Give the dancers credit. They will adjust to the
dance as needed.
I recall, years ago, there was a couple who really
did not care for each other and they were caught
in the dreaded shadow swing. Instead of making a fuss
thay turned the swing into a 'Lady Walpole' and did
a DSD in it's place. The dance goes on!
Gale
--------------------------------------------------------------------
mail2web LIVE Free email based on Microsoft® Exchange technology -
http://link.mail2web.com/LIVE
Chris Weiler wrote:
> Once again, frigid New Hampshire was home to another warm and special
> Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend. It was great to see people from all
> over the country who came to dance and learn. The SharedWeight lunch
> gatherings were a couple of the high points for me.
. . . and Chris did an excellent job calling a fun dance he co-wrote. Will you consider posting it on SharedWeight, Chris?
During the same open mike session, I enjoyed dancing Nils Fredland's "Head of the Bed" to Dave Eisenstatter's calling, and it got me thinking. I've called dances with shadow swings infrequently, because in the back of my head I think about the following excerpt from Cary Ravitz's notes on contra choreography: "Watch out for excessive trail buddy interaction. People don't choose their trail buddy and they are stuck with them for the entire dance. . . . Trail buddy swings are not allowed."
However, Cary also emphasizes that those are his personal preferences, and others' preferences may vary. So I'd appreciate others' thoughts on this -- are shadow swings as strongly negative an issue for you as they are for Cary? Clearly they were not an issue for Nils when writing "Head of the Bed" or Seth T. when writing "Meg's a Dancing Fool," for instance.
Thanks,
Jeremy
Jeremy Korr
East of Los Angeles
_________________________________________________________________
Connect and share in new ways with Windows Live.
http://www.windowslive.com/share.html?ocid=TXT_TAGHM_Wave2_sharelife_012008
Greetings!
I very much agree with Greg's list of "thoughts about contra dance
moves". This is an area that begs for lots of wonderful
conversations among callers...we have a responsibility to keep a
healthy balance between the traditions, and the evolution of dancing.
I encourage one of you to apply for NEFFA 2009 (the schedule for 2008
is all done!), with this as a topic for discussion!
And as for shadow swings, three cheers to Chris Weiler for his
thoughts! One of the most satisfying venues for me to call is the
community dance, where dancers are happy to dance with each other,
regardless of skill. There is a recognition of the need to "take
care" of one another in order for the joy of the dance to be shared
by all, and an understanding that the dancing will continue only if
we make sure that new dancers feel welcome. The dance in Rehoboth,
MA is probably one of the best community dances that demonstrates
this commitment. I, like Chris, when dancing, tend to wait until the
last minute, and ask someone I don't know, or who seems shy, to
dance. If is works out to be fun, then it is great for both of us; if
is was not so pleasurable, thus is life....and after all, a dance is
*only* 12 minutes or so! The same can be said for having a shadow
that you do not choose: there is the potential serendipity of making
a new friend, or the possibility of a less than thrilling experience.
I am willing to take the risk! Certainly only one dance in an evening
with a shadow swing would be advisable, but not calling any at all
also seems to me to be a mistake.
I am also reminded of an experience at a very small dance on Cape
Cod. A not so skilled dancer (gent) who had trouble hearing the
calls, was a fervent attendee at the dance in Sandwich. Because the
number of dancers is small (though high in energy!), it was obvious
that this gent was left out until the end or entirely, and often
would be paired with new dancers. The experienced women got together
and decided that they would each take a turn asking him to dance one
dance on any given evening. What a marvelous plan! He was as happy as
could be, smiling the whole evening, and the dance in general was
more enjoyable for all as a consequence. He may not have been on
time, or skilled, but the joy from him made everybody feel great!
So Jeremy, I would say don't be shy about calling a dance with a
shadow swing!
warmly, Linda Leslie
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:48:49 -0800 (GMT-08:00)
> From: Greg McKenzie <gregmck(a)earthlink.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] What did he say !??? MWSD
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Message-ID:
> <20647868.1201114129207.JavaMail.root@elwamui-
> polski.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
>
> Jerome wrote:
>> One other thing I might mention about bringing Modern Western
>> Square moves
>> into Contra crowds: ...
