Contra Callers

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Announcing the Frolic in the Fall - 9/27/08 in Harrisburg, PA - corrected copy

by Frolic in the Fall

Hi Friends, Dancers, Organizers, and previous Frolicers: ANNOUNCING, The Second Annual Frolic in the Fall. To be held Saturday, September 27, 2008 from 11am-11pm . Location is the YWCA Camp Reily, just outside of Harrisburg , PA , a 5-acre camp where we dance in a rustic lodge with a wood floor, surrounded by Nature in the Appalachian Mountains of PA. Music from the LATE FOR SUPPER from York and DANCEWIZ from Philadelphia , calling by TOM HINDS, from Faber, VA, and DAVE COLESTOCK, from Harrisburg, PA. The Frolic starts with an hour of Waltzing from 11-12, then Contra Dancing from Noon-11. There will be an HOUR LONG Dance Medley, at about 4:30 , followed by a Pot Luck Dinner (last name A-M, dessert or side dish; N-Z main dish, please). Cost is $25/person, limited to 100 dancers, advance registration highly encouraged. Dance at the Locust Lane Contra Dance on Friday 9/26/08 with Perry Shafran calling to All Hat, No Cattle, then stay over at a local motel, b&b, or camp with us on-site. Tent camping for Fri and Sat nights is available for additional $20 /person. Contact us at Fallfrolic(a)yahoo.com or visit the website at www.frolicinthefall.freeservers.com Register online (available soon) or download registration form and send snail mail by 9/13/08 , please. Feel free to forward this email, and tell all of your friends - spread the word about the Frolic ! Thank you, and hope to see YOU at the Frolic. Can you DANCE for an HOUR??? Come to the FROLIC and find out!!! Thanks for your interest, Dave Colestock --------------------------------- Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.

17 years, 1 month

Dance Debrief

by Jack Mitchell

So, I started writing this out for myself, just to write out some of my thoughts about the dance -- what went well, what didn't, what I needed to think about. Once I got it done, I thought there might be some folks out there who would be interested in reading (or at least skimming) some of this.... Usually I just mull over a dance afterwards, sometimes talking it out with another dancer. This is the first time I've tried to write things out. It's kinda long, so feel free to ignore it if you're not interested. If you would be interested in helping me troubleshoot a walk through, but don't want to deal with it all, I would be interested in any thoughts that you might have on teaching "Happy as a Warm Pig in Cold Mud" -- it's the first dance I talk about in detail. If you don't want to plow thorough the rest, just have a look at it -- start at the bold face text below. Jack Here goes..... Just called a dance at the Greensboro (NC) Grange this evening. We had a relatively small group -- probably in part because it was a first Saturday and so we didn't get the folks coming over from the Triangle, never getting above two lines (but never having to go to just one line either!). The band was Skylark (Paul Fackler on fiddle, Marilyn Hartman on piano and Colin Cannell on percussion and mouth harp). Overall, I was pretty happy with the program I called, but I probably did try to do 1 too many more involved dances later in the evening. First half: The first part of the evening was mostly glossary dances, adding in a Hey by the 3rd dance of the evening. * Greetings, by Tori Berone -- a nice simple dance, with Long Lines after both of the swings, which helps remind the dancers to stop swinging and move on without my having to call for the whole time * Summer Sunshine, by Paul Balliet - starts and ends in the same short wavy lines, introduces Ladies Chain * Flirting Attempt, by Marian Hepburn - first Hey of the evening, otherwise, a pretty simple dance * Salmanella Evening by Steve Zakon Anderson - brings in Petranella Spins, pretty heavy on allemandes - another great set of tunes - a set of rip roaring french canadian tunes with both foot percussion and drum * After the Flu, by Dean Snipes - a down the hall dance which ends with a ladies chain into a circle right into (the top of the dance which is a) circle left with new neighbors. We did it to a nice set of smooth jigs and once people got the hang of the transition, it went well. I really love that transition -- circle right into circle left with new folks. Inpatient readers, please start here!! I ended the first half with Happy as a Warm Pig in Cold Mud. I've been playing with how I want to teach this one, and I'm still not happy with what I've got, though Eileen gave me some good ideas for things to try next time (probably when I call at Glen Echo next week) So, the dance is: Happy as a Warm Pig in Cold Mud (or in the winter Happy as a Cold Pig in Warm Mud -- I'm actually not sure which is the original title....) Mike Boershig Improper A1 N B&S A2 Men Allemande L 1.5 P Allemande R 1.5 B1 Leave your partner, Left Hand Star 1x (theoretically with neighbor, shadow and shadow's neighbor) Back to your partner, Swing B2 Circle Left 3/4 Balance the Ring California Twirl So, as you would guess, the B1 is the tricky bit. One of the fun things about this dance is that it doesn't matter which way you go for the star -- it helps if you and your partner go in different directions, but even that doesn't really matter -- as long as you go somewhere, turn a star and then swing your partner. Because of that, it's a very resilient dance. That being said, what I discovered tonight was that it can still be confusing for folks even when it doesn't fall apart -- that's more or less what happened tonight. The dance kept going, and I was able to stop calling, but new dancers ended up confused (and keeping calling didn't change much). It was a matter of getting oriented in the first place. We also had a lower proportion of experienced dancers to beginners than usual. What I did during the walk through was have them allemande R 1.5 with partner, and then get the men back to back in the center. Reach out with your left hand and star left with your neighbor and the two people pointing back at you. I also pointed out that in the dance it didn't matter how many times you allemande with your partner or which direction you went to form the star -- as long as you go and keep moving. People still had a lot of trouble figuring out where to go once the dance got going, and in a lot of cases the new folks just got the "deer in the headlights" syndrome and stopped completely. A few options: 1) Point out that (theoretically) you will have a shadow in your star -- if you're doing a wrist grip star, the gent's shadow will be the lady whose wrist he grabs to form the star. Problem: If some folks go the other way, this could be more confusing. Option: Just don't mention that you can go either way -- have it be allemande 1.5, star left with shadow, come back swing. 