Re: [Callers] Contra- roll differences?

In general dancing there are two distinct moves: Rollaway - where the roller stays stationary (moving backwards and forwards is OK) Rollaway with a Half Sashay - where the roller steps sideways (sashays) into the place of the person who is rolling across. The Rollaway happens in dances like Circle Waltz, but is not very common. The default is usually that the man rolls the lady on his right into his place as he moves into her place, but either gender can roll either way. You always need to specify who is rolling whom from where to where. The MWSD definition is: "From a couple, the dancer on the right (or the directed dancer) "rolls" across in front of the other dancer, turning a full 360 degrees to end on the other side, as the other dancer steps back and then forward, adjusting sideways as necessary, to move smoothly into the vacated position. At the completion of the call, the dancers have exchanged positions." Note it says "or the directed dancer", again showing that anyone can roll anyone in either direction. MWSD goes on to say, "In the past, "Rollaway" has also been called "Rollaway With A Half Sashay". This is improper language and should not be used." That is OK if you are only doing MWSD, but is completely wrong in general dancing where the two moves exist and are different and you need to make it clear which one is happening. The default would appear to be "with a half sashay", so it is probably most important to make it clear there is no sashay on the rare occasions that that happens. When walking through a contra I always state: - who is rolling - which hand they are rolling from - whom they are rolling (partner or neighbour) - the direction of the roll: along the set or across the set - if there is no sashay If it is "Men, roll neighbour from right to left, along the set" then it usually works OK. For any other rollaway there will always be some who have done that default roll without listening to the rest of the instruction! :-) Most contra dance choreography uses the Half Sashay, but not all. For example, "Roll Away" by Stohl & Rob uses two Rollaways without Half Sashays to make the progression. Hope that helps. Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent