My wife and I like spinning off each other in Heys. But we very rarely
meet in the middle of a Hey :-(
Flirtation Reel is a great example of a dance where you meet your
Partner in the middle of the Hey, but I can't find any other dances
where that happens.
Does anyone know of any other good dances where you meet your Partner in
the middle of a Hey?
Thanks.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 &
07802 940 574
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk <http://www.contrafusion.co.uk/> for
Dancing in Kent
Hi, John,
This isn't quite the same thing, but I like ricochet heys, and I
thought it would be nice to be doing the ricochet with your own
partner. So I wrote a couple of dances where partners meet in the
hey. I suppose they could be done without the ricochet and the
partners could spin off each other. In the first one, the 2s are
doing the hey while the 1s ricochet. In the second the 1s hey while
the 2s ricochet. The first is a little more difficult, but both 1s
and 2s get to swing, even though it is unequal. The second has the
ones swing and a neighbor swing. I first danced these heys in a dance
called Huntsville's Queen Bee Hey by Jane Ewing, where the women walk
the hey pattern while the men ricochet. I figured that if the men
were doing the hey it would be a King Bee Hey (so I wrote one like
that) and so I named these Worker Bee Hey #1 and #2. Didn't know they
were called ricochet heys until later. I'm just copying these from a
little book I put together, sorry if there is duplication of any
details. It is also possible that version 2, if you leave out the
ricochet hey aspect, may have been devised by someone else, as it is
fairly straightforward.
Worker Bee Hey #1 Martha Wild
Duple improper September 24, 2006
A1 Down the set four in line (1s inside)
Turn as couples and return*, face in^
A2 “Worker bee” hey@, 2s start passing right shoulder
B1 2s gypsy and swing, end swing facing up!
B2 Handy-hand allemande ~1 ½ times (2s on the inside to start)
1s swing and face down
* A little odd as the men are on the right of the women for the turn.
^ The line is not bent, all just turn to face center, 2s facing each
other, 1s behind.
@ I thought it would be nice to do the push off of a “queen bee” hey
with one’s own partner. In this case, the #2 couple does a full hey,
passing right shoulders to start, while the #1 couple meets at the
center and pushes off backwards in little counterclockwise circles.
It helps to instruct the 1s to stand a little above the 2s while they
swing so they see them when they end and are ready for the handy-hand
allemande.
Worker Bee Hey #2 Martha Wild
Duple Improper September 24, 2006
A1 Do-si-do neighbor
Swing neighbor
A2 Four in line down the set
Turn as couples, come back up
B1 Face in, “Worker Bee” hey, 1s start^
B2 1s gypsy and swing
^ Worker bee hey is as described above.
I like version 1 because both 1s and 2s get a partner swing. This is
an easier version, but unequal.
Martha Wild
On Aug 21, 2011, at 9:00 AM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Heys Where Partners Meet (John Sweeney)
> 2. Re: Callers Digest, Vol 84, Issue 15 (Tom Hinds)
> 3. Re: Heys Where Partners Meet (Luke Donev)
> 4. Re: 50% rule (Richard Hart)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2011 12:32:23 +0100
> From: "John Sweeney" <info(a)contrafusion.co.uk>
> To: <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: [Callers] Heys Where Partners Meet
> Message-ID: <21E3296A26AB4820B1BCF3FF5D672895@JohnT400>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> My wife and I like spinning off each other in Heys. But we very
> rarely
> meet in the middle of a Hey :-(
>
> Flirtation Reel is a great example of a dance where you meet your
> Partner in the middle of the Hey, but I can't find any other dances
> where that happens.
>
> Does anyone know of any other good dances where you meet your
> Partner in
> the middle of a Hey?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Happy dancing,
> John
>
> John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 &
> 07802 940 574
> http://www.contrafusion.co.uk <http://www.contrafusion.co.uk/> for
> Dancing in Kent
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2011 09:28:00 -0400
> From: Tom Hinds <twhinds(a)earthlink.net>
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Callers Digest, Vol 84, Issue 15
> Message-ID: <94D71EA1-0AA5-4F85-971A-35A3C71E6B7B(a)earthlink.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
>
> Jim
>
> Although I can't answer your first question about keeping track of
> all the dances, I can say something about what constitutes a new
> dance. I remember Ted Sannella saying that a dance is new if it has
> 50% new or unique choreography. By his definition if 50% or more of
> the dance is different than any other dance then it's a new dance.