>
> Then there is also the other, more basic, discussion about both the
> advisability of this course and the responsibilities it entails.
>
> The contra dance tradition, as it currently stands, is still one of
> the most effective means of bringing a roomfull of people with
> widely varying skill levels together in a joyful evening of social
> dance to live music, without the requirement of separate lessons.
>
> For some of us this is the most attracive quality of contras. An
> effort to increase the number of calls and the skills necessary to
> participate at any evening of contra dance is a bold course that
> could do violence to the traditional role of contras. An effort to
> do so should be pursued with caution. Each step in this direction
> should be precluded with a series of questions:
>
> - How will this addition affect the confidence level of first-time
> dancers in the hall?
>
> - How will it affect their ability to participate and the
> likelihood that they will return?
>
> - How should I characterize this addition to make it clear that it
> varies from the basic tradition of contras?
>
> - What is the appropriate venue to introduce this kind of
> variation? (Dance camps, special events, festivals, or regular
> contra dance series?)
>
> - Are my variations significant enough over the course of the
> evening that I have a responsibility to distinguish this event, in
> the publicity, from a regular evening of contras?
>
> - Would I like to see this variation become a part of the contra
> dance tradition?
>
> Just a thought,
> Greg McKenzie
>
>
>
>
>
> . . . and Chris did an excellent job calling a fun dance he co-
> wrote. Will you consider posting it on SharedWeight, Chris?
>
> During the same open mike session, I enjoyed dancing Nils
> Fredland's "Head of the Bed" to Dave Eisenstatter's calling, and it
> got me thinking. I've called dances with shadow swings
> infrequently, because in the back of my head I think about the
> following excerpt from Cary Ravitz's notes on contra choreography:
> "Watch out for excessive trail buddy interaction. People don't
> choose their trail buddy and they are stuck with them for the
> entire dance. . . . Trail buddy swings are not allowed."
>
> However, Cary also emphasizes that those are his personal
> preferences, and others' preferences may vary. So I'd appreciate
> others' thoughts on this -- are shadow swings as strongly negative
> an issue for you as they are for Cary? Clearly they were not an
> issue for Nils when writing "Head of the Bed" or Seth T. when
> writing "Meg's a Dancing Fool," for instance.
>
> Thanks,
> Jeremy
>
> Jeremy Korr
> East of Los Angeles
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Connect and share in new ways with Windows Live.
> http://www.windowslive.com/share.html?
> ocid=TXT_TAGHM_Wave2_sharelife_012008
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:37:56 -0500
> From: "Koren A. Wake" <koren.a.wake(a)gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Shadow swings
> To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Message-ID:
> <99d834190801231337t76308643w47506638aed005a0(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> This is my opinion mainly as a dancer, not so much as a caller, but
> I'm
> inclined to agree with Cary - especially when you consider that the
> more
> shadow interaction there is, the less partner interaction! A nice
> shadow
> move that bounces me back to my partner can be very cool, and when
> my shadow
> is a good dancer or good friend of mine, I'm happy to have more shadow
> interaction, but it's a gamble. I might be stuck with a shadow
> who's a
> terrible dancer, or smells bad, or is generally just not someone
> I'd want to
> dance with, and not only are you (the choreographer and caller)
> forcing me
> to swing him every time through the dance, you're also taking me
> away from
> the person who I *did* choose to dance with.
>
> On the other hand, there are really cool dances with lots of shadow
> interaction, too. If the dance itself is cool enough, I'm willing
> to let
> myself get pulled away from my partner more.
>
> - Koren
>
> On 1/23/08, J L Korr <jeremykorr(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
> Message: 4
> Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:35:16 -0500 (EST)
> From: Greg McKenzie <gregmck(a)earthlink.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Shadow swings
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Message-ID:
> <11856886.1201127716708.JavaMail.root@elwamui-
> karabash.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
>
> Jeremy,
>
> I enjoy shadow swings.
