[Callers] Re: Ceilidh dances at a contra

Hi Rich, I have called my version of Fast Packet at contra dances in America and it seems to have gone down well. The biggest challenge is getting an American contra dance band to play a suitable tune at 80-90 bpm when they are used to playing everything at 110-125bpm! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3IBzoifL0M I have also called the Waltz Country Dance at contra dances in America for a change of pace: http://contrafusion.co.uk/Dances/WaltzCountryDance.html I love Cumberland Square Eight (http://contrafusion.co.uk/Dances/EFDS3911-CumberlandSquareEight.html ) so I wrote a contra dance which includes all the moves from that dance: The Cumberland Contra: http://contrafusion.co.uk/Dances/CumberlandContra.html I have called that at contra dances in America and in England with great success. I also use Appalachian Big Set. I have called that at contra dances in America, especially when a dance goes badly wrong. I just grab a partner, tell the band to play and say, "Follow me". No teaching, just straight into the dance. It also works well at the end of an evening if there is a few minutes left, but not long enough for a contra - finish with everyone promenading up to the band and clapping to the music. Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent -----Original Message----- From: Rich Goss via Contra Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> Sent: 17 September 2023 15:27 To: callers(a)sharedweight.net Subject: [Callers] Ceilidh dances at a contra Does anyone slip in a ceilidh style dance at a contra? Some of the mixers work well at contra dances. Also, it’s an opportunity to give new dancers brains a break. I suspect this practice is more common in the UK. Colin, feel free to chime in. Rich _______________________________________________ Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net