> If a dance has less than 50% it's a variation.
>
> He didn't go into any more specifics and I wasn't wise enough to ask
> any questions. But if you look at some of the old dances like
> Petronella and Hull's victory, they have identical B parts and unique
> A parts. The same applies to Chorus Jig and Rory O' More.
>
> Squares can also follow this 50% rule. For example there are a
> number of squares like Queen's Quadrille that have unique A parts
> while the B part is circle left half, swing corner, promenade.
>
> T
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2011 09:59:54 -0400
> From: Luke Donev <luke.donev(a)gmail.com>
> To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Heys Where Partners Meet
> Message-ID:
> <CAFrKOZY9sQXDyCnd5RPtG=4fJVYUFGr+WZrSW=8-Mpj1wEahPg(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> John Sweeney <info(a)contrafusion.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> Flirtation Reel is a great example of a dance where you meet your
>> Partner
>> in the middle of the Hey, but I can't find any other dances where
>> that
>> happens.
>>
>
> Hi John,
>
> I think the structure of Flirtation Reel (*http://tinyurl.com/
> 3mlyrtm*)
> highlights why it's uncommon. The down the hall of *A1* seems the
> cleanest
> way of setting up partners back to back at the start of a hey for
> *A2*. The
> *B1* neighbor swing flows well after the hey, which leaves you *B2*
> to get a
> partner swing and progression in.
>
> There are ways to gain the choreographic latitude you'd need.
> If you're willing to spread a hey across phrases (I've met folks
> who detest
> that) you could shorted the neighbor swing and still end the swing
> on phrase
> (as opposed to interrupting a swing half phrase, which is
> unpopular). For
> example:
>
> *Restless Sunday Morning*
> Improper
> *A1*
> 2s half figure eight and a little more to face their partner in the
> middle
> of a line of four
> 2s start a hey for four passing partner by left
> *A2*
> finish hey for four, 2s have extra pass in middle
> Neighbor swing on gent's home side*
> B1*
> Circle Left,
> Partner swing *
> B2*
> Ladies chain across,
> long lines forward and back
>
> The *B*'s have a lot more freedom for the partner swing and
> progression,
> those are just some of what you could do.
>
> If you're against splitting the hey, you could compress the
> position results
> of the line of four:
>
> *After the Honeymoon*
> Improper
> start with the 1s between the 2s, facing neighbor
> *A1*
> Pass Neighbor by Right to start a hey
> *A2*
> Neighbor balance and swing
> *B1*
> Give and (men) take
> Partner swing (gent's home side)
> *B2*
> Circle Left 3/4
> Balance the ring
> 2s make an arch, 1s duck through and move down to between new 2s,
> facing
> out.
>
> I think as a style point, I might teach the *B2*'s arch duck as the
> 1s drop
> partner's hand and are somewhat hand-casted through the arch by
> their 2s.
> Without a few folks to play with it in my living room, I'm not sure
> yet.
>
> The *B1*'s give and take could be a Circle Left 3/4 for a simpler
> dance, but
> there's already a circle left in the dance, and I'm guessing this
> wouldn't
> be called in a situation where a give and take was problematic.
>
> I can't say that these are *good* dances where you pass your
> partner mid-set
> in a hey; but they're dances. Thanks for the question that got my
> brain
> choreographing. Hopefully others chip in (especially if I accidentally
> re-wrote someone's dance).
>
> --
> Luke Donev
> Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2011 10:50:04 -0400
> From: Richard Hart <rich(a)harts.mv.com>
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] 50% rule
> Message-ID: <4E511B1C.4050800(a)harts.mv.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> There's one dance variation that I've recently noticed.
>
> Recently, I've noticed that callers and dancers have slightly
> changed some existing dances. In both cases that I remember (Trip
> to Lambertville & Tica Tica Timing) a R&L over has been changed to
> a promenade across. Rights and lefts do seem to be more difficult,
> especially at bigger dances, and with a larger proportion of
> beginners. The promenade does appear to make the dance smoother in
> these cases.
