Hi All,
Just before COVID I wrote this dance (Composition 148):
A1: N1 All L 1 1/2 to side waves, balance, N2 All R 3/4;
A2: Balance, All walk forward and swing N1;
B1: Circle L 3/4, P swing;
B2: Balance the Ring, N1 Roll away across, Balance the Ring, Petronella
twirl to next.
Using this dance as a base, I created this dance yesterday afternoon:
(Composition 159)
A1: N1 All R 1 1/2 to side waves, balance, N2 All L 3/4;
A2: Balance, All walk forward and swing N1;
B1: Circle L 3/4, P swing;
B2: Right Hand Chain, Star Left.
If got me thinking that given the 'mandatory swing requirements' these
days, more and more choreographic sequences are just coming up with new
ways to interestingly connect the swings, and most of the connective filler
is just that. This is not an original concept; Cary Ravitz mentioned it
years ago. But, it got me thinking that rather than dances, I am more
creating modules these days. So, I am retitling my A parts (which appear
original, as far as checking callers' Box and Contradb)
Module A:
A1: N1 All L 1 1/2 to side waves, balance, N2 All R 3/4;
A2: Balance, All walk forward and swing N1;
Module A (Isomorph):
A1: N1 All R 1 1/2 to side waves, balance, N2 All L 3/4;
A2: Balance, All walk forward and swing N1;
Using the Circle L 3/4, P Swing B1 Module, here are some B2 modules that
quickly came to mind:
For Module A:
-
B2: Left Hand Chain, Star Right
-
B2: Balance the Ring, Neighbors Roll Away across the set, Balance the
Ring, Petronella twirl to next
-
B2: Larks Allemande left, Partners pull by right, Robins Pull by Left,
Neighbors Allemande Right ¾
For Module A Isomorph:
- B2: Left Hand Chain, Partners Balance Right hand across and square
through 2
- B2: Circle Left, slide left to next as a couple, circle left ¾
(rendezvous
finish)
- B2: Circle Right 1 ¼, Zigzag right then left to next
Of course, there are plenty more that can be worked out, and even more
changing B1 to a partner swing on the other side. I look forward to seeing
some of your own variants.
Regards,
Greg
Hi friends!
You may remember I asked a while ago about what sort of dance I could call to a specific quebecois tune that one of our bands always played and I hate to call to.
In the end that conversation shifted into one regarding how to communicate with bands generally, and what sort of expectations I could have of a band that doesn't get into the business of choosing tunes to match dances themselves.
It was all very helpful and I am pleased to report that my relationship with the band I was previously having some friction with has improved!
And- at our upcoming dance they're doing a wonderful thing - they've invited any interested and aspiring musicians to come and play along unmic'd behind them - and they've set up a google drive folder with the tunes, containing both recordings and sheet music,.
This is great for me because finally I can preview all the tunes and be ready with the desired order they will be played in!
But listening to the Aime-Gagnon-Telephone tune set, I realized this is the other set this band plays that really bums me out.
I just can't get a dance of mine to feel good to it.
Could you folks have a listen and let me know your thoughts?
I can't really put my finger on it other than ... it kinda feels plodding to dance to at this speed, and yet it feels like the musicians are playing really fast already?
and....it has a bit of a stressful and on edge feel- rather than a "sit back and enjoy" feel of other tunes?
I will close by saying this band also plays LOTS of great tunes, which I love, and they are fabulous musicians :)
here is the tune in the google drive....
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qsoLthlIYvBNRqD2Kvd0JyYzSjwj4KS4/view?usp=…
or if you prefer, on spotify!
https://open.spotify.com/track/7fAJSwoKsQQC1cqlAmouLJ?si=nijl2dibR6Ktupc-w0…
thank you for thoughts and/or dance suggestions :)
Kat in Halifax
*"if we had more time we'd throw in a square"*
The contra dance medley at NEFFA
<https://www.neffa.org/folk-festival/new-england-folk-festival-2023/> is
normally six dances, each six times through (well, the last one is five or
seven). I was thinking about what you'd need to do if you actually wanted
to include a square...
The main problem is that you need to switch the dancers from groups of four
to groups of eight, and there isn't really a great way to do this. In
computer science speak the issue is that it takes time linear in the number
of dancers. But maybe you could have the top couple sashay down from the
top, and everyone takes hands eight as they pass, which is fast enough even
in a long hall that it's ok (~16 beats, and you adjust the time by figuring
out how much intro to do on the square)? And then tell anyone left out at
the bottom to square up?
(Going back into contra lines from aligned squares should be easier: side
couples circle left three quarters and twirl to swap, lines at the sides,
etc)
Would this work?
Jeff
I attended an advanced dance this afternoon that was intermediate at best,
and had a few raw beginners in there, and it got me wondering:
1. As callers, what do you do when a bunch of intermediate and/or beginner
dancers show up to an advanced session?
