12 Dec
2008
12 Dec
'08
12:01 a.m.
On 12/11/08, gtwood(a)worldpath.net <gtwood(a)worldpath.net> wrote:
Hay folks,
Typically, how many Becket dances will you call in an
evening?
I seem to be on a Becket "kick" as of late, and don't wish to
over do it.
Looking at my programs, it looks like in the last year of
15 contra dances, I've only called 18 Becket dances.
(Last week I realized I hadn't introduced Becket when I
got to the triple minor, and needed to use that term...)
But this isn't intentional. For me, Becket vs. Improper is
just a different way of starting the same dance. I don't
see any deep difference between them. Still, there are
a couple of factors that tilt me improper-wards:
-When programming I seek dances that don't always
end and start the same. Most Becket dances end with
a partner swing.
-Improper dances tend to be simpler than Becket dances,
hence more of them get done.
(This is because an improper choreography must reach three
choreographic mileposts during the dance -- progressed,
neighbor swung, and partner swung. Becket must reach two
mileposts -- neighbor swung and partner swung; so there's
more time in the dance to wander far, far away from these
mileposts/stations.)
(Drop the neighbor swing requirement and the above still holds.)
-My use of other dance formations -- squares,
four-face-fours, circle mixer, triplets, and so forth -- automatically
decreases both the number of improper and Becket dances.
-I think there's more good improper sequences out there than
Becket ones, quite possibly because that's what more
people have intentionally been trying to write. I have no data
to support this, however.
-Chris Page
San Diego