>
> Is it really true that right & lefts are becoming less popular in
> large MUCDs? Are other dances being modified in this way now?
>
> Rich Hart.
>
> Tom Hinds remarked on 8/21/2011 9:28 AM:
>> Jim
>>
>> Although I can't answer your first question about keeping track of
>> all the dances, I can say something about what constitutes a new
>> dance. I remember Ted Sannella saying that a dance is new if it
>> has 50% new or unique choreography. By his definition if 50% or
>> more of the dance is different than any other dance then it's a
>> new dance. If a dance has less than 50% it's a variation.
>>
>> He didn't go into any more specifics and I wasn't wise enough to
>> ask any questions. But if you look at some of the old dances
>> like Petronella and Hull's victory, they have identical B parts
>> and unique A parts. The same applies to Chorus Jig and Rory O' More.
>>
>> Squares can also follow this 50% rule. For example there are a
>> number of squares like Queen's Quadrille that have unique A parts
>> while the B part is circle left half, swing corner, promenade.
>>
>> T
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
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>>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
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>
> End of Callers Digest, Vol 84, Issue 16
> ***************************************
Jim
Although I can't answer your first question about keeping track of
all the dances, I can say something about what constitutes a new
dance. I remember Ted Sannella saying that a dance is new if it has
50% new or unique choreography. By his definition if 50% or more of
the dance is different than any other dance then it's a new dance.
If a dance has less than 50% it's a variation.
He didn't go into any more specifics and I wasn't wise enough to ask
any questions. But if you look at some of the old dances like
Petronella and Hull's victory, they have identical B parts and unique
A parts. The same applies to Chorus Jig and Rory O' More.
Squares can also follow this 50% rule. For example there are a
number of squares like Queen's Quadrille that have unique A parts
while the B part is circle left half, swing corner, promenade.
T
1 I've always wondered how one can know if choreographers are
duplicating some dance that's already been done?
Is it pretty much always callers comparing notes or is anyone out there
making attempts to catalog dances move by move, maybe in a spreadsheet or
something like that?
2 Comparing dances, how much variation between sequences qualifies a
dance as an individual separate dance, or is custom that rigid?
My question is prompted by:
In another thread Linda Leslie wrote about "Rollin To The Grey Eagle"
"I have this same dance in my collection with the name "32 Seconds" by Tom
Calwell. I don't know who might have written it first."
Thanks
Jim, Not a caller just lurking.
Two questions: Does anyone have an email address or contact information for
Hank Morris? (please send off-list, thanks)
I have the name of his dance as *Rollin' to the
Grey Eagle, *but I believe this might not be exactly right, does anyone know
for certain?
I have rendered a video of the dance for the dance archive that I would
like to get his permission to use.
thanks,
Bob Green
In a recent post I defined a contra dance as:
- longways for as many as will
- first couples Improper, or Becket formation
- flowing choreography
- no-one stationary for more than 16 beats (e.g. First Couple Balance &
Swing, finish facing down to make Lines of Four)
- containing at least one swing
- 95% of the moves to be from a set of well-know moves that they know
already
Is that what most Americans understand by a "contra dance"?
I asked:
Are you allowed to do Proper dances at a "contra dance"? Or a
four-couple dance that has all the other characteristics listed above?
Or a Sicilian Circle (space allowing)?
But got no answer.
Taking it a step further - this is a popular dance over here in the UK:
Childgrove (Playford 1701)
A1: Partner Siding; Partner Dosido
A2: Neighbour Siding; Neighbour Dosido
B1: Neighbour Two-Hand Turn 1 & 1/2 (skip step)
Partner Two-Hand Turn
B2: #1s Full Figure Eight up through the #2s (who can cast to turn
it into a double-figure-eight if they like) (skip step)
It has all the characteristics defined above apart from the swing being
replaced by a skipped two-hand turn. And of course the moves may not be
all familiar to contra dancers. If I called that at an American contra
dance, to great music from a live band, what reaction would I get?
Thanks. Just trying to understand. :-)
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
Thanks for the answers, Alan.
Alan wrote "If you play it like a contra dance tune, you won't get an
English dance out of it."
Ah - but I don't want an "English dance" - I just want a dance that is
fun :-) so I would ask the band to funk it up or play any tune they
like.
And I have no objection to adding twirls in "English" dosidos.
I really don't believe that the 17th and 18th century dancers were as
staid as some people would have us believe.
I have studied the history of many dance forms and constantly see
improvisation and innovation - these are all living traditions.
I also don't believe that the dances were done only to specific tunes,
except for the ones that have a really strong connection to the dance or
are strange lengths.
Too many elements get fossilized by people who think that it should only
be done the way they learnt it 50 years ago.
Your "Trash English" (or xEnglish - eXtreme English - as some people
are trying to re-brand it) sounds great - some of us have been doing it
for decades!
Shame that we need to pigeon-hole dances - it is much more fun just to
do everything :-)
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
Hi Greg,
Your definition: "open public dances, with live music and a
caller, that are sponsored and hosted by a group of dance enthusiasts"
is basically any dance community - specifically contra in your case
since you added "primarily featuring duple contras".
As to how many new dancers turn up at such contra dances in
the UK? Well, there are less than 10 active contra dance clubs in the
UK as far as I know - they are listed at
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk/Links.html, and some are quite small. So
it is difficult to provide any sensible statistics based on such a small
sample.
There are a few big successful ones like the monthly London
Barndance Company dance in Cecil Sharp House (never billed as a contra,
and not guaranteed to be, but generally at least 90% contra dancing to
great contra dance bands and with great contra dance callers). Usually
around 80 to 150 dancers I believe, peaking to 300 for special events.
Most attendees are regulars; I suspect the number of new dancers is well
under 10%, but sometimes boosted by a party (literally - someone brings
their birthday party guests along for a dance) - however the party
members very rarely ever come back for another dance.
There are of course countless community dances (One Night
Stands - weddings, birthdays, fund-raisers, etc.) but in my experience
it is very rare to get one of those attendees to come to a dance
community event.
There is a Modern Western Square Dance community with around
150 clubs - see http://www.uksquaredancing.com/page5.htm. I don't know
how they do, but in the southeast (where I live) it has virtually died
out.
There is a Ceilidh community, who dance relatively simple
dances with lots of energy and stepping (hornpipe step-hops, rants, skip
steps, skip-change/polka steps, etc.) to great bands who are
experimenting with lots of musical influences (a similar evolution to
the contra dance music one, but exploring different musical genres) -
lots of information at http://www.cix.co.uk/~net-services/ec/ and
http://www.webfeet.org/ - there are usually around 10 big ceilidhs
around the country each weekend. Sadly none in my area, so I have no
idea how they are doing at getting new dancers. There are also lots of
ceilidhs at all the big folk festivals with lots of attendees. This is
the dance community that attracts the most younger people in the UK.
There are no ECD clubs in the UK (well there might be one
that calls itself that) - but lots of Folk Dance Clubs and other groups
which have a lot of similarity, but who are normally prepared to try any
dance. Sadly the average age is quite high at many of these clubs and
so the dances chosen, and the style in which they are danced, reflect
the physical ability of the dancers. They will happily dance contra
dances, but generally without the twirls and spins that Americans add.
Many of the clubs are quite small, but as you can see at
http://www.setandturnsingle.org.uk/ there are hundreds of them, and lots
of open dances at the weekends and at festivals. Sadly, the percentage
of new dancers is, I believe, very small.
Again, the word "club" above is not intended to imply a
closed group - just a regular event open to anyone, but attended
primarily by regulars.
So, sorry, no specific answers, but I hope that helps a
little.
Note: this is my personal perception of what is happening in
the UK - if anyone can add to it please do.
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
Hi Greg,
Sorry, I used the word "club" in a very generic way - I
meant any form of regular gathering, series, dance or session where
contra dances are danced.
My note was a response to your words: "The term "contra
dance" as an event name seems pretty clear."
Your response seems to agree with my understanding, i.e.
that the term is not well defined and is used by anyone running a dance
to mean what they want it to mean, just like the terms "barn dance",
"ceilidh" and even "square dance" are used over here. We often get
people asking us to run a square dance when they want simple dances in
any formation, and never notice if I don't call a square all night!
And, strangely, they often dress up as cowboys and cowgirls even though
we are doing English dances to English tunes. Ah, the power of the
media!
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
