Contra Callers

contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net

9 participants
4406 discussions

by David.Millstone＠valley.net

There's another great Square Dance Weekend coming up. If you can't make it yourself. please spread the word! The John C Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC presents: Traditional Square Dance Weekend - October 26-28, 2012 Featuring internationally known callers Kathy Anderson, Bob Dalsemer, and Tony Parkes With amazing music by Sam Bartlett, Claudio Buchwald, Steve Hickman, John Devine Weekend highlights: Friday night square dance Saturday workshops: Modern New England Squares - Tony Kentucky Running Set - Bob Sets In Order: Squares of the 1960's - Kathy The Singing Squares of Otto Wood - Bob Lancers and Quadrilles - Tony New Squares with an Old Feeling. - Kathy Plus: Great Callers of the Past - presentation by Tony Stuntology with Sam Bartlett Saturday evening dance (including some contras) - Sunday morning Farewell Dance The Folk School offers good food, comfortable accommodations, and a beautiful mountain setting. For more information : 1-800-FOLK-SCH (1-800-365-5724) http://www.folkschool.org dance(a)folkschool.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bob Dalsemer Music and Dance Coordinator John C. Campbell Folk School One Folk School Road Brasstown, NC 28902 Phone: 1-800-FOLK-SCH (365-5724) or 828-837-2775 Fax: 828-837-8637 Visit our home page at http://www.folkschool.org

13 years, 1 month

Bouncy Swinging

by John Sweeney

John W Gintell said "Also emphasize that swinging is horizontal not vertical. I've often noticed beginners bouncing up and down which makes it harder and more tiring - this isn't Irish Set dancing." Hmmm... Sorry, but I have never seen any bouncy Irish Set dancing. Have a look at the swing 0:39 seconds in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj13osgy2M0 - looks pretty smooth to me! Yes, there is slight vertical movement when they are stepping, but, since they bend their knees and do it skilfully the movement is tiny. A much better example for bouncy swinging is English ceilidh dancing. Especially when the music is a slow hornpipe and you are supposed to bounce up and down :-) And of course I agree entirely that a good contra buzz-step swing should be smooth - I always tell people to relax and bend their knees slightly to help reduce the bounce. Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent

13 years, 1 month

Calling for Absolute Beginners?

by Maia McCormick

Hey folks, My name is Maia, and I'm new to this listserv, though I've been lurking around for a few weeks. I call college dances at my school in Western Mass, and every now and then I do an area dance. I've got two questions for your collective wisdom. The first: I'm curious how you all put together programs when calling for a group of complete beginners. What's generally the progression of moves that you teach? Do you think dances with the most basic of moves (say, a dance that's all circles, stars, and long lines, not even a partner swing) are helpful in getting people oriented to dancing, or are trivial and boring and will make people think contra is dumb? (People "thinking contra is dumb" is actually a bit more of a concern for me calling college dances, where most of the folks to turn out aren't necessarily of the 'contra mindset' and so it's important to hold their interest and make them think that what they're doing is exciting and worth their time--they're not necessarily going to stick with it for the evening, or even for more than one dance, if they're not immediately into it.) The second, which ties into the first: how do you teach good contra etiquette--*especially* how to swing properly--when you don't have experienced people in the crowd to show the way? At my dances at school, most of the swings are tensionless and/or an awkward sideways gallop; very few of us go to outside dances, so the overall experience level seems to be capped. Have you found an effective way to *teach* proper swinging, besides throwing a beginner into a crowd of experienced dances so that they eventually absorb it by osmosis? How can I get swings at my college dance up to snuff? Cheers, Maia

13 years, 1 month

Re: [Callers] Computerized organization systems for dance notes

by David.Millstone＠valley.net

I've used my iPad for English gigs, and I'm about to get Ralph Canapa's Dancing Master program after seeing Gene Murrow with it at Pinewoods. Gene said something to the effect that it's the greatest invention since "set and turn single." I'm not planning to go that route for contras and squares, simply because I have so many already on 3x5 cards going back over three decades, whereas my ECD material is more recent and is largely stored on my computer as PDFs or word processor files. In the past on my iPad, I've had to create new file for each gig and convert that to a PDF, which is not at all efficient. Ralph's program looks to do exactly what I want. (I like that it includes a database-- it'll be easy to reformat my own and import that-- that among other things will let me generate a list of tunes not in Barnes and will create a set of files that can be e-mailed to musicians. David Millstone

