12 Jun
2013
12 Jun
'13
9:11 a.m.
Barbara G posted Nick Boulet's "Warmin' Up the Car" and started with:
"start in ocean waves along the side of the set"
I have always thought that an Ocean Wave was a wave of four people; in a
contra they would normally be across the set.
I know these terms for waves:
Wave: a formation of two or more dancers holding adjacent hands and with
each dancer facing in the opposite direction to that of the adjoining
dancer(s).
Ocean Wave: Wave for four (though in a square dance it could be from 3
to 7 people - maybe more if you do a grid square!)
Tidal Wave: Wave for all along the line of the whole set (can be down
the centre for just the Ladies or just the Men)
Alamo (Style) Wave/Ring: Circular wave
Mini Wave: Wave for two
Radial Wave: Waves for two in a Circle Mixer - all the couples like the
spokes of a wheel
Microwave: Having described some of the above to the dancers, hold up
one hand and wiggle the fingertips saying "and this is a microwave". :-)
Are these universal? What other terms do people use?
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
12 Jun
12 Jun
9:40 a.m.
New subject: Wave Nomenclature
On Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:11:54 +0100, John Sweeney wrote:
Are these universal? What other terms do people use?
"Ocean wave" and "Tidal wave" come from Modern Western Square Dance
and therefore contra callers in the States don't like using them. In
my experience they would say "wavy line" rather than "ocean wave" and
perhaps "long waves" or something similar rather than "tidal waves".
Similarly they will say "Pass through to a wave" rather than the
simpler MWSD name "Pass the ocean".
Colin Hume
Email colin(a)colinhume.com Web site http://www.colinhume.com
5:07 p.m.
New subject: Wave Nomenclature
In contra dancing, at least in the tradition on this side of the Atlantic, specialized
names for figures should be avoided whenever possible.
A caller can teach a figure and designate name for prompting during the dance.
Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217-239-5844
________________________________
From: John Sweeney <info(a)contrafusion.co.uk>
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Sent: Wednesday, June 12, 2013 4:11 AM
Subject: Re: [Callers] Wave Nomenclature
Barbara G posted Nick Boulet's "Warmin' Up the Car" and started with:
"start in ocean waves along the side of the set"
I have always thought that an Ocean Wave was a wave of four people; in a
contra they would normally be across the set.
I know these terms for waves:
Wave: a formation of two or more dancers holding adjacent hands and with
each dancer facing in the opposite direction to that of the adjoining
dancer(s).
Ocean Wave: Wave for four (though in a square dance it could be from 3
to 7 people - maybe more if you do a grid square!)
Tidal Wave: Wave for all along the line of the whole set (can be down
the centre for just the Ladies or just the Men)
Alamo (Style) Wave/Ring: Circular wave
Mini Wave: Wave for two
Radial Wave: Waves for two in a Circle Mixer - all the couples like the
spokes of a wheel
Microwave: Having described some of the above to the dancers, hold up
one hand and wiggle the fingertips saying "and this is a microwave". :-)
Are these universal? What other terms do people use?
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
5:43 p.m.
New subject: Wave Nomenclature
On Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:07:05 -0700 (PDT), Michael Fuerst wrote:
In contra dancing, at least in the tradition on this
side of the
Atlantic, specialized names for figures should be avoided whenever
possible.
But "ladies chain", "hey", etc. are all specialised names for
figures. We use them because they are a shorthand which people
recognise.
A caller can teach a figure and designate name for
prompting during
the dance.
Are you saying that it's OK in the walkthrough to say "I'm going to
call this a tidal wave" and then call "New neighbour allemande left
all the way to tidal waves"? If so I agree with you. I do think a
caller needs to make a distinction between a wave of four across the
hall and a long wave up and down the hall, and the easiest way to do
this is to use the phrases "ocean wave" and "tidal wave". Agreed,
you might need to explain to some people what they mean, just as you
might have to explain how to dance a ladies chain or a hey.
Colin Hume
Email colin(a)colinhume.com Web site http://www.colinhume.com
6:07 p.m.
