Okay, so I just got in from a 4-hour drive from Wichita Falls, Texas, where I called a wedding rehearsal dance - wedding is at 6:46 a.m. this morning. Dance was in an open barn with ceiling fans, but a nice breeze blowing through the building - concrete floor - barbeque, beer & bourbon. Dance was supposed to be from 8:00-9:00 - we didn't start till 9:00 and danced till 10:00 since everybody has to get up so darn early in the morning. About 9:30, the mosquito attack began - looked like a German clapping dance on the floor...
The groom was bound and determined we have a "contra" dance (for only an hour). I (gently) protested, assuring him a "barn" dance would go over much better - 2 families, a bunch of strange friends might have trouble with swings - the embracing a stranger thing, you know. He assured me, "Yes, there will be at least 10 contra dancers there." There were only 4 - and there were about 30-40 dancing. So, I started with Moon & Stars Circle - didn't bother explaining how to swing because the groom assured me...
Swings ended up mostly being elbows. That told me something...
So, I did Newlywed Lane. That worked just fine. Lots of laughing, clapping. Fancy Free Flirting circle waltz worked, too.
Contra dance? Well, I've never had a failure with the one I chose, but no one was paying attention by that dance (maybe the mosquitos had something to do with it). I used my own "La Ba Contra" (a knock-off of La Bastringue - easy, huh? - changed the chains to F&B 2x to make it even easier. Somehow, we made it though the dance - even though I told them they could rest on the ends if no one to dance with - they didn't hear me say that, so when they got to the end, they raced to the other end with their partner to dance with the couple "resting on the other end"...
Ended with a free waltz and Cotton-eyed Joe - which none of them knew how to do the old version or the modern version.
Got a good paycheck, though...
Looking forward...
Linda S. Mrosko
7302 CR 2829
Mabank, Texas 75156
(903) 451-5535 (H)
(903) 288-4401 (cell)
lmrosko(a)hotmail.com
www.towerwebsites.com/dancinglindahttp://www.facebook.com/lmrosko
"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
> Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:11:45 -0700
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> From: gregmck(a)earthlink.net
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Wedding dances
>
>
> Linda wrote:
> >We take progressing and identifying actives and inactives for
> >granted. However, these concepts can be a bit difficult, especially
> >for a group that includes many novices. And you can bet that the
> >novices WILL be dancing together!
>
> My recollection of this event was that there would be a good number
> of experienced dancers. I find that experienced dancers are always
> ready and willing to dance with new dancers, if the caller can
> inspire confidence and demonstrate that they will make sure everyone
> is successful. People love to introduce someone to something they
> themselves are passionate about. Particularly if the newcomers are
> ready, confident, and relaxed. The trick is to start off with a
> high-energy introduction and show the experienced dancers that you
> will take care of them when they partner with newcomers. One key
> component is that you must assume the support of all of the
> experienced dancers in the room and speak on their behalf when you
> encourage newcomers to find someone who has danced at least one night
> of contras. Assume their support. Don't ask for it.
>
> Don't teach figures. Let the experienced dancers show them. Don't
> explain details (like progression or switching at the ends of the
> set). Let the experienced dancers do what they love doing. Allow
> them to take the lead in leading the newcomers. Empower the
> experienced dancers to introduce people to something they have great
> passion for. Both the experienced and the new dancers will love you for that.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Greg McKenzie
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
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_________________________________________________________________
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Dear Luke,
Your biggest challenge is figuring out exactly how many guests have
done contra dancing before, but this may not be the group that you
wish to focus on! For me, the much more important folks are all of
the family members and friends who have never been to a contra dance
before. If children are at the wedding, it is also great to make sure
the dances can be done by them, as well. Welcoming these folks into
the world of dancing, and making the dances fun and fool-proof is so
rewarding when accomplished! Those who have danced before will
understand what you are trying to do, and won't expect dances that
they might normally do at a monthly dance.
