I'm looking for comments on a trend I've noticed in contra music,
specifically, bands playing music far removed from pieces traditionally
associated with the form. The catalyst was a mid-December dance in the
northwest where "as a special treat" the band shifted to rock music during
the next-to-last contra. The caller had stopped and we were left to our own
devices. The A/B parts and the beat were hard to pick out, and the dance
began breaking down as people had to guess when one move ended and another
began. I was there with a group of experienced dancers and our opinions
were uniformly negative. This was not the only time the band's selection of
tunes was hard to follow, just the most excessive.
Over the last few years I've seen bands play "unusual" music in several
locations across the country and at both regular dance series and dance
weekends. There are some good examples in Youtube (links provided
offline.) IMHO, contra music is an integral part of the dance, cuing on a
nearly subconscious level the changes between figures. Having to
concentrate excessively on the timing takes emphasis off both the flow of
the dance and the interaction with fellow dancers.
Part of me can sympathize with the bands. It must be incredibly boring for
talented musicians to play, say, Jefferson Reel over and over. On the other
hand, they are hired to play for dancers, not each other, and some of the
extreme examples smack of self-indulgence.
I assume that essentially all of the members of this list are dancers and
that a number of you are also musicians. I wondered what the group's
feeling was on this and whether anyone felt it was a positive development.
Some years ago, I saw a website that was meant to help you figure out
whether a dance worked or not. You could plug in the moves, and little
colored dots or squares would move, "dancing" the figures.
Does anyone know about this? There are some students at the University
of Chicago who want to do a physics project about contra dancing, and
this would be useful to them.
Thanks.
Jo Mortland
Chicago
Hi Callers,
Are any of the rest of you getting this SPAM message? I know it's SPAM
because I've received several of them with almost the same wording though
different stories. Are dance teachers considered an easy mark for Spammers?
Lisa
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Owen Goldman <owengoldman(a)ymail.com>
Date: Wed, Jan 6, 2010 at 2:13 PM
Subject: Inquiry
To:
Greetings,
I found your info while i was searching for a professional dance
teacher/studio.how ever, i want to believe you are a dance
teacher/instructor that LOVES teaching dance, reliable with a good teaching
experience. I would like to book for 2 weeks dance classes for 3 hours each
day Monday to Saturday (morning hours) for a group of 10. We are asking for
3 hours per day for 2 weeks - Monday - Saturday. A total of 3 hrs.
We want to entertain the guests as well as family members that would be
attending the 50th wedding anniversary of my parents. The dancers are all in
INTERMEDIATE level.
We need dance classes/Group lessons like Tango,swing,tap,Latin as well as
Salsa.ANY of the above can serve.
DATE: 1st MARCH TO 15th MARCH 2010
The group would be performing for a group of family members over there. I
would love you to get back to me with the Grand total cost or a
quote/estimate. What are your charges and payment options? Do you accept
credit cards?
I would be grateful if you will be willing to do the work to teach quality
classes and make us happy.
Best Regards,
Owen
It's the initial feeler for a scam. I don't recall all the details but it roughly works like this: If you bite, they send you a check for more than the amount owed, they convince you to refund some of the money before their initial check bounces. As crazy as it sounds, it's a profitable scam that comes in many variations and fairly rational people fall for them.
Bree Kalb
Carrboro, NC
Hello everyone,
Yes, we will have lunch gatherings both days at the Ralph Page Dance
Legacy Weekend in the dinning hall in our usual spot. Chris will be
there and is looking forward to seeing everyone!
For those of you who haven't been, RPDLW is a great place to go and
connect with the history of traditional dance and the people who made it
happen. There are always tons of callers, musicians and organizers there
so it's a great place to network, too. At lunch on Saturday and Sunday,
we push a bunch of tables together at the back of the dining area and
geek out about this passion that we all share. If you want to bring
something and share it around the table, there will be other people
participating in the impromptu potluck as well.
SharedWeight is now 5 years old and it's great to see how far it's come
and where it's going. This will be the fifth gathering at Ralph Page,
too. That first year, we only had about 10 people around the table. Last
year it seemed to be around 30 or 40. We started with only one list for
callers, now we have three with lists for musicians and organizers as
well. Thank you all for participating and making this forum a great
place to share ideas, ask questions and help each other. Keep spreading
the word!
