Hmmm, I'm not sure a balance before the partner swing is the best fix here, it seems you'd get either a balance happening 2 beats early OR a 2 beat dead space while the dancers wait to do the balance at the right time
Another way to fix that would be either a do-si-do or a gypsy with your partner before the swing, since the dancers can be fairly loose with the timing that way
Just my 2 cents,
Mark Widmer
From: Mark Hillegonds <mark.hillegonds(a)gmail.com>
Hi all,
I called this dance on Saturday night and offer the following comments.
Overall, the dance flowed nicely and got good reviews from the dancers.
A1: There aren't quite enough moves for the music, especially as the circle
3/4 already has momentum going from the previous circle 3/8. As a result...
A2: ...the partner swing started 2-3 beats early making for a very long
swing. Several dancers suggested making the A2 a balance and swing.
B1: No problems / comments
B2: Had a little trouble in the walkthrough getting the women to orient
themselves after the almd L 1/2. Part of it was me not using the correct
words and part of it was the slightly different feel of the diamond, so
there was no "muscle memory" as to where to face to make the diamond. I
found that asking the women who left allemanded each other to turn to face
each other coming out the allemand worked nicely. I also found that when I
started stressing that the diamond was with new neighbors (the progression)
that the dancers were more comfortable knowing they were in the right
place. You will also have to keep reminding the gents to move right while
the ladies are having their fun. Having said that about the teaching, once
the dancers understood the move, it was a very satisfying moment to come out
of the allemendes and being away from one's partner and have everyone
reappear in the diamond. If you're teaching this to newer dancers, the
diamond will need some explaining.
Lots of nice comments from the dancers. I asked the band to start with a
jig and move to a reel. The reel kicked a bunch of energy into the second
half of the dance.
Hope this helps.
On Fri, Sep 25, 2009 at 8:15 AM, Will Loving <
will(a)dedicationtechnologies.com> wrote:
> Here's the dance as sent to me by Dan Pearl and confirmed by Ken:
>
> Flying Waffles (Becket)
> By Ken Haltenhoff
>
> A1. Cir L 3/4; Bal; Men pass Rsh
> A2. Sw pt
> B1. W ch over and back
> B2. W almd R 3/4; W almd L next W 1/2 while M move R; balance to diamond
> with M facing across with partner on R; circle R 3/8
>
> Alternate by Walter Lenk:
> A1. Balance ring; Cir L 3/4; M pass Rsh
> A2. Bal & Sw pt
>
>
Michael,
How does Tony's dance get the dancers in position for the right-and-left through in B1?
Coming up the hall, the ladies are on the wrong (left) side of the gents
So just turning to face across, people are in the wrong orientation
The right-and-left through has the ladies on the right, which they won't be here
Unless Tony's dance has them turn as couples, not turning alone as in Jane's dance?
Regards,
Mark Widmer
"Michael Barraclough" <michael(a)michaelbarraclough.com> wrote
Its not in my stack either. However, it is quite similar to Inflation Reel
by Tony Parkes. A1 and A2 are the same and Inflation Reel has your B2 as
it's B1.
Michael Barraclough
http://www.michaelbarraclough.com
-----Original Message-----
From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net
[mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Jane Ewing
Sent: Monday, September 21, 2009 10:27 AM
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Subject: [Callers] Title assistance please.........
For various reasons I need a dance with these moves and find nothing in my
stack.
Does anyone recognize this combo as being an existing dance and if so can
you please give me title and author.
Thanks.
A1 Neighbor DSD & Swing
A2 4 in line down-turn alone
B1 Circle left 3, Partner Swing
B2 Right & Left Thru, Ladies Chain
Jane Ewing
Grant, AL
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
------------------------------
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
End of Callers Digest, Vol 61, Issue 15
***************************************
I have been contacted by a "Mother of a Bride" looking for a contra caller
for her daughters wedding.
They are looking for a caller with ONS expereince that is available.
Sadly I am 9+ hours away in Alabama.
Anyone out there interested??
