31 Aug
2013
31 Aug
'13
5:53 a.m.
On 8/30/2013 10:22 AM, James Saxe wrote:
One of my favorite dances with an unusual transition
between going
down the hall and coming back up is "Brimmer and May Reel" by Dan
Pearl:
Duple improper
A1. Neighbors balance and swing.
A2. Right and left through (across only)
1's swing and face down
B1. Down the hall four in line (1's between the 2's) (4 steps)
1's California twirl (4)
Neighbors allemande with handy hand twice around (M1 & W2
by left, W1 & M2 by right) (8)
B2. Up the hall two-by-two, 1's leading the 2's (4)
1's cast unassisted to 2nd place while 2's continue up into
1st place and turn alone (towards each other) (4)
Circle left 1/2 (4)
Pass through along the line to meet new neighbors (4)
Dan's original version had the A1 and A2 as
A1. Neighbors swing (8)
Right and left through (8)
A2. 1's balance and swing
but I believe he now prefers (as I do) to start with a long neighbor
swing, ending at the end of the phrase instead of in the middle.
I'm not sure what Dan's current preference is about the balance in
A1. Some callers omit it out of deference to dancers who are late
finishing the B2. I think that including it rewards good timing.
I also think it shouldn't be a scramble (for dancers in decent
physical condition) to finish the B2 in time. However, timely
calls can be crucial, especially in the first few rounds of the
dance. If you allow the dancers to go down the hall four steps
before you begin calling the California twirl, then they'll get a
late start and may not be able to catch up during the entire rest
of the B part.
--Jim
"Brimmer and May Reel" is one of my favorite dances also. But when I
call it, I omit the balance in A1, although I agree with Jim's nuanced
analysis. In regular community dances, I found that there are enough
slower dancers (regardless of the timing of the calls) that they are
generally late in coming out of the quick B2 movements, so walking
straight into a long swing is kind of an anchor point for them and the
rest of the line. Which helps propel the dance successfully even though
some folks may be late. In contrast, if there was a balance at the top
of A1 so that some folks were trying to do it, but were late, then their
movements wouldn't fit the music nicely and could actually be a bit
jarring to the dancers.
At a community dance, omitting the balance in A1 seems to make sense, at
least to me. But at a dance camp or equivalent, where most of the
dancers are quite good, then that balance at the top of A1 would indeed
be rewarding, as Jim indicates. Especially if the band was playing a
tune that emphasized the downbeat at that point. After the swirling
quick movements in B2, the dead-stop of the balance, right on the music,
would be heaven.
Which kind of underscores how forgiving and robust and good this dance
really is.
Woody
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Woody Lane
Caller, Percussive Dancer
Roseburg, Oregon
http://www.woodylanecaller.com
voice: 541-440-1926 cell: 541-556-0054
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