Hi all,
It was a real treat to utilize the lesson plan Stan Fowler and Laura Brown
developed for Glen Echo's Friday night dance. As a caller who's often more
comfortable with experienced crowds than one night stands, it was magic to
watch the simple concept behind this come to life and open a new way of
looking at teaching. In response to interest some caller friends showed on
a facebook post about the lesson plan, it is with permission of Laura and
Stan and thanks to Kevin Mabon that i share what they developed. It has
been published before, but i thought in response to friends' requests for
the document that sharing it in this forum would make it available and
archived for a new generation and wider audience of callers.
Stan (aka "Dance Ranger") writes: "As I recall we wrote this paper to solve
a particular issues we were having at the time. If I recall at the time,
the caller was sometimes to teach the work shop, and their methods were all
over the board. Our dance was often the largest dance the caller had
worked. We wished to provide the caller a guideline for our dances. They
did not have to use the paper, but we wished the newcomers to come out of
the workshop with confidence to join the dance and have a good time and
want to return."
Whether or not you use it in a big crowd, the basic idea - keep them moving
to music *the whole time -* is, as Stan added, the key element. Applying
the "Create Chaos" technique was mad fun. Steps 2 and 3 may require for
some an ad lib about the flexibility of gender and role in your philosophy
dance community. But the document speaks for itself.
With gratitude for all our community shares,
tavi
Please send requests to Michael directly, and not to the list. It
creates too much traffic for the rest of us.
I have e-mailed him and let him know that it's ok to send it to the group.
Please trim your posts to be kind to fellow list members and especially
those on digest.
Thank you for your participation and thoughtfulness. You make this
community work!
Chris Weiler
SharedWeight Admin.
I have sent the list of easy dances I have collected to he 23 people who requested such.
If you have not received it by Monday, email me.
Make sure to check your trash ans spam folders, in case it ended up there.
Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217-239-5844
I'd like the list of easy dances also. I somehow missed the earlier post.
On 8/26/2013 12:00 PM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote:
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> 1. Easy dance List (Michael Fuerst)
> 2. Re: Easy dance List (Rickey Holt)
> 3. Re: Easy dance List (Greg McKenzie)
> 4. Re: Easy dance List (Andrea Nettleton)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 25 Aug 2013 16:58:05 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Michael Fuerst <mjerryfuerst(a)yahoo.com>
> To: "callers(a)sharedweight.net" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: [Callers] Easy dance List
> Message-ID:
> <1377475085.77988.YahooMailNeo(a)web122201.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>
> I have sent the list of easy dances I have collected to he 23 people who requested such.
> If you have not received it by Monday, email me.
> Make sure to check your trash ans spam folders, in case it ended up there.
> ?
> Michael Fuerst ? ? ?802 N Broadway ? ? ?Urbana IL 61801?????? 217-239-5844
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sun, 25 Aug 2013 20:27:06 -0400
> From: "Rickey Holt" <holt.e(a)comcast.net>
> To: "'Michael Fuerst'" <mjerryfuerst(a)yahoo.com>, "'Caller's discussion
> list'" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Easy dance List
> Message-ID: <001b01cea1f2$ff075030$fd15f090$(a)comcast.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Can I still request a copy as well? That would be very helpful as I call to
> many who would enjoy them.
> Rickey Holt
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net
> [mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Michael Fuerst
> Sent: Sunday, August 25, 2013 7:58 PM
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Subject: [Callers] Easy dance List
>
> I have sent the list of easy dances I have collected to he 23 people who
> requested such.
> If you have not received it by Monday, email me.
> Make sure to check your trash ans spam folders, in case it ended up there.
> ?
> Michael Fuerst ? ? ?802 N Broadway ? ? ?Urbana IL 61801?????? 217-239-5844
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 08:13:23 -0700
> From: Greg McKenzie <grekenzie(a)gmail.com>
> To: Michael Fuerst <mjerryfuerst(a)yahoo.com>, "Caller's discussion
> list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Easy dance List
> Message-ID:
> <CAFqkWLssXMMbuSZLoj_cNghHsj5_icmdTWMqWAfQeSZ3WuJdPA(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
> On Sun, Aug 25, 2013 at 4:58 PM, Michael Fuerst <mjerryfuerst(a)yahoo.com>wrote:
>
>> I have sent the list of easy dances I have collected to he 23 people who
>> requested such.