We take progressing and identifying actives and inactives for
granted. However, these concepts can be a bit difficult, especially
for a group that includes many novices. And you can bet that the
novices WILL be dancing together! Another challenge may be that
there are more women, or more men present. or same sex
couples....adding another layer of complexity to improper dances that
might be called. To deal with all of these challenges, I tend to call
longways dances (Galopede; Boston Tea Party, Le Brandy, variations of
the Virginia Reel); circle mixers (you have chosen La Bastringue;
there are others with shorter swings); Sicilian Circles (especially
those that can be called without regard for gender), and other
formations, which work very, very well. An example:
Do Si Three
Formation is a line of three dancers (facing down the hall), facing
another line of three dancers (facing up the hall) in a contra-type
set (imagine contra couples, each with an extra person)
A1 (Take hands in a circle of six) Circle left
Circle right
A2 Ends of the line Do si do your opposite (only the four people
who are on the ends of each line)
Middles of the line do si do your opposite (only the two
people in the middle of the lines)
B1 Ends of the line Two hand turn your opposite ( and return home)
Middles of the line Two hand turn your opposite (and return home)
B2 In lines of three (another words, with your partners) go forward
and back
"say goodbye to these neighbors" And pass through to the
next line of three
I put this dance together especially for this type of celebration. So
many potential problems are solved! Lines of three can be any number
of men, women, or combo. Children easily understand the dance (as
long as they are not too young). Even young children, if trioed up
with adults, can be included. The progression to a new group is very,
very easy. At the ends, I remind dancers that they wait out one time
through the dance, turn around as a line, and get back in the dance.
I never have to talk about actives/inactives, but I do mention that
after each dance move, the dancers go "home", and home changes at the
ends only. I don't teach a contra swing....I encourage a two hand
swing (the experienced dancers will naturally go into a swing with
each other, the others will have a great time with the two hand
swing). The dancers have lots of surprises.....who they swing, how
they might get back to the same neighbors (from the first time
through the dance), how successful they are, and how much fun
everyone has doing the dance!
I recognize that I might be promoting dances that are much too easy
for your particular group of wedding guests. I also realize that much
of what you plan to do highly depends on what the bride and groom
wish to have happen, since it is their day! However, I also want to
give you lots of "permission" to call a simpler program if the
situation warrants it. Those of us who have literally called
hundreds of weddings/birthday parties/benefit dances/etc. have shared
thoughts about programming at conferences, dance weekends, etc., and
we all agree that simple, easily taught, gender role free, accessible
dances will add immeasurably to the joy of the occasion.
Have a great time!
warmly, Linda Leslie
On Jul 30, 2009, at 12:00 PM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote:
> Send Callers mailing list submissions to
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. requesting wedding program feedback (Luke Donev)
> 2. Re: requesting wedding program feedback (Dave Colestock)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:56:58 -0400
> From: Luke Donev <luke.donev(a)gmail.com>
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Subject: [Callers] requesting wedding program feedback
> Message-ID:
> <243d1eda0907291556m46086a4qeea5c3033fb2b271(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Hello,
>
> Some friends have asked me to call some contra dances at their
> wedding.
> There will be lots of dancers in the crowd, but not everyone will be
> familiar with contra.
>
> I've put together a schedule for my portion of the evening, two
> contra sets
> bracketing the cake cutting and some international folk dance and
> Klesmer
> (I'm only responsible for the contra).
>
> I'm planning on ~ 5 minutes to find partners and teach dances, and
> running
> the dances for ~10 minutes. The exception being the circle mixer
> after the
> snowball waltz, where folks keep there last waltz parter and move
> into a
> circle and teach the circle mixer quickly (~2 minutes) to keep
> people on the
> dance floor.
>
> The program is available as a google document at *http://
> tinyurl.com/mqlwa6.
> *I'd appreciate any feedback folks want to share, and would request
> comments
> to me off-list to avoid clogging inboxes. (I'll add know that Star
> Trek was
> specifically requested by the bride.)
>
> Thanks!
>
> --
> Luke Donev
> http://www.lukedonev.com
> Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:08:12 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Dave Colestock <contradancerdave(a)yahoo.com>
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] requesting wedding program feedback
> Message-ID: <160877.17671.qm(a)web52607.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
>
> Hi Luke,
>
> Just one quick observation -
>
> You may want to allocate 10 minutes for teaching the dances (make
> them simple but fun) and 5 minutes for dancing. 10 minutes of
> dancing 1 dance may be a bit much for the non-contra dancers who
> will be participating, since they are not used to dancing, and more
> teaching time may also be required. Havent had a chance to look at
> the program, but wanted to make you aware of what I have already
> found in calling wedding dances myself. Unless it is all dancers,
> keep it simple and short. If you do the Fan Dance you can run that
> a long time. That one traditionally runs long.