>
> Greg
>
> ********
>> Chris Weiler wrote:
>>
>>
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:47:16 -0800 (PST)
> From: Mark Galipeau <red72impala(a)yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Shadow swings
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Message-ID: <897118.62150.qm(a)web83611.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>
> I love it when I have a shadow, without a swing, and
> the caller throws in in the last iteration of the
> dance, swing your shadow, just as a final good bye
> gesture! Makes for a nice finish to a dance.
>
>
>
> Message: 7
> Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:23:38 -0500
> From: Chris Weiler <chris.weiler(a)weirdtable.org>
> Subject: [Callers] Give the Scout a Hand
> To: Shared Weight <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Message-ID: <4798915A.2030804(a)weirdtable.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Jeremy,
>
> Here is the dance that you asked for:
>
> Give the Scout a Hand Becket-L
> Bob Isaacs and Chris Weiler
>
> A1. Circle L 3/4, neighbor swing
> A2. Long lines, gents allemande L 1 1/2 - give R to partner
> B1. Balance, box the gnat, 1/2 hey with hands (partner pull by R,
> gents
> pull by L, neighbor pull by R, ladies pull by L)
> B2. Partner balance, swing, then slide L, etc.
>
> Written for a fundraiser auction for the Concord Scout House in
> Concord,
> MA. Written 6/17/07. I prefer the 1/2 hey with hands to a standard hey
> since it gives the whole dance a connected feeling. I have used it
> with
> mixed crowds before with success.
>
> Best,
> Chris
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 8
> Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:35:52 -0500
> From: Chris Weiler <chris.weiler(a)weirdtable.org>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Shadow swings
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Message-ID: <47989438.5050705(a)weirdtable.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Jeremy,
>
> I agree with Koren that it's a crap shoot when you call a shadow
> swing.
> I definitely would never call one with a crowd that has more than a
> minimal number of beginners. I also would never call more than one
> in an
> evening.
>
> That said, I like the gamble. I think that I'm a little unusual in
> that
> I very often in the evening wait until the last minute to find a
> partner
> and take whoever is available. I've met some wonderful dancers and
> friends that way. Sometimes I get to dance with someone I haven't
> danced
> with in a long time. I think it's fun. The shadow swing can be the
> same
> way. Quite often when I have shadow interaction in a dance, I'll
> ask my
> shadow to be my next partner when the dance is done.
>
> Head of the Bed is unusual with it's 3 swings (Neighbor, Partner and
> Shadow). When I first danced it at the Flurry, I knew I had to collect
> it. But I haven't had more than one opportunity to call it. 8^) It's a
> fun dance!
>
> Happy Dancing!
> Chris
>
>
>
I believe shadow swings should be limited to dance weekends or workshops,
and even then only rarely. While keeping in mind Cary Ravitz's rationale
that you don't choose your shadow, your chances of having a very pleasant
interaction with a shadow are very much higher at a dance weekend. Of
course, not all weekends are made the same.
As a dancer I sometimes replace certain interactions (such as shadow
allemande right once and a half) with a shadow swing when it's someone I
enjoy swinging with. If my shadow is a beginner or a so-so swinger, I dance
the figure as called.
And I like Mark Galipeau's suggestion that the caller can change shadow
interaction to a swing on the last iteration of the dance, but only if that
would not confuse the dancers.
--Jerome
On Jan 24, 2008 11:00 AM, <callers-request(a)sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:25:25 -0500
> From: J L Korr <jeremykorr(a)hotmail.com>
> Subject: [Callers] Shadow swings
>
> During the same open mike session, I enjoyed dancing Nils Fredland's "Head
> of the Bed" to Dave Eisenstatter's calling, and it got me thinking. I've
> called dances with shadow swings infrequently, because in the back of my
> head I think about the following excerpt from Cary Ravitz's notes on contra
> choreography: "Watch out for excessive trail buddy interaction. People don't
> choose their trail buddy and they are stuck with them for the entire dance.
> . . . Trail buddy swings are not allowed."
>
> However, Cary also emphasizes that those are his personal preferences, and
> others' preferences may vary. So I'd appreciate others' thoughts on this --
> are shadow swings as strongly negative an issue for you as they are for
> Cary? Clearly they were not an issue for Nils when writing "Head of the Bed"
> or Seth T. when writing "Meg's a Dancing Fool," for instance.
