Contra Callers

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20 participants
4374 discussions

by Laur

Hey all, going over many notes - I am looking for a Peter Stix dance, I can't find a notation or reference for it and the books I have with his dances do not include it. Perhaps I have it notated incorrectly?... "Expert Bits" ? Thanks - Laurie P West MI

12 years, 3 months

Call out for dance notation

by Laur

I have the order in for the reference - 'No Rest For The Wicked'. If someone has the book, can you send me a note- I lost my notes on two dances in the reference, and want to prep. I'm concerned that the book will take a while to get here and I work out of town so I'll miss delivery. Thanks! Laurie P West MI

12 years, 3 months

Callers Workshop with Carol Ormand

by Jack Mitchell

Triangle Country Dancers (Durham/Chapel Hill, NC) is hosting a callers workshop with Carol Ormand April 13-14 (she is also calling for our Friday dance on the 12th), and we still have a few slots available. I'm including the description for the workshop below. If you are interested in attending, please let me know or register at http://www.tcdancers.org/workshop/ We do need to finalize the participant list ASAP because Carol plans to contact all participants a few weeks before the workshop to discuss goals for the workshop. Jack Callers' Workshop with Carol Ormand - April 13-14 Madison, Wisconsin caller Carol Ormand is beloved throughout the dance community for her smooth and unflappable style, wickedly fun dances, and penchant for keeping all the dancers on the floor smiling. Carol's enthusiasm, paired with her clear and efficient teaching, creates a delightful dancing experience for beginners and veteran dancers alike. Carol will be in the Chapel Hill, NC area the weekend of April 12-14. She is calling for the Triangle Country Dancers regular Friday night dance on April 12th and on Saturday we will have an all day workshop designed to improve a specific calling related skill. Calling well can be a great source of pleasure. In the workshop, each participant will get to focus on improving one calling-related skill. By the end of the day on Saturday, you will know how to make progress on the skill of your choice and on all of the other topics covered that day. Anything related to calling is fair game: creating an inviting atmosphere, programming an evening, communicating with the band, efficient yet effective walk-throughs, effective use of a microphone... whatever you most want to work on next. On Sunday, we'll gather to reflect on what we've (collectively) learned and to plan our (individual) next steps in that work. Participants are also invited to join Carol for an informal dinner (probably at Weaver Street Market) on Friday evening before the dance. Cost for the workshop is on a sliding scale from $40-90. The Saturday workshop and evening dance will be held in a private home near Chapel Hill, NC. Meals on Saturday are included in the cost of the workshop. The location of the Sunday wrap-up is still to be announced. If you have any questions, please email Jack Mitchell at: jamitch[number three][at sign]mindspring.com <http://mindspring.com/>. This event is supported in part by the Outreach Fund of the Country Dance and Song Society (www.cdss.org <http://www.cdss.org/>).

12 years, 3 months

Identify some dances

by Yoyo Zhou

Dear callers, Like many of you, I've collected a few dances whose titles and authors I don't know. Since I always find it interesting to read when other people post their unidentified dances, I thought I'd reciprocate. I've included the name of the caller who called them, if that helps. Does anyone recognize these? (Transcription errors are always possible; corrections are welcome.) ? 1 (from Warren Blier) becket A1 gents allemande L 1+1/2 neighbor swing A2 right and left thru ladies chain B1 circle left 3/4, pass thru up/down next ladies allemande L 1 while gents orbit 1/2 B2 partner balance, swing ? 2 (from Lisa Greenleaf) improper A1 square thru 2 up/down ((new) neighbor R, partner L) this neighbor swing A2 long lines ladies allemande R 1+1/2 B1 partner balance, swing B2 ladies chain square thru 2 across (partner R, this neighbor L) ? 3 (from Lisa Greenleaf; the author is from Denmark) becket A1 circle left 3/4, pass thru next neighbor swing A2 long lines pass thru to wave (no balance), swing thru B1 full hey, pass partner R B2 partner gypsy, swing (In the swing thru, it can flow better if gents just pass left instead of allemanding left 1/2.) ? 4 (from George Marshall) improper A1 ladies walk forward to long wave, balance ladies allemande R 1/2, balance wave A2 gents walk forward to long wave as ladies back up, balance gents allemande L 1/2, balance wave B1 gents walk forward, partner gypsy, swing B2 circle left 3/4; neighbor swing ? 5 (from Bob Isaacs, who I think is also the author) becket A1 circle left 3/4, pass thru to new neighbor single file promenade the set up/down (gents outside, ladies inside) A2 turn over right shoulder and promenade back (ladies outside, gents inside) neighbor swing B1 long lines ladies allemande R 1+1/2 B2 partner balance, swing (The tricky part is remembering who your new neighbor was.) ? 6 (from Mary Wesley) becket A1 slide left to new neighbors, ladies allemande R 1+1/2 neighbor swing A2 long lines gents allemande L 1+1/2, fall back into a ring B1 balance ring, petronella turn balance ring, petronella turn B2 partner balance, swing (Ladies should make sure to catch gents spinning out of the allemande to form a ring.) Thanks, Yoyo Zhou

