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
I
want to try calling a dance medley in our contra group in 2011. As
this will be new for me and all of our dancers I’m writing for advice.
Specifically:
What are some sets of dance that work well as medleys?
What coordination should you do with the band ahead of time?
What recommendations do you have for instructions during the walk through?
Anything else (other than screwing my courage to the sticking point?)
Thanks.
Oh, sorry about the way that the font got switched in translations.
Most of you have probably figured out that 1 ? means 1 and a half.
I'll write those out in future so it doesn't happen. I fixed them
down below.
Oh, by the way, I love the fact that the first uses of this called it
a queen bee hey, because it is so evocative of the dances of the
bees. The bees returning from finding food, or a new home when they
are swarming, make a little wiggling run up a center line, then turn
out and come back up the center line to do it again, and turn the
other way to repeat, while the other bees all watch and touch them
and then participate in the dance when they get it. Of course, it's
the worker bees that actually do all this, the Queen just waits for
the hive decisions. But it's a nice touch.
Martha Wild
On Dec 11, 2010, at 9:00 AM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote:
> Send Callers mailing list submissions to
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>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Ricochet hey dances (Ron Nelson)
> 2. Re: Ricochet hey dances (Chris Page)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2010 18:13:08 +0000
> From: Ron Nelson <callerman(a)hotmail.com>
> To: <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Ricochet hey dances
> Message-ID: <BAY158-w45C10CE11EE3D2D4B043F5B82F0(a)phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"
>
>
> Good stuff Martha! Thanks!
>
> Ron Nelson
>
>> From: mawild(a)sbcglobal.net
>> Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2010 21:26:25 -0800
>> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> Subject: Re: [Callers] Ricochet hey dances
>>
>> I have a couple that you are welcome to call. Chris Page has written
>> a nice one that perhaps he would share, too. Oh, and I don't know why
>> when I paste from Word I get double spacing or how to fix it, so
>> sorry!
>>
>> King Bee Hey
>>
>> Martha Wild
>>
>> Duple improper February 21, 2004
>>
>>
>>
>> A1 Do-si-do neighbor
>>
>> Allemande right neighbor 1 and a half
>>
>> A2 Ricochet hey (men pass left shoulder, women push off)*
>>
>> B1 Men pass left one more time, swing partner
>>
>> B2 Men allemande left 1 and a half
>>
>> Women join in behind partner for a left hands across star 1X
>>
>>
>> *The men dance the full hey, passing left shoulders in the middle.
>>
>>
>> ^ On the men allemande left, the women have to let the men get around
>> once and then as their partner passes they move in behind him to join
>> the left hand star. A bit of a moving start on the part of the women
>> helps.
>>
>>
>> The first ricochet hey I ever did was a dance called "Huntsville's
>> Queen Bee Hey". The women do the hey, the men ricochet. So I called
>> this one a King Bee Hey.
>>
>> Then I decided to do a few "Worker Bee" heys:
>>
>> Worker Bee Hey #1
>>
>> Martha Wild
>>
>> Duple improper September 24, 2006
>>
>>
>>
>> A1 Down the set four in line (1s inside)
>>
>> Turn as neighbor couples and return*, face center of the line^
>>
>> A2 Ricochet hey@, 2s start passing right shoulder
>>
>> B1 2s gypsy and swing, end swing facing up!
>>
>> B2 Handy-hand allemande ~1 and a half times (2s step inside)
>>
>> 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.
>> If the 1's adjust a little for the 2's while they swing so they are
>> ready for the handy-hand allemande, this works well.
>>
>>
>>
>> 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.
>>
>>
>>
>>
> Message: 2
> Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:40:25 -0800
> From: Chris Page <chriscpage(a)gmail.com>
> To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Ricochet hey dances
> Message-ID:
> <AANLkTi=+UDOoEOVxZ2C0PZW7+6TpfNssmBQWbyqQTwLB(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> There's a lot more out there, in addition to the ones already
> mentioned.
>
> Cary Ravitz has a half dozen on his web page, though he calls it
> "Push Off Hey"
> (Bev's Becket alt, Galax, Hey Weaver, The Millennium Hug, One Way or
> Another, Whirl of Fortune)
>
> Rick Mohr uses one as an eight-beat swing connector in "Ted and Lynn."
>
> Chris Weiler's webpage has "On the Rebound" by himself and Bob Isaacs.
