As it happens, I'm calling a regular contra evening in a few weeks and I'm
going to experiment, right off the top of the beginner session, by playing
a tune (i.e. start music, then say "welcome")
https://youtu.be/O0AW6MQXX0Y
(Don't worry, the 3/4 quickly changes to jigs. I've listened to many tunes
to accompany this idea - Pop, Motown, Celtic - and this tune seems to
provide the musicality and the clear phrasing useful for this exercise, and
continuity with what they'll hear while dancing later.)
have the dancers listen for phrasing and then (repeating) in a big circle
holding hands:
L/R 8
F/B 8
L4/R12
F2/B2/R4
L OR R 6/2 the other way.
i.e. introduce them to a few ways of slicing up a musical phrase in ways
they will encounter with contra figures.
Finish off with a maze of F/B/L/R 8 OR 16
My contention/hope/observation is that I have never seen an intro session
that actually introduces new dancers to the music and, therefore, they have
no connection between music and figures when the band actually starts
playing later. My hope is that, by first laying a musical foundation, the
newbies will try to sync the movements they learn to the music they heard
first.
We'll see.
this idea might work for your situation.
On Sat., Aug. 17, 2019, 16:16 , <callers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
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> 1. Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Linda S. Mrosko)
> 2. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (David Harding)
> 3. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Bob Peterson)
> 4. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Winston, Alan P.)
> 5. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Colin Hume)
> 6. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Woody Lane)
> 7. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (jim saxe)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2019 23:40:27 -0500
> From: "Linda S. Mrosko" <elmerosko(a)gmail.com>
> To: Callers List <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
> Subject: [Callers] Brain Dead - Need Suggestions
> Message-ID:
> <
> CAHC5Bqfhhvs7hVYSPXGcMvoZFfRt8kntmKE8A2rSFYb90oV8Vw(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Although I've been calling forever and I know things, I'm not currently
> inspired to do this and am asking for help.
>
> Been hired to lead a dance for a music school -- ages 5 and up to teens and
> their parents and my contact asked if I could lead "dances that encourage
> really paying attention to beat counts?.throw in some music education in
> addition to fun."
>
> So I'll do my standard ONS dances for this group to recorded music that has
> very good beat counts and distinct phrasing. That's not the problem. The
> problem is *"throw in some music education." *I don't need a dissertation,
> just bits and pieces. The dance is only 1-1/2 hours long followed by ice
> cream.
>
> I've got a job that keeps me pretty busy and am training for a new job
> that's taking up a lot of my time and I just can't think anymore.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> --
>
>
>
> *Looking forward,Linda S. Mrosko*
>
> *102 Mitchell Drive*
>
> *Temple, Texas 76501*
> *(903) 292-3713 (Cell)*
> *contradancetx.com <http://www.contradancetx.com>*
>
> *www.zazzle.com/fuzzycozy* <http://www.zazzle.com/fuzzycozy*> (Dance
> buttons, t-shirts, & more)*
>
May I first compliment Becky on her phraseology. Terrific post.
As for an alternate name: given that it is a variant of a California Twirl,
a group figure as it were, how about Polyfornia Twirl?
Just a thought.
Ken
>
>
FYI
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Calvin <calcampbl(a)gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Aug 27, 2019 at 9:47 PM
Subject: SIO/SD Magazine
To: SquareDanceModules <SD-Modules(a)googlegroups.com>
I have two full sets of Sets-in-Order/Square Dance Magazine. One set is
new magazines. It is one of the sets that Bob Osgood saved for caller’s
associations. The second set of magazines are all in red binders by year.
It has been well used, but the binders protect the individual magazines.
There were 444 magazines published between 1949 and 1985. I weighed the
packages that contain the new magazine and they totaled up to about 135
pounds. They are in eight bundles. It would cost about $80-100 to ship
them media mail in the U.S.
If you don’t want the set personally, consider finding a college or
university in your area that will take them. I did this with Colorado
State University. At the time I made my donation, there were only five
other libraries in the U.S. with complete sets.
I would really hate to see these magazines end up in a dump, but that is
likely destination of I can’t find a home for them.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"SquareDanceModules" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
email to SD-Modules+unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SD-Modules/d2133479-6671-4749-9320-4eb422…
<https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SD-Modules/d2133479-6671-4749-9320-4eb422…>
.
Although I've been calling forever and I know things, I'm not currently
inspired to do this and am asking for help.
Been hired to lead a dance for a music school -- ages 5 and up to teens and
their parents and my contact asked if I could lead "dances that encourage
really paying attention to beat counts….throw in some music education in
addition to fun."
So I'll do my standard ONS dances for this group to recorded music that has
very good beat counts and distinct phrasing. That's not the problem. The
problem is *"throw in some music education." *I don't need a dissertation,
just bits and pieces. The dance is only 1-1/2 hours long followed by ice
cream.
