Re: [Callers] Contra- roll differences?

Claire Takemori asked: To a first approximation, I agree with with those who have said that there is no difference. In particular, in my experience, both wordings refer, almost always, to a move in which dancers exchange places and not to a move in which one dancer travels while the other holds his/her ground. There are indeed--as others have pointed out--a few dances with actions where one dancer stays (essentially) stationary while another dancer rolls past, but such dances are rare. I'll save further comments about that for a future message and use the rest of this message to address a point I consider more important. Something nobody has mentioned so far is that the word "roll" can be used either as a transitive verb or as an intransitive verb. Transitive: Men/Women roll your partner / neighbor / new neighbor / shadow from right to left / from left to right along/across the set Intransitive: Women/Men roll [yourselves] from right to left / from left to right along/across the set past your partner/neighbor/... I'm not particularly recommending one kind of wording over the other. I'm sure that people could offer plausible reasons to prefer either and that sufficiently opinionated people could explain why whichever kind of wording they don't don't prefer is just horrible. My point is that both kinds of wording are currently in common use. So be aware that you might encounter either while reading a dance description in a book or online. Also, be aware that dancers are likely to have encountered both kinds of wordings, including whichever one is opposite to the one you choose to use. If someone asks for clarification about who does what, be sure you answer in a way that really clarifies it. An answer like "The women are the rollers" can mean different things to different listeners: The women are the rollers [and the men are the "rollees"] The women are the rollers [and the men are the "sashayers"] Think of the opportunities for confusion and for awkwardness on the dance floor when the caller has one of these in mind and a dancer assumes the other, or when different dancers assume differing interpretations, and when neither person has even imagined that an interpretation other than their own is possible. While I don't strongly advocate one usage of "roll" (transitive or intransitive) over the other, I do strongly recommend that you be careful not to switch back and forth between the two kinds of wording while teaching and calling the same dance. This applies especially for dances like Cis Hinkle's "Rollin' and Tumblin'" http://dancevideos.childgrove.org/contra/contra-modern/434 and Mike Richardson's "Roll Down" http://www.cambridgefolk.org.uk/contra/dances/mike_richardson/roll_down.html where there's more than one rollaway and where each dancer experiences both parts of the actions at different times. --Jim