>
> I've written one with Bob Isaacs called "Ricochet Twins" which has the
> ricochet hey/swing transition for both swings.
>
> And I've written:
>
> Double Cat Bounce
> Chris Page
> Improper
> A1 Neighbor balance
> Neighbor swing
> A2 Half ricochet hey (ML, PR, W ricochet)
> Partner swing
> B1 Ladies chain
> Half ricochet hey (WR, NL, M ricochet)
> B2 Circle right 3/4
> Neighbor allemande left 1 & 1/2
>
>
>
> I think the half ricochet hey/swing transition will eventually be well
> known enough to be a good substitute for men allemande left/swing,
> when that transition isn't practical.
>
> -Chris Page
> San Diego
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
> End of Callers Digest, Vol 76, Issue 15
> ***************************************
I have a couple that you are welcome to call. Chris Page has written
a nice one that perhaps he would share, too. Oh, and I don't know why
when I paste from Word I get double spacing or how to fix it, so sorry!
King Bee Hey
Martha Wild
Duple improper February 21, 2004
A1 Do-si-do neighbor
Allemande right neighbor 1 ½
A2 Ricochet hey (men pass left shoulder, women push off)*
B1 Men pass left one more time, swing partner
B2 Men allemande left 1 ½
Women join in behind partner for a left hands across star 1X
*The men dance the full hey, passing left shoulders in the middle.
^ On the men allemande left, the women have to let the men get around
once and then as their partner passes they move in behind him to join
the left hand star. A bit of a moving start on the part of the women
helps.
The first ricochet hey I ever did was a dance called "Huntsville's
Queen Bee Hey". The women do the hey, the men ricochet. So I called
this one a King Bee Hey.
Then I decided to do a few "Worker Bee" heys:
Worker Bee Hey #1
Martha Wild
Duple improper September 24, 2006
A1 Down the set four in line (1s inside)
Turn as neighbor couples and return*, face center of the line^
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 step inside)
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.
If the 1's adjust a little for the 2's while they swing so they are
ready for the handy-hand allemande, this works well.
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.
On Dec 8, 2010, at 9:00 AM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote:
> Send Callers mailing list submissions to
> callers(a)sharedweight.net
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> callers-request(a)sharedweight.net
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> You can reach the person managing the list at
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>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Callers digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Teaching a Ricochet Hey (John Sweeney)
> 2. Re: Teaching a Ricochet Hey (Ron Nelson)
> 3. Re: ricochet or push-back hey - Tapsalteerie (Lisa Greenleaf)
> 4. Re: Teaching a Ricochet Hey (Martha Edwards)
> 5. Re: Teaching a Ricochet Hey (Andrea Nettleton)
> 6. Re: Ricochet Hey (John Sweeney)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2010 17:43:13 -0000
> From: "John Sweeney" <info(a)contrafusion.co.uk>
> To: <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: [Callers] Teaching a Ricochet Hey
> Message-ID: <CA0CE9090DD943DB981F833BFF1A9940@JohnT400>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> The key thing for the caller to understand is that when the two
> dancers
> ricochet they take each other's place in the hey, and are now going
> backwards.
>
> This means that they must NOT just bounce back the way they came,
> or to
> a neutral position on their own side - they have to follow the looping
> flow of the hey.
>
> I never actually explain that though. I just tell them to bounce back
> at the opposite angle to the way they came in. Describing it as a
> triangle usually helps. And one quick demo usually solves 90% of the
> problems.
>
> The other 10% of the problems come from people who bounce back and
> then
> stop! They are still part of the hey and have to keep moving.
>
> So instructions like these sometimes work: "As you come to the middle
> you will meet someone on a diagonal; bounce off that person and head
> backwards on the other diagonal, then move left* and come in again;
> you
> are going around the same triangle over and over again."
>
> *or right, depends on the dance.
>
> Note: As you bounce you change direction by just under 90 degrees,
> it is
> very easy to let that rotation continue and throw a couple of spins in
> :-)
>
> 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 Contra Dancing in Kent
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2010 17:57:38 +0000
> From: Ron Nelson <callerman(a)hotmail.com>
> To: <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Teaching a Ricochet Hey
> Message-ID: <BAY158-W162F5D0B4F05A84D3CAA57B82C0(a)phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>
> Very perceptive description John. It helped me considerably as I
> prepare to teach this movement.
>
> Thanks,
> Ron Nelson
>
>> From: info(a)contrafusion.co.uk
>> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2010 17:43:13 +0000
>> Subject: [Callers] Teaching a Ricochet Hey
>>
>> The key thing for the caller to understand is that when the two
>> dancers
>> ricochet they take each other's place in the hey, and are now going
>> backwards.
>>
>> This means that they must NOT just bounce back the way they came,
>> or to
>> a neutral position on their own side - they have to follow the
>> looping
>> flow of the hey.
>>
>> I never actually explain that though. I just tell them to bounce back
>> at the opposite angle to the way they came in. Describing it as a
>> triangle usually helps. And one quick demo usually solves 90% of the
>> problems.
>>
>> The other 10% of the problems come from people who bounce back and
>> then
>> stop! They are still part of the hey and have to keep moving.
>>
>> So instructions like these sometimes work: "As you come to the middle
>> you will meet someone on a diagonal; bounce off that person and head
>> backwards on the other diagonal, then move left* and come in
>> again; you
>> are going around the same triangle over and over again."
>>
>> *or right, depends on the dance.
>>
>> Note: As you bounce you change direction by just under 90 degrees,
>> it is
>> very easy to let that rotation continue and throw a couple of
>> spins in
>> :-)
>>
>> 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 Contra Dancing in Kent
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:58:42 -0500
> From: Lisa Greenleaf <laleaf(a)verizon.net>
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] ricochet or push-back hey - Tapsalteerie
> Message-ID: <9B6B880F-78F1-42C9-A29B-F4CBB2E9FC71(a)verizon.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
>> Adam Carlson's Queen Bee
>
>
> A little history here: Adam was the first to take this dance
> flourish and put it in a dance. He called it the figure a Queen
> Bee hey after a neighborhood in Seattle. I liked the move but
> wanted a name that reflected the action of the figure, so I called
> it a ricochet hey and wrote a dance with the same name; the dance
> is a riff on Tony Parkes' Flirtation Reel.
>
> My original dance had alternating 1s and 2s, but that worked only
> with experienced or up-for-anything crowds. I don't call this any
> more, as other folks have written much better dances!
>
> Ricochet Hey Duple Improper
>
> A1 (8) Down 4 in line , 1s in middle, turn alone (8) Up, face N (1s
> BTB in middle)
> A2 (16) Passing Neighbor R, 1s whole hey, 2s Ricochet
> B1 (16) B&S N
> B2 (8) For & Back (8) 1s Sw, face down
>
>
> Lisa Greenleaf
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2010 15:32:52 -0600
> From: Martha Edwards <meedwards(a)westendweb.com>
> To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Teaching a Ricochet Hey
> Message-ID:
> <AANLkTikPqPe2xhMfu3fuLO2ckOyeERGBpnSi71ThgRpm(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
> I find that if it's a regular hey (ladies start by the right
> shoulder) a
> ricochet hey feels a bit like a reverse Mad Robin - walking a sort
> of dosido
> track while facing across - adding, of course, the push-off...
>
> M
> E
>
> On Tue, Dec 7, 2010 at 11:43 AM, John Sweeney
> <info(a)contrafusion.co.uk>wrote:
>
>> The key thing for the caller to understand is that when the two
>> dancers
>> ricochet they take each other's place in the hey, and are now going
>> backwards.
>>
>> This means that they must NOT just bounce back the way they came,
>> or to
>> a neutral position on their own side - they have to follow the
>> looping
>> flow of the hey.
>>
>> I never actually explain that though. I just tell them to bounce
>> back
>> at the opposite angle to the way they came in. Describing it as a
>> triangle usually helps. And one quick demo usually solves 90% of the
>> problems.
>>
>> The other 10% of the problems come from people who bounce back and
>> then
>> stop! They are still part of the hey and have to keep moving.
>>
>> So instructions like these sometimes work: "As you come to the middle
>> you will meet someone on a diagonal; bounce off that person and head
>> backwards on the other diagonal, then move left* and come in
>> again; you
>> are going around the same triangle over and over again."
>>
>> *or right, depends on the dance.
>>
>> Note: As you bounce you change direction by just under 90 degrees,
>> it is
>> very easy to let that rotation continue and throw a couple of
>> spins in
>> :-)
>>
>> 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 Contra Dancing in Kent
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>>
>
>
>
> --
> For the good are always the merry,
> Save by an evil chance,
> And the merry love the fiddle
> And the merry love to dance. ~ William Butler Yeats
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Tue, 07 Dec 2010 18:09:34 -0500
> From: Andrea Nettleton <twirly-girl(a)bellsouth.net>
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Teaching a Ricochet Hey
> Message-ID: <4CFEBEAE.4050903(a)bellsouth.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> I teach a ricochet hey like a slice of pizza. You go in up the
> side of
> the slice, angle back out down the other side of the slice, and curve
> back to place along the crust. The other dancers dance the crust
> first
> then either cross, or in a double ricochet hey, go into the center and
> back out along the sides of the slice of pizza. Worked when I
> taught my
> dance, Mambo, to my skit cast for West Side Contra. I wrote a move
> which I believe is novel, which I called a Half Ricochet Allemande
> Hey.
> It actually returns all participants to their original places,
> which are
> already progressed, but gets them moving in the right direction.
> In it,
> the ladies travel the pizza slice as described above, but the
> gents, who
> are across the set from their partners, travel the crust first, and
> instead of passing by the right to cross over, continue the circle
> they
> began by allemande-ing back to place and on to meet their new
> neighbor.
> It has a beautiful flow, the circle folding in on itself like waves
> tumbling over one another in the ocean. Here is the dance, not as we
> danced it in the skit, which we had to do shifted forward a half
> phrase
> to accommodate the hits in the music, but as you would teach it to a
> hall of dancers, but probably not one full of newbies. :-)
>
> MAMBO! (Improper)
>
> A1 Partners face and Mad Robin
>
> Circle L 1x
>
> A2 Balance the ring, Spin R 1 place (Petronella)
>
> Partner Swing
>
> B1 R & L Through
>
> Ladies Chain
>
> B2 1/2 Ricochet Allemande Hey [OR California Roll] *See below
>
> New Nbr. Gypsy
>
> *In a 1/2 Ricochet Allemande Hey, the Ladies, who are coming out of
> the
> Courtesy Turn following the Ladies Chain, go into the center, ricochet
> (push one another back and to the left.) They arrive at their Nbr's
> place turn and curve out and towards their starting place, then beyond
> for the gypsy. The Gents curve back and to the right then into the
> center for an Allemande L (some would call it a 1/2, some 3/4, I say
> till they are back where they began the 'Hey'), and continue past the
> starting place to Gypsy a New Nbr. to Gypsy. It isn't exactly a Hey,
> though that's where I started with the move. It does have a nice
> folding quality to it and spits everyone out moving toward the New
> Nbr.
> I think of the Ladies as doing a slice of pizza, making the tasty
> point
> first, ending with the crust, while the Gents do a whole pie, starting
> with the same bit of crust the Ladies will later do. Tasty for all.
>
> To do the California Roll in this dance: when the Ladies come out of
> said Courtesy Turn, all free up their hands and face into their
> original
> hands four as they would if they circled, with Partners standing
> across
> the set. Partners take the handy hand, which is the Lady's R, the
> Gent's L, lift joined hands, the lady curls in toward her partner and
> walks under while he walks past, to swap, reverse direction, and face
> New Nbrs. Not yet proper, they immediately do a Roll Away with a Half
> Sashay to swap places but continue to face the New Neighbors, whom
> they
> might then Gypsy. I used the move to end the dance. It gives very
> elastic and satisfying connection with the partner for such a purpose,
> but could also function as a perfectly good progression. It is less
> good in that capacity for this dance because the first New Nbr.
> interaction is a forward moving one. It might be more properly
> termed a
> Nevada Roll due to the starting positions, but who can resist
> something
> as funny and catchy as a California Roll?
>
>
>
> On 12/7/2010 4:32 PM, Martha Edwards wrote:
>> I find that if it's a regular hey (ladies start by the right
>> shoulder) a
>> ricochet hey feels a bit like a reverse Mad Robin - walking a sort
>> of dosido
>> track while facing across - adding, of course, the push-off...
>>
>> M
>> E
>>
>> On Tue, Dec 7, 2010 at 11:43 AM, John
>> Sweeney<info(a)contrafusion.co.uk>wrote:
>>
>>> The key thing for the caller to understand is that when the two
>>> dancers
>>> ricochet they take each other's place in the hey, and are now going
>>> backwards.
>>>
>>> This means that they must NOT just bounce back the way they came,
>>> or to
>>> a neutral position on their own side - they have to follow the
>>> looping
>>> flow of the hey.