2. As organizers, what do you do to try and keep your advanced sessions...
advanced? (Either in messaging or at the dance itself?) Obviously I'm not
advocating for kicking anyone out, but if a bunch of newbies show up at an
advanced session, both they and the dancers who came for gnarly stuff are
going to have a less-than-ideal time.
3. As dancers (/organizers/callers), how do we elevate the dance level of
our local communities? I'm talking about increasing familiarity with some
of the less common moves (contracorners, left hand chains, etc.) but also
about building awareness of the dance and recovery skills, and technical
things like giving satisfying weight, swinging correctly, guiding linemates
into the next figure, etc.
I welcome any thoughts and musings!
Cheers,
Maia (Brooklyn, NY)
--
Maia McCormick (she/her)
917.279.8194
So... it occurred to me that it'd be really easy to do a mixed-role contra
corners from Becket position.
A few weeks ago, I danced Jim Kitch's Equinox, which had a fun setup and
you finish Contra Corners by passing R , but ... do people know any simpler
ways? Like, for example, dance below. I can't possibly have been the first
to figure this out, eh?
(If not written yet: Buttered Corners)
Becket
A1. Circle L 3/4
NS
A2. Robins Chain
LLFB*
B1. Bottom couples Contra Corners**
Same Couples Pass R, to P
B2. P B + S
... slide L to New Ns
* opportunity in the lines for partners to rollaway to swap roles
** and can alternate top couples, bottom couples, doing bottom couples -
who were original 1s - first. This way, the top of the set has corners for
people, always.
Like, literally this gives 16 measures to progress and have a neighbor
swing if you want. If we opened up to the idea of contra corners with a
neighbor from Becket, it opens up immense numbers of dances that can be
written.
In dance,
Julian Blechner
Hello all,
I appreciate the time it takes to thoughtfully respond to challenging
questions, and provide a variety of viewpoints. Thus, thanks for all the
thoughts on this question.
Something came to mind while reading the following paragraph late in Alan's
reply to the question:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Winston, Alan P."
"Purely for callers dealing with the situation once it's happened already:
I don't know if advanced contras are meant to be
difficult/spatially-challenging etc contras. You could in general try to
accommodate.a mixed level floor by trading complexity for novelty. Unusual
figures equalize things for everybody (if nobody's used to a left-hand
chain the beginners are at no disadvantage)."
My belief, which, I think, might differ from Alan's, is that "advanced"
dancers -- let's define that as those fluent (i.e. able to successfully and
happily enjoy a hash call) in a substantive set of glossary figures -- will
have, by osmosis, unavoidably developed a degree of "dance thinking",
musicality and spacial awareness. That includes an awareness of "the space
between" figures; i.e. the transitions.
So, I think that an advanced dancer does, in fact, have a leg up when faced
with a novelty figure, or anything new in the dance; they can and will use
their experience to help figure it out. (Unless, I guess, the novelty
figure is so far removed from anything previously encountered; "if Einstein
were a contradance choreographer and brought along a "quantum figure", for
example. Egads!)
Also, novelty, in my experience, can be hit-and-miss. From unexpected bliss
to eye-rolling hokiness.
To my mind, "dance thinking" somewhat analogous to "design thinking"; that
is, a way of thinking that guides the experienced practitioner in whatever
context the designer practices the craft.
From Alan's paragraph, therefore, I might change the suggestion of "trading
complexity for novelty" to "trading complexity of figures for satisfying,
perhaps novel, combinations".
Don't know if that's a useful observation.
I'm, otherwise, totally on-board with Alan's appreciation of a dance
session in which high levels of skill and trust are so concentrated (i.e.
ratio of adepts to novices) that magic can happen.
Three examples from my experience.
1. An advanced dance weekend I attended, repeatedly, years ago which had a
"word of mouth, invite your skilled dance friends", form of recruitment.
The caller(s) knew the crowd could navigate through any hash thrown at them
in an hour-long marathon medley. (Yes, it's exclusionary. So is El Capitan
for climbers. Or uni courses with prerequisites.)
2. The Flurry Festival in upstate New York. The synchronicity of 1000-ish
dancers, invariably including some novices, successfully flowing through
moderately challenging contras is a marvel and a delight.
3. Similarly wonderful, though not quite as large -- due to space
limitations -- is the contra pavilion (Warren's Roadhouse!) at Seattle's
Folklife festival which, like the Flurry, would see a modicum of novice
dancers successfully assimilated into the Borg.
In dance,
Ken Panton
Hey contra calling friends :)
I have an admission ... ... ... I have NO triple minors in my card box.
I've been doing certain kinds of gigs (contras + ONS + contra/square
nights) and it's so easy not to call triple minors.
HOWEVER, I'm lately trying to 'up my game' to expand my repertoire.
Might you have a favourite triple minor you could share?
I'm looking for dances that are SUPER fun and relatively accessible.
Thoughts?
Thanks for the consideration!
Emily
