Contra Callers

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4406 discussions

How to talk about contra dance to the uninitiated on Zoom

by Adam Carlson

Hi All, At work, we have a Fun Friday thing where someone does a 1/2 hr presentation on something of interest. It could be travel, a hobby, or whatever. They're asking me to do one on contra dance. In the before times when we could do it in person, I would have taught them a simple dance to recorded music. But I'm trying to think about what to say about contra in 1/2 an hour that'll be fun. Someone else did latin ballroom dancing and they tried to share their screen and play a bunch of videos, which was a total fail, but then they shared the youtube links and people loved it. Contra isn't quite as sexy as that, and he was doing performances rather than taking videos of salsa at the club, so it was pretty impressive. Thoughts? I know a little about contra history, but I'm not super passionate about it. I can certainly play a bunch of the great music. I can show clips of large events (Folklife), techno contra, family dances, and other variants (tractor contas, anyone). One thing I'd love to do is to get people up and dancing, but I realize that's probably not going to work. I regularly attend Zoom dances, but I don't think a bunch of non-dancers will just get up and have fun having never learned any of the moves. If anyone's got a great dance that beginners can do (no terminology) and that's designed for singles or the occasional couple, please share. Luckily a bunch of singles dances are being written now, but they mostly assume an experienced audience. Cheers, Adam

4 years, 11 months

Can't dance! :-( Can still write! :-)

by John Sweeney

You may find some of these new articles of interest. They relate to Contra, ECD, eCeilidh, Country Dance, Folk Dance, Traditional Dance, Barn Dance, Square Dance, etc. in varying amounts. They are all at: http://contrafusion.co.uk/DanceNotes.html * The Hey or Reel - Origins and Over 25 Variations * Grand Square - History and Variations * Star and Hands Across and Variants * Rights & Lefts - Circular Hey - Square Thru - Right & Left Through - Two Changes * Lead & Follow * The Dance Is Not The Tune! * An Essay on the Best Position for the Lady's Left Hand in a Ballroom-Hold Swing * English or American? - Country Dance - Barn Dance Or maybe some of these old ones: * Country Dance & Contra Dance Formations - Over 100! * Allemandes, Hand Turns and Arming * Gypsy: The Move & The Name * The Virtues of Good Swinging! * The Well-Connected Dancer * Siding & Variants * Dances from English Dance & Song - Over 150 Dances! * The Lovelace Manuscript Comments, corrections, feedback, updates, etc. are all welcome - please send them to john(a)modernjive.com <mailto:john@modernjive.com> . I hope you are all well and enjoying life in these troubled times! Looking forward to seeing you on the dance-floor again one day. Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574 http://contrafusion.co.uk/KentCeilidhs.html for Live Music Ceilidhs http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive DVDs

4 years, 11 months

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by Perry Shafran

Testing to see if this goes into spam or my inbox. Thanks! Perry

4 years, 11 months

Positional calling workshop Nov 14

by Louise Siddons

The Friends of Cecil Sharp House are pleased to announce our second Positional Calling Workshop, led by Louise Siddons, on 14 November 2020 at 7 pm UK time (2pm Eastern, 11am Pacific). The first workshop, which focused on English country dance calling, was recorded and is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGowupPiIig This second workshop is intended to introduce participants to positional calling for contra dancing. Discover how the skills you already cultivate as a caller can be enhanced by positional thinking, teaching and calling — and learn how to use those skills to create a more welcoming, inclusive atmosphere at your dances. This workshop will be participatory rather than prescriptive, although Louise will introduce the strategies that she uses in her own teaching and calling as helpful starting points. Louise has been calling both contra and ECD positionally since 2017 in both the US and the UK. If you wish to attend this workshop, please register your interest by sending a brief email to judith(a)fcsh.org.uk. Louise is waiving her fees and costs in organising these sessions, and would like AKT to benefit from her efforts and your generosity. You can make a contribution online at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/fcsh. Thank you. — Louise Siddons, dance caller http://www.scissortail.org/siddons/ lesiddons(a)gmail.com