Location: Washington, NC (about 1/2 hour from Greenville,NC)
Date: December 19, 2009
Bride & Groom both dance. They expect 200 guests with about 50 willing to
dance.
Should have 7-10 expereienced dancers in the crowd coming in from Houston
where these two met.
Brides Mother Lori McNiel phone 252-945-7794
Lorimcniel(a)hotmail.com
Jane Ewing
Grant, AL
Jane, that turn-alone should give your dance a real distinctive feel, and I would be quite surprised if there were any other dance like it. Coming back up the hall, each man has a lady on the left, rather than the usual lady-on-the-right. I don't recall ever doing a dance like that, though it's possible there are one or two out there.
Mark Widmer
"Jane Ewing" <contradance(a)charter.net> wrote
For various reasons I need a dance with these moves and find nothing in my
stack.
Does anyone recognize this combo as being an existing dance and if so can
you please give me title and author.
Thanks.
A1 Neighbor DSD & Swing
A2 4 in line down-turn alone
B1 Circle left 3, Partner Swing
B2 Right & Left Thru, Ladies Chain
Jane Ewing
Grant, AL
A big thanks to everyone.
Richard Hart, you were correct, it is identical to Tom Caldwell's "Early Bird Special"
His notes say he wrote it for the same reasons that I needed it.
Jane Ewing
Grant, AL
Also similar to Nice Combination.
On Sep 21, 2009, 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
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> callers-owner(a)sharedweight.net
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Callers digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Title assistance please......... (Jane Ewing)
> 2. Re: Title assistance please......... (Michael Barraclough)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:26:37 -0500
> From: "Jane Ewing" <contradance(a)charter.net>
> To: <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: [Callers] Title assistance please.........
> Message-ID: <9AADB31CCF974D7FAC472A0F5DB77CCE@TEAPOT>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> reply-type=original
>
> For various reasons I need a dance with these moves and find
> nothing in my
> stack.
> Does anyone recognize this combo as being an existing dance and if
> so can
> you please give me title and author.
> Thanks.
>
> A1 Neighbor DSD & Swing
>
> A2 4 in line down-turn alone
>
> B1 Circle left 3, Partner Swing
>
> B2 Right & Left Thru, Ladies Chain
>
> Jane Ewing
> Grant, AL
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:10:45 -0400
> From: "Michael Barraclough" <michael(a)michaelbarraclough.com>
> To: "'Caller's discussion list'" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Title assistance please.........
> Message-ID: <004101ca3acd$b25545c0$16ffd140$@com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Its not in my stack either. However, it is quite similar to
> Inflation Reel
> by Tony Parkes. A1 and A2 are the same and Inflation Reel has your
> B2 as
> it's B1.
>
> Michael Barraclough
> http://www.michaelbarraclough.com
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net
> [mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Jane Ewing
> Sent: Monday, September 21, 2009 10:27 AM
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Subject: [Callers] Title assistance please.........
>
> For various reasons I need a dance with these moves and find
> nothing in my
> stack.
> Does anyone recognize this combo as being an existing dance and if
> so can
> you please give me title and author.
> Thanks.
>
> A1 Neighbor DSD & Swing
>
> A2 4 in line down-turn alone
>
> B1 Circle left 3, Partner Swing
>
> B2 Right & Left Thru, Ladies Chain
>
> Jane Ewing
> Grant, AL
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
> End of Callers Digest, Vol 61, Issue 15
> ***************************************
For various reasons I need a dance with these moves and find nothing in my
stack.
Does anyone recognize this combo as being an existing dance and if so can
you please give me title and author.
Thanks.
A1 Neighbor DSD & Swing
A2 4 in line down-turn alone
B1 Circle left 3, Partner Swing
B2 Right & Left Thru, Ladies Chain
Jane Ewing
Grant, AL
Chrissy has some great things to say about starting a dance series. Wish
I could go!
Chris Weiler
Goffstown, NH
-------- Original Message --------
chris -
gaye fifer and i have put together a weekend for organizers and
callers. it will be held in blacksburg, va.
could you post this announcement to the sharedweight list?
thanks,
shawn brenneman
---------------------------------
The Virginia Dance Leadership Conference is an event designed for
organizers and callers from our region to come together and
collaborate about how to build the dance community.