13 years, 1 month

Re: [Callers] Computerized organization systems for dance notes

by Will Loving

David, My Callers Companion program was primarily designed for contras and is in use by over 50 callers at this point. I've added some enhancements specifically for ECD and Linda Leslie (and perhaps a couple of other people) have been testing those changes and giving me additional feedback. You might want to talk with her and compare notes. Callers Companion runs on the iPad using FileMaker Go and I'm hoping to shortly release a version that will run on the new free version of FileMaker Go (based on FileMaker Pro 12) rather than the original version (based on FileMaker Pro 11) that costs $40. Sincerely, Will Will Loving Downtown Amherst Contra Dance http://amherstcontra.org -----Original Message----- > From: David.Millstone(a)valley.net > To: callers(a)sharedweight.net > Date: 09/05/2012 03:21 PM > Subject: Re: [Callers] Computerized organization systems for dance notes > > I've used my iPad for English gigs, and I'm about to get Ralph Canapa's Dancing > Master program after seeing Gene Murrow with it at Pinewoods. Gene said something > to the effect that it's the greatest invention since "set and turn single." > > I'm not planning to go that route for contras and squares, simply because I have > so many already on 3x5 cards going back over three decades, whereas my ECD material > is more recent and is largely stored on my computer as PDFs or word processor > files. > > In the past on my iPad, I've had to create new file for each gig and convert that > to a PDF, which is not at all efficient. Ralph's program looks to do exactly what > I want. (I like that it includes a database-- it'll be easy to reformat my own > and import that-- that among other things will let me generate a list of tunes > not in Barnes and will create a set of files that can be e-mailed to musicians. > > David Millstone > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > >

13 years, 1 month

Computerized organization systems for dance notes

by Kalia Kliban

I'm primarily an English country dance caller, just now getting started as a contra caller, and am finally admitting that I need a better way to organize my notes than the box of index cards I've been working with all these years. There seem to be several options out there. One is Will Loving's Caller's Companion (http://callerscompanion.com/). This one was apparently extensively beta tested by folks here on this list, and from what I hear is a superb organizer for contra, but apparently not as strong for ECD. One thing I've seen is that the programming matrix has a maximum of 32 elements. My ECD matrix so far has about 55 elements (granted, some of those are different flavors of heys, but they need to be distinguished from each other), and that doesn't include the contra vocabulary. Will, can that matrix be expanded? In the "Sets" function, is it possible after a dance to include a paragraph or three of notes about the event ("Great evening, but major problems with audibility. Bring own mic next time to be able to get off stage for demos. Make sure band is extra clear about the transition from B2 to A1 of Companions. Lots of very happy new dancers.")? Another is Colin Hume's Dance Organiser (http://www.colinhume.com/download.htm). This is written in something called Delphi. I looked at it years ago when I was first getting started with calling, but haven't researched it recently. Anyone have experience with it? Number 3 just came to my attention recently, and it's Ralph Canapa's program, called The Dancing Master (http://www.transportedproductions.com/TheDancingMaster/Instructions.pdf), for iPads. This one requires creating your own data entry protocol, either scanning existing source material or entering it in a consistent document style. It does link to iTunes files. I don't currently use an iPad for calling, due to terror of it going "blip" in the middle of an evening, but might consider it. I know a lot of callers LOVE their pads. Of those of you out there _who call both styles_, can you offer any advice on this subject? So far Will's system seems the most evolved (based on my somewhat rusty memories of Colin's system). If you use Caller's Companion _and_ you call English, what limitations have you encountered, if any? If you use something else entirely, what is it? Kalia

13 years, 2 months

Re: [Callers] Calling for Absolute Beginners?