>
> Dave Colestock
> www.davecolestock.com
> www.frolicinthefall.freeservers.com
>
>
> --- On Wed, 7/29/09, Luke Donev <luke.donev(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> From: Luke Donev <luke.donev(a)gmail.com>
>> Subject: [Callers] requesting wedding program feedback
>> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 6:56 PM
>> Hello,
>>
>> Some friends have asked me to call some contra dances at
>> their wedding.
>> There will be lots of dancers in the crowd, but not
>> everyone will be
>> familiar with contra.
>>
>> I've put together a schedule for my portion of the evening,
>> two contra sets
>> bracketing the cake cutting and some international folk
>> dance and Klesmer
>> (I'm only responsible for the contra).
>>
>> I'm planning on ~ 5 minutes to find partners and teach
>> dances, and running
>> the dances for ~10 minutes. The exception being the circle
>> mixer after the
>> snowball waltz, where folks keep there last waltz parter
>> and move into a
>> circle and teach the circle mixer quickly (~2 minutes) to
>> keep people on the
>> dance floor.
>>
>> The program is available as a google document at *http://
>> tinyurl.com/mqlwa6.
>> *I'd appreciate any feedback folks want to share, and would
>> request comments
>> to me off-list to avoid clogging inboxes. (I'll add know
>> that Star Trek was
>> specifically requested by the bride.)
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> --
>> Luke Donev
>> http://www.lukedonev.com
>> Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
> End of Callers Digest, Vol 59, Issue 10
> ***************************************
Hello,
Some friends have asked me to call some contra dances at their wedding.
There will be lots of dancers in the crowd, but not everyone will be
familiar with contra.
I've put together a schedule for my portion of the evening, two contra sets
bracketing the cake cutting and some international folk dance and Klesmer
(I'm only responsible for the contra).
I'm planning on ~ 5 minutes to find partners and teach dances, and running
the dances for ~10 minutes. The exception being the circle mixer after the
snowball waltz, where folks keep there last waltz parter and move into a
circle and teach the circle mixer quickly (~2 minutes) to keep people on the
dance floor.
The program is available as a google document at *http://tinyurl.com/mqlwa6.
*I'd appreciate any feedback folks want to share, and would request comments
to me off-list to avoid clogging inboxes. (I'll add know that Star Trek was
specifically requested by the bride.)
Thanks!
--
Luke Donev
http://www.lukedonev.com
Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com
HI Chris,
Nils Fredland called "Major Hey" for us at a Rochester dance and it was a
blast!
Needs some experienced dancers to keep it together:
Double Becket, 40 Bar
A1: Circle 3/4, Pass thru and Swing the one you meet
A2: Lines F&B
Gents Allemande Left 1+1/2 to waves of 8 (partner in right hand)
B1: Balance R, L, Slide R
Balance L, R, Slide L, face partner (looking along lines of 8 across
hall)
B2: Hey for 8 (Partner by right, ...)
C: Balance and Swing Partner
There's a shadow couple in the hey, and if the hall is crowded, have people
"tag" at the end of the hey, so the next person knows not to continue into
the
next set!
Bob Fabinski
Rochester, NY
>Hey,
>
>A band I'm working with would like to play their favorite 40 bar jig
>(AA=8+8 plus BB=12+12) at a dance sometime. I was wondering if anyone
>had dances for this format and what their experience was calling them.
>
>Thanks,
>Chris Weiler
>Goffstown, NH
**************
Looking for love this summer? Find it now on
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I spaced out when I wrote my earlier e-mail. I was thinking that the
balance would be after beat 16 in the B2 of 30 year jig. It would
actually be after beat 8. So, the dancers would be able to hear
where to balance after all. It's while they are swinging that the
melody is a bit crazy. It also occured to me that the beginning of
the hey would occur where the melody is crazy as well but this
shouldn't be such a big problem.
Tom
On Jul 12, 2009, at 12:00 PM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote:
> Send Callers mailing list submissions to
> callers(a)sharedweight.net
>
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>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: 40 bar dances (David Millstone) (Bobfab(a)aol.com)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2009 09:44:10 EDT
> From: Bobfab(a)aol.com
> Subject: Re: [Callers] 40 bar dances (David Millstone)
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Message-ID: <d30.4f659e88.378b42aa(a)aol.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>
> HI Chris,
> Nils Fredland called "Major Hey" for us at a Rochester dance and it
> was a
> blast!
> Needs some experienced dancers to keep it together:
>
> Double Becket, 40 Bar
> A1: Circle 3/4, Pass thru and Swing the one you meet
> A2: Lines F&B
> Gents Allemande Left 1+1/2 to waves of 8 (partner in right
> hand)
> B1: Balance R, L, Slide R
> Balance L, R, Slide L, face partner (looking along lines of
> 8 across
> hall)
> B2: Hey for 8 (Partner by right, ...)
