31 Jul
2014
31 Jul
'14
11:43 a.m.
HI, Luke!
I looked up Bill’s web site, and found that he wrote 20 Below in Feb, 2003. Coincidentally
enough, I came up with The Winter Storm that very same month and year…..I was on the ferry
to Martha’s Vineyard to call a dance over there, and there was a cold, windy, snowy
storm….but not enough to keep the ferries in port! I thought of the dance while on the
ferry. The storm was the biggest part of the story; but I also know that at that time,
some of us were attempting to come up with dances that had a different start than “circle
left 3/4, swing N”. I learned about Bill’s dance a few years later. Since the A’s are a
bit different from each other, I believe they do qualify as different dances…..but not by
much! So it will be interesting to see what folks have to say about Ron’s most recent
question…..
As for zig zags, I find it very useful that the timing is “squishy” , or “forgiving” in
some compositions, since this means that many dance styles and abilities are accommodated.
In Meg’s Choice, by Sue Rosen, called in Rehoboth by the author, Amy Larkin and Bob Golder
were dancing together, and they turned the zig/zag motion into a playful poussette. Very
nice!
Your final entry below is very similar to Boys from Urbana by John Coffman.
Becket-CW
A1 -----------
(8) Circle Left 3/4 (with P)
Zig left Zag right
New gents alle left 1/2
A2 -----------
(16) Neighbor balance and swing
B1 -----------
(8) Long lines, forward and back
(8) Women allemande Right 1-1/2
B2 -----------
(16) Partner balance and swing
I believe in your second, single progression dance, the dancers may arrive early for the N
B&S—a bit too “squishy” for some?
The dances may very well be new compositions, so I look forward to hearing from others on
the list.
warmly, Linda
On Jul 30, 2014, at 11:14 PM, Luke Donforth via Callers
<callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Hello folks,
Thanks for all the insight on Grand Marches. It was a very fruitful discussion for me, so
I'm going to toss another question out there.
What timing do you like for zig and zag the set? The (uncommon) move where you and
someone else (usually partner) move out to one side and slip behind the couple you were
facing to face a new couple, and then possibly do it again where you keep going and then
cut back to face a 3rd couple (double progression).
I've got dances in my box that have a zig and zag in 8 (single progression) like Bill
Pope's "The Cows Are Watching"; and I've got danced in my box that
zig-zag-zig (double progression) in 8, like Rick Mohr's "Leave the Wine".
A couple of the zig-zag dances I've seen do the zig and zag in, pairing it with a
circle 1 1/4 or such (Will Mentor's "Frock's Rocking Frolic").
I've danced and enjoyed all of these dances, or they wouldn't be in my box, but
it seems a squishier move on timing than most; so I'm curious what people think about
it; and/or what they ask for the band when calling one of these.
This came up for me when I was playing with a new (I think) choreography. I put forth two
possibilities drawing inspiration from Linda Leslie's Winter Storm and Bill
Olson's 20 Below (side question, which one came first?).
Becket, double progression cw
A1
Circle Left 3/4
With Partner, zig left, zag right past a couple, zig left to face another new couple
A2
New Neighbor Gypsy and Swing
B1
Men allemande Left 1 1/2
Pass Partner Right to start 1/2 hey
B2
Partner Gypsy and Swing
Becket, single progression cw
A1
Circle Left 3/4
With Partner, zig left, zag right to face new couple
A2
New Neighbor balance and swing
B1
Men allemande Left 1 1/2
Pass Partner to start 1/2 hey by Right
B2
Partner Balance and Swing
And for those of you who have stuck with my rambling this long, I'll toss another one
out there:
Becket, single progression, ccw
A1
Circle Left 1 1/4
with Partner: Zig left, zag right to face new couple
A2
New Neighbor balance and swing
B1
Promenade across set with Neighbor
Women Do-Si-Do 1 1/2
B2
Partner Balance and Swing
If I had enough dancers, I'd just medley them; using the double progression every
other time so you'd always see new faces... no, wait, that's a terrible idea.
Thoughts or experience?
Thanks again!
--
Luke Donforth
Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com
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