The discussion about rollaway/rollaway half sashay has been very interesting to follow. Claire asked what is going on in contraland, and with all that's been said, it seems like a summary might be in order.
MWSD is meticulous. In that context a rollaway is always right hand dancer rolling, and always includes a half sashay for an exact swap, which is why it is incorrect to add half sashay to the call. They are policed, as it were, by callerlab, who decided it should be thus to avoid exactly the kind of confusion the more unusual rollaway contras cause. They also get to train the dancers to be as meticulous as the caller in executing the call.
On to trad squares. Clearly the folk process is messier, and rollaways can go the other direction, include or not include a half-sashay, and are not getting precise execution.
And finally Contra.
Chris Page may not have many in his box, but more choreographers are now writing dances with rollaway, no 1/2 sashay, and I have a number.
Despite this, it's quite true that most dancers will assume the half sashay, so careful teaching is required. No matter the dance, it has become necessary to indicate who is rolling, who half sashaying if there is one, or who holding their ground if not.
Teaching is extra tricky because, as someone mentioned in another post, the command Rollaway! has been interpreted sometimes as a command for the half sashayer to roll the rollee, and sometimes as a command for the roller to roll themselves, with the implication that the other person half sashays.
This all raises the question of how we as callers can clarify things for our dancers. For sure, being succinct and precise is necessary. I offer my own strategy for comment. We are all here because we believe we are never done learning.
In the case (in contra or trad squares) where I want a half sashay, I include that call. I also say who is rolling away, and for extra clarity, what direction the roll is going. This seems to help a lot. So a teach might sound something like this:
(From improper, facing across)
Long Lines Forward
On the way back, with ladies rolling L to R, rollaway with a half sashay to swap.
Or, after a N Sw:
In a ring, balance,
Drop hands with N
Partners, with ladies rolling L to R across, rollaway with a half sashay to swap.
If there are new dancers in the room, I might preface those by describing where people are, where they are going, and then the how.
If the rollaway does not include the half sashay, I tell those not rolling to stand their ground, there is no half sashay, and only those rolling will ...
(trade with each other, or move to a new place where the lady/gent on the other side of their N/P is standing), for example:
From Becket
In one hand is your partner, in the other is your shadow.
Long lines forward, on the way back, working with your shadow, gents hold your ground, ladies rollaway, L-R, to stand where you shadow's partner just was.
In a ring balance. In a moment the gents will trade places, via a rollaway. Now, Ladies hold your ground, and assist the N gent in your R hand through a rollaway to your L hand, across, then L up or down. Everyone is across from Sh, next to N, with the gents on L, Ladies still on their home side. (I could equally say gents roll across to your N and along to her other side, so the lady is on the right in each couple, but I do want the ladies to fully participate..)
All the above instructions assume people already know what a rollaway is and how to connect well.
I realize this is more words than any of us really want to have to say, but the folk process isn't neat, and as long as there is no regularized meaning to a call like rollaway, as in MWSD, we are going to have to work for the desired result. If everyone consistently called rollaway to mean there is one stationary dancer and one rolling, and to get a swap, we have to also call half sashay, then maybe we could say a bit less. I don't see that happening. The other option would be to rename the move where there is no half sashay. So we'd have rollaways (implied half sashay), rollswaps (where a pair of dancers are being rolled into each other's places by stationary dancers in a ring), and siderolls? rollovers? rolloffs? (where the rolled person goes to the other side of a stationary person along the line). That last really wants the name rollaway, so maybe the sashay included version could become roll and sashay? As Lisa Greenleaf has pointed out however, it is so much nicer not to add vocabulary if you don't have to.
One final point. The original term I really do think was gendered. The men rolled the woman on their R away, and half sashayed behind her. Contra is an egalitarian dance, and I think it's important that we encourage all dancers to be equally in charge of the dance, knowing where to go, getting there on time, and offering zesty enough connection to all other dancers that momentum is effectively and thoroughly transferred. A rollaway should feel snappy, no matter who is rolling. I prefer language which does not imply that one dancer is more active in a move than another. Both have to know where they are going, both have to offer springy and firm connection. Sure, I can roll myself unaided. Sure I can roll someone away who doesn't know what to do. But neither of those actions will feel like dancing, only expedients to move people to the right place. We are there to teach people how to make those movements feel like dance.
I'm glad we aren't bound by the traditions of MWSD, and have choreography where a rollaway can go along or across, R-L, or L-R, or even diagonally to swap a pair oaf same role dancers, and either role can roll. Boy it gives us callers something to work at!
Could you folks offer your teaching tips, so everyone can learn fun and easy ways to share rollaways with our dancers?
Cheers all,
Andrea
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