>>>
>>> I never actually explain that though. I just tell them to bounce
>>> back
>>> at the opposite angle to the way they came in. Describing it as a
>>> triangle usually helps. And one quick demo usually solves 90% of the
>>> problems.
>>>
>>> The other 10% of the problems come from people who bounce back
>>> and then
>>> stop! They are still part of the hey and have to keep moving.
>>>
>>> So instructions like these sometimes work: "As you come to the
>>> middle
>>> you will meet someone on a diagonal; bounce off that person and head
>>> backwards on the other diagonal, then move left* and come in
>>> again; you
>>> are going around the same triangle over and over again."
>>>
>>> *or right, depends on the dance.
>>>
>>> Note: As you bounce you change direction by just under 90
>>> degrees, it is
>>> very easy to let that rotation continue and throw a couple of
>>> spins in
>>> :-)
>>>
>>> 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 Contra Dancing in Kent
>>>
>>>
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>>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Wed, 8 Dec 2010 14:49:23 -0000
> From: "John Sweeney" <info(a)contrafusion.co.uk>
> To: <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Ricochet Hey
> Message-ID: <58F0164537EA4103B3909D045E0477C1@JohnT400>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> The ones I know are:
>
> Ricochet Hey #1 (no idea who wrote it, sorry)
> Contra; Improper
>
> Start in lines of four facing down, #1s in the middle
> A1: Down the Hall in Lines of Four; Turn Alone
> Up the Hall in Lines of Four; #1s face #2s
> A2: Full Hey: normal Hey for #1s; Ricochet Hey for #2s
> B1: Neighbour Balance & Swing
> B2: Long Lines Forward & Back
> #1s Swing - end facing down to pick up next #2s
>
>
> Rolling Hey (by Charley Harvey)
> Contra; Improper
>
> A1: Circle Left; Neighbor Swing
> A2: Circle Left 3/4; Partner Swing
> B1: Star Right; Ladies' Chain
> B2: Ricochet Hey for all - start with Ladies into the centre on a
> slight Right diagonal; push back on a slight Left diagonal, then
> step to
> the right; Men do the same, starting with the step to the right;
> REPEAT)
> - so no-one ever crosses the set during the Hey.
> Ladies keep moving to the right into a new circle. Men turn to
> their left out of the last push into a new circle.
>
> Happy dancing,
>
> John
> John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 &
> 07802 940 574
> http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Contra Dancing in Kent
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
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> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
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>
> End of Callers Digest, Vol 76, Issue 13
> ***************************************
The ones I know are:
Ricochet Hey #1 (no idea who wrote it, sorry)
Contra; Improper
Start in lines of four facing down, #1s in the middle
A1: Down the Hall in Lines of Four; Turn Alone
Up the Hall in Lines of Four; #1s face #2s
A2: Full Hey: normal Hey for #1s; Ricochet Hey for #2s
B1: Neighbour Balance & Swing
B2: Long Lines Forward & Back
#1s Swing - end facing down to pick up next #2s
Rolling Hey (by Charley Harvey)
Contra; Improper
A1: Circle Left; Neighbor Swing
A2: Circle Left 3/4; Partner Swing
B1: Star Right; Ladies' Chain
B2: Ricochet Hey for all - start with Ladies into the centre on a
slight Right diagonal; push back on a slight Left diagonal, then step to
the right; Men do the same, starting with the step to the right; REPEAT)
- so no-one ever crosses the set during the Hey.
Ladies keep moving to the right into a new circle. Men turn to
their left out of the last push into a new circle.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 &
07802 940 574
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Contra Dancing in Kent
The key thing for the caller to understand is that when the two dancers
ricochet they take each other's place in the hey, and are now going
backwards.
This means that they must NOT just bounce back the way they came, or to
a neutral position on their own side - they have to follow the looping
flow of the hey.
I never actually explain that though. I just tell them to bounce back
at the opposite angle to the way they came in. Describing it as a
triangle usually helps. And one quick demo usually solves 90% of the
problems.
The other 10% of the problems come from people who bounce back and then
stop! They are still part of the hey and have to keep moving.
So instructions like these sometimes work: "As you come to the middle
you will meet someone on a diagonal; bounce off that person and head
backwards on the other diagonal, then move left* and come in again; you
are going around the same triangle over and over again."
*or right, depends on the dance.
