John Sweeney wrote, in response:
"“Some dances have been around since George Washington's time”! Oh! So, you
only do the
recent stuff :-)"
John, have you got some good chestnuts with "hides and hairbones" roles?
:)
Cheers,
Ken Panton
Hi all,
My barn dance series has been doing well with an occasional contra dance
added in, and progressions are working. I feel "safer" including contra
style progressions as 4-face-4 dances, though, especially when I have a
wide age range of dancers. I know "trail buddies" can help the kids point
in the right direction each time.
Coconut Cream Pie ( https://contradb.com/dances/1548 ) is getting a lot of
play lately, but I'd like to have a few more of that style in my deck. It
would be nice to have a 4-face-4 both before and after the break, without
it being literally the same dance.
Any simple favorites? Bonus points if they are a california twirl
progression to feel "familiar".
Thanks everyone!
Allison
--
Allison Jonjak
allisonjonjak(a)gmail.com
allisonjonjak.com
After several discussions with new callers about a lack of dance walk
through videos, I've started recording some of mine (when I can
remember!). This past weekend (Cabin Fever, Knoxville TN), I had the
wonderful help of Jim Crawford to add footage from the floor and to mix
in the house audio. I'm sharing that here for whatever benefit it
brings folks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQMBy8Q5ft4
Some interesting things happened that changed how I called this dance:
- The lines were crowded, so I backed the gents up to suggest that they
cross the gent in the next set by the right (overlapping orbits).
- There was some confusion about shadows, but it really doesn't matter
who that is, so I ignored/squashed questions about direction and just
let the dancers muddle into it.
- I'm started at B2 in order to put the pass through progression at the
end of the dance (making the dance improper.) I do this sometimes for
reasons that I don't always recall.
I hope these videos prove to be useful.
Timothy
> On Jan 25, 2024, at 12:00 AM, contracallers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net wrote:
>
>>> Late in a regular evening dance a caller recently threw in a contra
>> with larks and robins progressing in opposite directions or at
>> different rates. Although it was announced as a mixer, it was
>> sufficiently unexpected that chaos and discomfort ensued. I'd have
>> been happier with that in a workshop setting. "Dance with who's
>> coming at you."
>>
>> David, I'd love to have this dance for uh, scientific purposes and
>> certainly not to sow chaos 👀
>>
>>
>> --
>> Maia McCormick (she/her)
>> 917.279.8194
Here is one: Note: I can’t guarantee I have everything right here. I think I remember prepping to call it and then chickening out! :-)
ð BECKET MIXER
No Use Crying Over Spilled Milk
by Chris Weiler
Teaching:
Note: warn Robins that they’ll feel stuck at ends when not stuck. If there’s nobody on your side to dance with, then dance with the person across from you and face back in LL/RR as usual. Larks triple progress, but robins progress forward 2 and back one so it can feel like you’re stuck when you’re not. Don’t fix it or you will get stuck!
A1 BECKET: on side of set w/partner: Partner balance & swing
A2 (6) Circle left 3 places & pass thru along the set
(8) New neighbor swing
B1 (8) long lines forward and back
(8) third neighbor (beside you along side of set, who you did NOT just swing) allemande left 1 ½
(there’s an awkward hand-hold switch here: robins, you can make it smoother if you take the lark’s left hand you’re holding in your right hand, and put it into your left hand for the allemande left 1 ½ )
B2 (8) Robins chain (to current partner— then say goodbye)
(8) Star left (all the way around) to a new partner
Calling Notes:
Note: If you’re out at the ends and there’s nobody on your side to dance with, then do the move (whether partner or neighbour) with the person across from you and face back in LL/RR as usual.
warn Robins that they’ll feel stuck at ends when not stuck. Larks triple progress, but robins progress forward 2 and back one so it can feel like you’re stuck when you’re not. Don’t try to fix it or you will get stuck!
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7At3Dhq-G0
Hello hivemind,
I’m thinking again about an ECD/contra Medley — presumably where you switch
from one style to the other every time you change dances, though I am of
course open to other ideas. Does anyone have thoughts here? Have you seen
the unsuccessfully? Tips on what to avoid or common pitfalls?
Thanks for your insights!
Maia
--
Maia McCormick (she/her)
917.279.8194
Hi Folks,
I'm teaching a contra dance tonight for a special event. I wanted to double check my sources and came up short on one dance:
Ellen's Green Jig.