It will be held the weekend of Oct 16-18, 2009, in Blacksburg, Va.
It's a two track event - one for organizers and one for callers.
Chrissy Fowler of Belfast, ME, will be leading sessions for
organizers, focusing on creating a clear vision and running a
successful community dance series. Bob Dalsemer will be leading the
session for callers, focusing on a better understanding of
choreography, working with musicians, and engaging new dancers.
Conference participants will all join in at the regular Blacksburg
contra dance Saturday night, which will be called by Bob's calling
class particpants.
Registration fee of $45 includes a Friday night social, 4 Saturday
workshops, Saturday night contra dance admission, meals on Saturday,
Sunday morning brunch and followup session. Hosting is available for
out of town participants.
Find the details at:
http://www.twodogwaltz.com/conference.html
Workshop space is limited to 22 organizers and 10 callers.
Print out a registration form (from the website) and send it in to
reserve your spot!
More info: Contact Gaye at 434-244-7858 or Shawn at sbrenneman(a)gmail.com
This event is funded in part by the Mary Kay Friday Fund of the CDSS
(Country Dance and Song Society).
http://www.cdss.org/mary-kay-friday-leadership-fund.html
Your workshop sounds great, Barbara! Congrats.
One tidbit that I might add from my own experience as a gleeful gender-swapper during dances:
Barbara Groh said, "There was a little confusion, of course, as folks forgot which
side to be on after a swing and were not able to use visual cues of
gender to do the dance."
If swapping roles during the partner swing (often an easy time to do so), we've discovered that simply offering the hands differently can serve as an excellent clue. For a balance & sw, the person who will become the lead/male/band holds the offering hands up; the person who will become the follow/female/barearm holds her hands down, ultimately placing them in the waiting hands of the other. If no balance but only swing, the arm placements are similarly offered as clues: if leading, it's the left arm out straightish and right high & around; vv for following. These are tangible visual cues, and even one person remembering to do them can make all the difference.
Of course, if necessary one can also default to a muttered "I'm the boy; I'm the boy; I'm the boy."
Tina
Hey, fellow callers,
I had lots of great suggestions from many of you re: putting together a
gender-swapping w.s., and a couple of people asked me to report on how it
went. So here goes:
The workshop took place at the Moondance weekend in S.C., and we had a good
turnout....a couple of longways sets for most of it. The dancers were all
very experienced, and many of them had done some gender swapping at regular
dances. We spent several minutes talking about the swing, the change of arm
position (I liked Jack's suggestion not to do the symmetrical swing at the
w.s.), how many counts to twirl someone out of a swing, and the complaints
that each gender can have about the other gender's bad habits in a swing.
i.e. giving too much, or not enough, weight; forced twirls; awkward body
positions, hanging on the shoulder of your partner. I had folks swap gender
roles with their partner and practice a little bit, with an opportunity to
give each other feedback. Then we danced a simple dance (Robert Cromartie's
Pooh Bear's Holiday) that had a P and a N swing, but no chain.
For the next dance I had folks pair up w/ someone of the same gender. We
talked about the joys of a regular courtesy turn, the twirl, how to signal
that you don't want to twirl, and how to guide the twirlee to be ready for
the next move. I also reminded followers not to back-lead a twirl. They
practiced chaining in groups of four, & then we danced Summer Sunshine by
Paul Balliet.
Before the 3rd dance, we talked about gender swapping at a regular dance
that includes beginners, and how and when to swap back if you see someone
coming who would be confused or irritated by your swap.
Then we just danced for the rest of the time, & folks chose same gender or
opp. gender for each dance. I thought everyone did really well. There was a
little confusion, of course, as folks forgot which side to be on after a
swing and were not able to use visual cues of gender to do the dance. I
was glad I stuck w/ easy dances, because the dancers had enough to think
about.
I had several people tell me they enjoyed the workshop, so I want to thank
all of you who took time to send suggestions. They were very helpful!
Happy calling,
Barbara
