of the set 8
>>
>> *This is reported to be the first contra to employ the ladies chain on
>> the left diagonal.*
>>
>> Lewis Land
>>
>> On Mon, Aug 17, 2015 at 1:59 PM, Valerie Young via Callers <
>> callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I've misplaced a dance from my dance box, or it's possible that I
>>> thought it was in there and it never was. I picked this dance up a few
>>> years ago at Glen Echo, and I don't remember who was calling or playing
>>> that night.
>>> The dance was becket (I think) and it had a series of ladies chains
>>> (straight across and diagonally) that sent the ladies far away from their
>>> partner (possibly to a shadow or trail buddy) and then in a series of
>>> circles and pass thru partners where reunited with a swing. The caller
>>> taught this dance by having the ladies imagine they were pinballs, and the
>>> gents the pinball flippers (i.e. ladies are zooming around inside the
>>> contra lines while the gents send them in new directions). I know the
>>> caller did not have the name of this dance.
>>> If you have heard of this dance, have it, or something similar, I would
>>> love to get a copy of it for my box.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Valerie
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Callers mailing list
>>> Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>>> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>>>
>>>
>>
>
Hello all,
For more than a year, I've been kicking around compositions for 6 facing 6
contra dances (you can see my backlog at
http://www.madrobincallers.org/2014/02/26/6-facing-6-contra-dances/). This
past weekend, dancers at an afternoon challenging contra session
successfully danced and enjoyed one of my compositions. This is not
something for every crowd, but it worked and I thought I'd share it around;
along with some of my thoughts about getting it to work.
If other folks know of 6x6 contras that are already in circulation, I'd
like to hear about them.
In my opinion, a 6x6 should be worth the hassle of setting up and going
through additional teaching; it should offer something you don't normally
get in a contra. Many four facing four contras give you a partner and a
corner swing, which ends up being your trail buddy half the time. I wanted
a 6x6 that gave you neighbor swings so that you'd get to dance with more
people in the hall. (I'm not saying every dance needs a neighbor swing; but
it's a way to get an interaction outside of your partner pair). The
composition below lets you swing 2 of your 3 neighbors (and not your trail
buddies); so there can be lots of interactions in the community.
6x6 contras should (again, in my opinion) permute the couples as they
progress. For my own compositions, this has inevitably lead to meanwhile
figures, requiring some folks to do something others don't. I've tried to
minimize that as much as possible, but haven't succeeded in eliminating it.
The dance is presented as succinct moves, and then restated with the
dancers and their positions marked after each move. My own experience
getting it to actually work on the floor is at the bottom.
*Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad*six facing six contra (3 joined improper sets)
by Luke Donforth
A1
In groups of four (ptr and cpl opposite), balance ring; gents take opposite
home and swing
A2
Lines of 6 go forward; on way back, middle gent roll neighbor (he swang)
away with half sashay
8 counts of hey, starting by passing one you swung by Right shoulder
B1
New Neighbor gypsy and swing
B2
Give and ladies take partner to progressed position; swing.
End facing line of direction in permuted position
Diagrammed/Pegged
Initial condition (men Capitals and Arabic, women lower case and roman):
a A b B c C
1 i 2 ii 3 iii
A1
In groups of four (ptr and cpl opposite), balance ring; gents take opposite
home and swing
i A ii B iii C
1 a 2 b 3 c
A2
Lines of 6 go forward; on way back, middle gent roll neighbor (he swang)
away with half sashay
i A B ii iii C
1 a b 2 3 c
8 counts of hey, pass one you swung by Right shoulder
ii C A iii i B
2 c a 3 1 b
B1
New Neighbor gypsy and swing
ii C iii A i B
2 c 3 a 1 b
B2
Give and ladies take partner to progressed position; swing.
End facing line of direction in permuted position
2 ii 3 iii 1 i
—————
c C a A b B
My experience for teaching it (based on one crash-and-burn, and one
success):
I had the dancers get into their line of six, and introduce themselves to
their trail buddy couples and note their line of direction. Then, I showed
the permutation of their progression. I had each couple slide a
couple-position to the left in their line of six; and if they got popped
out run over to the right hand side of the line. They stay in their line of
six, not sliding around the big oval. Then I did that again, driving home
that's how they'll permute as they progress. Then I started the actual
dance walk through.
In A1, reiterating that the swing ends in the gents line helped. You should
be looking at your partner in the other line of six in A2.
In A2 for the hey, you stay in your line of 6, you don't loop around into
the other line at the ends. You nominally pass 4 people, but if you reach
the end of your line of six, looping around and coming back in counts as
one of your passes. The heying starts with the person you swung (which was
hardest for the folks in the middle, as their momentum from the roll away
often sent them away from the neighbor they swung).
B2, find your partner and swing. End in your line of 6 facing your line of
direction. This is the recovery point, and even experienced dancers
occasionally needed it to regroup.
As a final reiteration, this is not a dance for most crowds. But the crowd
that successfully danced it enjoyed it.
(For those of you thinking "6x6, okay, what about more couples?" You could
use this same basic structure for an 8x8 or more, with every other couple
doing the roll-away. The permutations get less straightforward, and
multiples of three like a 12 face 12 phase-lock and you don't see every
position; but it would technically work.)
I did, and want to again thank Maivish for providing excellent music to
keep the dancers moving, Nils Fredland for letting me take a slot at his
advanced dance (you can ask him how it felt as a dancer), and the
Burlington/Montpelier area dancers for being a wonderfully supportive
community that lets me play.
Hope to see you on a dance floor soon.
Luke Donforth
Aahz said, "Bob Elling likes to point out that there is in fact a sashay
that basically is a reversed Mad Robin".
Hmmm... not sure what he meant by a "reversed Mad Robin".