>
> Thanks,
> Jeremy
>
>
--
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
660-528-0714
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
Jeremy,
Here is the dance that you asked for:
Give the Scout a Hand Becket-L
Bob Isaacs and Chris Weiler
A1. Circle L 3/4, neighbor swing
A2. Long lines, gents allemande L 1 1/2 - give R to partner
B1. Balance, box the gnat, 1/2 hey with hands (partner pull by R, gents
pull by L, neighbor pull by R, ladies pull by L)
B2. Partner balance, swing, then slide L, etc.
Written for a fundraiser auction for the Concord Scout House in Concord,
MA. Written 6/17/07. I prefer the 1/2 hey with hands to a standard hey
since it gives the whole dance a connected feeling. I have used it with
mixed crowds before with success.
Best,
Chris
Jeremy,
I enjoy shadow swings.
Greg
********
>Chris Weiler wrote:
>
>
>> Once again, frigid New Hampshire was home to another warm and special
>> Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend. It was great to see people from all
>> over the country who came to dance and learn. The SharedWeight lunch
>> gatherings were a couple of the high points for me.
>
>
>. . . and Chris did an excellent job calling a fun dance he co-wrote. Will you consider posting it on SharedWeight, Chris?
>
>During the same open mike session, I enjoyed dancing Nils Fredland's "Head of the Bed" to Dave Eisenstatter's calling, and it got me thinking. I've called dances with shadow swings infrequently, because in the back of my head I think about the following excerpt from Cary Ravitz's notes on contra choreography: "Watch out for excessive trail buddy interaction. People don't choose their trail buddy and they are stuck with them for the entire dance. . . . Trail buddy swings are not allowed."
>
>However, Cary also emphasizes that those are his personal preferences, and others' preferences may vary. So I'd appreciate others' thoughts on this -- are shadow swings as strongly negative an issue for you as they are for Cary? Clearly they were not an issue for Nils when writing "Head of the Bed" or Seth T. when writing "Meg's a Dancing Fool," for instance.
>
>Thanks,
>Jeremy
>
>Jeremy Korr
>East of Los Angeles
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Connect and share in new ways with Windows Live.
>http://www.windowslive.com/share.html?ocid=TXT_TAGHM_Wave2_sharelife_012008
>_______________________________________________
>Callers mailing list
>Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
Friends,
Jerome wrote:
>One other thing I might mention about bringing Modern Western Square moves
>into Contra crowds: ...
Then there is also the other, more basic, discussion about both the advisability of this course and the responsibilities it entails.
The contra dance tradition, as it currently stands, is still one of the most effective means of bringing a roomfull of people with widely varying skill levels together in a joyful evening of social dance to live music, without the requirement of separate lessons.
For some of us this is the most attracive quality of contras. An effort to increase the number of calls and the skills necessary to participate at any evening of contra dance is a bold course that could do violence to the traditional role of contras. An effort to do so should be pursued with caution. Each step in this direction should be precluded with a series of questions:
- How will this addition affect the confidence level of first-time dancers in the hall?
- How will it affect their ability to participate and the likelihood that they will return?
- How should I characterize this addition to make it clear that it varies from the basic tradition of contras?
- What is the appropriate venue to introduce this kind of variation? (Dance camps, special events, festivals, or regular contra dance series?)
- Are my variations significant enough over the course of the evening that I have a responsibility to distinguish this event, in the publicity, from a regular evening of contras?
- Would I like to see this variation become a part of the contra dance tradition?
Just a thought,
Greg McKenzie
Rickey,
One other thing I might mention about bringing Modern Western Square moves
into Contra crowds: Contra dancers will try to put balances where they are
used to putting balances, even if you don't call them. For example, most
contra dances using square thrus use a balance, pull by, pull by sequence (8
counts). Repeating the balance, pull by, pull by would complete a square
thru four places. (total 16 counts)
A MWSD crowd would just pull by twice in 4 counts (square thru two), three
times in 6 counts (square thru three) or four times in 8 counts (square thru
four). No balances. Many MW dancers don't know what to make of the balances
that contra dancers love so much.
