Hi folks :)
As a dancer, I remember loving the feel of waves lines that balance forward
and back. However, I don't have any dances that specifically call for
that.
Might you have suggestions of dances that specifically call for Bal F&B or
which often get modified for that feel of a balance?
Thank you!
:) Emily in Ottawa
*Mountain Hoot Appalachian Music, Dance, Culture Day at the Folk School*
Olive’s Porch is excited to bring back percussive dance powerhouse *Becky
Hill* to host a day featuring folklorist Gerry Milnes, callers Ellen &
Eugene Ratcliffe, and band Golden Shoals. Mountain Hoot: Appalachian Music,
Dance, & Culture Day will take place at the Open House covered pavilion by
the Folk School Gardens on *August 26, 2023*. Register now for $100 at
olivesporch.org or call 828-837-1885. Spots are limited, and prices
increase on August 1.
Mountain Hoot offers a window into traditional mountain square dance,
stories of mountain songs and the people who sing them, partner and
percussive dance, and more. The daylong workshop series runs in
conjunction with a concert performance, community dance, and old-time jam
throughout the weekend which are open to the public by donation. The events
are open to beginners, budding pickers, and avid dancers alike. Our special
guest dance callers are husband and wife duo *Ellen and Eugene Ratcliffe*
of Highland County Virginia. They are super dynamic and energetic dancers
and callers; you can’t help but bust a move when they’re on the floor.
Hosted by * Becky Hill*, former Olive’s Porch Artist in Residence who spent
four months in the area focusing on her craft while working within and
building community. She’s joined by her longtime mentor, folklorist
musician *Gerry Milnes*. Gerry was the Folk Art Coordinator at the Augusta
Heritage Center of Davis & Elkins College for twenty-five years and has
taught at the Center since 1976. He produced 26 albums of Appalachian music
and 16 films about West Virginia traditional life; receiving the WV
Governor’s Arts Award, Vandalia Award, Robert C. Byrd Fiddling Award,
Footbridge Award, and WV Filmmaker of the Year.
All are welcome. We hope to see you there!
Workshop registration and schedule information is found at
bit.ly/mountainhoot <http://www.bit.ly/mountainhoot>
T-Claw Crawford, (he/they)
Music & Dance Events Coordinator
John C. Campbell Folk School
1 Folk School Rd
Brasstown, NC 28902
828-837-2775, ext. 154 <+1-828-837-2775,%20154>
800-FOLK-SCH
folkschool.org <https://www.folkschool.org/>
[image: signature_1112078737]
Hi All,
I've been really enjoying this thread on calling weddings!
I'd say that they are SOOOOO much fun but as a contra dance caller, they
are WAY different than calling to a room full of people who have
specifically come for contra calling. I've actually grown to love ONS (one
night stands) more than contra dances but starting from a contra mindset,
it took a little while to learn.
Here are some random thoughts:
- Agree with Lisa S and others. Weddings are not a good place to
actively recruit contra dancers. That's not why folks are there. If
someone comes up and asks you about the dance, great but I'd hold off
saying anything about other opportunities.
- At my wedding, about 1/3-1/2 of the people there had contra danced
before and yet, I think there was maybe one contra the whole night. If you
want to make the dancing fun and accessible for a room of wedding guests,
it really is a totally different program. The one contra I might call would
be Family Contra and that would be after testing the waters with
Do-Si-Three... which would be after doing some Longways, circles, and
squares.
- I would plan for up to 90min but anticipate doing less. Even with a
keen crowd, after 90min, folks really want to focus on other things at the
wedding. I've often seen it work well to have canned music after the 90min.
- I've heard repeatedly that it's good to do the trad dancing BEFORE the
cake is cut. After the cake is done, guests start dispersing.
- When I call a wedding, I always make sure that the groom and bride are
going to dance and I ask that they let their guests know about the dance
ahead of time and really talk it up. If the groom and bride aren't going
to get in on it, the other guests won't either.
- My very favourite dance for starting a wedding is Moon and Stars...
very similar to La Bastringue. I love it as after the 7-8th time, you can
start changing up Suns and Moons for "whoever is related to the bride ///
everyone else" ... "whoever came from afar /// everyone else"... that kind
of thing.
:) Emily
*Suns* to centre and back
*Moons* to centre and back
OPTIONS: *like X food // wearing colour-sandles // love snow // BDay month
// live in town // Play an instrument // All kids // Play X sport // in Gr
1-2 // likes to hike-sing-read*
Instead of clap, could do Sue's Un-Huh with point!
⃝L
⃝R
All together!
NDSD
P Swing
VAR: P Al R /// N Al L (bit more complicated)
VAR MIXER: N DSD, N Swing (new partner!)
