Contra Callers

contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net

33 participants
4404 discussions

by Amy Cann

The Playa, as seen from the European Space Agency's satellite http://i.imgur.com/ZB8cJ.jpg And a closeup view of a bunch of hot dusty happy dancer/musician/burners -- the ones are just going down the outside. http://i.imgur.com/809Pp.jpg The lighter rectangle is our dance floor, the stage is at the lower/right end, the darker rectangle at the top are a pair of couches for watching/lounging. Our address was 3:20 and Engagement; right next to us is Math Camp at (you guessed it) 3.1415 and *e*. What an entirely unexpected experience; you never know what's going to happen when you answer a sharedweight email. Cheers, Amy

14 years, 1 month

Callers' poll

by Brian Hamshar

Hmmmm. Luke's "arbitrary" definition of 6 hrs or more includes a lot of events around the Mid-Atlantic that nobody really thinks of as festivals. For example, there's the afternoon advanced contra preceding a regular community contra dance. I recently organized and called for one such event here in Virginia, called Contraphoria. Also, I'm scheduled to call techno contras at two dance weekends this fall, each session 1-2 hours in length, but not as a featured caller. One is a Saturday afternoon "workshop," and the other is a Saturday late-night contra party right after the main contra dance ends. In November at Glen Echo I will be calling the final, late night session of the 12-hour Black Friday Bash. This probably qualifies by your criteria. But up to that point, I will not consider myself as having been a festival caller. I guess I am a "yes," albeit somewhat futuristically. Brian Hamshar Charlottesville, VA

14 years, 1 month

Re: [Callers] Swinging

by Brian Hamshar

Yeah...now I can't resist "weighing in"! I had lots of physics in engineering school myself. The quantity of 20# being placed on the hands is highly suspect because there are so many variables that make it different for every swing. (I don't swing with more than a slight weight...I force a reduction by slowing down or subtly slackening my hold.) But, surprisingly, there is no "doubling." Think of it this way. Suppose you and your partner were swinging yourselves around a pole that's fixed to the floor. (Ignore the difference in handhold compared to a dancing swing.) With the two of you, the pole is in balance and it does not matter if the pole is even there. Suppose your partner leaves. Your 20# pull, which is now an asymmetrical load, will now tend to bend the pole (and the pole and its anchor must accept the load), but the force experienced by your arms has not been reduced by half. Brian Hamshar -----Original Message----- Date: Wednesday, September 07, 2011 4:26:35 am To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net> From: "Donald Perley" <donperley(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Callers] Swinging Sigh... time to drag out the free body diagrams and unstretchable massless string. 20 pounds. On Tue, Sep 6, 2011 at 9:53 PM, Jeff Kaufman <jeff(a)alum.swarthmore.edu> wrote: > Mark Widmer wrote: >> >> each person exerts 20 pounds on the other person, and nobody is >> exerting 40 pounds.

14 years, 1 month

Re: [Callers] Swinging

by Mark Widmer

I'm with Chris on this one, each person exerts 20 pounds on the other person, and nobody is exerting 40 pounds. (This is a clear example of Newton's 3rd Law, for those who are familiar with introductory physics.) Mark > Jeff Kaufman wrote: > > > Chris Lahey wrote: >> I got the same 20 lbs in my calculations, but I don't think you get to >> double it. If I'm the gent, my hand is putting 20 lbs of force on the >> ladies back. At the same time, her back is putting 20 lbs of force on my >> hand. When we carry a 20 lb object, we're pulling up with 20 lbs of force >> and it's pulling down with 20 lbs of force, but we don't call it 40 lbs of >> force. > Sure. The doubling comes from 20lbf per person. It takes 20lbf to > hold me in, and 20lbf to hold them in, so between us we need 40lbf to > stay together. > >> There's also the fact that despite some of the radial acceleration >> coming from centripital force, I suspect some of it comes from the >> feet. >> > That might be important. I'm not sure how to measure that. > > If someone wants to bring a bathroom or similar scale to the concord > scout house tonight, I would be curious to measure this. > > Jeff > > >

14 years, 1 month

Six-facing-six Dances and Other Adjustments for a Tight Hall

by Christopher Buck

The hall for the Emerald City Dance at the Phinney Neighborhood Center easily support two lines but not three. From http://seattledance.org/contra/emeraldcity/performerinfo : 'Our hall is just barely wide enough for three lines, but not comfortably so. As a result, we have the opposite of the "center line" phenomenon common at some other dances. The center line is shorter, and crowded by the two outer lines. The out er lines widen out just beyond the end of the center line and this can sometimes cause "turbulence" and lead to confusion. Because of this, some of our regulars prefer not to dance in the center set, so the shortness of the line and turbulence are compounded by a higher percentage of new dancers.' I'm thinking a few six-facing-six dances should help to maintain the spacing. I'm looking for any and all of those. Also, it seems to me that dances that progress from side to side as well as up and down the hall might help. Any other suggestions are also certainly welcome. Respectfully, Chris Christopher Buck

14 years, 1 month

Re Swinging

by John Sweeney

Jeff said: "Something needs to be holding the two of you together. The gent has his right hand on the lady's back." Yes - that is what is holding you together. Why do you need more? = = = = = = Digression = = = = = Jeff actually said "ladies' back" - yes, I do dance with two ladies at once - you can see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE6Iu6Fh6bw and so yes I do sometimes have my hands on ladies' backs :-) = = = = = = End of Digression = = = = = Jeff continued: "If the gent is strong and the lady light, that is sufficient." I firmly believe that both parties should be responsible for their own weight and balance. If the lady is in control of her balance then why is the lady's weight or the man's strength relevant? I have danced with ladies twice my size and had a delightful light swing, and I have danced with ladies half my size and had to support their weight in a painful matter. It is not about weight it is about balance. "If the lady additionally has their left hand on the back of the the gent's right shoulder, then the lady is doing more of the holding together and the gent can do less." Centrifugal force is not that great - if you are in balance the pressure is tiny. = = = = = = = = = = = Greg said: ".one figure that is pretty unique to contra dance. It's called the 'buzz-step swing.'" My mother learnt it in Galway, Ireland as a girl from her grandfather nearly 100 years ago. She taught me in the 1960s. I am told that the Scottish call it "birling". Of course if you mean "contra dance" as an American pronunciation of the French "contre danse" meaning "country dance" then I guess it is a reasonable statement. But if you mean modern American contra dance series (as opposed to Irish, Scottish, ceilidh, ECD, International, etc.) then I would disagree :-) Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574 http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive Events, Instructional DVDs and Interactive Maps http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent

14 years, 1 month

Re Swinging

by John Sweeney

Hi Jeff, No, I don't do slow swings (unless my partner wants to go slowly, or I have to go into self-defense mode!). Impressive maths - but I think the calculations are a little more complex. :-) Sharing the (small) load might be worthwhile. But there are still these challenges: - Some ladies can't comfortably reach the man's shoulder-blade - Any other hand position is likely to generate gripping if she is trying to share the load - Her hand behind the shoulder-blade makes clockwise exits more difficult - Most ladies who reach around to my shoulder-blade tend to push in with their hand (maybe because they are having trouble reaching it) which is uncomfortable I find swinging with a partner who relaxes their left hand onto the front of my arm FAR more pleasurable. Because the ballroom hold is asymmetrical there can't be a 50-50 share in the connection. Of course if you do a Northumberland swing, a ceilidh swing, a Galway swing, a sweetheart swing, a hornpipe swing, etc. then you do have symmetry and then you can share the load. But I have never noticed much difference in the load when I do those swings as compared to a ballroom hold, so I guess the load must be small! :-) I get people to spin fast with a buzz-step by themselves first - they never fall over even though no-one else is holding them up. If they do the same thing when joined with a partner then the pressure is low. Let's try it on the dance-floor some time. Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574 http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive Events, Instructional DVDs and Interactive Maps http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent

14 years, 1 month

Re: [Callers] Re Swinging

by Chrissy Fowler

I recall George Marshall in a pre-dance beginner's workshop explaining giving weight as something like this: "that feeling of mutual tension that you use when you are helping someone up off the floor - you both have to give a bit of pull, or weight, to make it work well. Same with contra dance." (not exactly what he said, I'm sure, but that image has stuck with me as very effective and easily referenced analogy.) Chrissy Fowler Belfast ME > I still haven't heard something really pithy > and direct that will give them the sensation they need to understand. > Andrea

14 years, 1 month

Re: [Callers] When did pre-dance beginners' workshops start in YOUR area?

by Dan Pearl

The first contra dance I ever attended was in 1979 at the CDS Boston Tuesday night dance at the Brimmer and May School in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The pre-dance workshop was handled by none other than Al Olson. Later, when Al moved to Chicago, I was one of the people who took responsibility for that early teaching session. I don't know how long the pre-dance sessions were in operation before I arrived. Dan

14 years, 1 month

Re: [Callers] When did pre-dance beginners' workshops start in YOUR area?

by mavis mcgaugh

my 2 cents worth: Found contra dancing in 1992 at Glen Echo in Md. They did a newcomer's session there --- moved to No. California in 1999 - they did them out here at all the dances. whenever I am doing a newomer's workshop before a dance - I always tell those folks present - Contra dancing is EASY - you don't need lessons to contra dance - it's Not about being perfect -- it is about having FUN - and sharing the joy of the music and the dance with the other folks on the dance floor. - we offer the session to give folks an opportunity to lesrn how the dsnce flows - what progression is - how to swing comfortably and end where you need to be safely -- what a courtesy turn is - hand holds that don't hurt -- what gets taught is dictated in part by how many newbies show up and how early they arrive. I talk fairly quickly thru the session so they have to listen closely - cause when the music and dancing starts - things move rather quickly. I think of the 'newbie' session as a bridge --- helps to move an individual towards hearing/listening to a Caller - and more importantly towards becoming a member of a [4 person]group - accomplishing a figure together -- then moving along to form another group - and doing that over and over again thru the dance. I call in Northern California and fortunately many experienced dancers step up and participate in the newcomers sessions and they are good about partnering the 'newbies' so they are taken care of during those crucial first dances and thru the evening. Mavis L McGaugh 510-814-8118 (answering machine-leave message) --- On Fri, 9/2/11, Hanny Budnick <kyrmyt(a)cavtel.net> wrote: > From: Hanny Budnick <kyrmyt(a)cavtel.net> > Subject: [Callers] When did pre-dance beginners' workshops start in YOUR area? > To: millstone(a)valley.net, "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net> > Date: Friday, September 2, 2011, 1:04 PM > I have encountered these pre-dance > introductions only outside of New England. When I > reintroduced contra dancing in Philadelphia in the early > seventies, we did only traditional dances which are - in my > opinion - very beginner-friendly anyway and didn't need > extra introductions, not even the triple minors. > I've noticed the change to offer a pre-dance workshop ca. > 20 years ago. > When I'm calling in other areas, I usually let the local > leaders handle the early intro because they are familiar > with their scene. The Glenside Thursday night dance in the > Philly area always has an introductory 20 minutes for > newcomers either by the caller-coordinator of the evening or > the out-of-town caller. > When calling abroad, I start with easily accessible dances > and build on them, but I don't use pre-dance workshops. > Hanny, Danzmeestersche > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >

14 years, 1 month

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