4 years, 12 months

Ted Sannella Stories

by David Smukler

Dear Contra Caller friends, November 18, 2020, marks the 25th anniversary of the death of Ted Sannella. Ted shaped our lives as dancers and callers, and we remember him vividly. Before more time goes by and memories fade, we'd like to use this occasion to collect stories and tributes from others who knew Ted. Ted published some 170 dances, including contras, squares, triplets, and mixers in various configurations. After the death of Ralph Page, Ted was widely considered the “Dean of New England Callers.” He left behind a vast collection of dance materials, which were donated along with his personal papers to the New Hampshire Library of Traditional Music and Dance at the University of New Hampshire to form the Ted Sannella Collection. Please send your stories to SannellaStories(a)gmail.com; we'll collect them and will arrange for them to be shared more widely. This may happen through a print or web publication of some kind, or—once the COVID-19 pandemic has abated enough that we can dance safely—in dance camp or festival settings. We could even arrange a special Ted Talk! We will also make sure that all contributions are passed along to the Ted Sannella Collection at UNH and shared with members of Ted's family. David Millstone and David Smukler

5 years

FCSH Positional Calling workshops

by Louise Siddons

The Friends of Cecil Sharp House presents: Positional Calling Workshops with Louise Siddons Saturday 17th October and Saturday 14th November 2020 at 7 pm (UK) These workshops are intended to introduce participants to positional calling — sometimes described as global terminology — for both ECD/Playford (on October 17) and contra (on November 14). Discover how the skills you already cultivate as a caller can be enhanced by positional thinking, teaching, and calling — and learn how to use those skills to create a more welcoming, inclusive atmosphere at your dances. This workshop will be participatory rather than prescriptive, although Louise will introduce the strategies that she uses in her own teaching and calling as helpful starting points. Louise has been calling both contra and ECD positionally since 2017 in both the US and the UK. Register by email to judith(a)fcsh.org.uk <mailto:judith@fcsh.org.uk>

5 years, 1 month

5 Things

by Colin Hume

In case you don't know about them, I'd like to bring a series of videos to your attention. These are produced by the Historical Tea and Dance Society based in Pasadena, California, http://historicalteaanddance.org/ and each week they interview a caller, musician or organiser and ask them to talk about 5 things they are passionate about. Many of these relate to "English" (i.e. Playford-style) dancing but certainly not all, and this week the interviewee was the wonderful Lisa Greenleaf. She has a lot of good advice for callers of any genre, and I believe dancers would also be interested in her attitude to calling and dancing. Did you know that when she lived in Boston she was a regular dancer with the English group led by Helene Cornelius with music by Bare Necessities? Well I didn't. You can view the recording at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YLH2eDnk4NauPuzu618JxkM2B6ALjWJ8/view?t=551 and you can see an index of all the available sessions (over 30 of them) at https://colinhume.com/htds/ Colin Hume

5 years, 1 month

Contra-Style Dances for Virtual Events

by Kyla Wargel

Hello, I wanted to share some dances I've written over the past few months, in case they are of use to others. I wrote these dances to call during Bloomington’s weekly Wednesday night zoom dance. They are written for one person to dance alone, but they can be adapted or improvised for more people. I have been walking through the dances twice (while demonstrating the moves) and calling for the duration of the dance (while also dancing by myself on camera to continue demonstrating). I am lucky to have musicians in my small pandemic circle, so I’ve been calling to live music. The easiest way to view the dances (as far as formatting goes) is with this google doc link. I will also copy and paste them below as well. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iMRE0YZZZf3nu2cXU5TwThSgF3ooP38jdNSgn6n… I'm curious for thoughts and feedback, too! Kyla Wargel *“Solo Dance #1”* A1: Do-si-do Circle left, 1 time A2: Do-si-do Balance and swing yourself, end facing down/away from your device B1: Down the hall, turn alone, come back B2: Balance, move one spot to the right (Petronella turn) Balance, move one spot to the left *“Solo Dance #2”* A1: Figure eight (start facing your device, figure eight starts as if you’re doing an allemande right ¾ so that your figure eight moves away from the device) A2: Right shoulder round (melt into it as you finish figure eight) Swing (end facing across with your left side closest to your device) B1: Short lines forward and back Balance right then left, slide right (or spin, think Rory O’Moore) B2: Balance left then right, slide left Star left *“Solo Dance #3”* A1: Balance and swing yourself (end facing device) A2: Balance right then left, walk back four steps Balance right then left, walk back for steps B1: Zig left, zag right, zig left, zag right (8) (sashay forward in a zig zag pattern) Freestyle clogging (8) B2: Freestyle clogging (16) *Variation: Instead of freestyle clogging, repeat A2 and the first eight counts of B1.Tips: For the long swing, move slowly or not in a tight circle to avoid dizziness!* *“COVID-19 Step”* A1: Balance the ring, balance again Circle left, 1 time A2: Balance the ring, balance again Circle right, 1 time B1: Right foot - heal, toe, heal, toe (4); sashay right (4) Left foot - heal, toe, heal, toe (4); sashay left (4) B2: Balance, walk back four steps Zig zag forward (sashay back and forth to your starting place) *“Progress Alone”* *Notes: For this dance, encourage dancers to place two objects on the floor, about a body-length apart. The dance starts by facing the two objects and “connecting” right hands with the first object. Works well with music with a bouncy A part and flowy B part.* A1: Right hand balance, turn halfway (then give your left hand to the second object) Left hand balance, turn halfway (keep left hand connected there) A2: Left hand balance, turn halfway (give right hand to the first object) Right hand balance, turn halfway B1 Melt into a figure eight (follow the same path you just made with the balance/turn sequence, but flowy this time. 8 counts down, 8 counts back) B2: Melt into a swing when you get home (end facing your floor objects) Big circle left halfway (so that you are now in front of your second object - in “progressed” position; you will progress back and forth, i.e., alternate your starting place, throughout the dance) *“Untitled” (as of now)* *Note: Start facing your device, with plenty of space for dancing between you and the device.* A1: Right hand balance, pull by (6) left hand pull by (2) Right hand balance, pull by (6) left hand pull by (2) (square through with RH balances; end back at starting place) A2: See-saw Swing yourself (end facing down/away from your device) B1: Go down the hall, turn alone, come back B2: Balance side to side (4), walk back (4) Balance side to side (4), walk forward (4)

5 years, 1 month

This Tuesday on 5 Things... Inside the Dancing Mind of CHIP PRINCE!

by Darlene Hamilton

A wonderful guest who plays for both ECD AND CONTRA dances around the country. We hope you will join us! *TUESDAY, September 8th, 6pm pdt* *5 Things… **Inside the Dancing Mind of… CHIP PRINCE* Chip Prince has played keyboards (and occasionally conducted) Broadway shows for over 25 years, and started playing for ECD and CONTRA dances in 2003. His warm smile, lively humor and delightful musical style has won him friends and admirers, particularly at Country Dance New York, Pinewoods, and Hey Days. *Registration Link: *https://forms.gle/V6F5sRcPsawFG39t9 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Darlene Hamilton *Caller, Dancer, Founder of**The Historical Tea & Dance Society* *www.historicalteaanddance.org <http://www.historicalteaanddance.org/>* *Like us on facebook!*

5 years, 1 month

Phil Jamison talk tonight 8 pm!

by Donna Hunt

Hi All:Sorry for the late notice. Mt Airy Contra in Philadelphia has been hosting virtual dances for all and socials for our local folks since April. Tonight we have Phil Jamison who at 8 pm (eastern) will present his book “Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance” . Due to popular demand we were just able to set up a link for a FB feed and we can invite a lot more people than the 100 person limit of zoom. Please join us at https://www.facebook.com/mtairycontra/posts/2464175140548961 Here's more information: The southern Appalachian square dance is a hybrid dance form that developed in the American South during the nineteenth century, and like the Appalachian musical traditions, these dances reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the region. In this Zoom Social we will examine the multicultural roots and historical development of these dances and identify the components of earlier European, African, and Native American dance forms that combined to make them uniquely American. Phil Jamison is nationally known as a dance caller, old-time musician, flatfoot dancer, and scholar of traditional Appalachian dance. A 2017 inductee to the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame, he has called dances, performed, and taught at music festivals and dance events throughout the U.S. and overseas since the early 1970s, including forty years as a member of the Green Grass Cloggers. Over the last thirty years, Jamison has done extensive research in the area of Appalachian dance, and his book Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance (University of Illinois Press, 2015) tells the story behind the square dances, step dances, reels, and other forms of dance practiced in southern Appalachia. He has given numerous presentations on Appalachian dance – from the Smithsonian Institution to Beijing, China – and he teaches Appalachian music and dance at Warren Wilson College, in Asheville, North Carolina, where for twenty-five years, he served as coordinator of the Old-Time Music and Dance Week at the Swannanoa Gathering. http://www.philjamison.com/ For more information about the Mt Airy Contra (Philadelphia) virtual dances and a tip jar for Phil click here If you have trouble getting into the FB feed please email Alex alex(a)thursdaycontra.com Donna Hunt Email: dhuntdancer(a)aol.com Cell: 215-565-6050

5 years, 2 months

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