Hi all,
Thanks for the suggestion to call 3-33-33. I did that and it went well, but
good dancers got very tired and winded. What tempo do you use?
Thanks also for the suggestion to call Bill Olson's The Hussey Bride. I did
that too, and it went well except that in one of the lines a couple kept
getting left out at the top. Again, mostly experienced dancers. The A1 is:
Long Lines forward and back / Ladies Allemande Right 1 1/2 to cross the set
and form long wavy line with the gents with the ladies facing out. A couple
of us thought that several folks had trouble finding the lady to allemande
with, especially when she was the next neighbor lady. Have you had similar
experiences with this dance? What did you do about it?
Thanks again,
Rickey Holt,
Fremont, NH
Hast, Dorothea E. "Performance, transformation and community: contra dance in New England." Dance Research Journal 25.1 (1993): 21+.
Schwartz, David M. "Contra dancing." Americana 7 (1979): 62+.
Becker, Robin. "Contra-dancing in Nelson, N.H." The Kenyon Review 14.1 (1992): 26+.
Flinn, Juliana. "American country dancing: a religious experience." Journal of Popular Culture 29.1 (1995): 61+. Abstract:
American country dancing such as contra and square dancing is
assuming religious status for many U.S. citizens, who want to have a sense of
coherence and community integration above materialism and individualism. They
use religious terms such as spiritual and transcendental to express their
experiences of dancing. They compare the dance with religion on the basis
that both these functions generate a feeling of togetherness among
participants. Dance gives them an opportunity to have spiritual experience.
Simplicity of the dance is another reason for its popularity.
Contra dancing in Maine: the revival of an American tradition : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment ... for the degree of Master of Arts (Musicology - Ethnomusicology) -- Vincent Tufo, University of Michigan. School of Music
University of Michigan, 1979
Good luck!
I seem to remember someone asking on this list about where they could
find a card box that was larger than what is available at office supply
stores. A dance friend who is also a woodworker just gave me a new box
that he made in his spare time at work. I'm attaching a couple of
pictures and would be glad to get you in touch if you're interested in
getting him to make one for you. With the addition of a bit of packing
foam at the back, I even have a safe place to carry my audio recorder in
my card box, and I have lots of room for my card collection to grow.
Jack
http://books.google.com/books/about/Creating_Community.html?id=NpZdXwAACAAJ
Rasby Marlene Powell's 1997 sociology dissertation, Florida State University: Creating Community -- An Ethnography of Old-time Dance Groups.
Richard Hopkins
850-894-9212 at home
850-544-7614 mobile
Hopkinsrs(a)comcast.net
Sent from my iPhone
Calling all contra dance callers! The CDSS (Country Dance and Song Society) Contra Dance Task Group wants to find out how CDSS can better support contra dance callers. We encourage you to take our survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VFC5FK7 so CDSS can hear your ideas, concerns, and questions directly. We will send you a summary of the results if you provide us with your email address at the end of the survey.
The survey is truly geared to contra callers of all experience levels from brand new to retired, so the more information you give us about your calling experiences, the better. We are focusing on learning about needed resources for North American contra callers, but we welcome any feedback from callers on other continents as well. We want to hear from as many of the hundreds of contra callers as possible, so please encourage your fellow callers to respond.
Even if you don’t take the survey, we’d like to keep you informed about the survey results and the availability of new contra dance caller resources. Go to the survey http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VFC5FK7 and choose the "I can't do it now..." item.
We look forward to hearing from you very soon.
Lynn Ackerson (El Cerrito, CA)
Emily Addison (Ottawa, ONT)
David Chandler (Metuchen, NJ)
Martha Edwards (St. Louis, MO)
Lisa Greenleaf (Bolton, MA)
Chris Page (San Diego, CA)
Louise Siddons (Stillwater, OK)
Mary Wesley (Ferrisburg, VT)
Rhodri Davies and I are both running Zesty Playford workshops at
Eastbourne Folk Festival in a weeks' time. I've written a set of
notes, some of which I intend to use then, and would welcome feedback
either through the list or direct to me.
http://www.colinhume.com/dezesty.htm
Colin Hume
Holy Ghost (improper) by Maia McCormick
A1: neighbor gypsy (right)
half hey, women by L
A1: neighbor gypsy (right)
neighbor swing
B1: circle L 3/4
partner swing
B2: R/L through across
circle left 3/4 and pass through
Aside from "partner" and "neighbor," "balance" may be the most frequently
used word in calling, and experienced dancers and callers alike tend to
forget that beginners do not automatically know what it is. I teach it at the
very top of the lesson, particularly because it's used to launch other
moves -- balance and swing, balance the ring and.... I describe it as a
step-forward+tap and step-backward+tap, and emphasize that the convention is to
shift your weight forward onto the right foot first (many beginners will
start with the left foot), and then shift it onto the left foot, because the
next move is frequently to the right, but that either is acceptable.
April Blum
