Jeff, impressively bad, well done!

My biggest pet peeve is a RH chain (or promenade, or other move with a CCW courtesy turn) into a circle L—though this is a very of-the-moment style preference, as I know plenty of the classic dances have this combo. (Likewise for dances where just the 1s do a figure while the 2s stand around, doubly so if the dance doesn’t alternate active couples.)

Long lines followed by a chain is quite idiomatic—and probably in part because of the strength that idiom, a chain (or other courtesy turn figure) followed by long lines drives me up a wall. 

I don’t love long lines into a circle—I’ll tolerate it if the rest of the dance is really exceptional, ehhhh. 

--
Maia McCormick (she/her)
917.279.8194


On Mon, Aug 5, 2024 at 10:31 PM Jeff Kaufman via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Balance neighbor (4), swing partner (12)

Ones dosido below while twos seesaw above (8).

Long lines forward (4), swing on the side (8), long lines back (4).

Circle left 1x (6) pass through (2)

Jeff

On Mon, Aug 5, 2024 at 9:51 PM Tepfer, Seth via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
  • A right chain INTO a swing
  • A swing into a circle right
  • Standard right shoulder hey into a swing

Plenty other bad flow examples


Seth Tepfer, MBA, CSM, PMP (he, him, his)

Senior IT Manager, Emory Primate Center
Book time to meet with me
From: Jonathan Sivier via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net>
Sent: Monday, August 5, 2024 9:48 PM
To: New Contra Callers List <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net>
Subject: [External] [Callers] Re: Choreographic No-Nos
 
I don't agree with your list.  Yes, swings on the first half of a phrase are challenging and I might try to avoid them.  There are dances with this that generally work fine, especially if the caller is aware of the potential issue and teaches and calls accordingly.  The do-si-do across can be a bit awkward in a crowded line, but only if everyone is doing the do-si-do.  If only the 1's or 2's are doing it then there is no problem.  Shadow swings seem to be a personal preference or dislike and not really a choreographic issue.  I actually think that a right chain after a swing can work very well.  If you end the swing with the pointy hands pointing across then the right hands of the right hand dancers are right there ready to pull by.  I suppose you might say there is a momentum change, but that can be very welcome in a dance where everything seems to be traveling the same way.  Not every dance has to have continuous motion in the same direction all the time.  I danced a dance with that set of figures just last Friday and I was thinking to myself how well it seemed to work.

So I see #1 and #3 as more of a challenge than a problem.  #4 is a personal preference and #2 seems like a perfectly fine transition between figures.

Jonathan

On 8/5/2024 7:37 PM, Michael Fuerst via Contra Callers wrote:
> I am accumulating a  list of figures, or figure sequence that significant dance writers (not necessarily a majority) consider Choreographic No-Nos
> My list so far:
> 1. do-si-do across
> 2. right chain after a swing
> 3 short swings on an odd phrase
> 4. Shadow swings
> Does anyone have further suggestions?

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