Note: As you bounce you change direction by just under 90 degrees, it is
very easy to let that rotation continue and throw a couple of spins in
:-)
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 Contra Dancing in Kent
Back in Feb 2008, Jean Francis said:
"I am looking for some dances with push-back or ricochet heys. I have only found
one... Heard of another called Tapsalterrie, but can't find."
As it so happens, I was searching the list for discussion about how to teach
that very dance! So here it is:
Carlson Tapsalteerie Becket contra, improper
Author unknown.
A1 (8) LL F&B
(8) Gents Al-R 1½, pass P by L-Sh
A2 (16) Tapsalteerie Hey:
Ladies cross ½ hey, Gents push back
Gents cross ½ hey, Ladies push back
B1 (16) P – B&Sw
B2 (8) Ladies Al-R 1½
(8) N – Sw
I tried calling it for the first time last week, and the mutual ricochet-hey
proved challenging for dancers. Any suggestions for clear, efficient explanation
of that move would be most appreciated.
also, does anyone know the author?
BTW, "Tapsalteerie" is Scots for "topsy-turvy. Great word, eh?
Jean, hope this can still do you some good. :-p
Tina
This has been a very interesting thread so far. I think that we all mean
well and want to be as inclusive as possible. That's a really positive and
commendable goal! I also think that we sometimes work so hard to not alienate
groups that we end up alienating everyone or making things confusing to all.
I prefer to use gender-specific terms for most dances when I am calling for
adults. This has always worked well for me, even when there is a marked
gender imbalance. I have *never* had anyone come up to me to complain about
this. I have had a couple of female caller friends get on their soap boxes to
complain about "traditional" square dance calls. I usually shoot for using
less gender-specific dances when I am working with children, depending upon
the group.
I have never attended, nor been asked to call a gender-free dance in my 30
years of calling, but I would be open to using whatever terminology/markers
a group is used to using. Most of my calling has been for the "usual" contra
dance crowd, ONS dances, Civil War balls, and open square dances.
Terminology has just not been an issue for any of these groups. Whatever works for a
given dance community is hunky-dory with me. Just don't push your views on
those who are happy with the way things are.
John B. Freeman, SFTPOCTJ
I was hired to call a dance and noticed, when I arrived, that there
were only two other men in the room besides myself. When I commented
on this I was informed that the group who hired me was a local
lesbian club. They specifically asked that I not make any
accommodations, even though many of them were new to contras. I
believe that they made a point of NOT informing me of their makeup
specifically so that I would not try to dance around the gender specific terms.
It worked out very well. All had a great time, and this in spite of
the fact that there were also two deaf dancers in the room as well.
Attitude is a key factor. I understand a lot of dances were called
here in California at mining towns during the gold rush. The men
danced with each other and half of them played the part of ladies. I
don't think they ever asked for "gender neutral" terms. A few shots
of whisky probably helped as well.
- Greg
*******
At 10:02 AM 12/2/2010, Susie wrote:
> I have been asked to call for a new dance group forming in a small town
> near our regular dance. Experienced dancers were asked to come help
> these absolute newbies, and some local musicians have volunteered their
> services. It became obvious that about half the dancers were lesbians
> who asked me to use non gender specific terms when calling. I tried
> 'lead' and 'follow' because the syllable numbers worked, but I'm not
> happy with that. I also had some regular dancers comment on not wanting
> to deal with 'some' peoples' political agendas as related to contra
> calling. I have never dealt with gender free calling and would
> appreciate ANY help from those of you who may have been doing it for
> years. What terms seem to work best? Any other hints to make things go
> more smoothly? These people are very enthusiastic and I want to see
> the dance succeed.
>_______________________________________________
>Callers mailing list
>Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
I have been asked to call for a new dance group forming in a small town
near our regular dance. Experienced dancers were asked to come help
these absolute newbies, and some local musicians have volunteered their
services. It became obvious that about half the dancers were lesbians
who asked me to use non gender specific terms when calling. I tried
'lead' and 'follow' because the syllable numbers worked, but I'm not
happy with that. I also had some regular dancers comment on not wanting
to deal with 'some' peoples' political agendas as related to contra
calling. I have never dealt with gender free calling and would
appreciate ANY help from those of you who may have been doing it for
years. What terms seem to work best? Any other hints to make things go
more smoothly? These people are very enthusiastic and I want to see
the dance succeed.