I've got a job that keeps me pretty busy and am training for a new job
that's taking up a lot of my time and I just can't think anymore.
Any suggestions?
--
*Looking forward,Linda S. Mrosko*
*102 Mitchell Drive*
*Temple, Texas 76501*
*(903) 292-3713 (Cell)*
*contradancetx.com <http://www.contradancetx.com>*
*www.zazzle.com/fuzzycozy* <http://www.zazzle.com/fuzzycozy*> (Dance
buttons, t-shirts, & more)*
Each year for the past four years I have called a dance for adult attendees, and a few family members, at an adult chamber music camp. Some campers also play the tunes, all selected to be AABB and with B part contrasting with A part.
I have never had a roomful of people who needed less coaching on dancing with the structure of the tune. I bet that was pretty true when they were kids, too.
Richard Hopkins
hopkinsrs(a)comcast.net
850-544-7614 cell
Sent from my iPad
> On Aug 17, 2019, at 4:07 PM, callers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net wrote:
>
> Send Callers mailing list submissions to
> callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> callers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> callers-owner(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Callers digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Linda S. Mrosko)
> 2. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (David Harding)
> 3. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Bob Peterson)
> 4. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Winston, Alan P.)
> 5. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Colin Hume)
> 6. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Woody Lane)
> 7. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (jim saxe)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2019 23:40:27 -0500
> From: "Linda S. Mrosko" <elmerosko(a)gmail.com>
> To: Callers List <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
> Subject: [Callers] Brain Dead - Need Suggestions
> Message-ID:
> <CAHC5Bqfhhvs7hVYSPXGcMvoZFfRt8kntmKE8A2rSFYb90oV8Vw(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Although I've been calling forever and I know things, I'm not currently
> inspired to do this and am asking for help.
>
> Been hired to lead a dance for a music school -- ages 5 and up to teens and
> their parents and my contact asked if I could lead "dances that encourage
> really paying attention to beat counts?.throw in some music education in
> addition to fun."
>
> So I'll do my standard ONS dances for this group to recorded music that has
> very good beat counts and distinct phrasing. That's not the problem. The
> problem is *"throw in some music education." *I don't need a dissertation,
> just bits and pieces. The dance is only 1-1/2 hours long followed by ice
> cream.
>
> I've got a job that keeps me pretty busy and am training for a new job
> that's taking up a lot of my time and I just can't think anymore.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> --
>
>
>
> *Looking forward,Linda S. Mrosko*
>
> *102 Mitchell Drive*
>
> *Temple, Texas 76501*
> *(903) 292-3713 (Cell)*
> *contradancetx.com <http://www.contradancetx.com>*
>
> *www.zazzle.com/fuzzycozy* <http://www.zazzle.com/fuzzycozy*> (Dance
> buttons, t-shirts, & more)*
>
I would think that the play party type “dances” would be good for getting them to equate certain melodies/and perhaps the beat to movement.
I second Sasha and others like that.
If I were doing this I’d incorporate some drumming but that may not be for you. However, if anyone is interested there’s a ton of resources on YouTube on how to introduce this age group to drumming/percussion.
Would it be a good idea to find out what the in tunes are for this age group are and use that music as a starting point?
Lastly I hope they are paying you well for your efforts!!!!! Sounds like a real chore.
Tom
Hi all,
I hesitate to make my first post to a new (to me) list be about culturally sensitive terminology because I fear that that sometimes stirs up controversy, but this is a remarkable coincidence:
I finally got around to joining this list yesterday because I wanted to ask the list whether anyone knows a less objectionable term for the Dixie Twirl move: I encountered the move in a dance I was interested in learning to call,
but I’d be unwilling to call using a dance term with the word “Dixie” in it. Then I realized I could just say “middles arch, rights lead under” and thus both avoid the term “Dixie” and avoid making my first post on this group be about culturally sensitive terminology. :-)
But then in receiving my very first Caller’s Digest, I see a recommendation for using the term Dixie in a dance name. So I’m getting up my courage to post, hoping that I’m not wading into a hornet’s nest...
I would recommend against using Dixie in a dance name or even using it as a dance term. Please allow me to explain:
I lived in Alabama for 14 years. In my personal experience, Dixie is a term that is nearly always used by white people with warped nostalgia for the antebellum South (choosing to ignore the fact that things weren’t so great for black residents back then). I find that glorifying “Dixie” is done by the same folks who glorify the rebel (confederate) flag: It’s done supposedly in the name of honoring heritage, but its closeted purpose is to express longing for the "Good Old Days" when whites were in charge and blacks were subordinate.