>> If you have not received it by Monday, email me.
>> Make sure to check your trash ans spam folders, in case it ended up there.
>>
>> Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217-239-5844
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 11:32:09 -0400
> From: Andrea Nettleton <twirly-girl(a)bellsouth.net>
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Easy dance List
> Message-ID: <DB8BE1B4-7F59-40A4-B28D-03BF5B034331(a)bellsouth.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> I missed the posts regarding this list of dances, therefore did not request it. I'd like the list if possible. Wondering why you chose to send it by request only instead of putting it on the list, where presumably only the interested parties old bother downloading it.
> Andrea
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Aug 26, 2013, at 11:13 AM, Greg McKenzie <grekenzie(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On Sun, Aug 25, 2013 at 4:58 PM, Michael Fuerst <mjerryfuerst(a)yahoo.com>wrote:
>>
>>> I have sent the list of easy dances I have collected to he 23 people who
>>> requested such.
>>> If you have not received it by Monday, email me.
>>> Make sure to check your trash ans spam folders, in case it ended up there.
>>>
>>> Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217-239-5844
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> 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
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
>
> End of Callers Digest, Vol 108, Issue 19
> ****************************************
Thanks everyone, particularly Chris and Jim! Very helpful.
So far almost everything in my original email has been positively
identified. Most of them were scribbled down on scraps of paper years ago,
and in some cases I introduced additional errors when I transferred them to
my notation system of the time. With the titles on hand and your help I've
been able to fix everything and now have a bunch more good and usable
dances.
All that remains are the last two (which I am about 80% certain I wrote)
and the dance with circles of three, which I nicknamed Hawaii Three-O a
long time ago. People are suggesting Christmas Hornpipe as the source, but
Don Armstrong's Raccoon Ramble (not Old Raccoon as previously stated) is a
much closer match than the Ralph Page or traditional versions. I don't
have a copy of the Ted Sannella/Tony Saletan variant to compare.
I have about four or five more dances which have popped up without titles
and/or authors; I'll get them typed up later tonight, and that should bring
me into compliance with all International Standards of Contra Dance
Choreographer Recognition.
Cheers, and many thanks to all!
Neal
Tucson, AZ
--
The third-rate mind is only happy when thinking with the majority. The
second-rate mind is only happy when thinking with the minority. The
first rate mind is only happy when thinking.
Hi everyone,I'm hoping that some of you will be able and willing to help me identify a few dances; I'm new on this list although I've been calling for a while.
My wife and I moved to Tucson for her job, and I've been getting more gigs here than I did in Colorado. I left all of my dance books up there, but went back and brought down all my old notes and have been typing them up and putting them in order. Unfortunately, I've got a bunch of contras that I have incomplete/incorrect information on and I'd like to know the proper titles, sequences, and authors. There are even a few which I may have written years ago myself, but it isn't indicated on the bits of scrap paper.
Any help that anyone can provide would be fantastic!
This first bunch all came from the 2000 Pinewoods American Dance Week and Caller's Course, and were all written by other people:
Unknown
(from my notes: Called by Larry Edelman at Pinewoods 2000)
A1: Dosado below to an ocean wave (8) and balance (4). Turn 1/2 right and 1/2 left (4)
A2: Balance (4), 1/2 hey (8), Balance again (4)
B1: 1/2 hey again (8), Partner Swing (8)
B2: Right and left thru and ladies chain (16)
***Timing seems strange in A2
Unknown Duple Improper
(called by Larry Edelman, Pinewoods 2000)
A1: Balance and swing below
A2: Circle once around; Ladies chain across
B1: Ladies dosado; Partner swing
B2: Circle 3/4, Pass thru and dosado
Unknown ???
(Pinewoods, 2000)
A1:Partner balance and box the gnat, right and left thru** (Not with neighbor)(????)
