Contra Callers

contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net

28 participants
4298 discussions

by jerome23＠bellsouth.net

The topic of preparing to call a program sent me off on a tangent here, hence the different title. One of the best pieces of advice I got early in my dance calling career was how to organize my cards, including the idea of making notes every time I called that dance. It got me used to analyzing the dance that night, while it was fresh in my head, to see where I might have been clearer in my teaching (or where I went wrong, if you want to think that way). Then, before calling that dance again, I could benefit from my hard-won experience in the form of my notes on the backs of my cards. I also notice that the tone of these notes changed over time, so on some of my very earliest notes I was very frustrated with those dancers who were ** intentionally ** mishearing my very clear and concise instructions (wink). Somehow, as I gained experience, these same dancers got better and better. It was very enlightening how this process worked. I also luckily received the advice to publicly accept the blame for any problems that occured, even if I thought the problem lay elsewhere. These days, any problems are easy to own, as I'm much more sure of the things I did to cause the problems and much more adept at correcting them smoothly and quickly. Life is good. I concur with practicing to tapes, and to practicing while walking, and while driving, and to visualizing and scripting the walkthroughs, though I may not actually write down the script. Jerome

18 years, 4 months

Preparing and Dancing

by Rickey

Hi all, I have just come back from a wonderful caller's workshop and have gotten addicted to having other caller's to talk to. So I have two questions for you. First, how do you prepare for an upcoming evening of calling? I am wondering how you prepare AFTER you have selected the dances and programmed the evening. Do you memorize the dances? Do you call to music and an empty room? How do you keep focused on what might happen when nothing is happening in front of you? How do you learn new dances that you want to call? I have recently tried scripting a dance. It took over an hour to do the one dance, but seemed very useful. Do you script your teaching in advance? If so how do you use that script during the evening? Second, I have heard dance described as controlled falling. In another form of dance I was taught to lean into the direction of travel in order to commit my weight to the dance. I have been watching experienced dancers recently and see no evidence of this. I have danced for perhaps 30 years, and I cannot remember what we used to do. AS A DANCER, how do you commit your weight to a move? Rickey Holt.

18 years, 4 months

Re: [Callers] dance title & author mystery -- Feet in Flight

by Chrissy Fowler

Hi all, Recently got this from Dale Rempert and am forwarding along. Cheers! Chrissy >From: Dale Rempert <drempert(a)ix.netcom.com> >To: "Chrissy Fowler" <ktaadn_me(a)hotmail.com> >CC: richgoss(a)comcast.net >Subject: Re: FW: [Callers] FW: Re: dance title & author mystery >Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2006 02:04:28 -0500 > > >Hi Chrissy, > >A friend in the discussion group forwarded this thread on to me. I am Dale >Rempert. I did crate the dance Feet in Flight. It was published on the >Austin Barn Dancers web site. It was also published in Larry Jennings >latest book. > >The "real" dance, at least the way I wrote it has B1 as Corners cross (8) >then circle left (8). On the corners cross the men pass right shoulder >with a 1/2 gypsy. Then the ladies do the same. See >http://blake.prohosting.com/austinbd for this and other dances you might >enjoy. > >Yes the folk process is very interesting. I did not know that there were >that many versions of the dance out there. But then, I'm a big >contributor to that same process too. I will change up other peoples >dances to fit my mood or the crowd or just to "correct" a minor annoyance. >When I do that I usually say the dane is a variation of ... when I call it. > >Anyway, feel free to pass this info along the discussion thread. > >Dale >

18 years, 4 months

Controlled falling

by David.Millstone＠valley.net

--- Rickey Holt wrote: I have just come back from a wonderful caller's workshop --- end of quote --- I'm guessing that this was the intermediate callers' workshop sponsored by Country Dance and Song Society and led by Lisa Greenleaf and Brad Foster. [Insert pitch here for everyone to join or renew their CDSS membership.] Rickey, I'm sure many of us on the list would love to hear more details about the workshop and what made it so successful from your point of view. I'll pass on your first set of questions and instead will turn to the second: > In another form of dance I was taught to lean into the direction of travel in order to commit my weight to the dance. The sort of motion you describe strikes me as more applicable to English country dance, done well and vigorously, than to American contras and squares. At least in New England style dancing, the weight is back farther, with the the heels often touching before the toes, a walking gait or a flat footed shuffle, depending on your own style. In ECD, by contrast, the weight is on the balls of the feet. I've heard many ECD leaders talk about leaning forward until you have to take a step, and using that sort of driving motion to propel you through your steps. When you look at early photos of dancers trained by Cecil Sharp, you see them leaning at what strikes us now as almost impossible angles. Now, granted, this sort of energetic movement isn't what you see in all dancers-- in the UK, apparently, they grapple with the norm being what some have termed the "Playford plod"-- but there are American dancers who do bring that zest to their English country dancing. New England style contra dancing, in contrast, when dancers go beyond the initial flailing about in all directions phase, has a smooth, almost level motion, not a lot of hopping or bouncing about. Granted, this can be with lots of energy or it can be more sedate, depending on the choreography of the dance and the music being played. At least that's how the movement goes in my vision of how things should be. ;-) David Millstone

18 years, 4 months

Neighbor swing only dances(Nantucket Sleighride)

by Gale T. Wood

Nantucket Sleighride Kirston Koths Improper A1 N B&S 16 A2 D the Hall 4N Line 6 Turn Alone, Up hall 6 1s Hand Cast round 2s 4 (1s end below 2s) B1 Ride the Waves (2X) 16 (1s Arch 2s back through) (try calling this through for a whole dance! (2s arch 1s back through) better to call 'Ride the Waves') B2 Part DSD 8 LH Star 8 This is one of my favorites! Interesting enough for experienced dancers A challenge for beginners and a heck of a lot of fun to watch from the Stage! See ya Gale

18 years, 4 months

3 Part Dance

by Rich Goss

Hi, Wondering if anyone had a good 3 part contra. 3 part as in AABBCC, or 96 beats. I'm wanting to match it up to a three part tune. Thanks, Rich

18 years, 4 months

Re: [Callers] 3 Part Dance

by David.Millstone＠VALLEY.NET

--- Rich wrote: Wondering if anyone had a good 3 part contra. --- end of quote --- Depends on how strictly you're defining "contra." ;-) Just last night I called "Waves of Tory," a 5 couple dance with a dip and dive figure in it. Needs 96 beats. Works great with AABBCC, or, as we did, AABB followed by AB of a change tune, and then back again. Suit yourself. We had about 150 teenage camp counselors, and the dance worked well with them, high energy, simple enough to teach quickly and lots of fun. David Millstone

18 years, 4 months

Quote

by richgoss＠comcast.net

Ran across this quote. This has to have some significance for callers. You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother. -- Albert Einstein

18 years, 5 months

Re: [Callers] Chain The Hay

by richgoss＠comcast.net

It's Duple Improper. -------------- Original message -------------- From: "Gale T. Wood" <Gale(a)robbinsauto.com> > Hi > > On a recent calling expedition I attempted to call Chain the Hay by Becky Hill > > I copied the dance from the 16th Annual Ralph Page DLW syllabus Pg. 26 > > Becket formation > > A1 DSD and Swing Neighbor > > A2 Gents Ala Left 1 œ > Swing Part > > B1 Prom Across > R&L Back > > B2 œ H44 (Women start pass Rt shoulder) > Ladies Chain (face a new neighbor) (across???) > > The dance kept ending improper facing partner across set > What is the missing key? Should there be a CL Ÿ to start? > Or should there be a slide? > (this was my first foray into the land of Beckets) > Sounds like a very fun dance when it works > > Thanks > Gale > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

18 years, 5 months

Re: [Callers] Chain The Hay

by robertgolder＠comcast.net

You've copied everything correctly from the syllabus, but the listing is erroneous. "Chain the Hey" is a duple improper contra. ... Bob -- Robert Jon Golder 164 Maxfield St New Bedford, MA 02740 (508) 999-2486 -------------- Original message ---------------------- From: "Gale T. Wood" <Gale(a)robbinsauto.com> > Hi > > On a recent calling expedition I attempted to call Chain the Hay by Becky Hill > > I copied the dance from the 16th Annual Ralph Page DLW syllabus Pg. 26 > > Becket formation > > A1 DSD and Swing Neighbor > > A2 Gents Ala Left 1 œ > Swing Part > > B1 Prom Across > R&L Back > > B2 œ H44 (Women start pass Rt shoulder) > Ladies Chain (face a new neighbor) (across???) > > The dance kept ending improper facing partner across set > What is the missing key? Should there be a CL Ÿ to start? > Or should there be a slide? > (this was my first foray into the land of Beckets) > Sounds like a very fun dance when it works > > Thanks > Gale > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

18 years, 5 months

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Contra Callers