Contra Callers

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12 participants
4406 discussions

by Michael Clark

Thanks for the link to your ONS spreadsheet, JoLaine. That's a nice resource. I was curious about the title "Coray's Silver Jubilee," since I know another dance with the same name, a four-face-four by Carol Ormand. See http://carolormand.com/dances.html#corays. Carol's notes give 2003 as the year of composition. Do you have any update on the attribution (date, author) of the whole-set longways dance in your spreadsheet? Does it possibly have a different title? Thanks, Mike At 01:21 PM 1/30/2013, you wrote: >........ > >I am the regular caller at a tiny community dance here that will always be >a ONS dance every month ;-). I have gathered a good collection of super >easy dances. Here is a link to them if you can use any of them, you're >welcome to them: >https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnrSNRQDems3dEQwNXJ6djRGd21vdE… > >-- >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, 9 months

community dance

by Tom Hinds

Sue, Good luck with your community dance series. You might enjoy Catch: Two dancers are chosen to make a two-handed arch. The other dancers promenade single file around the hall, going under the arch one by one. When the caller says the word catch, the arch is dropped. Anyone caught goes to the center and waits. If no one is caught then the arch goes back up and the dancers start moving again. When two people are in the center, they pair up and make a second arch. Basically this continues until all have a partner. The most frustrating part of this game/dance is when the arches are left down too long and everyone has to sit in rush hour traffic. Although I tell them to bring their arches up right away there are always some who ignore me on this point. Catch leaves the dancers in the perfect formation to do the Paddy Cake Polka if you want to do another dance right away. I think Catch is only fun with a large number of people like 20 or more. Warn them about eye glasses!!!!!!! Tom

12 years, 9 months

Re: [Callers] First Dance - Adult ONS

by Jacob & Nancy Bloom

Hi Sue, Here's something I might use to start off an event like you described: Start the music going, take someone by the hand, lead them through the crowd urging people to join onto the end of the line as it snakes through the room Lead the line into a circle, and do a few rounds of a Paul Jones to get people coupled up (Ladies forward and back, gents forward and back, ladies in and circle left while gents go to the right around the outside, ladies turn around and swing someone near your, all promenade) Have everyone promenade into a Grand March, lead the march up the center of the hall, stop the music and invite the people who have come in during the above to find a partner and join in at the bottom of the longways set which has just been created, before doing a dance in longways formation. I've had good experiences doing the above, but here are some things to consider: If the group were entirely teenagers then I wouldn't do a snake line, since that age group tends to turn it into Crack-The-Whip. If the group had more men than women at the start of the dance, then I might hesitate to use a Paul Jones to get people into couples, since the men might be hesitant to dance with each other. It doesn't matter if the number of gents going forward and back is very different from the number of ladies going forward and back, as long as everyone finds someone to swing and promenade with. However, if there were many more women than men, I might call for the gents going forward and back first, then the gents circling on the inside while the ladies go around the outside. In some groups, people might be more comfortable doing the first dance with the partner they brought with them. When that's the case, I might start by asking people to line up in couples for a Grand March. However, the advantages to getting people moving without going through the anxiety of choosing a partner, and of getting them used to changing partners at the beginning of the dance, are obvious. I hope that's of use to you. Jacob Bloom >Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2013 20:27:05 -0500 >From: Sue Robishaw <sue(a)manytracks.com> >To: Shared Weight Callers <callers(a)sharedweight.net> >Subject: [Callers] First Dance - Adult ONS >Message-ID: <510876E9.7050507(a)manytracks.com> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > >Hi, > I'm starting a new Community Dance series in our area with no > recent history of any trad dance. It will likely be nearly all > beginners and geared toward adults/teens. Thanks to this List I > have a good collection of ONS dances to choose from, but I'm having > trouble deciding on the First Dance. > I'm thinking a non-partner dance that folks can be encouraged > to join as they arrive (before they sit down) with very little or > no teaching. I've considered Circles/F&Bs with variety of who goes > in, probably with claps. Or CL, F&B 2x, CR, start a promenade wave > at a random spot, people coupling up one after another till all are > promenading (I'll be on the floor with them). I'm concerned with > the usual -- looking easy enough, looking interesting, not > embarrassing, getting them involved before they have a chance to > think much about it. I have no idea how many dancers I'll have. > Any suggestions or recommendations would be much appreciated. > Thanks, Sue >Sue Robishaw, U.P. of Michigan