A2: Courtesy turn to long waves and balance, allemande right
B1: Opposite Swing, circle 3/4
B2: Ladies chain; long lines forward and back
(***This is how the dance is written in my notes. However, as far as I can tell, it doesn't work in Beckett or Duple improper. Looking at it, I think it must be right and left thru with new neighbor and allemande right outside of the minor set with prior neighbor, but then the dance doesn't progress without at least one more change. Making B2 a partner swing and ladies chain does work.)
Unknown Beckett
(Pinewoods, 2000)
A1: Circle 3/4 and allemande right once and a half below
A2: 1/2 hey by left (gents lead), opposite swing (end facing across)
B1: Long lines up and back, men dosado once and a half
B2: Find partner and swing; look to the left and circle 3/4
Unknown Duple Improper
(Pinewoods 2000, called by Beverly Smith)
A1: Balance and swing the person behind you
A2: Lines forward and back, actives swing and face down.
B1: Star left with original neighbor and circle left
B2: Weave the line (veer left, right, right, left) and dosado the next (perhaps as a couple?)
Unknown Becket
(Pinewoods 2000)
A1: Circle 3/4 and neighbor swing
A2: CIrcle 3/4 and pass thru, trail buddy Allemande left
B1: with partner, allemande right 3/4; ladies pass left for full hey
B2: (should be finishing hey); Partner Balance and swing (???)
****Seems to have no progression.
Unknown Beckett
(Pinewoods 2000, called by Beverly Smith)
A1: Ladies turn right 1/2, turn opposite left 1 1/2, men turn right 1/2
A2: Partner balance and swing
B1: Slant left and right and left thru with a roll away; men dosado
B2: Ladies pull by right, left shoulder seesaw partner to place. Long lines go forward and back
The next two I picked up in Hawai'i years ago at a dance I happened to stop at:
Unknown Duple Improper
A1: 1's balance and circle with #2 lady
A2: 1's balance and circle with #2 man
B1: Down the hall four in line, U-turn and come back
B2: Bend the line and forward and back, #2s swing in the center
***This is similar to Old Raccoon with the 3-preson circles, but the B part is entirely different.
Unknown Duple Improper
A1: Circle 3/4 and pass thru; partner dosado on the side
A2: Partner gypsy to a swing
B1: Ladies lead hey for 4
B2: Partner allemande left and ladies chain across
The next two I think I may have written a long time ago because they're a bit unusual musically and seem like something I would have come up with when I first started calling; if someone recognizes them I'd appreciate the correction!
Unknown Beckett
(Possibly by Neal Schlein?)
A1: Star Left full, ladies turn back and partner swing
A2: Ladies allemande right 1 1/2 and opposite swing
B1: Men lead left hey
B2: Men allemande left 1 and 1/2, partner promenade 1/2 across and up/down to the next
Unknown Beckett
(Possibly by Neal Schlein?)
A1: on Right diagonal, right and left thru; straight across circle 3/4
A2: Allemande right neighbor full (x1 or x2) to short waves; balance right and left and spin right
B1: Balance left and right and spin left to neighbor swing
B2: Men allemande left 1 and 1/2 to partner swing
Again, many thanks in advance!
Neal Schlein
Calling has sometimes been compared with conducting an orchestra. The
metaphor certainly does have resonance. This link is to a 23 minute TED
talk by conductor Itay Talgam about the leadership of some of the greatest
conductors. It's the best talk I've seen on leadership.
I recommend streaming this from the YouTube link below (rather than the TED
website) to get the best synch for watching the conductor clips he shows.
For the same reason I recommend watching it during off-peak hours on your
broadband network.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9g3Q-qvtss
Comments?
Greg McKenzie
West Coast, USA
In the discussion about lessons for beginners, a few people correctly said
that it is often the case that a bus load of beginners will arrive, not a
half hour before the dance begins, but instead an hour after the dance has
started.
It has been my impression that most of the best callers can handle this
situation well. They bring the new dancers into the dance, and everyone
still has fun doing it. Although the skills of the caller are important,
the dance community must also help.
How do you, as a caller, handle this, and what does the dance community
(the experienced dancers) need to do to make it work?