by John W Gintell

> > Message: 3 > Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2012 16:23:14 -0400 > From: Chrissy Fowler <ktaadn_me(a)hotmail.com> > To: shared weight <callers(a)sharedweight.net> > Subject: Re: [Callers] Calling for Absolute Beginners? > Message-ID: <COL113-W49E48E42FAB0FD6CFEE4528DAA0(a)phx.gbl> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > > How nice to read others' thoughts! > > It is my goal at this event to make it so absolutely fun and accessible that the frosh just can't wait for the first 'regular' dance. This year seemed especially successful on that front. But more importantly, everyone had a great time Then And There. Huge smiles, hilarious dancing, wild cheering for the band, folks watching happily and enjoying the music, etc. (It's 'optional' for them to dance, and usually only a fraction of the 500 students choose to dance. Probably 20-35% were dancing at any one time.) If some of that group come to the monthly series and love it, terrific. If others never dance at all during their college years, at least they had a blast at the lobsterbake. Maybe in their 50s they'll end up at a local dance and have this little hardwired memory of a good time doing this thing back 35 yrs ago. As an observer / participant I'd add a couple of things: Less talking / More doing. A quick demo and then letting people try out things like swings works well. I've seen some callers doing an awful lot of talking and new dancers get lost and experienced ones space out. Also emphasize that swinging is horizontal not vertical. I've often noticed beginners bouncing up and down which makes it harder and more tiring - this isn't Irish Set dancing. When I swing with beginners, I encourage them to just walk, look at me to avoid getting dizzy, and not look at their feet.

13 years, 2 months

Flat Tire

by Chrissy Fowler

Hi Jim, I'm copying the SW list to save others the hassle of searching. And to point others toward New England Dancing Masters (NEDM) Flat Tire is in the NEDM books - New England Dancing Masters are a GREAT resource, by the way - books, recordings, overall attitude/perspective. http://www.dancingmasters.com/ Might be in Listen to the Mockingbird. You could email Peter directly if you want more info (and Peter, if you are lurking, yay for you!) He wrote it with students during a residency in Quechee VT Flat Tire by Peter Amidon & students Whole set dance (16) In whole set oval (take hands in lines and around the end) 'circle' L/R (16) P dsd, sw (widely varied) Face up hall, waving hands in the air (over head) count loudly to 3, on the 4 count-yell 'wooh!' as you bump P on hip All cast off, top couple leading lines around outside of set, top cpl meet at bottom make arch, all others meet P below the arch, duck thru, dance up the set to new progressed place. I do it every week at two weekly summer dances - unfailingly popular/fun. Also my 4yo requests it by name whenever he's at a dance I'm calling. Chrissy > Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2012 17:52:58 -0400 > From: stringtet(a)charter.net > To: ktaadn_me(a)hotmail.com > Subject: re: Flat Tire > > Hi Chrissy, > I saw your description of the student orientation on shared_weight. It > sounds like a lot of fun. > > I've been through ten pages of Google search and can't find Flat Tire by > Peter Amidon listed anywhere. Can you tell me where to find it? > Thanks, > Jim McKinney

13 years, 2 months

Re: [Callers] Calling for Absolute Beginners?

