8 Nov
2017
8 Nov
'17
7:07 p.m.
Recently called a dance with an allemande R into long waves, balance wave,
allemande L. Because of personal preference, I taught the balance as
"balance left, then right", but cuz I didn't teach it all that clearly, the
dancers defaulted back into balancing right first, and enough tricky stuff
was happening in the dance that I didn't wanna correct them in flight.
I'm just wondering: do others agree that a balance left makes more sense /
flows better in this context, or is this a weird personal preference? In
your opinion, does the flow of the balance left outweigh its potential
unidiomaticness?
Cheers,
Maia
8 Nov
8 Nov
8:09 p.m.
It depends on what will happen after the balance
Can we see the rest of the dance?
Mac McKeever
On Wednesday, November 8, 2017, 1:07:46 PM CST, Maia McCormick via Callers
<callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Recently called a dance with an allemande R into long waves, balance wave, allemande L.
Because of personal preference, I taught the balance as "balance left, then
right", but cuz I didn't teach it all that clearly, the dancers defaulted back
into balancing right first, and enough tricky stuff was happening in the dance that I
didn't wanna correct them in flight.
I'm just wondering: do others agree that a balance left makes more sense / flows
better in this context, or is this a weird personal preference? In your opinion, does the
flow of the balance left outweigh its potential unidiomaticness?
Cheers,Maia_______________________________________________
List Name: Callers mailing list
List Address: Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
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8:16 p.m.
sorry - I missed that you said the alle L followed the balance - in that case - I think
the first bal should be left. To bal R & then L and then turn by the left just sounds
awkward.
Mac Mckeevr
On Wednesday, November 8, 2017, 2:09:46 PM CST, Mac Mckeever <macmck(a)ymail.com>
wrote:
It depends on what will happen after the balance
Can we see the rest of the dance?
Mac McKeever
On Wednesday, November 8, 2017, 1:07:46 PM CST, Maia McCormick via Callers
<callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Recently called a dance with an allemande R into long waves, balance wave, allemande L.
Because of personal preference, I taught the balance as "balance left, then
right", but cuz I didn't teach it all that clearly, the dancers defaulted back
into balancing right first, and enough tricky stuff was happening in the dance that I
didn't wanna correct them in flight.
I'm just wondering: do others agree that a balance left makes more sense / flows
better in this context, or is this a weird personal preference? In your opinion, does the
flow of the balance left outweigh its potential unidiomaticness?
Cheers,Maia_______________________________________________
List Name: Callers mailing list
List Address: Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
Archives: https://www.mail-archive.com/callers@lists.sharedweight.net/
8:49 p.m.
Balancing F/B would be my approach in that scenario. Also a good opportunity to reinforce
giving weight, since that particular movement done repetitively could irritate the
shoulder joints if dancers are not keeping some tension in the arms.
________________________________
From: Callers <callers-bounces(a)lists.sharedweight.net> on behalf of Mac Mckeever via
Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
Sent: Wednesday, November 8, 2017 8:16 PM
To: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net; Maia McCormick
Subject: Re: [Callers] Balancing LEFT in a wave?
sorry - I missed that you said the alle L followed the balance - in that case - I think
the first bal should be left. To bal R & then L and then turn by the left just sounds
awkward.
Mac Mckeevr
On Wednesday, November 8, 2017, 2:09:46 PM CST, Mac Mckeever <macmck(a)ymail.com>
wrote:
It depends on what will happen after the balance
Can we see the rest of the dance?
Mac McKeever
On Wednesday, November 8, 2017, 1:07:46 PM CST, Maia McCormick via Callers
<callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Recently called a dance with an allemande R into long waves, balance wave, allemande L.
Because of personal preference, I taught the balance as "balance left, then
right", but cuz I didn't teach it all that clearly, the dancers defaulted back
into balancing right first, and enough tricky stuff was happening in the dance that I
didn't wanna correct them in flight.
I'm just wondering: do others agree that a balance left makes more sense / flows
better in this context, or is this a weird personal preference? In your opinion, does the
flow of the balance left outweigh its potential unidiomaticness?
Cheers,
Maia
_______________________________________________
List Name: Callers mailing list
List Address:
Callers@lists.sharedweight.net<mailto:Callers@lists.sharedweight.net>
Archives: https://www.mail-archive.com/callers@lists.sharedweight.net/
8:12 p.m.
I've noticed that dancers' natural tendency is to balance towards the hand
that touches first in these situations, which is consistent with what you
report. Should the rest of the dance be truly worthwhile in fighting that
tendency, I would opt for doing a balance forward and back in this
situation. Otherwise spin the wheel of dance and pick one that matches
custom?
On Nov 8, 2017 2:07 PM, "Maia McCormick via Callers" <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Recently called a dance with an allemande R into long
waves, balance wave,
allemande L. Because of personal preference, I taught the balance as
"balance left, then right", but cuz I didn't teach it all that clearly,
the
dancers defaulted back into balancing right first, and enough tricky stuff
was happening in the dance that I didn't wanna correct them in flight.