2) Men back to back in the middle (after the allemande). Look away from your hands 4 for someone of the same gender and form a hands across star. Turn the star 1 time. Swing your partner. Problem: Again, could be confusing if someone ended up with he he he she stars or she she she he stars. 3) Other ideas?? How's the best way to point out the position without having to tie it either to a particular person or gender? I suspect that with the group I had, I should probably have just "done it straight" without pointing out the opportunity to mess around. In that case, which way above would seem to be clearer? With a larger proportion of experienced dancers, though, any thoughts on the best way to teach it? Ok. Impatient readers are done. If you want to read about the second half and pick up another new dance, keep going! Second half, I did * Square Affair, by Becky Hill, a great dance with a square thru, * Any Jig Will Do, by Mike Richardson (done to Slip Jigs -- I love to call this one when I have a band that can do slip Jigs, and the band had put a set together specifically for me. They ended up at a higher tempo than I've done it at before. It was almost too fast, but the dancers were able to keep up confortably. For some reason, once of the new dancers who had been confused and disoriented for many of the dances was able to get this one with no problems -- and it's a dance that depends on the men to get the hey going. * a simple 4 face 4 (Dance All Night, by Rick Mohr) * Lundee's Laughter, a new dance by Adina Gordon On this one, I forgot that I hadn't done the dance I had planned to do earlier in the evening to introduce the Roll Away (which came right after a ladies chain, making it more complicated.) I had planned to start out with Rollin and Tumblin by Cis Hinkle, but then (for some reason) changed to another dance instead and forgot that I needed the roll away for this dance. Also, this is the first time I've called it at a regular dance -- we tested it out two weeks ago when the naming rights were auctioned off at a benefit dance -- but we only danced it a few times then) The dance is: Lundee's Laughter Adina Gordon Becket!! A1 2 ladies down the hall Turn alone, come back (while the ladies are traveling, men face down) A2 Partner Gypsy (by inside shoulder -- the one that's closest), ladies cross Neighbor Swing B1 Long Lines Left Diagonal Ladies Chain (to shadow), and Roll Away B2 Partner Swing Definitely needed to have done a roll away earlier in the evening like I had originally planned, because this is a special case for a rollaway and getting to it from the ladies chain can be tricky to figure out what to do with which hand even when you know how to do a roll away. It does flow very nicely into the swing though. The one problem that we had when we tested it 2 weeks ago was the progression -- you have to make sure that when you come back around to the top that it's two NEW ladies to go down the hall. After the swing, the dancers are likely to need to shift just a bit to the right to be across from new neighbors. It's a good dance, and I think with a more experienced group, would have been fine. As it was, it never fell apart, it was just a little rough around the edges, and a number of folks never got the roll away. This dance isn't a good one to start with for a roll away because a) it's from an unusual position and b) it's always with the same person -- your shadow. If neither of you know how to do a roll away, you'd just sunk. Fortunately, all you have to do is trade places and there your partner is, and you've got a nice long swing with them before you have to do anything else. Ended the evening with Hey in the Barn by Chart Guthrie -- one of my favorite everyone's-brain-dead-and-we-just-want-to-dance-and-not-think dances. (for those who don't know it: N B&S, L Chain, 1/2 Hey, P B&S, LC, 1/2 Hey, on to the next..... If I had it to program again I wouldn't have done Any Jig, Dance all Night and Lundee's Laughter all together -- too many unusual dances all in a row, and I think it taxed the dancers a bit. I also wouldn't have done Lundee's laughter without having done a roll away earlier in the evening so that they get lots of practice with different folks. I think that two out of three would have been ok, perhaps split up by a simpler dance. Ahh, the joys of programming on the fly in combination with new dances (Dance all Night was my first ever 4 face 4, and Lundee's Laughter was a new dance too....) Fortunately, I had fabulous music to work with. This is my first time working with them since Colin's been playing with Paul and Marilyn. Colin just started working with them about 6 months ago, and the percussion has really added a lot to their sound. I had called with them a bunch of times as a duo and always enjoyed it. The addition of a nice solid percussion just makes it that much better. Almost all of the tunes that they played fit the dances really well, and I think that everyone (dancers, band and caller) had a good time. If you made it this far, I hope that it was interesting (or at least that you picked up a couple of new dances). If anyone would like copies of other dances mentioned, just drop me an email and I'll send them out. Jack Mitchell Durham, NC