> C: Balance and Swing Partner
>
> There's a shadow couple in the hey, and if the hall is crowded,
> have people
> "tag" at the end of the hey, so the next person knows not to
> continue into
> the
> next set!
>
> Bob Fabinski
> Rochester, NY
>
>> Hey,
>>
>> A band I'm working with would like to play their favorite 40 bar jig
>> (AA=8+8 plus BB=12+12) at a dance sometime. I was wondering if anyone
>> had dances for this format and what their experience was calling
>> them.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Chris Weiler
>> Goffstown, NH
>
>
> **************
> Looking for love this summer? Find it now on
> AOL Personals. (http://personals.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntuslove00000003)
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
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> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
> End of Callers Digest, Vol 59, Issue 8
> **************************************
Major Hey looks like a great dance! Thanks for sharing it. I'll
definetly try to use it the next time I call. I would however advise
Chris and others to think twice about using Major Hey with the tune,
30 year jig.
There are two reasons. Both the B1 and the B2 are 24 beats each.
So, the hey would be split between the B1 and the B2. Not the way to
match a dance to a tune but not the end of the world either.
The more important reason is the music itself. The first 8 beats of
both the B1 and B2 fit together well in an easily recognizable
phrase. The melody in the remaining 12 beats is tricky. The music
is not in easily recognizable phrases of 8 for sure. It's hard to
tell where the end of the second set of 8 beats end. I don't think
the dancers would find the right place to balance. It's not
impossible for them to balance in the right place especially if they
count. But for me it's not fun to have to count the beats so that I
can dance a particular dance. The music wouldn't support this
particular dance.
Tom Hinds
On Jul 12, 2009, at 12:00 PM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote:
> Send Callers mailing list submissions to
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> than "Re: Contents of Callers digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: 40 bar dances (David Millstone) (Bobfab(a)aol.com)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2009 09:44:10 EDT
> From: Bobfab(a)aol.com
> Subject: Re: [Callers] 40 bar dances (David Millstone)
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Message-ID: <d30.4f659e88.378b42aa(a)aol.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>
> HI Chris,
> Nils Fredland called "Major Hey" for us at a Rochester dance and it
> was a
> blast!
> Needs some experienced dancers to keep it together:
>
> Double Becket, 40 Bar
> A1: Circle 3/4, Pass thru and Swing the one you meet
> A2: Lines F&B
> Gents Allemande Left 1+1/2 to waves of 8 (partner in right
> hand)
> B1: Balance R, L, Slide R
> Balance L, R, Slide L, face partner (looking along lines of
> 8 across
> hall)
> B2: Hey for 8 (Partner by right, ...)
> C: Balance and Swing Partner
>
> There's a shadow couple in the hey, and if the hall is crowded,
> have people
> "tag" at the end of the hey, so the next person knows not to
> continue into
> the
> next set!
>
> Bob Fabinski
> Rochester, NY
>
>> Hey,
>>
>> A band I'm working with would like to play their favorite 40 bar jig
>> (AA=8+8 plus BB=12+12) at a dance sometime. I was wondering if anyone
>> had dances for this format and what their experience was calling
>> them.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Chris Weiler
>> Goffstown, NH
>
>
> **************
> Looking for love this summer? Find it now on
> AOL Personals. (http://personals.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntuslove00000003)
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
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>
>
> End of Callers Digest, Vol 59, Issue 8
> **************************************
--- "The Witful Turnip" wrote:
Is it 8 [beats]+ 12 = 20 / 2 = 10 bars?? Is that the conversion?? "30 year Jig"
would be 8 + 16 = 24 / 2 = 12 bars.... So, are straight contra dance tunes 32
bar tunes ? (8 + 8 = 16 / 2 = 8 * 4 = 32). If my conversion theory is correct,
that would make Cherokee Shuffle a
36 bar tune, and 30 Year Jig a 40 bar tune. Am I understanding this
correctly?
--- end of quote ---
Yes.
Typically in "our" kind of music-- the jigs and reels that are commonly played
for contras dances-- dancers would walk two steps for each bar of music. (A
"bar" is more formally referred to as a "measure," and at the end of each
measure of music, when you look at a printed staff, there's a vertical line,
known as a bar.)
