Contra Callers

contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net

21 participants
4391 discussions

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, 11 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, 11 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, 11 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, 11 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, 11 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, 11 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, 11 months

Two dances...are they already written?

by Kelseyannehartman＠gmail.com via Callers

Hi! Thank you to all who keep this email stream lively. I wrote these and got to check them out on Saturday (thanks San Francisco dancers) and wondered if they have already been written? The Wandering Soul was written for Stuart Kinney's tune of the same name: Delish by Kelsey Hartman Duple Improper A1: LLFB swing neighbor A2: R & l thru/courtesy turn then Promenade across B1: Balance ring and swing partner B2: Women Allemande R 1-1/2 Swing neighbor again Wandering Soul by Kelsey Hartman (Inspired by Stuart Kinney's tune of the same name) Duple Improper double progression In long wavy lines gents facing out: A1: Box circulate and partner swing A2: shift left and circle with next neighbors 3/4, swing neighbor B1: Full hey: ladies pass right to start B2: ladies Allemande R 1x back to neighbor Neighbor Allemande left 1-1/2 to long wavy lines (next neighbor in right) Sent from my iPhone

8 years, 11 months

new (?) dance - with a shadow swing

by Luke Donforth via Callers

Hello all, I know the list has had big debates about shadow swings in the past. If you don't like 'em, you can pitch this. This dance was written for someone who wanted a shadow swing, and is something I might call at a shadow-themed festival session. As shadow swings go, I like the idea of swingus interuptus going from shadow to partner. To my knowledge, it's a new composition. Haven't gotten to test it yet. But I present it for comment and/or collection. Becket, cw A1 Circle L 3/4 Neighbor Swing A2 Promenade across with neighbor Left Diagonal Ladies chain (to shadow) B1 women start 1/2 hey straight across by Right shoulder Women Do Si Do 1x B2 Shadow swing Partner swing (no slide required, circle with couple straight across)

8 years, 11 months

Fwd: Boys and Girls

by Donna Hunt via Callers

Not sure if this reply from Betsy Gotta went through on the list. I'm reprinting it here for her. Read below Donna -----Original Message----- From: Betsy Gotta <ugottadance(a)optonline.net> To: 'Donna Hunt' <dhuntdancer(a)aol.com>; jeremy.m.child <jeremy.m.child(a)gmail.com> Cc: Callers <Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> Sent: Thu, Sep 29, 2016 6:28 pm Subject: RE: [Callers] Boys and Girls Hi All, Donna shared the information string with me, since I am one of the callers for Independence Squares, the club in Phila that she mentioned. In addition to calling and teaching for Independence Squares in Phila, I also call and teach for the gay/lesbian square dance club in New York City. Both groups accept gender specific terms and use the method of identifying dancers by raising a hand and saying “Boy/Girl” when the choreography makes it important for the dancers to know with whom they need to work. Personally, when calling, I have a sense of who often dances which part and that helps me keep track of where the dancers of different roles are positioned. Another help is for me to call “Boys or Girls u-turn back (turn around) which allows me to see where they are. I have the freedom to do this because I am calling MWSD with flexible choreography. As a long time caller, I have always preferred the terms Gent and Lady, because to me they are roles that people adopt more than men/women and boy/girl. Lead/Follow is not useful in MWSD because the term “Lead” means the dancer in front, and not person dancing the “man’s” role. Betsy Gotta From: Donna Hunt [mailto:dhuntdancer@aol.com] Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2016 11:42 AM To: jeremy.m.child(a)gmail.com Cc: Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net Subject: Re: [Callers] Boys and Girls When there's a role specific move called ie, "Boys trade from a wave" the dancers in that role say "Boy" (or "Girl" if it's "girl" specific). The dancers only say it loud enough for their set to hear, the dancers don't yell it loud enough for the callers to hear. The callers usually make a note of who the couples are prior to starting the tip so they have a record of who is in which position. If they are teaching and need clarification they will ask the "boys" or "girls" to identify with a raised hand. Our dancers don't try to identify who they are supposed to be dancing with, they dance to the definition of the call and dance with whomever is coming at them. Sometimes during class this becomes very interesting especially if someone boldly moves in the wrong direction and does a move with the wrong person. Occasionally dancers become confused and can be heard muttering, "Oh, yeah I'm supposed to be a (insert role here)." Our group has dancers and classes from Mainstream up to C2. Check it out: http://www.independencesquares.org/ Donna Hunt -----Original Message----- From: Jeremy Child <jeremy.m.child(a)gmail.com> To: Donna Hunt <dhuntdancer(a)aol.com> Cc: callers <Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> Sent: Wed, Sep 28, 2016 2:35 am Subject: Re: [Callers] Boys and Girls Thanks Donna. How do the dancers know who's dancing boy and who girl? Sometimes they need to, or do the callers avoid any calls requiring this knowledge (e.g. boys trade from a wave)? Jeremy On 28 September 2016 at 01:58, Donna Hunt <dhuntdancer(a)aol.com> wrote: Here in Philadelphia the MSW group (Independence Squares) is an LGBT and straight group and we dance to the calls of girl/boy and are free to dance whichever role we wish without any identifying "sashes". Our callers are fantastic at remembering who the couples/boys/girls are during any square. Donna Hunt -----Original Message----- From: Jeremy Child via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> To: Callers <Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> Sent: Tue, Sep 27, 2016 2:47 pm Subject: [Callers] Boys and Girls Hi This is for the MWSD callers amongst you. There has been much discussion on this group about the terms used for the two roles in contra dance. I do not propose to resurrect that here, I mention it to emphasise that many feel the terms used to be important, and that we should be moving away from any gender connotation in them. MWSD uses Ladies, Gents, Men, Women, Girls, Boys - all highly gendered. Is it time we changed these? If so, how? In theory with Callerlab it will be easier, but I suspect they would strongly resist such a change, since the "maleness" and "femaleness" of the roles (e.g. skirt work) is such a fundamental part of what MWSD is. Thoughts? (Apologies to those to whom this is all gibberish) Jeremy Child www.barndancecaller.net www.genderfreedance.net _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

8 years, 11 months

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Contra Callers