12 years, 9 months

Adult ONS - first dance

by JoLaine Jones-Pokorney

I use Glowworm Mixer for the first dance at almost any new ONS event. It is super easy and people who are hesitant jump right in when they see how easy it is. One does need a partner, but as it is a mixer, it doesn't really matter who it is and people don't hesitate to just grab someone and jump in. It is only a 16 beat dance so you repeat the dance four time for every one time through the tune. Here it is: With your partner, promenade CCW in a big circle four steps. Face your partner and back up four steps. Face the person to the left of your partner and walk towards that person 4 steps. Allemande L or Right Elbow Turn with this person once around and end in promenade position face CCW and the dance begins again from here. I am the regular caller at a tiny community dance here that will always be a ONS dance every month ;-). I have gathered a good collection of super easy dances. Here is a link to them if you can use any of them, you're welcome to them: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnrSNRQDems3dEQwNXJ6djRGd21vdE… -- JoLaine Jones-Pokorney "We are as gods and might as well get good at it!" - Stewart Brand

12 years, 9 months

First Dance - Adult ONS

by Sue Robishaw

Hi, I'm starting a new Community Dance series in our area with no recent history of any trad dance. It will likely be nearly all beginners and geared toward adults/teens. Thanks to this List I have a good collection of ONS dances to choose from, but I'm having trouble deciding on the First Dance. I'm thinking a non-partner dance that folks can be encouraged to join as they arrive (before they sit down) with very little or no teaching. I've considered Circles/F&Bs with variety of who goes in, probably with claps. Or CL, F&B 2x, CR, start a promenade wave at a random spot, people coupling up one after another till all are promenading (I'll be on the floor with them). I'm concerned with the usual -- looking easy enough, looking interesting, not embarrassing, getting them involved before they have a chance to think much about it. I have no idea how many dancers I'll have. Any suggestions or recommendations would be much appreciated. Thanks, Sue Sue Robishaw, U.P. of Michigan

12 years, 9 months

Re: [Callers] Waltz contras - does anyone have any in their box?

by John Sweeney

Someone mentioned The Spanish Waltz - lovely dance. But I am often working with groups who can't waltz, so it all breaks down in B2. So I change the waltz in B2 to: Take Promenade Hold, Men put Left Shoulders together to make a line of four: Promenade 1 & 1/2 times forwards in a circle to meet a new couple I tell them to keep up their waltz steps during the promenade. Once they get the idea I call "Ooze into a line" - it flows nicely out of the star. Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent

12 years, 9 months

Tom's question "Is this a new Dance"

by Jane Ewing

Sorry folks for leaving that detail out in "Mad Masquerade" - Becket position, as stated, but you circle left 3 with the next couple The dance was written in a choreography workshop at Nashville's Mad Masquerade Dance on Nov 1, 2008. Class also noted that it works great with a flowing Middle Eastern type of tune. Jane Ewing Grant, AL