New subject: Wave Nomenclature
Personally, if there is a significant number of new dancers, I try to
avoid using technical terms for figures until I have taught them. I
know that 'advanced' dancers hate this. However, my experience is that
this is much more effective (try watching the most effective callers and
you will see that this mostly what they do). Yes - advanced dancers can
help new dancers if they know what they are going to be doing. However,
this usually doesn't happen. What does happen is that the advanced
dancers launch themselves into the figure and the new dancer cannot see
what has happened and gets confused.
In this case, my preferred language is to say '.... end in long wavy
lines along the set/line, xxx facing out, yyy facing in or end in
short wavy lines across the set/line, xxx on the outside, yyy in the
center'.
The technical (short-hand) term for the figure can be associated with
the figure either later during the walk through or a few turns into the
dance.
I also reserve tidal wave as a term for a wavy line down the center of
the set.
Michael Barraclough
www.michaelbarraclough.com
The On Wed, 2013-06-12 at 18:43 +0100, Colin Hume wrote:
On Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:07:05 -0700 (PDT), Michael
Fuerst wrote:
In contra dancing, at least in the tradition on
this side of the
Atlantic, specialized names for figures should be avoided whenever
possible.
But "ladies chain", "hey", etc. are all specialised names for
figures. We use them because they are a shorthand which people
recognise.
A caller can teach a figure and designate name
for prompting during
the dance.
Are you saying that it's OK in the walkthrough to say "I'm going to
call this a tidal wave" and then call "New neighbour allemande left
all the way to tidal waves"? If so I agree with you. I do think a
caller needs to make a distinction between a wave of four across the
hall and a long wave up and down the hall, and the easiest way to do
this is to use the phrases "ocean wave" and "tidal wave". Agreed,
you might need to explain to some people what they mean, just as you
might have to explain how to dance a ladies chain or a hey.
Colin Hume
Email colin(a)colinhume.com Web site http://www.colinhume.com
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers 
6:35 p.m.
New subject: Wave Nomenclature
Michael wrote:
Personally, if there is a significant number of new
dancers, I try to
avoid using technical terms for figures until I have taught them. I
know that 'advanced' dancers hate this.
Yes. The regulars hate being excluded from the process of leading
newcomers...and for good reason. How can they help you teach the
dance if you don't give them the information first?
The real question is: Do you want the regulars to partner with
newcomers and show them the moves? If not then you are correct. If
you tip them off they will surely show the figure long before you can
verbally teach it.
If you really enjoy teaching then this is the way to go.
I want the regulars to help integrate the newcomers into the hall and
"sweep them in" to the dance with rousing live music, so I try to give
them that role from the start.
I do teach a few style points every evening. But I never teach the
basic figures.
This is just another approach.
- Greg
West Coast, USA
25 Jun
25 Jun
2:05 a.m.
New subject: Wave Nomenclature
On Wed, Jun 12, 2013, Michael Barraclough wrote:
Personally, if there is a significant number of new dancers, I try to
avoid using technical terms for figures until I have taught them. I
know that 'advanced' dancers hate this. However, my experience is that
this is much more effective (try watching the most effective callers and
you will see that this mostly what they do). Yes - advanced dancers can
help new dancers if they know what they are going to be doing. However,
this usually doesn't happen. What does happen is that the advanced
dancers launch themselves into the figure and the new dancer cannot see
what has happened and gets confused.
The problem is that experienced dancers with hearing impairments (like
me) often don't hear calls, so the more words you use, the more likely it
is that a critical bit will get missed. Better to do it both ways,
something like this: "I'm going to walk you through a new call, for the
experienced dancers it's called a 'hey'. Let's start with ..."
--
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 http://rule6.info/
<*> <*> <*>
Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html
13 Jun
13 Jun
3:56 a.m.
New subject: Wave Nomenclature
This is somehow better than "short wave" and "long wave"? These are
the terms I hear at the dances I attend, and they seem pretty clear.
--Read Weaver
Jamaica Plain, MA
http://lcfd.org
On Jun 12, 2013, at 1:43 PM, Colin Hume wrote:
I do think a
caller needs to make a distinction between a wave of four across the
hall and a long wave up and down the hall, and the easiest way to do
this is to use the phrases "ocean wave" and "tidal wave".
4170
days inactive
4183
days old
contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net
7 comments
7 participants
participants (7)
-
Aahz Maruch -
Colin Hume -
Greg McKenzie -
John Sweeney -
Michael Barraclough -
Michael Fuerst -
Read Weaver