Contra Callers

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25 participants
4384 discussions

Good dances for beginners to safely leave/return to minor set.

by K Panton via Callers

3-33-33 is not a good choice for introducing beginners to extra-4some expeditions. I've also found that a diagonal chain followed by a straight-across figure causes confusion. The Young Adult Rose,and others, have a pass-through to shadow allemande which is doable. Does anyone have some reliable key to unlock this mystery for new dancers, thereby opening up a whole new world! Thanks Ken

8 years, 9 months

Mark Widmer's email address is changing

by via Callers

Please change your address book to use Mark Widmer's new email address: widmermt98(a)gmail.com The old email address (mark(a)harbormist.com) will be going away soon.

8 years, 9 months

Ralph Page Style

by John Sweeney via Callers

Hi all, I was at a workshop recently where someone asked me if I liked "the Ralph Page style" of contra dance. They claimed that they had been told that he wanted dances to be slower and calmer. Is there a "Ralph Page style"? If so what is it? If he wanted the music slower, what speed did he want? Did he want it slower than the 130+bpm that square dancers used to use? Or slower than the 120bmp that is common now in contra? Thanks. Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent

8 years, 9 months

Re: [Callers] Wrist-Lock Stars

by Louise Siddons via Callers

Here in Oklahoma I call it a wagon-wheel grip, but I think I picked up that term in either Michigan or California when I was starting to dance contra circa 2008. Wagon-wheel stars are the default in OK/TX/KS/MO local dances, and also seem standard in the SF Bay Area. When I teach a star in a room with a lot of new dancers, I say “our convention here is to make a wagon-wheel in the middle — your hand should be on the wrist of the person in front of you.” Our intro workshops usually speak to the question of grip (nothing the other person can’t get out of wordlessly without injury, please), so we don’t generally get people who are gripping tightly. Incidentally, I enjoy the wagon wheel as a moment when experienced dancers can help new dancers have an “ah ha!” moment without disrupting my teaching. It’s a neat opportunity to introduce the concept of dancers being able to learn details of technique from each other, which I hope then continues throughout the evening. Louise (Stillwater, OK)

8 years, 10 months

Mark Widmer's email address is changing

by via Callers

Please change your address book to use Mark Widmer's new email address: widmermt98(a)gmail.com The old email address (mark(a)harbormist.com) will be going away soon.

8 years, 10 months

What dance is this?

by Maia McCormick via Callers

Any insights? A1: neighbor B&S A2: long lines gents alle. L 1 1/2 B1: PB&S B2: circle L 3/4 Bal. the ring, CA twirl to face new neighbors Cheers, Maia

8 years, 10 months

Re: [Callers] What dance is this?

by Dugan Murphy via Callers

Hi, Maia, I have that choreography as "Easy Peasy" by Diane Silver, as published in her choreography book "Barely Legal." Dugan Murphy Portland, Maine dugan(a)duganmurphy.com www.PortlandIntownContraDance.com www.NufSed.consulting > Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2016 14:08:35 -0400 > From: Maia McCormick via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> > To: "callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net" <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> > Subject: [Callers] What dance is this? > Message-ID: > <CAHUcZGMpVd1W7abpLSOVTv1eyLE_678AQ6NEzbDrm=NQApu6Rg@mail. > gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Any insights? > > A1: neighbor B&S > A2: long lines > gents alle. L 1 1/2 > B1: PB&S > B2: circle L 3/4 > Bal. the ring, CA twirl to face new neighbors > > Cheers, > Maia > > ************************************** >

8 years, 10 months

Fewer than 6 dancers - Ideas?

by QuiAnn2 via Callers

I recently called at a contra dance where we had exactly 6 dancers for almost the entire evening (one joined us later but only occasionally danced). This was unexpected as they usually have attendance in the 12-20 range. I was able to piece together a night of mixers, triplets, and oddball dances to make it work and the dancers were game for anything so it ended up being a fun night. But it got me thinking about what to do if only 4 dancers came to a dance (meaning even if I jumped in, we would only have 5 total dancers). In order to be better prepared for next time, I have a couple of questions. 1) Do you have any dances you can share that would work for 4 or 5 dancers? Or also dances for 6 dancers that are not triplets (have plenty of triplets). I have already collected Do-Si-3 and Haste to the Divorce, both of which I modified so that they would not progress. 2) Could a whole evening (3 hours) of dance be put together for just 4-5 dancers? 3) What preparation can be done by me in advance to help with this situation? It’s possible to talk with the organizer in advance about canceling the dance if only 4 or 5 dancers show up, however, this particular dance is a 75 minute drive one-way and I’d prefer to avoid the round trip if there won’t be enough dancers. For various reasons, any dance promoting that I do myself would be largely ineffective for this particular dance. Would love to hear about any ideas you can share. Thanks! Jacqui Grennan

8 years, 10 months

Need caller this Sunday, 45min. outdoor family dance part of Harvest Fest

by Amy Cann via Callers

at The Putney School in Vermont. Galopede, Lucky Seven, Alabama Gal, maybe one more, boom done. Band/sound system provided. I'd do it myself but I can't be in three places at once. Respectable budget. Email me directly or call 802-222-7598. Thanks, Amy

8 years, 10 months

Fewer than 6 dancers - Ideas?

by Edmund Croft via Callers

Scottish dances can also be a good source when you're short on numbers. And if you have internet, you can look them up when you arrive at the venue, as the abbreviated instructions for many of them can be found at http://my.strathspey.org/dd/index/ (you can filter for set size using the menu: Extra > Complex Dance Search). At least for the quick ones (jigs and reels, not Strathspeys), the step doesn't really matter. There are many dances for 2 couples in a longwise set (which could be as short as 2C or 3C if that's what you've got). And they are almost all proper, so you don't need to worry about swapping sides each time through. And they don't (ever?) feature interactions outside your group of four for that time through the dance. There are quite a few triplets (3C in a 3C set), but they'll be different from the standard repertoire of contra triplets. Most of the dances are for 3C in a longwise set of 4C (1s lead from 1st place, repeat from 2nd place, run away to the bottom as the new 1s start), so in a 3C set you will need to make the 1s run to the bottom every time. This often happens in Scottish dance groups (one of my local groups is often seven couples, so one set will have to make this adjustment), so it should be pretty feasible. If you're trying to fill a whole evening, you could teach them a figure or two that you don't get in contra, to widen your choice of Scottish dances. For instance the Allemande (not the hand-turn contra figure!) - two or three couples, depending on the dance, promenade round half way and the ladies spin round back to their own sides, basically - is quite a common progression. Edmund Croft, Cambridge and Worcestershire, UK Michael Barraclough wrote: > There are many, many 2-couple English Country Dances. Yoyo Zhou wrote: > Proper dances make the 2-couple progression easy. Jacqui Grennan wrote: > I recently called at a contra dance where we had exactly 6 dancers for almost the entire evening… > 1) Do you have any dances you can share that would work for 4 or 5 dancers? Or also dances for 6 dancers that are not triplets (have plenty of triplets).

8 years, 10 months

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