Happy Dancing,
Chris Weiler and Seth Seeger
I'm looking forward to Ralph Page too. (Be sure to be there on Friday night, for a (possibly) first-ever-of-its-kind special offering!)
Very much looking fwd to usual SW lunch gatherings (both days?)
And, if you're from out of town, you can stick around NH a bit longer and actually experience the mythical Monday night Nelson dance. :-) (In case Lisa's tag line made you curious...)
Cheers,
Chrissy Fowler
Belfast, ME
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Lisa
> from Nelson, where we do triple minors all the time. And gee, ain't it fun
> to see all the teenagers dancing Money Musk.
>
_________________________________________________________________
Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft.
http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/171222986/direct/01/
For what it's worth, I usually call the A2 as gents allemande left until they can swing their neighbor (12 count swing). I think dancers have a hard time with doing balance and swing that starts on the 5-6-7-8 of the music and only lasts 12 counts, or 8 after the balance. It takes forever for it to "gel." I think the short wave is awkward and doesn't go with the geometry of the rest of the dance in my mind. On the other hand, going directly from the allemande left to a swing is something gents are quite accustomed to, and have adapted to despit its inherent awkwardness.
Lewis
Back Road to Ayer - Lisa Greenleaf
A2 has sashay down and back with Partner. Can someone clarify who sashays? Is it the actives or all or callers pick?
thx Laur
>Message: 1
>Date: Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:59:46 -0600
>From: Jerome Grisanti <jerome.grisanti(a)gmail.com>
>
>My favorite dance-calling memory of the year:
>
>At a school's father-daughter "barn dance" in Kansas City...
<snip>
>During the break, one of the girls, about six years old, came up to talk to
>me. With big eyes and a sincere expression, she looked up at me, showed me
>her gun and assured me, "I just wanted to let you know, it's only a TOY gun
>!"
<chuckle> What a great story Jerome! And a good idea for a discussion.
Thanks for sharing it. I'm looking forward to reading the outcome.
My favorite dance calling memory of the year .....Hmmm... For those of you
on FaceBook see my note called "Finding My Way Out of The Woods" for the
full <very long> story. The short version is:
I was hired to be the staff caller at "The Woods Music and Dance Camp" in
Northern Ontario in August. It was my first event that was longer than a
weekend and I'd never been to the camp. I had been warned that the focus
wasn't on dancing, that most of the dancers would be newbies, and that I'd
have a hard time pleasing the crowd. I was also very nervous about whether
I'd be able to deliver on the same level as the musical talent that had been
hired.
The third dance night was a milestone for me, and also the camp. I had
trouble teaching the first dance of the night. I'd walked it through twice.
But I couldn't seem to teach it without confusing the dancers. I was ready
to bail on it. In fact, I told them that and threw the card down into my box
of dances. They all shouted "NO!!!" That took me aback! They were determined
to get it. And, gawd love 'em, I walked it again, and they did it! I had 4
squares on the dance floor that night, which was just about half the camp.
People kept telling me over and over again how they'd never seen so many
people dancing at The Woods before. I think that's when it finally began to
sink in that I was, in fact, delivering at the same level as the other
staff. It was a personal triumph that I really needed.
I'll never forget that week for so many reasons. And I was just delighted
when they called me in October to ask me to come back in 2010!
Happy New Year everyone. May this new year bring you lots of calling
adventures!
Bev
My favorite dance-calling memory of the year:
At a school's father-daughter "barn dance" in Kansas City, many of the girls
came dressed in wonderful cowgirl outfits, complete with hats, boots,
holsters and pistols. At the beginning of the dance I asked the girls to
leave their pistols aside and come onto the dance floor. After some
hesitation, most complied. (One didn't, and her gun fell onto the floor
during the first dance.)
During the break, one of the girls, about six years old, came up to talk to
me. With big eyes and a sincere expression, she looked up at me, showed me
her gun and assured me, "I just wanted to let you know, it's only a TOY gun
!"
--Jerome
--
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
For the good are always the merry,
Save by an evil chance,
And the merry love the fiddle
And the merry love to dance. ~ William Butler Yeats