David "cleansed from egg on face" Millstone
Message: 2
Date: Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:46:50 -0400
From: "Chris Weiler (home)" <chris.weiler(a)weirdtable.org>
Subject: Re: [Callers] 40 bar dances
>Found it on YouTube:
>
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L0IFo7LVok
Thanks for posting this Chris. It is a great tune. But I clearly have some
bars to beat/count confusion going. I count this tune as follows:
A1: 8, 8
A2: 8, 8
B1: 8, 16
B2: 8, 16
David Millstone made a comment <and no wiping of egg required> that the
Cherokee Shuffle tune in the B part is 10 bars long, not 12. But if I count
it as..
A1: 8, 8
A2: 8, 8
B1: 8, 12
B2: 8, 12
How do I get to the 10 bars??? Is it 8 + 12 = 20 / 2 = 10 bars?? Is that
the conversion?? "30 year Jig" would be 8 + 16 = 24 / 2 = 12 bars.... So,
are straight contra dance tunes 32 bar tunes ? (8 + 8 = 16 / 2 = 8 * 4 =
32). If my conversion theory is correct, that would make Cherokee Shuffle a
36 bar tune, and 30 Year Jig a 40 bar tune. Am I understanding this
correctly?
I'm so *not* a math or music theory head! But I suspect that bands would
prefer me to say I need an [N] bar tune rather than trying to describe what
I mean in beats/counts. And I really hadn't meant to start the beat vs.
count vs. bar discussion again. I just didn't get it the first time.
Thanks,
Bev
Re: 40 bar dances (comments by Chris and David...)
I shouldn't even type this but since I've currently got some time on my
hands... I began to wonder about this version of Cherokee Shuffle. I haven't
ever called it but I'm fairly sure I've danced David's original crooked
version.... (I call the straight version all the time).
When I listen to the YouTube link David provided
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s8Mmc69CP8) I count it like so:
A1: 8, 8
A2: 8, 8
B1: 8, 12
B2: 8, 12
Mind you, that's before they start riffing all over the place and I can't
quite hear the phrasing. But I'm not hearing both phrases in both B's having
12 beats/counts (let's not get started on that discussion again...!). I'm
only hearing the second phrase in each B as having 12. Is it my imagination?
And I see that as a little different than what Chris might be looking for,
unless I'm misunderstanding his notation of "(AA=8+8 plus BB=12+12)" because
that suggests to me that he needs all 4 of the B phrases to be 12. Is that
what you meant Chris?
When I look at David's notation for the dance....
Cherokee Shuffle
Improper
A1: (facing up and down set) w/Ns, F & B; w/N, dos-a-dos; form circle
A2: Bal. Circle; W/N, swing, end progressed
B1: Gs LH turn 1/2; W/P, bal. & swing (12 beats)
B2: Circle L 3/4; Circle Bal. 2x; W/P, California Twirl to swap places, face
new Ns
The B1 seems a little odd to me because the Gs LH turn 1/2 won't fill 8
beats/counts. I say that's a 4 beat/count figure at best. So 4 +12 = 16 when
it should be 20, shouldn't it?? And that's assuming he mean the notation of
(12 beats) to refer specifically to the balance and swing, which could be
wrong on my part. I don't remember what this should feel like when danced.
I guess there's a reason why I never call the crooked version...! I'd be
interested in any analysis. And like David, I'm curious about the tune the
band has in mind.
Thanks,
Bev
I really like Greg MacKenzie's question,
>>The real question is: What is your purpose? And what is the purpose of the
>> majority of those who attend? Are you trying to "preserve a tradition," to
>> "open folks to other dance traditions," or simply "to offer an open
>> community social dance with live music," or a combination of all those.
>> ...Or are we doing something else entirely? The answer will surely vary
>> for each dance series or event.
>>
>> This is a question seldom discussed yet it seems to be a central issue
>> regarding how we organize dances and what the role of the caller is. I
>> think that discussion would be very useful.
>>
>> What is the purpose of our event and what is the caller's job in realizing
>> that purpose?
I agree - this is indeed something I've never heard discussed. I've also never heard any particular stance on our purpose shared with dancers by boards, or with callers & bands by dance managers when booking. We have just sort of been each taking our own individual ideas of what we're up to for granted, I guess. Building community is another aspect we might throw into the pot. But who should be in on the deciding? Further musing: is it even a matter for deciding, or does the purpose of any ongoing activity sort of grow and shift organically to suit the times and those co-creating it?
Thanks for the provocative question, Greg!
Tina