For those interested in the topic here’s an article that touches on the current controversy around the word: https://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/Heart-of-Dixie-vanishing-fr… <https://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/Heart-of-Dixie-vanishing-fr…>
I’ll just be avoiding it. I’m planning to go with “middles arch, rights lead under” unless someone can suggest a better term or phrase?
Thanks all, and lovely to meet you!
Becky
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: callers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> Subject: Callers Digest, Vol 64, Issue 5
> Date: August 7, 2019 at 4:07:07 PM EDT
> To: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> Reply-To: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 6 Aug 2019 23:36:49 -0400
> From: Luke Donforth <luke.donev(a)gmail.com <mailto:luke.donev@gmail.com>>
> To: Gregory Frock <gregfrock(a)gmail.com <mailto:gregfrock@gmail.com>>
> Cc: "Callers(a)Lists.Sharedweight.net <mailto:Callers@Lists.Sharedweight.net>" <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Riffing on "The Nice Combination"
> Message-ID:
> <CAFrKOZZzWN9mEB9_TJem06o_ebqttPXRs6HUU7Gf58KxK9mFGQ(a)mail.gmail.com <mailto:CAFrKOZZzWN9mEB9_TJem06o_ebqttPXRs6HUU7Gf58KxK9mFGQ@mail.gmail.com>>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Good suggestion. And thank you all for the other variants and ideas :-D
>
> On Sat, Aug 3, 2019 at 9:05 AM Gregory Frock <gregfrock(a)gmail.com <mailto:gregfrock@gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>> For title, might I suggest "The Dixie Combination"? The couple trading
>> figure is often called a Dixie Twirl, and there already exist "A New
>> Combination" and "The Nice Combination".
>>
>> On Fri, Aug 2, 2019 at 2:28 PM Luke Donforth via Callers <
>> callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello all,
>>>
>>> I was programming for tonight, and looked at Gene Hubert's classic "The
>>> Nice Combination" (N B&S, Dwn 4, turn as cpls, C L 3/4, P S, Ld/robin
>>> chain, LHS); and wondered what the simplest variant that would flow well
>>> with a gents/larks chain instead of a ladies/robins chain.
>>>
>>> What I've come up with is below. Anyone got a prior on it? Anyone got a
>>> variant with a gents/larks chain they like more?
>>>
>>> The New Combination
>>>
>>> A1 -----------
>>> (4,12) Neighbors balance and swing
>>> A2 -----------
>>> (6) Down the hall four line
>>> (4) Pair on the right make an arch, gent/lark on the left lead through,
>>> lady/robin on the right walks to far side, inverting the line
>>> (8) Come back up the hall and bend the ends
>>> B1 -----------
>>> (6) Circle left 3/4
>>> (10) Partners swing
>>> B2 -----------
>>> (8) Gents/Larks chain (pull by left, courtesy turn with neighbor)
>>> (8) Right-hand star 1x
>>>
>>> I'm planning on using Gene's original tonight in Belfast (and probably
>>> the vast majority of the time, it's a great dance); but I thought an
>>> accessible gents/larks chain would be nice.
>>>
>>> I appreciate hearing your thoughts.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Luke Donforth
>>> Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com <mailto:Luke.Donforth@gmail.com> <Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com <mailto:Luke.Donev@gmail.com>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> List Name: Callers mailing list
>>> List Address: Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:Callers@lists.sharedweight.net>
>>> Archives: https://www.mail-archive.com/callers@lists.sharedweight.net/ <https://www.mail-archive.com/callers@lists.sharedweight.net/>
>>>
>>
>
> --
> Luke Donforth
> Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com <mailto:Luke.Donforth@gmail.com> <Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com <mailto:Luke.Donev@gmail.com>>
Hello all,
I was programming for tonight, and looked at Gene Hubert's classic "The
Nice Combination" (N B&S, Dwn 4, turn as cpls, C L 3/4, P S, Ld/robin
chain, LHS); and wondered what the simplest variant that would flow well
with a gents/larks chain instead of a ladies/robins chain.
What I've come up with is below. Anyone got a prior on it? Anyone got a
variant with a gents/larks chain they like more?
The New Combination
A1 -----------
(4,12) Neighbors balance and swing
A2 -----------
(6) Down the hall four line
(4) Pair on the right make an arch, gent/lark on the left lead through,
lady/robin on the right walks to far side, inverting the line
(8) Come back up the hall and bend the ends
B1 -----------
(6) Circle left 3/4
(10) Partners swing
B2 -----------
(8) Gents/Larks chain (pull by left, courtesy turn with neighbor)
(8) Right-hand star 1x
I'm planning on using Gene's original tonight in Belfast (and probably the
vast majority of the time, it's a great dance); but I thought an accessible
gents/larks chain would be nice.
I appreciate hearing your thoughts.
--
Luke Donforth
Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com <Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com>