17 years, 1 month

Shoofly Swing

by Gretchen Caldwell

I'm looking for a circle dance called, I believe, "Shoofly Swing". Cubby Whitehead used to end every evening with it in Bradenton Florida in the late 1980s. It involves one couple starting with an allemande right, lady then allemandes next gent by left, then partner by right, next gent by left, and so on. After the allemanding partners have passed you by, you and your partner join until the whole circle is peeling off in one amazing mass of allemandes. Anyone have it? I've just joined the list, have been calling for two years, and appreciate the support of the community. I plan to try Microchasmic soon for our weekly Monday night dance, where the level of dancing is, surprise surprise, improving as we three local callers try more challenging dances. Not a lot of contracorners going on. This triplet might be just the thing. Gretchen Caldwell Charlotte NC

17 years, 1 month

Re: [Callers] Dance Debrief

by Jack Mitchell

Greetings Tori Berone Improper A1 N B&S A2 LL F&B Ladies Allemande R 1.5 B1 P B&S B2 LL F&B CL 3/4, pass thru to new Ns Collected from Nills F at a dance at the Vintage Theater, Winston Salem, NC It's a great first dance because the long lines allows the "group consciousness" to remind people when it's time to stop swinging. Makes it easier to start backing out on the calls sooner. At 07:50 PM 5/4/2008, you wrote: >Dear Jack, > >Thank you for posting your program. It is always interesting to see >what dances callers are calling. > >I was curious about the dance "Greetings" by Tori Barone. Can you >send me a copy of it? I can't seem to find it. > >Thanks in advance. > >Regards, >Greg McKenzie > >********** > >> First half: >> The first part of the evening was mostly glossary dances, adding in a >> Hey by the 3rd dance of the evening. >> * Greetings, by Tori Berone -- a nice simple dance, with Long Lines >> after both of the swings, which helps remind the dancers to stop >> swinging and move on without my having to call for the whole time >> * Summer Sunshine, by Paul Balliet - starts and ends in the same >> short wavy lines, introduces Ladies Chain >> * Flirting Attempt, by Marian Hepburn - first Hey of the evening, >> otherwise, a pretty simple dance >> * Salmanella Evening by Steve Zakon Anderson - brings in Petranella >> Spins, pretty heavy on allemandes - another great set of tunes - a >> set of rip roaring french canadian tunes with both foot percussion >> and drum >> * After the Flu, by Dean Snipes - a down the hall dance which ends >> with a ladies chain into a circle right into (the top of the dance >> which is a) circle left with new neighbors. We did it to a nice >> set of smooth jigs and once people got the hang of the transition, >> it went well. I really love that transition -- circle right into >> circle left with new folks. >> >> >> Inpatient readers, please start here!! >> >> I ended the first half with Happy as a Warm Pig in Cold Mud. I've been >> playing with how I want to teach this one, and I'm still not happy with >> what I've got, though Eileen gave me some good ideas for things to try >> next time (probably when I call at Glen Echo next week) >> >> So, the dance is: >> >> Happy as a Warm Pig in Cold Mud (or in the winter Happy as a Cold Pig >> in Warm Mud -- I'm actually not sure which is the original title....) >> Mike Boershig Improper >> A1 N B&S >> A2 Men Allemande L 1.5 >> P Allemande R 1.5 >> B1 Leave your partner, Left Hand Star 1x (theoretically with >> neighbor, shadow and shadow's neighbor) >> Back to your partner, Swing >> B2 Circle Left 3/4 >> Balance the Ring >> California Twirl >> >> So, as you would guess, the B1 is the tricky bit. One of the fun >> things about this dance is that it doesn't matter which way you go for >> the star -- it helps if you and your partner go in different >> directions, but even that doesn't really matter -- as long as you go >> somewhere, turn a star and then swing your partner. Because of that, >> it's a very resilient dance. That being said, what I discovered >> tonight was that it can still be confusing for folks even when it >> doesn't fall apart -- that's more or less what happened tonight. The >> dance kept going, and I was able to stop calling, but new dancers ended >> up confused (and keeping calling didn't change much). It was a matter >> of getting oriented in the first place. We also had a lower proportion >> of experienced dancers to beginners than usual. >> >> What I did during the walk through was have them allemande R 1.5 with >> partner, and then get the men back to back in the center. Reach out >> with your left hand and star left with your neighbor and the two people >> pointing back at you. I also pointed out that in the dance it didn't >> matter how many times you allemande with your partner or which >> direction you went to form the star -- as long as you go and keep >> moving. People still had a lot of trouble figuring out where to go >> once the dance got going, and in a lot of cases the new folks just got >> the "deer in the headlights" syndrome and stopped completely. >> >> A few options: >> >> 1) Point out that (theoretically) you will have a shadow in your star >> -- if you're doing a wrist grip star, the gent's shadow will be the >> lady whose wrist he grabs to form the star. Problem: If some folks go >> the other way, this could be more confusing. Option: Just don't >> mention that you can go either way -- have it be allemande 1.5, star >> left with shadow, come back swing. >> >> 2) Men back to back in the middle (after the allemande). Look away >> from your hands 4 for someone of the