12 years, 9 months

Re: [Callers] looking for a 4x4

by Donna Hunt

I also called this recently (for an experienced dance) with similar confusion. I did not call the roll away version. I will also call this dance again, but tighten up my teaching. At the end of B1 tell dancers to "face their partner" (don't use the words "up and down" even though the dancers are facing up and down). FYI: At the end of B1 the women are facing their line of direction but the men are not facing their line of direction. At the end of B2 it's a little confusing for the men to face their line of direction after having just faced their partner looking up or down the opposite direction (in B1). Pointing out "line of direction" (once or twice!) at the beginning of the walk through would be most helpful to anchor dancers at the end of B2. The dancers I spoke with enjoyed the up/down, face across, and then up/down aspects of the dance in addition to the fact that it was a little disorienting and required them to focus. Donna Hunt -----Original Message----- From: lynn ackerson <callynn1(a)pacbell.net> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Sent: Sat, Jan 26, 2013 2:29 pm Subject: Re: [Callers] looking for a 4x4 Thanks for the tips, Colin. --- On Sat, 1/26/13, Colin Hume <colin(a)colinhume.com> wrote: > From: Colin Hume <colin(a)colinhume.com> > Subject: Re: [Callers] looking for a 4x4 > To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net> > Date: Saturday, January 26, 2013, 6:36 AM > On Tue, 15 Jan 2013 17:02:01 -0500 > (EST), kanara(a)triton.net > wrote: > > Lynn, You'll find it at <http://ravitz.us/miscdances/#wu>. Please > > post dancers' responses; it's one I've been waiting to > call to the > > right group. > > I tried "WarmUp" at the Alcester Contra last night. I > thought it went > well. I added the optional roll-away at the start, and > as Cary says > this is harder to teach - I mystified everyone and had to > demonstrate > it so I imagine it was my poor choice of words. > > I found many women overshot the half-star (some every time) > and also > people found the final "Face your partner and circle left > three-quarters" disorientating for some reason. > > I will certainly call it again. > > Colin Hume > > > _______________________________________________ > 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

12 years, 9 months

Is this a New Dance

by Jane Ewing

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2013 11:06:54 -0500 From: Tom Hinds <twhinds(a)earthlink.net> I just wrote a dance and wanted to know if it's unique. I'm pretty sure the A1 is borrowed from another dance. D-imp A1 Circle left. Mad Robin (face partner and do-si-do neighbor). A2 Hey, women pass left shoulders B1 Women pass left shoulders and swing partner B2 Ladies chain, forward and back. Tom Tom - Manhattan Chowder and Mad Masquerade both start similar - the latter being most similar. It is in Becket as follows: A1 Cir lf 3, Mad Robin A2 1/2 Hey, N gyp Rt 1x B1 L Gyp Lf 1 1/2x . Half Hey (pass P Rt to start) B2 P B&S Jane Ewing Grant, AL

12 years, 9 months

Re: [Callers] gender role names

by Donna Calhoun

Getting back to the original idea of new terminology for the gender role. It occurred to me that musical instruments might work. Keeping the one syllable for the male role we have bass, drum, horn, harp, bow; for the female role - fiddle, guitar, banjo, trumpet, whistle. I like the idea of the fiddle and bow, or fiddle and bass dancing together. I wonder what mischief the horn and the banjo could create :) Sent from my iPad On Jan 4, 2013, at 7:28 PM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote: > > > Message: 3 > Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2013 17:44:23 -0600 > From: Allen Ortep <ortep.allen(a)gmail.com> > To: callers(a)sharedweight.net > Subject: [Callers] Gender role names > Message-ID: > <CACsm0xNdDPqUADf_3jrKL2kvQoWuzEmufNATYdw6TgP6w+aKiQ(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > Considering the intense discussion this relatively straightforward topic > has provoked, the United States Congress' inability to reach consensus > should not surprise anyone > > The first letters of the Greek alphabet are alpha, beta, gamma, delta. > The first letters of the Hebrew alphabet are aleph, beit, gimel and dalet > > A pair of these should suffice. Possibilities abound > a) alphas and betas > b) betas (or bets) and gammas (the shortened version "bets," has a > single syllable, just like "men") > Those who need an explicitly analogy to the sex roles can > imagine boys and girls > c) beits and gimels > d) gims (monosyllabic shortening of gimel) and dalets > Those who need an explicitly analogy to the sex roles can > imagine guys and dolls > > > ------------------------------ > >

12 years, 9 months

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Contra Callers