In the same way, contra dancers are habituated to putting balances before a
Box the Gnat, and I've had to remind dancers in certain dances that there is
no balance before the Box the Gnat.
On the other hand, I have had good luck explaining the swing thru. From a
wavy line of four with the ladies in the middle holding left hands, I teach
neighbors allemande right halfway, men allemande left halfway. I explain
that I will prompt those allemandes as "swing thru."
Find a dance (or adjust it) so that you don't have to teach more than one or
two "new" moves.
-- Jerome
Yes, I know "thru" is actually spelled "through."
On Jan 23, 2008 7:41 AM, <callers-request(a)sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:06:27 -0500
> From: "Tepfer, Seth" <LABST(a)emory.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] [trad-dance-callers] What did he say !??? MWSD
> To: "trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com"
> <trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com>, "Caller's discussion list"
> <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Message-ID:
> <
> 65633D79D8703F46AD8D95203BA286EE9C00176805(a)EXCHANGE11.Enterprise.emory.net
> >
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> One of the cool things about MWSD is that they have singing squares to
> many fun songs of the past 50 years. Beatles, stones, salsa, C&W, you name
> it. The downside is most are using the jargon of MWSD. This is why they have
> 40 weeks of lessons.
>
> You have two choices - replace the given moves with ones that put the
> dancers in basically that place but with moves they already know, or teach
> all those moves in other dances earlier in the evening.
>
> Square thru dancers know from contra.
> Swing thru appears in some contra dances (see Manga Tak by Ron Buchannan
> or Southern Swing by Steve Zaikon Anderson) (it's basically - from a wavy
> line - all allemande Right ?, centers allemande left ?).
> Eight chain 4 I've seen in a couple of squares by Colin Hume (check out
> his Squares with a Difference - singing square O Bla Di, Oh Bla Dah)
> Spin the top - um .... Here you go:
> http://www.remus.dti.ne.jp/~jsda/sdtext/sdtextdata/basicpro10-eng.html#57<http://www.remus.dti.ne.jp/%7Ejsda/sdtext/sdtextdata/basicpro10-eng.html#57>
>
>
> From: trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com [mailto:
> trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Rickey
> Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 12:43 PM
> To: trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [trad-dance-callers] What did he say !??? MWSD
>
>
> Hi,
>
> Found two incredible singing squares. One is to Everly brothers' "Dream,
> Dream, Dream" and the other to the Beatles' "Money Can't Buy You Love". We
> might like to try them for our Valentine's Dance, but they use calls from
> Modern Western Square Dancing. So........... What do these terms mean? (I
> tried http://www.ceder.net <http://www.ceder.net/> , but could not find
> them.)
>
> Square thru
>
> Square thru go three (three quarter 'round now)
>
> Square thru (count it four hands 'round)
>
> 8 chain 4
>
> Swing thru
>
> Spin the top
>
> O.K. I have done a square through but before I teach it (and any
> variations
> in this list), I need review.
>
> Thanks to those who know.
>
> I don't.
>
> Singing in New Hampshire
>
> Rickey Holt
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> __._,_.___
>
--
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
660-528-0714
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
Really!
When I asked recently about the transition in the first move of a Beckett
from circle left ¾ and do-si-do neighbor (or pass through and do-si-do the
next neighbor), I was interested in differences in the experience for the
man and the women. Try these two figures. To simplify this description I am
thinking of the couple who are together in the line on the callers left
(i.e. the couple who in setting up the Beckett with Hands four, Actives
Cross over and all circle left one place to the left, started out as the
active couple).
(1) As the first move in a Beckett again, or at least from that home
position, circle left ¾ and pass through to the neighbors above, or the next
neighbors above that.
(2) Starting as before, circle left ¾ and have the man go down and pass
through and do-si-do the next neighbor below, while the woman goes up and
passes through and do-si-dos the next neighbor above. This last figure I
have worked into a dance.
Still Surprised in New Hampshire.
Rickey Holt.
