1 May
2008
1 May
'08
8:48 p.m.
Just about my favorite story of this past NEFFA weekend was someone (who
shall remain unnamed, but is a member of this list <G>) who was at the NEFFA
annual meeting Sunday morning on her cell phone saying "Yeah, he called me
at midnight last night to say he wasn't going to dance the medley with me
after all. So now I need to find a medley partner." (Or that is how I
remember it. I'm sure it's not a direct quote, but a paraphrase through my
own brain.)
I call medleys frequently and break several of the previously mentioned
requirements:
I don't warn the dancers.
I call my medley as the last dance of the evening.
I call dances that all begin the same way (usually neighbor balance and
swing).
I call dance medleys even if there are still beginners in the line - the new
folks who are still there for the last dance have usually gotten contra
dancing well enough to be no more confused in a medley than they are in all
the other dances.
I use the most basic glossary dances for my medleys. One of my most common:
Lady of the Lake
Woods Hole Jig (or what I call "Woods Hole Reel - which replaces the last B
with long lines forward and back, ones swing)
Forgotten Treasure
Hey Fever
I can get even more basic and do
Lady of the Lake
Lady Walpole's Reel
Woods Hole
Forgotten Treasure
These are almost the same dance in different orders. In other words, dances
I wouldn't usually use as a stand-alone because they might be just too plain
for a crowd of regular Scout House dancers.
My closing medleys are usually 4 dances 4 or 6 times through (six if the
dancers are having trouble, four if not.) The last dance is, of course, 5
times.
I know my band well and I call the tune changes. If I am working with a band
I don't regularly work with, I will talk to them about it and forgo the
whole thing if it sounds like the hot ending is important to them.
I sometimes don't worry about tune change matching dance change.
If I have any doubt about getting all of the dancers through it successfully
(say, I have one or two "riderless horses") I will not do the medley.
HTH,
Beth