I'm just wondering: do others agree that a balance left makes more sense /
flows better in this context, or is this a weird personal preference? In
your opinion, does the flow of the balance left outweigh its potential
unidiomaticness?
Cheers,
Maia
_______________________________________________
List Name: Callers mailing list
List Address: Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
Archives: https://www.mail-archive.com/callers@lists.sharedweight.net/
9:02 p.m.
For flow, it depends what comes after the balance. If it's followed by an
allemande left, you'd be better balancing left. Allemande right: balance
right. Walk forward: balance forward and back. Box circulate: right and
back.
But getting dancers to balance left - except as the second half of a Rory
O'More-type figure - is hopeless, in my experience. It's my vote for
"hardest move in contra dancing".
So I'll say "balance forward and back" in such circumstances.
Yoyo Zhou
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 11:07 AM, Maia McCormick via Callers <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Recently called a dance with an allemande R into long
waves, balance wave,
allemande L. Because of personal preference, I taught the balance as
"balance left, then right", but cuz I didn't teach it all that clearly,
the
dancers defaulted back into balancing right first, and enough tricky stuff
was happening in the dance that I didn't wanna correct them in flight.
I'm just wondering: do others agree that a balance left makes more sense /
flows better in this context, or is this a weird personal preference? In
your opinion, does the flow of the balance left outweigh its potential
unidiomaticness?
Cheers,
Maia
_______________________________________________
List Name: Callers mailing list
List Address: Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
Archives: https://www.mail-archive.com/callers@lists.sharedweight.net/
15 Nov
15 Nov
6:28 a.m.
Although I basically agree with Yoyo, I state it slightly different:
The direction of a balance should always consider what happens after the balance. Note
that the direction of movement of an allemande is forward. Then (from physics) the
connection of the hands accelerates the forward motion into a circular motion. But
recognizing that the initial direction of motion in either a left or right allemande is
forward. Thus, following a wave balance with any allemande suggests a forward and back
balance.
~Erik Hoffman
Oakland, CA
From: Callers [mailto:callers-bounces@lists.sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Yoyo Zhou via
Callers
Sent: Wednesday, November 8, 2017 1:03 PM
To: Maia McCormick <maia.mcc(a)gmail.com>
Cc: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
Subject: Re: [Callers] Balancing LEFT in a wave?
For flow, it depends what comes after the balance. If it's followed by an allemande
left, you'd be better balancing left. Allemande right: balance right. Walk forward:
balance forward and back. Box circulate: right and back.
But getting dancers to balance left - except as the second half of a Rory O'More-type
figure - is hopeless, in my experience. It's my vote for "hardest move in contra
dancing".
So I'll say "balance forward and back" in such circumstances.
Yoyo Zhou
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 11:07 AM, Maia McCormick via Callers
<callers@lists.sharedweight.net<mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>>
wrote:
Recently called a dance with an allemande R into long waves, balance wave, allemande L.
Because of personal preference, I taught the balance as "balance left, then
right", but cuz I didn't teach it all that clearly, the dancers defaulted back
into balancing right first, and enough tricky stuff was happening in the dance that I
didn't wanna correct them in flight.
I'm just wondering: do others agree that a balance left makes more sense / flows
better in this context, or is this a weird personal preference? In your opinion, does the
flow of the balance left outweigh its potential unidiomaticness?
Cheers,
Maia
_______________________________________________
List Name: Callers mailing list
List Address:
Callers@lists.sharedweight.net<mailto:Callers@lists.sharedweight.net>
Archives: https://www.mail-archive.com/callers@lists.sharedweight.net/
8 Nov
8 Nov
9:41 p.m.
In my experience the momentum of an allemande right automatically takes one
either to the right or forward. Same goes for an allemande left: momentum
takes you to the left or forward. A balance left just doesn't flow after am
AR, because if you have a good connection with your allemande you're
already pulling to the left a bit. That leaves you nowhere to go,
left-wise. SO! I agree with the multitudes here: make the balance F&B.
-Amy
On Nov 8, 2017 11:07 AM, "Maia McCormick via Callers" <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Recently called a dance with an allemande R into long
waves, balance wave,
allemande L. Because of personal preference, I taught the balance as
"balance left, then right", but cuz I didn't teach it all that clearly,
the
dancers defaulted back into balancing right first, and enough tricky stuff
was happening in the dance that I didn't wanna correct them in flight.
I'm just wondering: do others agree that a balance left makes more sense /
flows better in this context, or is this a weird personal preference? In
your opinion, does the flow of the balance left outweigh its potential
unidiomaticness?
Cheers,
Maia
_______________________________________________
List Name: Callers mailing list
List Address: Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
Archives: https://www.mail-archive.com/callers@lists.sharedweight.net/
10:36 p.m.