According to my memory, I tweaked this dance years ago to be proper/improper. However, the original I can no longer find. Furthermore, my notes say it was originally by Roy Dommett, the famed rocket scientist morris dancer. Does that make any sense?
Does anyone know this dance or who devised it?
Thanks!
Greg
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Dear Colleagues,
I will be at NEFFA 2024 calling a session of "the best dances of 2010 and
later". I have a pretty good list of nominees, but if anyone wants to add
suggestions, or encourage selections of particular dances, I would love to
hear them. I am looking for a good variety of geographic origin and work
from both renown and lesser known choreographers.
Thanks all!
Greg
Hi All,
Please join us in celebrating a significant milestone for our college
dance: more than 50 dancers this past Friday! Last school year we averaged
around 20/dance. Last year's core dancers were seniors. This school year
we have been averaging around 10/dance, but our core dancers are mostly
freshman. (Yay!)
Video clip from the dance:
Dance: 'The Flircle." Ellen Hostetter calling. Band: Bobby Fjsh and the
Magic River
https://youtu.be/TGWzuIk2LTE
(For videos, we've promised to obscure dancers' features in order to
maintain privacy.)
As some of you know, who have met us on-line or in-person, we started our
dance from scratch, with all first-time dancers and a novice caller who
hadn't done much contra. (That said, our novice caller is a professional
educator and researcher whose formative art was ballet and tap). At last
Friday's dance, about 80% were first-timers. The other 20% were
beginner-level.
To share, with the hope that some of you can benefit, we've identified
several possible explanations for the high turnout. The primary new effort
was that we hosted a pop-up art exhibit in the space, lasting for the
120-minutes for which we had the studio. Long story short, pursuant to our
floating the idea in our regular announcement and inviting artists to
pin-up, one of our core dancers volunteered to curate a show and spoke with
her art professor who, in turn, liked the idea and gave the students credit
if they participated. From that, a good 25-30 student artists came with
work to pin-up -- or put down -- we had one sculpture -- who had never
heard of contra, who may have never put a foot down on a beat, and had no
intent of dancing. With encouragement, all but one (due to health issues)
joined in for the whole dance.
The student who curated has offered to continue creating exhibits and we
plan to do this every time. (We dance 2x/month.)
We think it was a rogue wave of sorts. Another student, it so happened, on
the same eve, got a group of his friends to come, and several students from
the outdoors club showed up. And then several of our usual dancers, who we
hadn't seen for a while, showed up.
And then one of our usual dancers was freaked out by the size of the crowd,
she told us, and left. :-)
Luckily, a reporter and photographer from the school newspaper also
visited on the same eve!
So, a wonderful tsunami of first timers.
We look forward to seeing how many keep returning.
Program:
Circassian Circle
The Flircle
- Intermission, art show, hob-nobbing
- Swing workshop
Lucky 7 Mixer
We did three walkthroughs of each dance and started 10 min. late due to
distractions caused by hanging the art show. We dance Larks/Robins.
All best,
Rob
- - - - - - - - - - -
Robert Matson
Cell: (917) 626-2675
Hi fellow contra callers :)
I am wondering if any of you have little activities/exercises that you use
to help dancers improve their knowledge/skills of contra dance?
I know there's lots of opinions on whether this is even necessary or should
be offered. However, I have a few situations where I've got dancers who
are keen to improve their skills and I'd like to have various fun ways of
doing so.
I'd love to hear your ideas!
One activity I remember from mannnnny years ago in Ottawa was led by Adina
Gordon. She had us form up in contra lines and then she would say 1-2
(maybe 3?) figures. We weren't to dance the figure... instead, simply go
to the spot where we would end up after the figure(s). I remember this as
being a lot of fun and a great learning experience.
I also remember from that same session something about sending some dancers
out of the room and teaching the dance to others and then doing the dance.
(I don't remember the details.)
Thoughts?
Any advice/ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Emily in Ottawa ON
Researching a discussion I had with a fellow organizer.
As a caller, newbie, experienced, old hat experienced:
1. how often do you practice calling dances, esp new to you dances?
2. Do you practice to music?
3. How far in advance do you set and work through your program?
Thanks for any and all input.
Mary Collins
Fanklinville/Olean NY
