For people like Jeff and Dave, who value the musical part of the dance experience so very highly, a steady diet of contras seems like the best one. Squares have other satisfactions, and other people may value those. For example, the experience of fast-paced southern squares, with some degree of unpredictability in the breaks, danced to a hard-driving southern band, is a different but also pleasurable kind of high.
But I realize that's a bit off my original topic, which was, what squares do you tend to pull out of your box when you have decided to call one or two at a contra dance? Saying you would never call any squares at a contra dance is of course a valid response.
Richard
Richard Hopkins
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850-544-7614 cell
Sent from my iPad
Jim said:
= = = = = = = =
By the way, contra choreographer Al Olson coined the term "line heys for
threes" to describe actions such as [starting with 1's already below 2's]
Gypsy R with Neighbor
Gypsy L with next neighbor
I've also seen actions similarly analogous to heys for four--e.g., from
duple improper starting formation, pass N by R sh to meet future N and gypsy
L, then pass orig N by R sh again to meet N from previous round and gypsy L.
= = = = = = = =
I love these moves and have heard them called Gypsy Heys. That's
another one for your list, Sam.
And while we are on heys, do you have these on your list:
Tapsalteerie Hey (Ladies half hey, men ricochet, ladies ricochet, ladies
half hey) (Tapsalteerie is Scottish for topsy-turvy, apparently)
Cupid's Hey (see Jim Hemphill's dance of the same name)
Celtic Hey (see Kathy Anderson's "The Tropical Gentleman")
Wizard's Walk
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
Hi all;
I'm looking for a complete (or, as complete as this sort of thing can
be) list of Contra Dance moves. Once I exchausted all of the ones I
could think of off the top of my head, I started using Wikipedia's
list [1].
Can anyone think of any less-common moves that are missing from that
list? I know there are lots of square dance moves that are adapted to
contra dances fairly regularly that might be missing from the article
on Contra; I'm basically looking for any move that's ever been used in
a contra dance (even if only once). Contra squares (in which any
square dance move is more or less valid) probably don't count. The
move should work in `normal' contra dance formations and/or mescolanzas.
Thanks,
Sam
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_dance_choreography
--
Sam Whited
pub 4096R/EC2C9934
https://samwhited.com/contact
Hi Jeff,
You said, " At contra dances I've only heard seesaw to mean a left
shoulder Dosido". Since Sam was going for "fluid motion", and Seesaw can
mean Left Shoulder Gypsy, and that would make a smoother flow into a Shadow
Swing, then I was actually guessing he meant Left Shoulder Gypsy. I always
say what I mean when I call a Seesaw. Just in case... :-)
You said, " In contra all balances are with joined hands". Well,
that depends on exactly how you define a contra dance. If you include
ancient and traditional ones, then I am pretty sure that you will find
plenty of examples of balances without hands. :-)
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
"other names for chase and cut thru"?
In 1939 it was documented as "The lady round two And the gent fall through,
The gent around two, And the lady fall through" in a square dance called
"The Lady Round Two".
It is also know as "Back Door Key", "Old Side Door", "The Outside Door" and
"Little Back Door" - variants include who leads, whether the leader leads
the follower by the hand, and how many times you go around.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
On Mon, Sep 9, 2013 at 6:00 PM, Aahz Maruch <aahz(a)pobox.com> wrote:
> Tangenting: Not sure what the contra community considers "correct", but
> for MWSD the correct pair of calls would be "walk around corner, see saw
> partner", which would translate to gypsy instead of dosido. That would
> obviate the need for the footnote. ;-)
Actually, this is worthy of it's own discussion. I wrote this dance ages
ago and called it once (with mixed feedback; mostly with concerns that it
was too complicated), but never really could figure out what the see saw
should be called (it's not really a see saw or a mad robin; somewhere in
between). It's almost a Mad Robin in which you don't want to be looking at
your opposite. For those who don't want to parse my markup from the last
message, here's the dance written out in a more traditional style:
Code's Compiling by Sam Whited (Duple becket)
>
> A1. Neighbor dosido (8); Partner see saw (8)
> A2. Shadow swing (16)
>
> B1. Balance and petronella (8); Balance and petronella (8)
> B2. Partner swing (8); Left diagonal: Right and left through (8)
>
> Notes: The Neighbor dosido into a partner see saw should be one fluid
> motion. Resist spinning in the dosido and start revolving slowly over your
> right shoulder as you enter the see saw and everything will flow. Make sure
> lines have lots of space for the dosido [since it's across the lines which
> I normally don't like].
>
The important thing is to make sure dancers know that they don't have to
stop and change direction for the dosido into a see saw (which makes the
dance horribly jerky). In general, it probably needs revision. Also,
probably a stupid question, but what's MWSD?
—Sam
--
Sam Whited
pub 4096R/EC2C9934
https://samwhited.com/contact
Woody Lane wrote:
> Unexpected moves are not necessarily enjoyed by contra dancers. You
> can get around this by announcing in advance that this will be a "hash
> square" so the dancers are prepared for the challenge.
I replied:
> I don't think most contra dancers know what a "hash square" is.
Eric Black wrote:
> Could be. But I've called "hash contras" to a suitable crowd
> (i.e. one ready for no-walk-through medleys, where each dance in
> the medley might be only 1 time, never repeated). As long as you
> eventually get your partner back, and eventually progress, it
> can be fun.
I agree that many contra dancers can do and enjoy "hash" squares and
contras. I'm just advising against using the word "hash" to indicate
what kind of dance you're going to do because they probably won't know
the term.
Jeff
Richard,
Two of the key elements are the concepts and the moves. If you call
squares that use moves they know then you only have to focus on teaching the
concepts. And the fewer concepts you have to introduce the better. I like
using these with contra dancers for that reason:
Kimmswick Express (by Gene Hubert)
Square HSHS
A1: Heads Forward & Back; Heads Right & Left Through
A2: Heads Circle Left 3/4, Pass Through across the set
With the one you meet: Dosido 1 & 1.4 to Ocean Waves
B1: Balance the Wave (R/L), Swing Through (Allemande Right Half, those
who can (Men) Allemande Left Half)
Partner Swing
B2: Promenade Home
Chippenham Square (by Colin Hume)
Square HSHS
A1: Heads Right & Left Through; Sides Swing your Opposite and face the
nearest Head Couple
A2: Balance the Ring; Petronella Turn
Balance the Ring; Petronella Turn
B1: Balance the Ring; Pass Through up & down the set
Partner Swing
B2: Corner Allemande Left
Partner Promenade Home (half-way)
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
Thanks for the advice and suggestions so far. Many of the suggestions that you all make are fairly generically about good practices when calling squares in a traditional setting, and I almost entirely agree. I appreciate the specificity and thoughtfulness especially of Mac's and Woody's comments about style and approach.
Just for context: I have been calling contra- and square-dances for over twenty years, at community dances in Tallahassee, Gainesville, Jacksonville, and occasionally elsewhere. This last year I organized and called four special Sunday-afternoon dances locally that were all-squares (which I used as license to do some other non-contra set dances as well….). I usually call one or two squares at each community contra-dance that I call. I have been working on getting better at several different styles of squares, including western and southern squares as well as New England squares, and recently have added a few singing squares to my repertory.
So, if I may modify my question a bit: Do you have specific squares or figures that have worked well for you in this context? I realize there are hundreds, if not thousands, to pick from. Which ones do you reach for most often when you want to call a square in an evening of mostly contras?
Richard
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Personally, I like to dance and call squares as much as contra dances, but in many locales there is a strong preference for contras. If you were going to program a square or two in an evening otherwise devoted to contra dances, which ones would you pick? Or what would be the characteristics of squares that you think would make the contra devotees say "That wasn't so bad after all"? (This is assuming you have asked and the organizers haven't told you they expect all contras).
I am programming this Friday's Tallahassee dance right now, so this is not just an academic question.
Richard Hopkins
hopkinsrs(a)comcast.net
850-894-9212
850-544-7614 cell
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Richard Hopkins
850-894-9212 (home)
850-544-7614 (cell)
hopkinsrs(a)comcast.net
Last month I posted a message asking for help on balancing social time and dancing time at a local dance. Also, in how to regain their attention during a walk through. Thank you to all of you for your responses. I noted all of them and channeled you all during tonight's dance. I was surprised how noticeable the "slight lull" in voices is when you're paying attention. I made sure to jump in at that time. The crowd was very good tonight and listened well. I also used the "raise your hands if you have hands 4 in the back". Another thing I did that wasn't mentioned is I made sure that the sound was crisp and clear in the back of the hall so the people at the bottom of the set would be able to hear me. I was very intentional about this during the sound check. And the last thing that was so helpful was that I had a very good sound engineer who made sure my voice was clear and not muddy.
Thanks again,
Jacqui
