Contra Callers

contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net

8 participants
4417 discussions

Seeking Caller for Trenton, Maine Contra this Saturday (9/17/11)

by George Marshall

Seeking Caller for Trenton, Maine Contra this Saturday (9/17/11) Hi everyone, I'm playing the Trenton Contra Dance in Maine this Saturday night on piano along with Brendan Carey Block on fiddle. It has come to my attention today that the organizers, having contacted seven or eight of the "usual suspects" up in that area, find themselves unable to find a caller for the dance, and I am hoping that my email might reach someone on the Shared Weight list who would be available and interested in calling for it. With regards to pay for the dance, there is unfortunately no guarantee (for the band or caller) but my impression is that the pay will at least be * something*, and that it's a really fun dance, though also one that tends to be on the small-medium side in attendance. Malcolm Sanders, one of the dance organizers, will be driving from Burlington, Vermont on Friday afternoon or evening and returning to Burlington sometime Sunday and could give a caller from that area a ride. I could theoretically give someone a ride from the Boston area but it would mean leaving early in the day on Friday and returning Sunday late afternoon (because Matching Orange -- me, Brendan, and Eric McDonald -- has gigs Friday night and Saturday afternoon, in addition to this Saturday night contra). If you are interested and can do this, please email me at eric.eid.reiner(a)gmail.com, or you can call me at 781-608-3442. However, I will be at a rehearsal from 7:00-10:00 p.m. tonight so if you want to respond in that timeframe, email is probably best. If you know of someone who would be a solid caller for a full 3-hour dance but isn't on Shared Weight, you are welcome to pass this email on to them. Thank you very much! Sincerely, Eric Eid-Reiner www.EricEid-Reiner.com George Marshall PO Box 602 Belchertown, MA 01007 TDV(a)wildasparagus.com 413-575-6283 Web site URL http://www.tropicaldancevacation.com

14 years, 3 months

Author? Contra House

by Jack Mitchell

Just picked up a new dance last night. Gaye had the title, but didn't know an author. Does anyone recognize this? Contra House - Becket A1 Gents lead full Hey (GL, NR, LL, PR, GL, NR...) On last pass, ladies catch LH, give RH to partner in short wave A2 Balance Wave, P Alle R 1/2; Gents Alle L 1/2, give RH to N Balance Wave; N Alle R 3/4 B2 New N B&S B2 Gents Alle L 1 1/2 P Sw

14 years, 3 months

Re Swinging

by John Sweeney

Thanks for the great discussion on swinging. My Maths/Physics is a bit rusty - it is 40 years since I studied it at Cambridge - so I am not going to get involved I that discussion. Yes, I know that a couple spinning around a shared axis is different from a single person spinning on their own axis, but there are a lot of things going on in that shared system. Hopefully I will meet some of you on a dance-floor somewhere, somewhen and maybe persuade you that the lady trying to reach the man's shoulder-blade is not a good idea - but obviously that is not going to happen through online discussion. So, please, if you do insist on telling the lady to try to reach the man's shoulder-blade, then please, please, please tell them that they absolutely do NOT have to press there - they just make a flexible frame with the hand resting lightly in the chosen place - centrifugal force will do the rest. :-) Thanks. 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

14 years, 3 months

A Burning Chorus Jig as seen from space

by Amy Cann

The Playa, as seen from the European Space Agency's satellite http://i.imgur.com/ZB8cJ.jpg And a closeup view of a bunch of hot dusty happy dancer/musician/burners -- the ones are just going down the outside. http://i.imgur.com/809Pp.jpg The lighter rectangle is our dance floor, the stage is at the lower/right end, the darker rectangle at the top are a pair of couches for watching/lounging. Our address was 3:20 and Engagement; right next to us is Math Camp at (you guessed it) 3.1415 and *e*. What an entirely unexpected experience; you never know what's going to happen when you answer a sharedweight email. Cheers, Amy

14 years, 3 months

Callers' poll

by Brian Hamshar

Hmmmm. Luke's "arbitrary" definition of 6 hrs or more includes a lot of events around the Mid-Atlantic that nobody really thinks of as festivals. For example, there's the afternoon advanced contra preceding a regular community contra dance. I recently organized and called for one such event here in Virginia, called Contraphoria. Also, I'm scheduled to call techno contras at two dance weekends this fall, each session 1-2 hours in length, but not as a featured caller. One is a Saturday afternoon "workshop," and the other is a Saturday late-night contra party right after the main contra dance ends. In November at Glen Echo I will be calling the final, late night session of the 12-hour Black Friday Bash. This probably qualifies by your criteria. But up to that point, I will not consider myself as having been a festival caller. I guess I am a "yes," albeit somewhat futuristically. Brian Hamshar Charlottesville, VA

14 years, 3 months

Re: [Callers] Swinging

by Brian Hamshar

Yeah...now I can't resist "weighing in"! I had lots of physics in engineering school myself. The quantity of 20# being placed on the hands is highly suspect because there are so many variables that make it different for every swing. (I don't swing with more than a slight weight...I force a reduction by slowing down or subtly slackening my hold.) But, surprisingly, there is no "doubling." Think of it this way. Suppose you and your partner were swinging yourselves around a pole that's fixed to the floor. (Ignore the difference in handhold compared to a dancing swing.) With the two of you, the pole is in balance and it does not matter if the pole is even there. Suppose your partner leaves. Your 20# pull, which is now an asymmetrical load, will now tend to bend the pole (and the pole and its anchor must accept the load), but the force experienced by your arms has not been reduced by half. Brian Hamshar -----Original Message----- Date: Wednesday, September 07, 2011 4:26:35 am To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net> From: "Donald Perley" <donperley(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Callers] Swinging Sigh... time to drag out the free body diagrams and unstretchable massless string. 20 pounds. On Tue, Sep 6, 2011 at 9:53 PM, Jeff Kaufman <jeff(a)alum.swarthmore.edu> wrote: > Mark Widmer wrote: >> >> each person exerts 20 pounds on the other person, and nobody is >> exerting 40 pounds.

14 years, 3 months

Re: [Callers] Swinging

by Mark Widmer

I'm with Chris on this one, each person exerts 20 pounds on the other person, and nobody is exerting 40 pounds. (This is a clear example of Newton's 3rd Law, for those who are familiar with introductory physics.) Mark > Jeff Kaufman wrote: > > > Chris Lahey wrote: >> I got the same 20 lbs in my calculations, but I don't think you get to >> double it. If I'm the gent, my hand is putting 20 lbs of force on the >> ladies back. At the same time, her back is putting 20 lbs of force on my >> hand. When we carry a 20 lb object, we're pulling up with 20 lbs of force >> and it's pulling down with 20 lbs of force, but we don't call it 40 lbs of >> force. > Sure. The doubling comes from 20lbf per person. It takes 20lbf to > hold me in, and 20lbf to hold them in, so between us we need 40lbf to > stay together. > >> There's also the fact that despite some of the radial acceleration >> coming from centripital force, I suspect some of it comes from the >> feet. >> > That might be important. I'm not sure how to measure that. > > If someone wants to bring a bathroom or similar scale to the concord > scout house tonight, I would be curious to measure this. > > Jeff > > >

14 years, 3 months

Six-facing-six Dances and Other Adjustments for a Tight Hall

by Christopher Buck

The hall for the Emerald City Dance at the Phinney Neighborhood Center easily support two lines but not three. From http://seattledance.org/contra/emeraldcity/performerinfo : 'Our hall is just barely wide enough for three lines, but not comfortably so. As a result, we have the opposite of the "center line" phenomenon common at some other dances. The center line is shorter, and crowded by the two outer lines. The out er lines widen out just beyond the end of the center line and this can sometimes cause "turbulence" and lead to confusion. Because of this, some of our regulars prefer not to dance in the center set, so the shortness of the line and turbulence are compounded by a higher percentage of new dancers.' I'm thinking a few six-facing-six dances should help to maintain the spacing. I'm looking for any and all of those. Also, it seems to me that dances that progress from side to side as well as up and down the hall might help. Any other suggestions are also certainly welcome. Respectfully, Chris Christopher Buck

14 years, 3 months

Re Swinging

by John Sweeney

Jeff said: "Something needs to be holding the two of you together. The gent has his right hand on the lady's back." Yes - that is what is holding you together. Why do you need more? = = = = = = Digression = = = = = Jeff actually said "ladies' back" - yes, I do dance with two ladies at once - you can see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE6Iu6Fh6bw and so yes I do sometimes have my hands on ladies' backs :-) = = = = = = End of Digression = = = = = Jeff continued: "If the gent is strong and the lady light, that is sufficient." I firmly believe that both parties should be responsible for their own weight and balance. If the lady is in control of her balance then why is the lady's weight or the man's strength relevant? I have danced with ladies twice my size and had a delightful light swing, and I have danced with ladies half my size and had to support their weight in a painful matter. It is not about weight it is about balance. "If the lady additionally has their left hand on the back of the the gent's right shoulder, then the lady is doing more of the holding together and the gent can do less." Centrifugal force is not that great - if you are in balance the pressure is tiny. = = = = = = = = = = = Greg said: ".one figure that is pretty unique to contra dance. It's called the 'buzz-step swing.'" My mother learnt it in Galway, Ireland as a girl from her grandfather nearly 100 years ago. She taught me in the 1960s. I am told that the Scottish call it "birling". Of course if you mean "contra dance" as an American pronunciation of the French "contre danse" meaning "country dance" then I guess it is a reasonable statement. But if you mean modern American contra dance series (as opposed to Irish, Scottish, ceilidh, ECD, International, etc.) then I would disagree :-) 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

14 years, 3 months

Re Swinging

by John Sweeney

Hi Jeff, No, I don't do slow swings (unless my partner wants to go slowly, or I have to go into self-defense mode!). Impressive maths - but I think the calculations are a little more complex. :-) Sharing the (small) load might be worthwhile. But there are still these challenges: - Some ladies can't comfortably reach the man's shoulder-blade - Any other hand position is likely to generate gripping if she is trying to share the load - Her hand behind the shoulder-blade makes clockwise exits more difficult - Most ladies who reach around to my shoulder-blade tend to push in with their hand (maybe because they are having trouble reaching it) which is uncomfortable I find swinging with a partner who relaxes their left hand onto the front of my arm FAR more pleasurable. Because the ballroom hold is asymmetrical there can't be a 50-50 share in the connection. Of course if you do a Northumberland swing, a ceilidh swing, a Galway swing, a sweetheart swing, a hornpipe swing, etc. then you do have symmetry and then you can share the load. But I have never noticed much difference in the load when I do those swings as compared to a ballroom hold, so I guess the load must be small! :-) I get people to spin fast with a buzz-step by themselves first - they never fall over even though no-one else is holding them up. If they do the same thing when joined with a partner then the pressure is low. Let's try it on the dance-floor some time. 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

14 years, 3 months

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Contra Callers