P promenade *2by2 CCW*
Marion: Last 4 beats reform the ⃝
oops meant to send this to all :)
Jul 3, 2023 6:00:06 PM Katherine Kitching <kat(a)outdooractive.ca>:
I agree with Lisa - focus on what will make this event the most enjoyable for the guests and bride and groom.
I've done a number of weddings.
The lesson I keep (re)learning is:
"keep it simple, simpler, simpler" .
Every time I think I've got a great program, and pretty much every time, the guests have struggled with my 3rd or 4th dance as it was too complex. and this is after I keep simplifying things each time :)
If alcohol is involved, you definitely want to make the dances uber simple - and not plan anything that has to fit squarely to the music. Things tend to take twice as long if people have been drinking.
Also I find the bride and groom invariably overestimate how much time their guests will want to spend doing this.
So many times i've been booked for 90-120 minutes, and all those times i've only ended calling for 45-60 minutes and that has been the perfect amount for that crowd.
For most of the guests, they will enjoy it as a novelty, not a full-evening event.
In addition to that, the whole evening of dinner, speeches, etc nearly always runs late, so that can also cut into dancing time.
Here are some programming notes:
I always ask the couple if they would like a "first dance" (especially if there is a live band!) and if they would like it to be "a lively hoe-down tune" or a waltz. they usually like this idea.
I invite everyone to gather in a circle around the bride and groom, and they start dancing while we move to the music in the circle .. after a minute or two, I encourage everyone to start dancing (either waltzing or just jumping around clapping and doing elbow turns if they couple chose the lively hoe-down).
Next dance is the spiral dance. Always a big hit.
I start in a circle, get everyone to listen to the music, clap to the music, we circle left, we circle right, we go in and back a couple times... then I just wind it up and unwind it -with the bride and groom right beside me so they end up in the centre during the wind-up.
Third dance I do this very simple circle mixer:
if drinking is involved, I pre-teach nothing.
If minimal drinking, I pre-teach a right-hand balance and pull-by...
Circle left
Circle right
Into the centre and stomp
Into the centre raise arms and say "hey!"
then they have 32 counts (or more, if drinking!) to wander around, and (if drinking) just nod and say hello to anyone they meet, or if not drinking, to find at least one person to do a right-hand balance and pull-by with, maybe 2 or 3 people if they are quick - then we reform the circle and start again.
I would run this through maybe 6 or 7 times.
After that, I often do a simple line dance-
If not drinking, I make it a mixer - I designate one line as the robins and the other as the larks,
If drinking/really easily confused, they just stick with their same partner the whole time, and I make it shorter.
LLFB
walk forward, pull by your partner by the right hand to switch places, turn to face partner again, double-clap.
LLFB
walk forward and pull your partner by the right hand again so you are back to your original spot (clap clap)
Peel the banana:
(I demo this first with a smaller group in the centre of a teaching circle, so everyone sees how it works)
Top couple peels off down the outside, everyone follows - meet your partner at the bottom, take inside hands, and walk back up to the top
(emphasize that you come back to your exact same position at the end of this figure) -
then once you're back to your spot, do a two-hand turn.
Mixer version- for more competent, focused crowd-
Top Robin dances down the centre, to the bottom of the Robin line (emphasize they stay in their OWN line!!)
while bottom Lark dances up the centre, to the top of the Lark line (you must emphasize they stay in their OWN line!)
everyone re-adjust so they are facing a new partner, nod to the new partner - start the dance again (if multiple lines, get ppl to dance on the spot till all the lines are ready).
Non Mixer version - get the top couple to sashay, or do a free-form silly dance, down to the bottom, everyone else slides up a spot, start the dance again.
I do not even try to stay on a regular pattern with the music, for the above.
----
Then a final dance that can work is a "scatter dance" of a simple contra style....
set people up with a dance partner, and pre-teach any figures in a big teaching circle.
Note I teach them "right hand turn" /"left hand turn" instead of "allemande" cause it's easier to remember...
then get them to form "duples" with another couple for the dance...
Could do something like:
circle left
circle right
star left
star right
left hand turn your partner
right hand turn your neighbour (the person standing closest to you who is not your partner)
balance the ring two times
everyone bow to each other
wave bye bye
skip around the room with your partner, find another duple, restart the dance (I will be off the music at this point, and won't care).
if by chance they wanted a second scatter dance, and they seem to be doing well with learning new figures, you could do something like:
circle left
star left
balance and petro
balance and petro (note in this scatter orientation it doesn't matter where the petro takes you)
do si do your partner
do si do your neighbour
as couples do si do and scatter to find new duples.... (with credit to Sherry Nevin!)
