11 Dec
2015
11 Dec
'15
10:52 a.m.
Well, any improper dance that has a partner swing on the side could be rephrased to be
Becket, actually it wouldn't even have to be a swing.. just a partner interaction that
ended facing across the set. So you could argue that just about ANY modern improper contra
dance "goes through" Becket formation at some time during the dance..
But, truth is, people are gonna do what they're gonna do and have their reasons. With
this particular couple it may not have had anything to do with Becket Formation at all!!
b
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 2015 23:21:08 -0500
To: nschlein(a)gmail.com
CC: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
Subject: Re: [Callers] Becket Formation
From: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
If confronted with that bias again, one could always point out that many improper dances
if started in the b section instead, become Becket dances and vice versa.
On Thu, Dec 10, 2015 at 8:25 PM, Neal Schlein via Callers
<callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Actually, I can see this.
As others suggested, it is probably a matter of the couple's prior poor experiences
with dances in Beckets. That said, there are two fairly common tendencies in Becket
formation choreography which are somewhat aggravating and another which absolutely drives
me up a wall. Other callers and dancers don't seem to mind so much, but were it
possible I would completely avoid the dances which have the last one.
1. The first tendency has to do with diagonal figures, even though I like them myself.
They are often scrunched and uncomfortable, particularly right and left throughs; people
run into each other. Add to this the slight disorientation for someone not used to
diagonal figures, and it can be unpleasant. In a nice open hall, they're perfectly
fine. Not a problem so much with the formation as with the fact that everyone is in the
middle all at once and it's confusing.
2. The second is what I like to call the "DeBecketize Manuever." How many
beckets start with, "Circle left 3/4 (and usually swing your neighbor" and end
with "Partner swing on the side!" (answer: TOO MANY) If all you are going to
do with the first move is take the dance out of Becket, it seems like a cheap trick done
just to make the dance "different." Again, not an inherent problem of the
formation, just a problem of choreographic selection.
3. The third choreographic tendency is often tied to dances which feature swings at the
end of the dance: partial or non progression. This problem, unlike the others, is
actually made possible because of the formation: such a difficulty isn't possible in a
regular duple minor, and it drives me absolutely NUTS. I have experienced a number of
dances in which the caller instructs the dancers to "fudge" or
"maneuver" or "sludge" or some such to make the dance work. The
contra doesn't actually progress the couples down the line, but leaves them 1/2
progressed or non-progressed--usually swinging partners on the outside, but not always.
Sliding up the outside from a circle is one thing; swinging on the outside and fudging
down the hall is another.
The annoyance of a non-progression can be mitigated if the caller teaches it well (end
facing across, look left and...), but to me the partial progression problem always jars
and simply seems to be excessively lazy choreography.BeakNeal SchleinYouth Services
Librarian, Mahomet Public Library
Currently reading: The Different Girl by Gordon Dahlquist
Currently learning: How to set up an automated email system.
On Thu, Dec 10, 2015 at 6:26 PM, John W Gintell via Callers
<callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
My favorite progression requires Becket formation: circle left and then slide up/down and
circle with the next pair.
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
On Dec 10, 2015, at 6:43 PM, Greg Allan via Callers
<callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Hi,
That is a somewhat familiar story from my point of
view. I dance in a number of different folk dancing communities - a varied program here in
Winnipeg. It's quite common, as people from one group attempt to get interest from
other dancing groups, that some people know what they like and what they don't like,
and that's that. For example, people who English country dance often don't like
contra because of the increased exertion and tempo. Personally, I'm not much of a fan
of triple minor dances. Everyone's got their thing. But there's always a reason
for it. It could be a bad experience, or it could be a stylistic feature of a region,
where everyone does a figure in a way you find unpleasant. Hard to say. To leave an event
because someone programmed something you didn't like? ... I'm not sure to make of
it. You don't like it you don't like it, I suppose.
We don't do Becket formation here at all, really.
If someone left at the end of a night because of Becket formation, I would assume they
didn't want to start learning new things late in the evening.
Greg