same gender and form a hands >> across star. Turn the star 1 time. Swing your partner. Problem: >> Again, could be confusing if someone ended up with he he he she stars >> or she she she he stars. >> 3) Other ideas?? >> >> How's the best way to point out the position without having to tie it >> either to a particular person or gender? I suspect that with the group >> I had, I should probably have just "done it straight" without pointing >> out the opportunity to mess around. In that case, which way above >> would seem to be clearer? With a larger proportion of experienced >> dancers, though, any thoughts on the best way to teach it? >> >> Ok. Impatient readers are done. If you want to read about the second >> half and pick up another new dance, keep going! >> >> Second half, I did >> >> * Square Affair, by Becky Hill, a great dance with a square thru, >> * Any Jig Will Do, by Mike Richardson (done to Slip Jigs -- I love to >> call this one when I have a band that can do slip Jigs, and the >> band had put a set together specifically for me. They ended up at >> a higher tempo than I've done it at before. It was almost too >> fast, but the dancers were able to keep up confortably. For some >> reason, once of the new dancers who had been confused and >> disoriented for many of the dances was able to get this one with no >> problems -- and it's a dance that depends on the men to get the hey >> going. >> * a simple 4 face 4 (Dance All Night, by Rick Mohr) >> * Lundee's Laughter, a new dance by Adina Gordon >> >> On this one, I forgot that I hadn't done the dance I had >> planned to do earlier in the evening to introduce the Roll >> Away (which came right after a ladies chain, making it >> more complicated.) I had planned to start out with Rollin >> and Tumblin by Cis Hinkle, but then (for some reason) >> changed to another dance instead and forgot that I needed >> the roll away for this dance. Also, this is the first >> time I've called it at a regular dance -- we tested it out >> two weeks ago when the naming rights were auctioned off at >> a benefit dance -- but we only danced it a few times then) >> The dance is: >> Lundee's Laughter >> Adina Gordon Becket!! >> A1 2 ladies down the hall >> Turn alone, come back >> (while the ladies are traveling, men face >> down) >> A2 Partner Gypsy (by inside shoulder -- the one >> that's closest), ladies cross >> Neighbor Swing >> B1 Long Lines >> Left Diagonal Ladies Chain (to shadow), and >> Roll Away >> B2 Partner Swing >> Definitely needed to have done a roll away earlier in the >> evening like I had originally planned, because this is a >> special case for a rollaway and getting to it from the >> ladies chain can be tricky to figure out what to do with >> which hand even when you know how to do a roll away. It >> does flow very nicely into the swing though. The one >> problem that we had when we tested it 2 weeks ago was the >> progression -- you have to make sure that when you come >> back around to the top that it's two NEW ladies to go down >> the hall. After the swing, the dancers are likely to need >> to shift just a bit to the right to be across from new >> neighbors. It's a good dance, and I think with a more >> experienced group, would have been fine. As it was, it >> never fell apart, it was just a little rough around the >> edges, and a number of folks never got the roll away. >> This dance isn't a good one to start with for a roll away >> because a) it's from an unusual position and b) it's >> always with the same person -- your shadow. If neither of >> you know how to do a roll away, you'd just sunk. >> Fortunately, all you have to do is trade places and there >> your partner is, and you've got a nice long swing with >> them before you have to do anything else. >> >> Ended the evening with Hey in the Barn by Chart Guthrie -- one of >> my favorite >> everyone's-brain-dead-and-we-just-want-to-dance-and-not-think >> dances. (for those who don't know it: N B&S, L Chain, 1/2 Hey, P >> B&S, LC, 1/2 Hey, on to the next..... >> >> If I had it to program again I wouldn't have done Any Jig, Dance >> all Night and Lundee's Laughter all together -- too many unusual >> dances all in a row, and I think it taxed the dancers a bit. I >> also wouldn't have done Lundee's laughter without having done a >> roll away earlier in the evening so that they get lots of practice >> with different folks. I think that two out of three would have >> been ok, perhaps split up by a simpler dance. Ahh, the joys of >> programming on the fly in combination with new dances (Dance all >> Night was my first ever 4 face 4, and Lundee's Laughter was a new >> dance too....) >> >> Fortunately, I had fabulous music to work with. This is my first >> time working with them since Colin's been playing with Paul and >> Marilyn. Colin just started working with them about 6 months ago, >> and the percussion has really added a lot to their sound. I had >> called with them a bunch of times as a duo and always enjoyed it. >> The addition of a nice solid percussion just makes it that much >> better. Almost all of the tunes that they played fit the dances >> really well, and I think that everyone (dancers, band and caller) >> had a good time. >> If you made it this far, I hope that it was interesting (or at >> least that you picked up a couple of new dances). If anyone would >> like copies of other dances mentioned, just drop me an email and >> I'll send them out. >> Jack Mitchell >> Durham, NC >>_______________________________________________ >>Callers mailing list >>Callers(a)sharedweight.net >>http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >

17 years, 1 month

Re: [Callers] Dance Debrief

by David.Millstone＠valley.net

Congratulations, Jack, on spending so much time thinking about your program. Such reflection will let you learn a lot. You wrote, " Usually I just mull over a dance afterwards, sometimes talking it out with another dancer. " If there's another caller in your area at about your same level of skill and experience, I'd recommend forming a caller buddy system with that person. Attend each othr's dances, get together at the break and afterwards to talk about what went well, what was problematic, what wording was effective and what was confusing... this can be a very helpful way to boost each of your skills. Pig/Mud dance: You asked "Other ideas??" The option that first occurs to me is "Choose another dance." Here you have a dance that inherently presents a challenge-- dancers must leave their partners to form stars. The only fixed points in the star are you and your shadow, along with two ever-changing other people, and the shadow relationship has not already been established at this point in the dance. If dancers do go in the wrong direction, even that shadow relationship will be made even more tenuous. You might end up with 5-person and 3 person stars, and while you as caller know that things will work out okay-- "as long as you go somewhere, turn a star and then swing your partner"-- dancers will certainly be discombobulated if they keep finding themselves in strange groupings. So, a harder than usual dance. Secondly, you mentioned that you had "a lower proportion of experienced dancers to beginners than usual." Third, you presented it as the last dance before the break. Many of us like to use that slot to call a fail-safe dance, so that dancers go into the break having had a confidence-building joyful experience. If I'm calling a harder-than-usual dance, I'll usually slot it as the next-to-last dance in the first set, or, depending on the crowd, as the first dance after the break. In my video "Sweet Talk," focusing on veteran caller Ralph Sweet, there's a segment in which Ralph dispenses advice for callers. He talks a little about programming choices, and in particular discuses a situation in which the caller comes into an evening with a particular dance firmly in mind" --- "I really want to do this dance tonight" and that's not a good attitude. "I've got to do this dance tonight", that's a baddy. "Will the dancers enjoy doing this dance tonight?" Then I'll do it. That's what you've got to think. --- Just my 2 cents... David Millstone

17 years, 1 month

petronella

by Béatrice De'Nève

Hello, I am a French contra dancer, trying to introduce contra in France. We have a small group of 20 dancers who are able to dance most of the main figures. I would like to introduce 'petronella' and 'balance the ring', I'm looking for a contra with 4 'balance the ring' and 4 petronella, do you know a simple one ? Beatrice

17 years, 1 month

Re: [Callers] petronella

by Jack Mitchell

How about Balance the ring and three petronella and then an extra balance). This was actually from a message that Rich Goss sent to this list sometime last year (I've got this dance on my own card, but they aren't handy right now): Here¹s Salmonella Evening Salmonella Evening - Steve Zakon-Anderson Improper A1: Neighbor Allemande Right 1 1/2 Gents Allemande Left 1 1/2 A2: Partner Gypsy and Swing B1: Ring Balance, Petronella Twirl Ring Balance, Petronella Twirl B2: Ring Balance, Petronella Twirl Ring Balance, Pass Thru Along the Set At 12:38 PM 5/3/2008, you wrote: Hello, I am a French contra dancer, trying to introduce contra in France. We have a small group of 20 dancers who are able to dance most of the main figures. I would like to introduce 'petronella' and 'balance the ring', I'm looking for a contra with 4 'balance the ring' and 4 petronella, do you know a simple one ? Beatrice _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net [1]http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers References 1. http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