He can't be talking about the original Mad Robin, as the move in that dance
involves casts.
And the modern contra version of the Mad Robin move doesn't have an implicit
direction for you to reverse! Those Mad Robins can go clockwise around the
person beside you or counter-clockwise.
I guess he meant, "a sashay that basically is counter-clockwise Mad Robin" -
MWSD half sashays are always counter-clockwise.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
I called it in Baltimore last Wednesday. It's helpful to tell the ladies that the first chain is to a shadow.
April Blum On Aug 24, 2015 10:06 AM, Jeremy Gmail via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> I’m not sure if our American friends will realise it, but the name is a pun on the “Vickers Machine Gun”, one of the main weapons used by the British Army in the First World War (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_machine_gun).
>
>
>
> Jeremy
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Callers [mailto:callers-bounces@lists.sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Edmund Croft via Callers
> Sent: 17 August 2015 22:58
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Subject: [Callers] Misplaced a dance...
>
>
>
> Valerie Young is looking for a dance featuring ladies' chains all over the place, then circles and pass thrus to get your partner back. As she came across it in the USA, it's unlikely to be the one I know, which is by ex- Cambridge (UK) dancer/choreographer Jacob Steel, unless someone exported it, having danced it at the Inter-Varsity Folk Dance Festival.
>
>
>
> The story Jacob uses for this one is that clergy are not permitted to use certain sorts of weapon, so this particular gun fires ladies rather than bullets:
>
>
>
> THE VICAR’S MACHINE GUN (R32) Becket Jacob Steel
> 1-8 Circle left ¾ and pass through up and down
> Circle left ½ and the men roll their neighbour across to change places
> 9-16 Ladies chain on the right diagonal. LCh across
> 17-24 LCh on the left diagonal. Ladies pass RSh into half a reel of 4 across
> 25-32 Balance and swing partner.
>
>
>
> Edmund Croft,
>
> Cambridge Folk of various sorts
Im not sure if our American friends will realise it, but the name is a pun
on the Vickers Machine Gun, one of the main weapons used by the British
Army in the First World War
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_machine_gun).
Jeremy
From: Callers [mailto:callers-bounces@lists.sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of
Edmund Croft via Callers
Sent: 17 August 2015 22:58
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Subject: [Callers] Misplaced a dance...
Valerie Young is looking for a dance featuring ladies' chains all over the
place, then circles and pass thrus to get your partner back. As she came
across it in the USA, it's unlikely to be the one I know, which is by ex-
Cambridge (UK) dancer/choreographer Jacob Steel, unless someone exported it,
having danced it at the Inter-Varsity Folk Dance Festival.
The story Jacob uses for this one is that clergy are not permitted to use
certain sorts of weapon, so this particular gun fires ladies rather than
bullets:
THE VICARS MACHINE GUN (R32) Becket Jacob Steel
1-8 Circle left ¾ and pass through up and down
Circle left ½ and the men roll their neighbour across to change
places
9-16 Ladies chain on the right diagonal. LCh across
17-24 LCh on the left diagonal. Ladies pass RSh into half a reel of 4
across
25-32 Balance and swing partner.
Edmund Croft,
Cambridge Folk of various sorts
Thank you for all the replies so far ! One other question,
What are the key elements/movements that you would emphasize teaching with kids?
giving weight, hearing the music beats, swing, star, do si do, allemande...... ?
And I don't think they will do ballroom swing, so which swing is easy and fun for kids? 2 hands crossed? or right elbows?
Thank you so much for your help!
claire
Yes, the spiral is traditional! It is part of the Grand March which goes back at least a couple of centuries.
I call a Grand March by leading it, with my wife. I wear a wireless head mike so my hands are free.
We just start promenading around the dance-floor encouraging everyone to follow us.
For the stationary Arbor/Tunnel, once I have got couples making arches I drop out and go to the end to start leading people single-file through the tunnel.
When we get to the March By Platoons (2s, 4,s 8s) my wife goes to the bottom of the hall to direct the joinings, while I stay at the top to direct the alternate directions. We find linking elbows makes the best lines - they are more compact for the turns at the bottom of the hall.
I use the longest march/reel track I have at around 116 to 120 bpm - a good walking speed, or tell the band to keep playing.
It works with any group.
I often finish in a circle with
Everyone into the middle
Ladies in and clap
Men in and clap
Swing your partner
There are a number of references here:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/dihtml/dihome.html
Search for "grand march"
For example, select "Prof. M. J. Koncen's quadrille call book and ball room guide"
View text
Turn to Page 15
You get descriptions of all these Grand March figures:
The Serpentine (Spiral)
By Platoons (2s, 4s, 8s)
In Column (Zig Zags)
In Single File
The Arbor (Tunnels)
We quite often do The Arbor as a two-handed tunnel, then I take one member of the rearmost couple by the hand and start a single file line up through the Arbor - that leaves us in a single file ready for The Serpentine. You can also do The Arbor with the arching couples moving back over the other couples - single-handed arches work best then.
When you finish By Platoons in lines of 8 or 16 across you take the left hand person of the front line by the hand and lead the front line across the front of the line then weave down between the lines, telling each left-hand end person to join the end of the line when it reaches them. If they have lots of energy I get them all doing step-kicks in the lines while waiting.
The following video shows a classic Grand March:
http://www.walternelson.com/dr/grand-march
One version of a Grand March is described here:
http://www.dancingmasters.com/workshops/downloads/GrandMarch.pdf
I wouldn't use the chorus described, but it has nice description of a Serpentine/Spiral variant - that random tunneling is the only move I would be careful with if the group is inexperienced.
Another short section of Grand Marching is at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNHLBUi6d-w from 3:43
Hope that helps. ☺
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
