thanks for all the great suggestions, and associated details, that all have provided so far (on and off-list). happy to hear more suggestions, if anyone has them.
to answer alan's question, when she made the query, my friend wrote something like "are there any contra-dances that have lyrics that would lend themselves to arrangement?" i was guessing she was imagining a choral piece that might be performed with a demo group of dancers doing the dance while it was sung. but who knows!
-chrissy fowler
beautifully snowy belfast maine
Alan responded to Chrissy's call,
"The vast majority of modern contra dances don't have particular tunes
associated with them, although certainly some of the tunes which get used for
contra have lyrics."
Along with the commonly played Southern tunes with lyrics that Jeff mentioned,
I'll add a couple of trad Irish:
Little Beggarman
Mairi's Wedding
Once in awhile, if the band agrees, I'll sing along with such tunes for a little
bit after the dancers are launched. I did it at the No Snow Ball last year; a
couple surprise rounds of I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. :-p It went over
well.
And a few years ago at Folklife, the band did medleys of Beatles songs that had
the whole hall singing along - heap big fun.
I'm glad you started this thread, Chrissy, because it'd be fun to have more
contra singing.
Tina
Does anyone know the name of the author and correct title for this square?
H/S F&B
H/S Pass thru, separate, around 2 lines at the S/H
F8 8Back, Forward again, box the gnat
outsides make an arch, insides dive, go around one form lines at the H/S
F8 8Back, Forward again, box the gnat
outsides make an arch, insides dive, go around one form lines at the S/H
F8 8Back, Forward again, box the gnat
outsides make an arch, insides dive, go around one form lines at the H/S
F8 8Back, Forward again, box the gnat
outsides make an arch, insides dive, swing partner at home.
Does anyone recognize any of these 3 dances please?
Dance 1
[4] FOUR-IN-LINE DOWN, TURN ALONE
[4] FOUR IN LINE UP, BEND TO A RING
[4] CIRCLE LEFT ¾, PASS THRU
[4] NEXT NEIGHBOR SWING
[4] MEN ALLEMANDE LEFT ONCE-AND-A-HALF (keep hold for)
[4] PARTNER HALF PROMENADE (to own side), BUTTERFLY WHIRL (into)
[4] LADIES DOSIDO
[4] PARTNER SWING
Dance 2
[4] (LEFT DIAGONAL) LADIES CHAIN
[4] (STRAIGHT ACROSS) LADIES CHAIN (into)
[8] HEY (ladies pass right)
[8] PARTNER BALANCE AND SWING
[4] CIRCLE LEFT ¾, PASS THRU
[4] CIRCLE RIGHT ¾
Dance 3
[2] GIVE RIGHT TO YOUR OPPOSITE, BALANCE FORWARD AND BACK
[2] PULL BY RIGHT (opposite), PULL BY LEFT (partner)
[2] GIVE RIGHT TO YOUR OPPOSITE, BALANCE FORWARD AND BACK
[2] PULL BY RIGHT (opposite), PULL BY LEFT (partner)
[4] (left diagonal) RIGHT AND LEFT THRU
[4] (straight across) RIGHT AND LEFT THRU
[8] HEY (ladies pass right)
[8] PARTNER BALANCE AND SWING
Michael Barraclough
www.michaelbarraclough.com
Folks,
I am calling tonight. I thought I had saved some of the recent "boomerang
hey" dances, but I apparently I didn't. If anyone has one that would be
appropriate for a pretty "beginner-ish" dance that they could re-post, I would
appreciate it.
***************************************************
Hatton Greer
The internet, that's the thing with e-mail, right?
****************************************************
Dear Callers who may be attending RPLW,
Chrissy Fowler and I have decided to pass along some of the calling
books that we no longer use, or of which we happen to have duplicates.
