Re: [Callers] Triple Minors in the Midwest

--- end of quote --- Huzzah! Do you have musicians who can learn the tunes that traditionally accompany these dances? Not every dance has an associated tune, but for those who do, part of the fun is hearing particular music accompany particulat patterns, as is common in English country dance. In this way, of course, the chestnuts remind us of the close linkage between early contras and their ECD ancestors. If you're in the part of the midwest where folks are accustomed to dancing contras to Appalachian old-time string band music, one of the challenges you'll face, possibly as great as teaching triple minor formation intricacies, is helping dancers appreciate a different style of music. I mean, Sackett's Harbor is typically played here to a jig, and that alone will sound alien to many ears accustomed to old-time bands, who generally don't do things in 6/8. 'Tain't natural! corners in the first half to make sure everyone was comfortable with that figure, and then calling "Sackett's Harbor" in the second half Hmm... contra corners (with one exception, described below) is actually more easily taught in a dance such as Sackett's, because the twos and threes only have to make one turn with the active couple. in a duple minor, the twos must be ready to turn as a corner twice, with an active One coming at them first from one direction and then from another. The exception mentioned above is in timing. Typically, at the end of contra corners the active couple meets in the middle for a balance and swing. In Sackett's, they need to be back in their own lines, man #1 with the men and woman #1 with the women, in time for the forward and back before the circle of six circles right back to long lines. This requires active couples to move through contra corners with greater "intentionality"-- i.e., no dilly-dallying! Your rules for triple minors are just fine. We usually encourage dancers to dance at the bottom with a ghost couple to carry out the progression. At the top of the set, the rule is to wait out twice, using that time to pay attention to the musicians or, if you're even slightly unsure about how to proceed, to watch the active couples ahead of you to see the pattern of their movements. Jerome, please let us know how it turns out. And for other chestnut fans, be advised that CDSS is in the process of publishing a book that contains all of David Smukler's "Cracking Chestnuts" columns from the CDSS news plus additional material that he and I have contributed. David Millstone Lebanon, NH