As the caller for the chestnuts session, I simply should have broken the long
lines for all the dances in half, as we did with Money Musk, the next to last
dance. With that dance, we were able to get everyone to be an active couple.
I was impressed with the relative ease at which this setting up the sets took
place; last year, we used small orange cones-- thank you, Linda Leslie-- to make
a separation between the top set and the bottom set in a line, but dancers managed
to create a space with no visible marker, and hold on to that separation.
I should have done that with the other dances, too. It would have made it possible
for everyone to be active without resorting to the solution that Luke suggests.
Lesson learned.
Notorious played some terrific music for the session. I was struck with the final
times through Hull's Victory, where the band went from key of D to Eb to E to
F. Whew!
For those interested, we danced:
Petronella
Rory O'More
Hull's Victory
Morning Star
Money Musk
Chorus Jig
David Millstone
--- Beth wrote:
The key to not having the sets re-merge is to make sure that the first set has
an odd number of couples in it.
--- end of quote ---
True, if the dance is a duple minor; I don't think that's the case, though, for
triple minor dances: Money Musk, Sackett's Harbor, British Sorrow, Market Lass,
Jamie Allen, Careless Sally, Doubtful Shepherd, older versions of Lamplighter's
HP, and so on.
For duple minor dances, in conditions such as the packed floor at the Dance Flurry,
it might be possible with the assistance of a few skilled floor managers to set
up long lines, have dancers take hands four, break the sets midway down the hall,
and then bring the last couple from the far end of each set in the back of the
hall to become last couple in the front set, still maintaining that wide alley
between the sets.
David Millstone
Hello all,
I've just returned from the Flurry, where among other wonderful things, I
got to dance a Cracking Chestnut's session. I was struck by the constant
need to shorten the sets and make more sets. The Chestnuts are popular.
Even using the width of the hall, I know there were some 2s that never
became 1s for some dances.
Several of the Chestnuts end with a Right and Left across and back. If you
changed that to a pass through, with new neighbor courtesy turn; pass
through, with new new neighbor courtesy turn; you'd add two more
progressions to the dance, moving dancers up and down the hall much more
quickly.
Adding a new move to a Chestnut might seem the most egregious of
anachronisms, and/or it might help dancers enjoy them when the sets are
long. I imagine the idea of adding progressions to Chestnuts is not new. Is
it important to dance the Chestnut as close to form as possible, and any
deviation defeats the purpose? Or is the joy of Chestnuts the time-tested
match of moves with tune?
I'd really like to hear others thoughts. Thanks
--
Luke Donforth
Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com <Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com>
www.lukedonev.com
Read said "Perhaps I'm not picturing this correctly, but anything that
encourages dancers to give weight with the outstretched arm is something
I would discourage. When I teach the swing, I go out of my way to teach
that the outstretched hand is purely decorative, that you're not giving
any weight there."
Perhaps looking at the picture will help. You can find it at
http://www.amazon.com/Zesty-Contras-Selection-Provocative-Explanatory/dp
/images/B00072379M
Click on the picture a couple of times and wait for it to load the
higher resolution version and you can see it clearly.
The arms that would normally be outstretched are NOT outstretched!
No, you don't give weight there. You should keep your own balance in a
swing.
Centrifugal force is what generates pressure against the areas of
connection - primarily the man's right hand on the lady's left
shoulder-blade. Having the connection at each other's elbows provides
another area where the centrifugal force can be resolved. It is very
comfortable and very easy to swing faster in this hold.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 &
07802 940 574
http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive Events, Instructional DVDs and
Interactive Maps
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
I'm with John Sweeney. I love to swing in more-or-less the position that is depicted
on the Zesty Contras cover. I'd encourage the women not to rest their hand where
it's shown in that illustration, though; a better place in most situations is
somewhere in the vicinity of my right shoulder blade, so that the woman's left
hand and arm are supporting herself as much as my outstretched right ones. I keep
my left thumb closer to my other fingers, too, to avoid a death grip squeezing
on my partner's right arm.
I love this swing for many reasons. With our joined arms, we can make a small
circle and I like the rounded feeling. Also, as Larry Jennings pointed out, such
a swing is much better for crowded halls; your outstretched arms won't smash into
someone else (or be smashed into), you're taking up less space, and that circle
of arms and bodies that you make is sort of a protected zone that you and your
partner inhabit.
David Millstone
Lebanon, NH
When I learnt contra dancing (after 30 years of dancing other forms of
traditional dancing) I was shown the swing hold from "Zesty Contras" -
depicted on the cover and described on page 15 as "a modified ballroom
position with the man's left hand near the woman's right elbow as shown
in the "Zesty Contras" logo".