12 years, 3 months

Contra Card v0.4

by Sam Whited

TL;DR — Contra Card LaTeX package updated with your suggestions ---------- Hi all: Many of you probably saw my email a while back about `Contra Card' a package/class for the LaTeX document typesetting system for typesetting dances and generating calling cards. Lots of people over several caller and contra lists sent me some great feedback, and I've incorporated most of it in the most recent versions of the project (0.4). Some of the changes that were incorporated: v0.3 — Core functionality split into package (to be used in books, articles, and other non-caller card related media) — More formatting options v0.4 — Add support for swung dances — Add the ability to generate an index of dances (for books) — More customization of the dance and phrase separation (whitespace, separator characters, etc.) — More (and better looking) example dances in the documentation A complete change log and several example dances can be found in the documentation. Release version: http://ctan.org/pkg/contracard Development version: https://github.com/SamWhited/contra-card Let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions. As always, if you don't already know what LaTeX is, be warned: it's a steep learning curve. More info at http://latex-project.org/intro.html for those who are so inclined. —Sam -- Sam Whited pub 4096R/EC2C9934 https://samwhited.com/contact

12 years, 3 months

Dance title?

by Michael Barraclough

Does anyone have a title/author for this dance? I am sure that it must exist. If not, it is called JuneApple by me! A1 Neighbor balance and swing A2 Long lines forward and back, ladies chain B1 Partner balance and swing B2 Circle left 3/4, balance and pass through along Michael Barraclough www.michaelbarraclough.com

12 years, 3 months

[New Dance] Sweet Scent of Sage, was Re: dances with ultimate partner time

by Don Veino

I've been toying with a very partner-centric dance I've named for my wife Sage. Below is the original (successfully tried) and two new variations I hope to try out soon. The AFAIK unique A1 Mad Robin to A2 slide left transition I originally had as a slide on the left diagonal to diagonal waves, but it proved nearly impossible to teach without a demo. The revised dance achieves effectively the same result with more familiar calls to make for a more conventional walk-thru. The variations try to further improve call familiarity by omitting the "hook". Thanks to Lynn Ackerson for pointing out there being a shadow in the wave. -Don Sweet Scent Of Sage v1 – DI – Don Veino A1 (4,4) N Bal. & Star Thru *(or Box the Gnat)* (8) Mad Robin *(G start in Middle) – **ID shadow on Lt. Diagonal**.* A2 (2,2) *w/N* Slide Lt. to short Wavy Line *Slide Lt.,G Allem. Rt. in ctr, take Shadow in LH, facing P in next wave* (4,2) Wave Bal. *Fwd/Back*, Shdw Lt. Pull By *to P* (6) P Lt. Hook & SF Prom.* *Across the Set* B1 (4,12) P Bal. & Swing B2 (8) LLFB (8) LH Across Star, L Drop 1/2 Way *& L Loop/Turn to Face Progression* **Lt. Hook & SF Promenade: Similarly to the “hook” in A Rare Bird, L Gypsy P Lt. ~1/4 to face in & crosses the set. G eff. Gypsies ~3/4 & follows P L straight across set (pass N by Lt. shoulder). Like a SF Prom. CCW 1/2 with the L lead and G looping Lt. at the start to follow them. Written Aug 2012 for Sage Veino.* Sweet Scent Of Sage v2 – DI – Don Veino A1 (4,4) N Bal. & Star Thru *(or Box the Gnat)* (8) Mad Robin *(G start in Middle) – **ID shadow on Lt. Diagonal**.* A2 (2,2) *w/N* Slide Lt. to short Wavy Line *Slide Lt.,G Allem. Rt. in ctr, take Shadow in LH, facing P in next wave* (4,2) Wave Bal. *Fwd/Back*, Shdw LH Pull By *to P* (2,2,-) P Pass Rt. *Along the Set* & N Pass Lt. *Across Set to P* B1 (8,8) P Gypsy & Swing B2 (8) LLFB (8) LH Across Star, L Drop 1/2 Way *& L Loop/Turn to Face Progression* *Written Aug 2012 for Sage Veino, this variation March 2013. Could let dancers know there is “extra” time at the bottom of the A2, no need to rush. Can start Gypsy early.* Sweet Scent Of Sage v3 – DI – Don Veino A1 (4,4) N Bal. & Star Thru *(or Box the Gnat)* (8) Mad Robin *(G start in Middle) – **ID shadow on Lt. Diagonal**.* A2 (2,2) *w/N* Slide Lt. to short Wavy Line *Slide Lt.,G Allem. Rt. in ctr, take Shadow in LH, facing P in next wave* (4) Wave Bal. *Fwd/Back* (2,2,2,-) Shdw LH Pull By *Along Set*, P RH Pull By *Along Set* & N LH Pull By *Across Set to P* B1 (4,12) P Bal. & Swing B2 (8) LLFB (8) LH Across Star, L Drop 1/2 Way *& L Loop/Turn to Face Progression* *Written Aug 2012 for Sage Veino, this variation March 2013. Could let dancers know there is “extra” time at the bottom of the A2, no need to rush. *