by Chrissy Fowler

How nice to read others' thoughts! This weekend I called a dance at a first year student orientation event (outdoor lobsterbake, dancing on grass). A folk group at the college has a monthly contradance series, and they sponsor this orientation dance as a way to introduce frosh to the possibilities. They usually have a few sophomores, jrs and srs from the club attend the dance (to inspire and encourage.) It is my goal at this event to make it so absolutely fun and accessible that the frosh just can't wait for the first 'regular' dance. This year seemed especially successful on that front. But more importantly, everyone had a great time Then And There. Huge smiles, hilarious dancing, wild cheering for the band, folks watching happily and enjoying the music, etc. (It's 'optional' for them to dance, and usually only a fraction of the 500 students choose to dance. Probably 20-35% were dancing at any one time.) If some of that group come to the monthly series and love it, terrific. If others never dance at all during their college years, at least they had a blast at the lobsterbake. Maybe in their 50s they'll end up at a local dance and have this little hardwired memory of a good time doing this thing back 35 yrs ago. Anyhow... Program: Galopede variant (keep your partner) short version of a Grand March with the "arches/tunnels" figures (started by weaving thru the seated groups of not-yet-dancing frosh, current partners splitting up and picking up new folks on the way) immediately segued into La Bastringue variant (a partner keeper) (you can keep this P fpr next dance, or better yet you and your P find two others who want to dance) Heel & Toe Polka (mixer) (surely during the last dance you found someone you'd like to dance with for the next one, go ask them to dance) Haste to the Wedding variant (sicilian circle, start in circle then did couple face couple starting in front of stage) Flat Tire by Peter Amidon & students in Quechee VT I told them they can dance with anyone they want (same/different gender, age, dorm, etc) Taught these figures thusly with demos from stage: swing - many ways to swing, can do two hand turn or ballroom position, or others. allemande - a hand turn we call 'allemande', can do elbow down/thumb up like this do-si-do - this is a no touching figure, look (p/n) in the eye, smile it's social dance, you walk around your (p/n) end up where you started, face (p/n) pass by r shoulder slide a bit to right, back up to place. great! you just did a do-si-do. now that you know what it is, do it again. promenade -many ways to do it, hold hands, arm around shoulders, two hands held right in r and left in l - standing beside p, both turn together and face ccw around circle, this is prom dir, walk. star - this figure has same footwork as circle, different handwork, all put rh into center, can make a pile of rh, or there are fancy ways to do it, but whatever you do, jam that hand into the center, hopefully it's the correct right hand, and start walking to turn the star, eight counts, 5-6-put your left hand in down center - top couple has 16 musical counts to get down to the bottom of the set. the call is to sashay, take two hands with p, do sliding step like this, but you can do whatever you want in your 16 counts...within reason. Did I care that people were doing handshake allemandes? elbow swings? lurching promenades? Not really. Will I teach some of the finer points when I call again at the series? Yes. Gender roles, lady on right, 8 count phrases, how to swing gloriously, hold yourself up (support your own weight), safe allemandes, connected circles with nice amt of tension in biceps, be ready at the top of the phrase, all TOGETHER go forward & back... Were the dances simple? Yes. Did I call at least some part of the sequence all the way thru every dance? Yes. Did any of the "dancers" in the group seem to care about either of these things? No. Not even the first year student who is a dance gypsy and accomplished caller. She was grinning from ear to ear. (In my experience, it's more likely that a certain subset of "dancers" will scoff at simple dances than will newbies, but fortunately not all "dancers" are of that mindset.) And I find leading dances for complete beginners a total blast. Definitely exciting and worth my time. :) Chrissy Fowler, Belfast, ME PS Before the dance, the senior who is now leader of the folk group mentioned that when she was a first year student, it was this very orientation dance that made her want to contradance. She saw the then leaders of the folk group dancing and swinging so happily, thought "I want to do THAT, and I want to be friends with THEM." And so it was. > The first: I'm curious how you all put together programs when calling for a > group of complete beginners. What's generally the progression of moves that > you teach? Do you think dances with the most basic of moves (say, a dance > that's all circles, stars, and long lines, not even a partner swing) are > helpful in getting people oriented to dancing, or are trivial and boring > and will make people think contra is dumb? (People "thinking contra is > dumb" is actually a bit more of a concern for me calling college dances, > where most of the folks to turn out aren't necessarily of the 'contra > mindset' and so it's important to hold their interest and make them think > that what they're doing is exciting and worth their time--they're not > necessarily going to stick with it for the evening, or even for more than > one dance, if they're not immediately into it.) > > The second, which ties into the first: how do you teach good contra > etiquette--*especially* how to swing properly--when you don't have > experienced people in the crowd to show the way? (...)

13 years, 2 months

Re: [Callers] Calling for Absolute Beginners?

by John Sweeney

Hi Maia, Use simple dances with great music and build the move repertoire slowly. I use Circle Mixers to teach basic moves, then contra dances like Jefferson & Liberty, Family Contra, Flirtation Reel and New Age Petronella - these are great examples of dances which have a easy progressions. Use great music at 120bpm so that there is lots of energy. See http://www.contrafusion.co.uk/Contra.html#swinging for an article on how to teach swinging. Here is a simple circle mixer that is mainly for practice at swinging and ending with the man on the left, lady on the right: The Exchange Swing (by John Sweeney) Circle Mixer A1: Into the Middle & Back; Neighbour Swing (= New Partner) A2: Circle Left; Circle Right B1: Partner Allemande Right; Partner Allemande Left B2: Partner Gypsy Meltdown Another easy one for first-timers: Virginia Reel Circle Mixer #24 Circle, Men on inside facing out A1: Partner Allemande Right Partner Allemande Left A2: Partner Dosido Partner Seesaw (Left Shoulder Dosido) B1: Partner Gypsy Meltdown (Right Shoulder Gypsy into a Swing) B2: Promenade around the circle Men move on then face new partner Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent

13 years, 2 months

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Contra Callers