Hello Callers! Around the breakfast table at Penelope Weinberger’s house this morning, while on tour with Cloud Ten, I came up with this dance. Wrote it with the Sam Bartlett tune Penelope’s Cruise (also written for Penelope Weinberger) in mind. Wondering if it is already out there? Thanks for your input!
Jean Gorrindo
Breakfast at Penelope’s
by Jean Gorrindo
Contra/Improper/Easy-Int/Double Progression
A1 -----------
(8) Partner R-Hand Balance; Square Thru (pull by Partner with Right, Neighbor Left)
(8) Partner Balance & Box the Gnat
A2 -----------
(16) Neighbor balance and swing
B1 -----------
(8) Women allemande Right 1-1/2
(8) Partner swing
B2 -----------
(8) Long lines, forward and back
(8) Women's Chain
As may be obvious, I love Mad Robins. I'm still working on what is the best
way to teach them.
I know about the "Dosido/now face your Partner/on the same path as the
Dosido, do a Mad Robin" approach and have used it.
I've heard other callers I admire admonish to not use the "wrong" move as a
teaching tool for the "right" move - as it's that much harder to "unlearn"
the original bit.
What I've observed is that newer dancers may end up focused on the wrong
person, facing the wrong direction, and possibly doing the "Dosido Twirl"
when using the Dosido teach. But they *do* follow the correct path (so long
as the caller remembers to say SeeSaw vs. Dosido as the correct analogue)
on the floor. Some can make the facing adjustment and some persist in
facing the wrong way. If the dance tolerates the facing differences, all is
OK.
As a practice, I actively solicit feedback on my calling at each gig. Out
of a recent one I got into an extended discussion about the Mad Robin teach
with a dancer whom had struggled with their beginner partner in a sequence
that evening. I had read that crowd as highly experienced so did only a
basic teaching of the move, which they reported having not got through to
this beginner. They freely offered that all was well around them, it was
just a frustration in their own experience. We touched on the merits and
drawbacks of the Dosido teach (which I chose not to use in that situation
as it appears to annoy experienced dancers, plus because of the above
points).
I'm trying to evolve to something that teaches both the correct motion and
the facing direction at the same time - *without* taxing experienced folks'
patience. I have my own ideas on this but welcome others'.
So, how do *you* teach a Mad Robin most effectively and efficiently? Do you
vary it by context, crowd composition, other factors?
Thanks,
Don
Hi All,
Chrissy Fowler of Belfast Flying Shoes fame has asked me to share with you
the email below. (She's on the SW organizers list but not the callers
list).
This resource she's created is pretty amazing ... enjoy!
Emily
===================================================
Hi Shared Weight Organizers List.
I'm writing to share a resource that I recently put together - Dancing in
Literature: A Partial Bibliography. It's posted on the Belfast Flying
Shoes blog (http://belfastflyingshoes.org/dancing-books-for-flying-shoes/)
and is meant to be widely disseminated. As noted on the front page of the
pdf, this project was supported by a dance education grant from the Maine
Arts Commission and by Belfast Flying Shoes, with help from many
contributors.
The word "partial" is key. This is by no means comprehensive, and I'm
making no recommendations about the literary value of any of the books.
But it's a resource, and I'm happy to imagine it being of use.
Cheers,
Chrissy Fowler
I wanted to have a dance where dancers did the dolphin hey figure with a neighbor rather than with a partner so that knowledge could be transferred from one person to another. I wrote this dance with that purpose. This dance borrows much from Seth Tepfer’s “Dolphin Yay!” dance and Andrea Nettleton’s “Porpoiseful Play”. Much thanks to both of these choreographers for their great dances.