Kat in Halifax
Jul 3, 2023 5:04:59 PM Lisa Sieverts via Contra Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>:
> Joe said:
>
>> I welcome any advice! My main goal in taking wedding gigs is recruiting
>> new dancers to our local scene, if that matters.
>
> Joe, that does matter. Remember that a wedding is one of the most important days in the couple’s lives. Your goal as a wedding caller is to make the dancing fun for the couple and their guests. Wedding dances are great when the dance helps the two families and their respective friends to be able to connect and enjoy meeting each other.
>
> I think it would be crass to mention a local dance unless you are asked “where can we do more of this.”
>
> Lisa Sieverts
> 603-762-0235
> lisa(a)lisasieverts.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
Lisa is correct. If your main goal is to recruit new dancers to your local group, you will be sadly disappointed. That doesn't mean that you won't ever get someone who enjoys it at the wedding and then follows up by going to the local dance, but that is going to be very rare. As it happens I started contra dancing after experiencing it at a wedding. However, I have called dances at many weddings and I can't think of anyone who attended one of those, who wasn't already a dancer, and then started going to our local dance.
An exception might be if the people getting married are hardcore dancers and they invite a lot of the local dancers to their wedding. This might help to recruit non-dancers to give it a try in the future. The couple might even have in mind trying to recruit their non-dancing friends.
Other than that you should probably assume that none of those in attendance have ever danced before, and that they probably won't do so ever again. The best I hope for is that they have fun and then the next time they see a dance mentioned on the news or in the paper or something they may be inclined to give it a try.
Jonathan
On 7/3/2023 3:04 PM, Lisa Sieverts via Contra Callers wrote:
> Joe said:
>
>> I welcome any advice! My main goal in taking wedding gigs is recruiting
>> new dancers to our local scene, if that matters.
>
> Joe, that does matter. Remember that a wedding is one of the most important days in the couple’s lives. Your goal as a wedding caller is to make the dancing fun for the couple and their guests. Wedding dances are great when the dance helps the two families and their respective friends to be able to connect and enjoy meeting each other.
>
> I think it would be crass to mention a local dance unless you are asked “where can we do more of this.”
>
> Lisa Sieverts
> 603-762-0235
> lisa(a)lisasieverts.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
Exciting news! Michael and Chris who run The Caller's Box
<https://www.ibiblio.org/contradance/thecallersbox/> just updated their
site so it renders properly on mobile screens!
Check out the before and after pics:
*BEFORE:*
*AFTER:*
My dance collection experience with revolving door dances has been... well,
a revolving door. Recently I was cleaning my deck and I chucked a bunch out
because I never called them; then recently at an advanced dance, Will
called a neat one and I remembered how much I like that move, when done
properly.
So, now I'm looking to add a few RD dances (back) to my collection: what
are your faves?
(And, as a tangent, how do you do/teach this move? I had always learned it
as an inverse star promenade, including the hand around the waist of the
person you're crossing with, and always found it really awkward—not to
mention sweaty—to assume this position, and to disentangle for drop-off.
More recently, I saw it taught as just taking hands with the person you're
crossing with (as you would in a line of four down the hall), and suddenly
I liked the move a TON more; the momentum was still there, but it was much
easier to engage/disengage. What is everyone else's opinion here?)
Revolvingly,
Maia
--
Maia McCormick (she/her)
917.279.8194
Hi, everyone! As a new caller, I’m looking for apps that will help me
visualize, practice, and plan contra dances.
The pipe dream is an Oculus/Vision Pro VR app allowing callers to practice
calling while virtual dancers follow instructions. VR developers - let's
talk!
More realistically, it would be amazing to have something similar to the
Taminations app (https://www.tamtwirlers.org/taminations/), but for contra
dances instead of squares. The idea is that you could input a sequence of
moves and watch the 2D figures perform them.
http://dancekaleidoscope.org.au/dance.html is the closest option I’ve found
to this, but it offers only specific full dances and doesn’t let you input
individual figures to see them combined. There’s a note on the bottom of
that page which says you can download an HTML/Javascript program to animate
your own dances, but it seems overly complex to set up (I can’t figure it
out on my Mac), and unfriendly for mobile devices.
One last thing – I’m hunting for an iOS app that’s a database of dances.
Like “The Caller’s Box” (https://www.ibiblio.org/contradance/thecallersbox/)
but for iPhone-sized screens and with offline support.
Perhaps some of these things don’t yet exist, but I think they would go a
long way toward helping new callers. Maybe there are some callers or
contra-lovers out there who double as software developers or know someone
with skills who could help us and we can create new applications together
to boost the next generation of callers.
Any feedback, ideas, or help would be great!
Thank you,
Harrison