12 years, 3 months

Re: [Callers] Callers Digest, Vol 103, Issue 1 dances with ultimate partner time

by Martha Wild

I like a dance my friend JoAnn Koppany wrote called "Ride the Wave to Love" because it has 2 partner swings Ride the Wave to Love by JoAnn Koppany Duple Improper A1 Balance neighbor, box the gnat into a Wave balance (along the lines), Allemande left the next (in your hand) 3/4 into a A2 Wave balance (across the set, women in middle)/Women allemnade right to partner Swing partner B1 Half hey Swing partner again B2 Balance partner across set and half square through Balance partner across set and half square through > > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. dances with ultimate partner time (JoLaine Jones-Pokorney) > 2. Re: dances with ultimate partner time (Ron Blechner) > 3. Re: dances with ultimate partner time (Michael Fuerst) > 4. Re: dances with ultimate partner time (Michael Fuerst) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >

12 years, 3 months

Moving Arches longways

by Sue Robishaw

Hi, Recently I ran across the barndance in the Disney cartoon "The Martins & the Coys" segment of the "Make Mine Music" series (about 4:50 into the cartoon -- [1]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtyUycHvYls). I liked the "moving arches" figure so I tried it out on my Int'l dancers and they really enjoyed it. They much preferred it over Dip & Dive (so did I). In consideration of my more moderate humans, we didn't do the dance exactly as shown in the cartoon (see below). But I'm wondering: (1) Is the dance in the cartoon a particular dance? (2) Is there another name for the moving arches figure? (3) Do you have other dances that use that figure? There are a lot of options as danced in the cartoon, of course, but since I had four couples and wanted to keep it to regular AB length, this is what turned out to work well. It was fun and fairly simple dance but it did require keeping the set tight and moving as there was no "recovery" time. I think it would be fun with three couples and another swift round. Disney "The Martins & The Coys" Barndance #1 - four couple longways A: Moving Arches -- Cpls 2,3,4 make arches & move up as Cpl#1 faces down and goes thru arches to bottom. At botttom, turn & join arches going up. At top turn & go thru arches to bottom. Keep moving. Two rounds back to original place. B1-8: Cpl 1 -- Thru Arches to Bottom 8: Hands 4 -- Circle Left (top 2 cpls and bottom 2 cpls) B2-8: Partner -- Right Arm turn 8: Neighbor -- Left Arm turn March cheers! Sue Robishaw, U.P. of Michigan References 1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtyUycHvYls

12 years, 3 months

Dances With Minimal Partner Time (Was: dances with ultimate partner time)

by Greg McKenzie

Hey Folks, I do enjoy dances with good partner interaction...but I have a lot of those. What I am interested in now is contra dances with minimal partner interaction. No. Not dances without a partner swing. (That would likely engender too many complaints.) I'm looking for dances with eight or fewer beats of partner swing, total, for the dance.. Yes. A four-count partner swing would work. But often the better choice is one with ones-only swinging or twos-only swinging, (so the partner swing count for the entire dance is lower overall). I am particularly interested in easy-to moderate contra dances with good neighbor interaction (including neighbor swings). Thanks, Greg Santa Cruz, CA ******************* On Sat, Mar 2, 2013 at 1:11 PM, JoLaine Jones-Pokorney <jolaine(a)gmail.com>wrote: > Hi all - I'm looking for dances that have LOTS of partner interaction. > What are your favorites? > > -- > JoLaine Jones-Pokorney > > "We are as gods and might as well get good at it!" > - Stewart Brand > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >

12 years, 3 months

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Contra Callers