17 years, 1 month

Intro and Callers Database

by Will Loving

Hi everyone, I joined SharedWeight a few weeks ago but have not had time to introduce myself. My name is Will Loving - though some who met me many years ago may remember me as Will McNaughten - and I live in Amherst, MA. I've been contra dancing for about half my life - 26+ years I think - initially in Seattle, NH/VT (Lyme, Etna, Norwich, Putney), and DC/MD/VA, but mostly in the Pioneer Valley/Western Mass area for the last 20+ years. I got interested in calling early on and started collecting dances and teaching my students (small Quaker High School in Maryland) and anyone else who was interested. Ken Haltenhoff (Bluemont dance), Steve Schnur, David Kaynor and Larry Jennings book ³Zesty Contras² were early influences. After I moved to Western Mass I called the Montague dance once or twice when David was away but didn¹t do much beyond that. My wife, Kate, and I also taught East Coast swing for five years here in the valley and my interest in calling is very much related to my joy in teaching dance. For the last 12+ years, parenting and running my business have taken precedence over many personal interests including dancing and calling, but I'm finally beginning to move in those directions again. Though my time is still limited, I'm actively looking for opportunities to learn more about calling and to talk with and observe people calling and teaching. I¹m driving to Belfast, Maine this weekend to do the Intro Callers workshop with Chrissy Fowler and will hopefully be going to the followup weekend with Lisa in September. I really appreciate Chris Weiler¹s recent post about his experiences as a new caller, it¹s inspiring and gives me hope for how things can open up as you go along. I know I bring certain skills to the table because of my background in movement and teaching, but I¹m pretty clueless at the moment about the music side of things and how to interact with the musicians. Lots to learn and I very much appreciate the encouragement of the caller community (esp. David Kaynor, Rick Mohr, Lisa Greenleaf, Linda Leslie, George Marshall, et al.) as I figure out what next steps to take. Finally, for my work, I do database programming in FileMaker Pro, mostly for community arts organizations and other non-profits. I created a small dance database some years ago for my own use, but now that I actually might start using it actively I wanted something that was much more functional and nicer to look at. I¹ve been working on something for several weeks that I think might be of interest to the caller community, particularly because it has the ability to create and preserve sets of dances for a particular date and location. At some point in the next few weeks I¹ll post a link to a downloadable beta (both Mac and Win) for people to play with, but in the short term here ( http://dedicationtechnologies.com/CC/ ) are some screen shots to show you where I¹m going with it. There is a lot of functionality already built in which you can¹t really see but which will be apparent when you actually get a chance to play with it. I also have lots of questions for you all because I would like this to be versatile enough for contras, square and English, so I¹ll be soliciting your input on that. Thanks for listening and for the encouragement I¹ve already received from many of you. Thanks, Will -- William M. Loving Dedication Technologies, Inc. 7 Coach Lane Amherst, MA 01002-3304 USA will(a)dedicationtechnologies.com Tel: +1 413 253-7223 (GMT 5) Fax: +1 206 202-0476

17 years, 1 month

Anyone Recognize this Dance?

by mavis mcgaugh

Don't Know Author/or Name of Dance - hoping someone will recognize it. I know I will use it again and would like to be able to give credi to the author. thanks Cirle Mixer A1 Forward and back Forward and back A3 with your Corner Seesaw with your Partner D-S-D 1 1/2 to get to next Partner - stand next to this new Partner Right shoulder to Right shoulder Men are facing CCW and Ladies are Facing CW B1 Take Right hands with this Partner and Balance R & L Spin to the Right Balance L & R Spin to the Left B2 with this new Partner Balance & Swing end swing facing in - join hands in a circle - dance starts again. Used it a week ago for the first time - large group of newcomers and lots of regular dancers. All quickly got into the dance and it flowed well. WOuld like to be able to give credit to whoever wrote it next time I use it. Mavis L McGaugh 510-814-8118 (answering machine-leave message) ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ

17 years, 1 month

Re: [Callers] Shoofly Swing

by Suzanne Girardot

Yes, this is a visiting big circle dance, as was done in the Southeast (I believe). There is an initial lead couple that starts the shoofly swing, which is the allemande turning figure that progresses from couple to couple. After the lead couple has passed about 3 or 4 couples, the next couple starts dancing the move and it travels around the circle. The man follows along the inside of the circle and turns his partner as she returns to him. If I were to call this, I would start with a big circle, possible circle left and right, into the center and back, swing partner and promenade, grand right and left, and then when that's all done, get the lead couple started with the shoofly swing. At the end (when you have decided that it has gone on long enough), you can do a similar ending with the whole circle. I probably wouldn't do this at a "contra dance" but there are many one night stands, parties, and square dances where this would be totally appropriate and fun. Suzanne -----Original Message----- >From: Jack Mitchell <jamitch3(a)mindspring.com> >Sent: Apr 30, 2008 10:19 AM >To: Suzanne Girardot <suzanneg(a)wolfenet.com>, Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> >Subject: Re: [Callers] Shoofly Swing > >Ok. Having a little trouble picturing this. > >a) Is the whole dance the shoefly swing? >b) If the women are visiting, does her partner >just follow her along the circle on the inside of the circle? > >Thanks, > >Jack > > >At 01:02 PM 4/30/2008, you wrote: >>Gretchen, I have seen this dance called by Phil >>Jamison. In a big circle, this dance goes on >>for a while, but many people can be dancing at >>one time. Once the women have danced all the >>way around, the women can turn the men and the >>men can do the visiting. This would indeed be a >>long dance, but back in the day, this would have >>been extremely fun and not at all boring. What I >>enjoy about this dance is the chance to turn >>smoothly with your partner, and then turn the >>next person in the circle with the left, >>smoothly going around into the allemande with >>your partner again. It can be really rhythmic >>and did I mention smooth? You can get a nice >>groove going with it. It would be a fun dance >>for newer dancers, especially with a driving >>old-time band. It sounds as though you have the >>entire dance. Once you get the dancers going >>("Turn your partner with a shoofly swing") there >>is no more calling necessary until you want to >>bring that part of the dance to a close and >>perhaps finish with a big circle or grand right >>and left. Suzanne Girardot Seattle, WA >>-----Original Message----- >From: Gretchen >>Caldwell <gretchendance(a)yahoo.com> >Sent: Apr >>29, 2008 12:12 PM >To: >>callers(a)sharedweight.net >Subject: [Callers] >>Shoofly Swing > >I'm looking for a circle dance >>called, I believe, "Shoofly Swing".Â Cubby >>Whitehead used to end every evening with it in >>Bradenton Florida in the late 1980s.Â It >>involves one couple starting with an allemande >>right, lady then allemandes next gent by left, >>then partner by right, next gent by left, and so >>on.Â After the allemanding partners have passed >>you by, you and your partner join until the >>whole circle is peeling off in one amazing mass >>of allemandes. >Anyone have it? >I've just >>joined the list, have been calling for two >>years, and appreciate the support of the >>community.Â I plan to try Microchasmic soon for >>our weeklyÂ Monday night dance, where the level >>of dancing is, surprise surprise, improving as >>we three local callers try more challenging >>dances.Â Not a lot of contracorners going >>on.Â This triplet might be just the >>thing. >Gretchen Caldwell >Charlotte >>NC >_____________________________________________ >>__ >Callers mailing >>list >Callers(a)sharedweight.net >http://www.shared >>weight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >>_______________________________________________ >>Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net >>http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >

17 years, 1 month

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