23 Jan
2008
23 Jan
'08
9:37 p.m.
This is my opinion mainly as a dancer, not so much as a caller, but I'm
inclined to agree with Cary - especially when you consider that the more
shadow interaction there is, the less partner interaction! A nice shadow
move that bounces me back to my partner can be very cool, and when my shadow
is a good dancer or good friend of mine, I'm happy to have more shadow
interaction, but it's a gamble. I might be stuck with a shadow who's a
terrible dancer, or smells bad, or is generally just not someone I'd want to
dance with, and not only are you (the choreographer and caller) forcing me
to swing him every time through the dance, you're also taking me away from
the person who I *did* choose to dance with.
On the other hand, there are really cool dances with lots of shadow
interaction, too. If the dance itself is cool enough, I'm willing to let
myself get pulled away from my partner more.
- Koren
On 1/23/08, J L Korr <jeremykorr(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
Chris Weiler wrote:
Once again, frigid New Hampshire was home to
another warm and special
Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend. It was great to see people from all
over the country who came to dance and learn. The SharedWeight lunch
gatherings were a couple of the high points for me.
. . . and Chris did an excellent job calling a fun dance he co-wrote. Will
you consider posting it on SharedWeight, Chris?
During the same open mike session, I enjoyed dancing Nils Fredland's "Head
of the Bed" to Dave Eisenstatter's calling, and it got me thinking. I've
called dances with shadow swings infrequently, because in the back of my
head I think about the following excerpt from Cary Ravitz's notes on contra
choreography: "Watch out for excessive trail buddy interaction. People don't
choose their trail buddy and they are stuck with them for the entire dance.
. . . Trail buddy swings are not allowed."
However, Cary also emphasizes that those are his personal preferences, and
others' preferences may vary. So I'd appreciate others' thoughts on this --
are shadow swings as strongly negative an issue for you as they are for
Cary? Clearly they were not an issue for Nils when writing "Head of the Bed"
or Seth T. when writing "Meg's a Dancing Fool," for instance.
Thanks,
Jeremy
Jeremy Korr
East of Los Angeles
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