I would describe it more as the man's left hand cupping the lady's right
elbow, with the lady's arm lying on the man's arm, and her hand curving
round his upper arm just above the elbow.
I find it an excellent way to swing because:
- it brings you closer together
- it reduces the angle between your bodies and makes it easier to look
at each other
- it provides more support for the lady by holding her elbow
- it takes up less room on a crowded dance-floor
I just spent a weekend in America dancing with 350 people. I use this
hold all the time in a standard swing, but when I initiated this hold
most of the ladies didn't seem to know where to put their arm and hand.
When I watched other dancers I didn't see anyone else doing it.
Can anyone tell me why this wonderful hold, which appears to have been
the standard 30 years ago, has virtually disappeared?
Thanks,
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 &
07802 940 574
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk <http://www.contrafusion.co.uk/> for
Dancing in Kent
The SharedWeight list grew out of a callers' class at Pinewoods. The impetus for
setting up the list was to provide a way for callers to support each other. The
list includes many who are relatively new to the caller's mic, plus others who've
been calling for some time
I recently found something relevant by Ira Glass, host of "This American Life"
on public radio, and would like to bring it to the attention of new callers in
particular. He's talking in particular about storytelling, making videos, but
his comments apply to any creative endeavor, such as calling dances.
David Millstone
Lebanon, NH
=== quoted material follows:
"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of
us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there
is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it's just not that good.
It's trying to be good, it has potential, but it's not. But your taste, the thing
that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints
you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know
who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work
doesn't have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this.
And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know
its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself
on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going
through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as
good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone
I've ever met. It's gonna take awhile. It's normal to take awhile. You've just
gotta fight your way through."
--Ira Glass
===
Here's a video clip of him talking, from which these quotes were taken
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI23U7U2aUY
If you want to see the words animated:
http://vimeo.com/24715531
Glad to hear the dance went well! And also glad the input was helpful.
Your report brings up a few things i think are really valuable to remember
(which i sometimes forget!) so i figured i'd toss them out to the list for
further thought:
- if a dance is likely to be challenging for the crowd, i've heard it said
it's worth asking the band to play something very clearly phrased.
Inversely, if the dance is clearly phrased, the band might be able to go a
little farther afield without affecting the dancers' ability to follow the
music. Obviously not an invariable rule, because some "chunky" dances
wouldn't work so well with long-phrased tunes...
-* spaghetti arms* are one of those things that, as a newb, are so easy to
forget in the overwhelmingness of it all. I think it bears "training"
experienced dancers to gently remind newbies how to share weight. For those
of us who've been dancing for a while it's second nature,but for beginners
i think it really goes beyond introducing the concept of "shared weight" to
really giving them the HOW of it. A dancer recently relayed to me the idea
of having folks do an allemande once around in 8 counts; then have them do
an allemande 1.5 in 8 counts and stress how pulling in and giving weight
helps them get around in time. So, as you put it, a reminder during the
evening is a good thing - especially if you can point out other places -
like circles - where sharing weight is equally satisfying.
-* heys *can be a surprisingly easy move. I recently had a conversation
with another caller who shares the opinion that heys are actually easier
for newbs to properly execute than are ladies chains. The biggest problem
i've noticed with heys is that many experienced dancers seem to think of
them as somehow challenging, and when a caller says they'll be teaching a
hey, experienced dancers will often give some body language or comment that
raises the newbies' affective filter. Our trick as callers is figuring out
how to keep that affective filter down, and deliver the instructions for a
hey as simply as possible.
- sometimes two walk throughs is just nice, because the 2nd walk through
really solidifies things in dancers' minds, and then you don't have to back
up to start! Teaching a dance in one walk-through can be appropriate but it
really depends on the dance and the crowd; it's not really a measure of a
caller's skill.
Of course, the above is personal opinion. I'm interested to hear others'
takes on those subjects....
Congratulations on your first full night, Emily, and here's hoping you have
many more such experiences!
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:56:57 -0500
> From: "Emily Addison" <eaddison(a)trentu.ca>
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Cc: eaddison(a)trentu.ca
> Subject: [Callers] reporting in from Maberly
> Message-ID: <1329271017.7e5d3d5ceaddison(a)trentu.ca>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> Hi Folks,
> Made it through Maberly? Wooohoooo! Thanks so much for all the advice.
> All of it was helpful from the ideas on programming (David, Tavi,
> Chrissy), to names of dances (Richard), to the corrections on a dance
> (Linda). A few others provided advice too? thank you as it made a big
> difference. :)
>
> Here's a wee bit of a recap:
> -Welcome lesson went really well. I had modelled much of my lesson off of
> Bev Bernbaum & George Marshall as well as a few other notes I had made here
> and there. Yeaaa Bev and George ? it set up the rest of the evening in a
> great way.
> -I made a number of changes to the program prior to the dance based upon
> the feedback I received. I ended up doing 10 of the 12 programmed dances
> and while I had other backup dances I didn't go to them. The careful
> planning of building each dance on what had previously been covered paid
> off.
> Program as it played out: Family Contra, Swallowtail's First, The Baby
> Rose, Mad Scatter, Contraindicated, BREAK, Heart Beat Contra, New Fall
> Reel, Rock the Cradle Joe, Who's in the Middle, and Monday Night in Ballard.
> -All dances went really well except two. The bumpy dances were Rock the
> Cradle Joe (wavy lines threw the beginners) and Who's in the Middle (music
> was really challenging for dancers to follow + beginners were uncertain
> about the changing middles). I had to totally bail on Who's in the Middle
> after we tried it twice. That's ok though. :)
> -Teaching points went really well and I took a fair bit of a community
> tone. After the dance I heard from a few of the experienced dancers that
> there were a lot of spaghetti arms in the crowd. I had talked a fair bit
> about giving weight/connection during the welcome lesson but I might try a
> reminder or two in the evening in the future.
> -I felt that two walk throughs were needed for every dance except the last
> one. I would like to get down to one in the future but it was a chatty
> crowd with lots of beginners so that was ok. :)
> -After the end of the dance, I quizzed a lot of the experienced dancers.
> They didn't miss the down the hall nor the heys and felt that there was
> lots of variety in the program. They also didn't notice that all of the
> progressions were at the end of B2 which was good? that seemed to help the
> large beginner population.
> -In the New Fall Reel, Bal before swing in B2 was too much for the crowd
> so dropped the balance after the first few times through the dance. Seemed
> to help with the flow a lot.
> -Dealt with a few interesting bumps. :)
> -----A woman came into the hall in a wheelchair prior to the beginning
> lesson. It was the first time I had seen someone at a contra in a
> wheelchair and while I know there are strategies to incorporate, I knew it
> was over my capabilities my first night. I went over and checked in with
> her? she was wanting to just watch. (Helpful for me as I was a wee
> stressed out with things about to start.)
> -----A woman fell the third time through the first dance in the middle of
> a balance the ring. We stopped the dance. I was worried but kept really
> calm. Turns out she hurt her wrist but was otherwise fine. (Makes me want
> to find out even quicker how to get callers insurance in Canada)
> -----Soundsystem had lots of challenges including, my mic having clicking
> notes, the band dropping out here and there.
>
> Anyway, I had better sign off. What a great learning opportunity though?
> my brain is blown. :)
>
> Emily
>
>
>
>
Scott Higgs is going to be in the Triangle calling for the 3/9 TCD
contra dance and for a special 3/10 English Country Dance workshop (in
the mid afternoon) and evening dance. He has also agreed to do a
callers workshop for us while he's in town. The workshop will be
Saturday morning 3/10, and will include a potluck brunch. Scott has
many years of experience calling and teaching calling to others, and we
are really fortunate to have him in the area. Possible topics for the
workshop include:
How to prepare for a dance event.
How to devise a great dance program, with flexibility to adapt as needed.
How to teach clearly & effectively.
How to prompt/call clearly & effectively.
How to integrate newcomers and less-skilled dancers.
How to communicate and collaborate with musicians.
How to set a welcoming, friendly tone, and build a sense of community.
How to build a repertoire, and what should be in it.
How to learn a new dance, and to anticipate challenges in presenting it.
How to communicate more than just the geography of a dance.
How to "listen" to the dancers.
How to adapt on the fly: when you encounter: circumstances like
30 beginners enter en masse at 8:45
the floor is too slippery to dance
the weather is too hot to dance
the hall is too crowded
the band can't play up to speed
How to practice teaching/calling.
How to "shape" an evening.
Techniques for developing advanced leading skills
What comes after the rudiments ?
What do individuals want to improve in their leading ?
How can we help each other to develop ?
I also hope to have a discussion during the brunch portion of our time
together on calling related topics. So far, we've only had two people
sign up for the workshop. To help with our planning, if you are
interested in attending, please fill out the registration form here:
http://www.tcdancers.org/workshop/
See you on the dance floor!
Jack
Hi all,
I am looking for an easy dance that uses groups of 3 dancers - either 3
facing 3, or 3 all facing the same direction. I especially would like one
where the dancers in each group of 3 have a chance to play with which one of
them is in the middle. No country corners please. I already have 3 Meet,
from the old Community Dancing Manuals. Any other suggestions? Dances that
do not require a specific tune but fit within a standard 32 bar contra tune
would be best.
Thanks.
Rickey Holt
Fremont, NH
