24 Oct
2022
24 Oct
'22
9:27 a.m.
Hi Liz,
I don't see anything particularly challenging in calling this dance
positionally. I presume the A2 is a place you might think so, but there's a
couple of strategies there:
- when the star is formed, have the dancers note their facing [in or out]
direction - then recall that for the wave
- be explicit that you have RH with your Partner in the long waves, which
will set the facing direction without role reference.
A1 fits the "free RH... balance", etc. approach.
FWIW, I'm still forming my opinion on positional calling and have been
using a hybrid approach recently. Our area dances have almost universally
specified Larks and Robins as their standard.
-Don
On Mon, Oct 24, 2022 at 11:36 AM Elizabeth Bloom Albert via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
this is the very first time I am **weighing** in on
Shared Weight and I
really hope I don’t offend anyone, but here goes:
I see three problems with positional calling. 1) when dancers are new to
contradance and EVERYTHING about it is confusing, Positional Calling (PC)
asks these brave, but unsure-about-everything souls to constantly check
their compasses to see where they are in relationship to where their
partner might be standing (or is it their neighbor in this instance? oi
vey!); 2) when dances get complex and the only people on the floor are
really experienced, we still need cues to let us know who should be facing
into or out of the set, for instance, or which dancer needs to be reaching
for the next [same-role] neighbor’s R-hand, say; and finally 3) using a
hybrid has its own drawbacks, e.g., for those newbie dancers (see#1) who
have stuck it out thru a whole evening of contra, wouldn’t it be better to
teach the role names--be they ladies/gents, ravens/larks,
leads/follows--while training wheels were still on as opposed to when a
complex dance might be introduced?
please note, I am not a caller. I dance. and I write dances.
here’s one (and it’s an example--in a couple of spots--where PC fails,
IMHO):
*Vote Blue **No Matter Who *(2-19-2020) *by Elizabeth Bloom Albert*
Becket formation; start one-quarter turn to left of Improper; this dance
progresses clockwise. Progression occurs top of B2.
A1 (4) Ladies: R-hand Balance
(4) Ladies: Pull-by R to switch [places] {Drop hands}
(4) Gents: R-hand Balance
(4) Gents: Pull-by R to switch [places] {*Don’t* drop hands}
A2 {Ladies re-join R-hands and all...}
(4) [Hands Across] Balance the Star
(8) Star Right
[End in Wavy Lines up/down hall with Gents facing in]
(4) Balance the wave
B1 (8) Gents cross Left, for Half a Hey
(8) Swing Partner
B2 (2) Shift Left to new neighbors:
(6) Ladies Do-Si-Do 1 x
(8) Swing Partner again
NOTE: *Vote Blue* was workshopped in the early spring of 2020. I had
hoped that someone might call it in the months before the last election.
But ,of course, we all know what happened next. *Vote Blue* is my take on
political campaigns. Take note of all the glad-handing in A1. In A2, the
Star and the Wavy Lines are meant to be evocative of all the flag-waving
that happens on the campaign trail. And finally, it’s subtle, but I worked
in a shift to the left.
thanks for hearing me out,
Liz Albert (of Chicago-land)
On Sun, Oct 23, 2022 at 8:07 AM Stein, Robert via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
I wish callers would get away from birds. I
understand the need to not
use gender terms in calling. But using positional calling does that
without people needing to translate. This works well for contras. Squares
are a different story. We need to figure out how to do those. The dance
below has a good flow and there is no need to specify a gender for the
allemande. Only one person has a left hand free in each couple. Birds
are for the birds.
On Oct 23, 2022, at 04:17, Drew Delaware via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
I have been meaning to post this new dance I wrote last month, but
hadn't gotten around to it yet. Seems appropriate to contribute it to this
discussion as we explore early evening dances and their variations.
Had a fun chat a few weeks ago with Chris Page about how there aren't a
lot of easy dances being written, as those of us who enjoy writing dances
naturally tend to get more excited by the innovative and elaborate
choreography more typically found in the middle of the program. But it's
great to have new options emerge for that easy, first dance, when you know
you have new dancers on the floor - especially since those dances get a lot
of use.
I wanted a first dance of the evening that sent the Larks to the Robin's
home side for the partner swing, and I was set on having "balance the ring
and pass through" as the progression - all so that it flowed with the rest
of my program. Couldn't find a match, so I wrote my own.
*‘Git Goin’ - Drew Delaware *
A1 - Neighbour Balance & Swing
A2 - Larks Allemande Left 1.5x; Partner Swing
B1 - Long Lines Forward and Back; Right & Left Through
B2 - Circle Left 3 places; Balance the Ring; Pass through to new
neighbours
It tested well on the dance floor, so I offer it here in case you're
looking for new options for a first dance of the evening. The dance will be
added to Caller's Box online in the next update.
Cheers!
Drew
*From:* Ron Blechner <contraron(a)gmail.com>
--
* Elizabeth Bloom Albert *
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*Date:* October 22, 2022 at 6:20:04 AM HST
*To:* Tony Parkes <tony(a)hands4.com>
*Cc:* Shared Weight Contra Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
*Subject:* *[Callers] Re: dance name? -
Big Easy variation*
I have a couple of Tony's books, but I just checked, and not the one
containing Ashoken Hello. I'd be curious the choreo for that.
I've heard a few callers call The Big Easy, and most recently it was Liz
Nelson, locally, early in an evening with a gaggle of new dancers, and she
prompted it with the allemande Right.
The one on The Caller's Box has it as a Left.
I guess the other issue, which, now that I'm thinking about L vs R in
details, is that from Robins role, an alle R puts it at 38-40 beats of
clockwise rotation, which 26-28 beats is consecutively.
Hm.
Changing the alle to a DoSiDo solves that, keeps the timing and keeps it
as glossary moves, and flows well from a promade.(alts: pass thru across +
twirl, or R+L Thru)
A1: N B+S
A2: N Prom, Robins DSD 1.5x
B1: P B+S
B2: Circle L 3/4, Bal, Cali Twirl
This dance searched brings up Yoyo Zhou's "Larks in the Afternoon"
A1: same
A2: Larks Alle L 1.5x, Robins DSD 1x
B1: same
B2: same
And also is similar to Linda Leslie's Berlin Contra:
A1: same
A2: LLFB, Robins DSD 1.5
B1: same
B2: Bal Ring, 2s Arch, 1s Dive
(Essentially, the Big Easy but Robins DSD. Now I'm curious which dance
came first?)
And of course, Diane Silver's Easy Peasy:
A1: same
A2: LLFB, Larks Alle L 1.5
B1: same
B2: Circle, bal, cali.
Adding in a chain and/or a star and dropping the promenade and I have at
least a dozen other dances in my box. (Appetizer, Push the Button, Too Hot
To Trot, Simplicity Swing, Spend Some Time Together, Harmony Supper Line,
Dick & Mary's Departure, Baby Rose, et al)
... but this niche of "simple dance with a courtesy turn, one role
doesn't stay mostly in one spot, no star, no chain" is something I know
I've looked for programming gigs and left wanting.
I'll leave this thread going as more callers see it and have dances to
think of. I may temprarily dub the DSD version "The Big Hello".
-Julian
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