Please take a look at this dance and let me know if you know it to be already written in this way. The slice in the beginning can be changed into a double slice (left diagonal forward to new neighbors, left diagonal back to next new neighbors) to make it a double progression, giving more dancers a chance to be the dolphin couple. I called this in Santa Barbara, CA, on 9/30, with the double slice. The dancers gave the dance a thumbs up. Click on these words for a video link. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoYYc4mKzrE>
Thanks,
Jacqui
Iluka Iluka
by Jacqui Grennan
Contra/Improper
A1 -----------
** BECKET ** ID Lady 1 and Gent 2 (AKA “top couple”)
(8) LEFT DIAGONAL - Slice (single progression) or double slice (double progression) to new Neighbors
(8) Lady 1 & Gent 2 (”top couple”) left shoulder ‘round 1-1/2 to face Lady 2
A2 -----------
(14) Dolphin Hey for 3 (6 passes) - Dolphins pass Lady 2 right, end by passing Lady 2 at the same place where the hey was started
(2) Lady 2 cross the set
B1 -----------
(16) Neighbor right shoulder ‘round/Swing
B2 -----------
(6) Circle left 3/4
(10) Partner Swing
It's on! Same venues as last time; same prices as advertised on the flyer.
Book your Early Bird tickets at http://eiff.org.uk/tickets.html
Colin Hume
Email colin(a)colinhume.com Web site http://colinhume.com
I don't recall seeing the dip-and-dive-across-the-set figure before
(choreographically equivalent to right and through), came up with this,
called it tonight and people seemed to have fun. I don't think it
registers as too gimmicky for hot contra dancers because they get the
twirls to face back in, and it goes well pretty early in the evening
DIPPING DOTS
Improper contra
Bouncy, jolly (Quebecois, polka?), or smooth and driving.
Alan Winston, 9/27/2018
A1: Neighbor balance and swing, face across
A2: Dip and dive across the set (couple containing #1gent arches first)
1-2: Cross over
3-4: All California twirl
5-6: Other couple arches, cross back
7-8: All California twirl, let go.
B1: Gents/Larks pass right shoulder to partner
Partners right shoulder round and swing on the ladies/ravens side
B2: Cl 3/4 (to progressed crossed over places)
Balance the ring
California Twirl
-- Alan
Hi All:
I have some cryptic notes about the dance by Robert Cromartie: "Would you do it for $20", and it's not complete.
Would someone, please, send me the figures so that I can correct my notes? Thanks.
Donna Hunt
Email: dhuntdancer(a)aol.com
Hi Everyone
My latest dance for your enjoyment, with an animation at
http://www.dancekaleidoscope.org.au/dance.html#Ophidian.
Ophidian
Keith Wood September 2018
Becket formation, double reverse progression
The snakelike move for the men to reunite with their partners inspired
this dance, and its name. If there's a spare couple at the bottom they
wait together on the "men's" line. The woman joins in from the diagonal
ladies chain, while the man joins in from the snake.
A1 Men allemande left once around, while women orbit clockwise half-way
Swing opposite
A2 On the left diagonal, ladies chain to shadow
Opposite do-si-do left shoulder
B1 Star left once around
Star right once around
B2 Snake: Men allemande right 5/8, next neighbour allemande left 1/2,
next neighbour allemande right 1/2 to face partner; man coming out at
the end loop right and rejoin immediately
Swing partner
Cheers
Keith
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
Hey everyone,
Improbably, I've found that I've reached the bottom of my barrel of jokes
to tell while calling!
Part of it might be that I go through more than just 1 or 2 on some
nights....
Regardless, I've found that I need to restock my box of dance-safe humor a
bit if I'm going to keep up my infamous taste for humor. What are some of
your favorite dance-safe jokes that are short enough to pepper in-between
dances or before a walkthrough?
Thanks,
Isaac Banner
What is the difference between a dance caller and a savings bond?
A savings bond eventually matures.and makes money! (said with a grin, of
course!)
On a more serious note, I would like to get my local dance series doing
more-well, actually some!-triple minors. Eventually I'd like to get them to
at least tolerate some of the traditional dances, but the learning curve of
triple minor +plus unfamiliar figures + no swing has always been just too
steep for them to manage. I've gone through Zesty Contras for more modern
triples but so far haven't found one that I think will work-so, what are
your favourite triple minors? What worked-and what didn't-in introducing
them to a crowd used to at least one swing in every dance, and everybody
moving most, if not all of the time?
Can include contra corners as they are pretty proficient-thanks to 3 years
of including it every time I call!
Thanks everyone,
Judy Greenhill
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