In my experience, on Beat 1 a dancer's weight is more likely to land on
their right foot. This is why balancing left is inherently a challenge
when it flows from other moves. So I also agree that Forward and Back is a
nice solution.
Erik Erhardt
(505)480-4462 StatAcumen.com/dance
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 2:41 PM, Amy Wimmer via Callers <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
In my experience the momentum of an allemande right
automatically takes
one either to the right or forward. Same goes for an allemande left:
momentum takes you to the left or forward. A balance left just doesn't flow
after am AR, because if you have a good connection with your allemande
you're already pulling to the left a bit. That leaves you nowhere to go,
left-wise. SO! I agree with the multitudes here: make the balance F&B.
-Amy
On Nov 8, 2017 11:07 AM, "Maia McCormick via Callers" <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Recently called a dance with an allemande R into
long waves, balance
wave, allemande L. Because of personal preference, I taught the balance as
"balance left, then right", but cuz I didn't teach it all that clearly,
the
dancers defaulted back into balancing right first, and enough tricky stuff
was happening in the dance that I didn't wanna correct them in flight.
I'm just wondering: do others agree that a balance left makes more sense
/ flows better in this context, or is this a weird personal preference? In
your opinion, does the flow of the balance left outweigh its potential
unidiomaticness?
Cheers,
Maia
_______________________________________________
List Name: Callers mailing list
List Address: Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
Archives: https://www.mail-archive.com/callers@lists.sharedweight.net/
_______________________________________________
List Name: Callers mailing list
List Address: Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
Archives: https://www.mail-archive.com/callers@lists.sharedweight.net/
11 Nov
11 Nov
5:09 p.m.
I was in a dance with a similar sequence just last weekend.
Please bear in mind I'm piecing together memories from the middle of a
dance weekend. The caller was either Mary Wesley or David Eisenstadter
and I can't recall enough context to decide who it was. The part of
the dance I remember went like this:
ladies 4 steps in, balance wave R, L
gents in as ladies out, balance wave L, R
two gents allemande L half way, swing neighbour
I'm pretty sure I danced gent for most or all of this.
I thought that balancing left felt fine. It didn't seem to be too
unidiomatic, and it did make the allemande left better. Some parts of
the line were a little shakier on the left-first method but overall it
worked quite well. It helped me that the caller pointed out that the
balance was toward the gent in your current foursome first -- "you're
still working with that neighbour".
In your case, it sounds as if the waves are where you meet a new
neighbour (or perhaps a shadow), and describing it as your first
interaction with that person might help make it feel more idiomatic to
balance toward them. (But as others have pointed out, the allemande
right before the balance is another wrinkle to consider.)
Peter
On Wed, 2017-11-08 at 14:07 -0500, Maia McCormick via Callers wrote:
Recently called a dance with an allemande R into long
waves, balance
wave, allemande L. Because of personal preference, I taught the
balance as "balance left, then right", but cuz I didn't teach it all
that clearly, the dancers defaulted back into balancing right first,
and enough tricky stuff was happening in the dance that I didn't
wanna correct them in flight.
I'm just wondering: do others agree that a balance left makes more
sense / flows better in this context, or is this a weird personal
preference? In your opinion, does the flow of the balance left
outweigh its potential unidiomaticness?
Cheers,
Maia
_______________________________________________
List Name: Callers mailing list
List Address: Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
Archives: https://www.mail-archive.com/callers@lists.sharedweight.ne
t/
11:15 p.m.
On 2017-11-11 12:09 PM, Peter Simonyi via Callers wrote:
I was in a dance with a similar sequence just last
weekend.
Please bear in mind I'm piecing together memories from the middle of a
dance weekend. The caller was either Mary Wesley or David Eisenstadter
and I can't recall enough context to decide who it was. The part of
the dance I remember went like this:
ladies 4 steps in, balance wave R, L
gents in as ladies out, balance wave L, R
two gents allemande L half way, swing neighbour
Hi Peter! I'm pretty sure that was "Trip to Peterborough" by Rick Mohr:
http://rickmohr.net/Contra/Dances.asp#TripToPeterborough
(I think it was Mary calling, but I'm not sure.)
Note that Rick doesn't specify which way to balance, so people are likely to
default to R,L. And in both of the videos on that page, the men indeed
balance R,L.
I thought that balancing left felt fine. It
didn't seem to be too
unidiomatic, and it did make the allemande left better. Some parts of
the line were a little shakier on the left-first method but overall it
worked quite well.
I agree. (Though for me, it took a bit more attention than R,L would have.)
-Michael
2594
days inactive
2601
days old
contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net
10 comments
10 participants
participants (10)
-
Amy Wimmer -
Charles -
Don Veino -
Erik Erhardt -
Erik Hoffman -
Mac Mckeever -
Maia McCormick -
Michael Dyck -
Peter Simonyi -
Yoyo Zhou