I thought that offering them for "silent auction" and fully donating
all proceeds to the RPLW funds, would be a great way to support this
weekend that we all love so much. So with the full support of the RPLW
Board, we will be displaying these books during the weekend, in the
lunch area. You will have an opportunity to look them over, and make
your bids throughout Saturday and Sunday morning. We will close the
auction just after lunch on Sunday. Cash or checks (made out to RPLW)
happily accepted. The books include some older editions, some RPLW
syllabi, dance collections, as well as advice about calling. There are
about 20 books total.
Please join us in what we hope will be the First Annual Book Auction!
See you soon,
Linda Leslie
Hello all,
Once again, it's time for the annual Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend.
Once again, everyone from the SharedWeight lists is invited to join us
for lunch on Saturday and Sunday. We push a bunch of tables together and
talk about whatever we want. Calling, communities, music. There are
always people who bring food to share, so feel free to join the potluck.
The RPDL weekend is a special and unique weekend. There you can meet the
key movers and shakers of the contra dance revival. Network with and
learn from people who have made the dance community their passion for
decades. Plus have a lot of fun with some really excellent dancers.
More info:
http://www.nhcountrydance.com/music/rpdlw.html
Chris Weiler
SharedWeight.net
Hi Suzanne et. al,
I had noticed the discrepancy this morning and called the Folk School to point
it out. The woman with whom I spoke said they'd fix it.
The usual weekend rate for courses there is $308, and I'm guessing that the
webmaster simply entered this as a weekend class and the automated functions
took over. But when I spoke with the school this morning, that person confirmed
that the tuition is $180.
David
FYI regarding the tuition cost of the weekend. I just registered, and
the registration process shows a tuition cost of $308 rather than $180,
all the way through the registration process, right up until the final
billing page. I talked to someone at the school who said it was a
glitch in their software, but I sent them a message about it after I
registered in hopes that this would be fixed. My suggestion would be to
pay the $100 deposit for now until things get ironed out.
Should be a dynamite weekend!
Suzanne Girardot
-----Original Message-----
>From: David Millstone
>Sent: Jan 6, 2011 1:06 PM
>To: trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com, callers(a)sharedweight.net
>Subject: [Callers] Dare To Be Square 2011
>
>Interested in immersing yourself in a full weekend of square dancing?
>Registration is now open for...
>
>"Dare To Be Square"
>November 18-20, 2011
>John C. Campbell Folk School
>Brasstown, NC
>
>Staff callers: Phil Jamison, Bob Dalsemer, Larry Edelman, Tony Parkes,
Jim Mayo,
>Bill Litchman
>
>This special dance weekend, co-sponsored by the Country Dance and Song
Society,
>is devoted to traditional square dancing from Appalachia, New England,
the
>American Southwest and beyond with six of the best callers from across
the
>country. All dancing will be to wonderful live music provided by Steve
Hickman,
>John Devine, Sam Bartlett, and Claudio Buchwald. Early registration is
advised,
>since space is limited to about 60 dancers. Previous contra or
traditional
>square dance experience is highly recommended.
>
>Tuition for the weekend is $180, plus different rates for lodging and
meals,
>depending on where you're housed.
>
>Details, including brief biographies of the instructors, are on line
here:
>
https://www.folkschool.org/index.php?section=class_detail&class_id=5167
>
>You can register from the website or by contacting the Folk School.
>
>I'll add a few words to the official blurb above from the catalog and
online
>listing. The John C. Campbell Folk School has a rich tradition itself;
it began
>offering classes in 1925. The website has a good summary of the
school's history
>and philosophy. The school is located in a beautiful setting in
western North
>Carolina, and the main hall where we'll be dancing is one of the
finest dance
>spaces I've encountered.
>
>The six callers assembled for this weekend are helping coordinate the
Square
>Dance History Project, and the the weekend will be videotaped.
Workshops will
>focus on different regional styles, so you can enjoy southern
Appalachian big
>sets, traditional western calls, singing squares, New England
quadrilles, modern
>western, plenty more...
>
>David Millstone
>Lebanon, NH
>_______________________________________________
>Callers mailing list
>Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
