3 Mar
2014
3 Mar
'14
2:46 a.m.
Hi Rich,
Ted's Triplet #3 has already been mentioned. Of Ted's Triplets, it's the
only one I know of that's suitable for a less-experienced group.
My dance The Luck of the Morris is in Zesty Contras, in Larry Jennings'
version. Here's my version:
Formation: From a three couple longways set, have ladies #1 and #3 change
places, and have lady #2 and gent #2 change places with each other, to get
a circle with each dancer's partner across from them. Dancers retain their
numbers throughout the dance. The dance is not square with the walls of
the room.
A1: Couple #1 lead a forward six and back [1]
All swing opposite. End couples end their swing facing the center
of the set, and the active couples end facing either of the other two
couples
A2: Active couple ladies chain with the couple you face
Chain back with an extra half turn to face the other couple
B1: Actives half R&L with the couple they face
Actives down center of set and cast off
B2: Circle 6 to the left
All go forward and back
Repeat with couple two leading the first Forward & Back, then couple three.
[1] The forward and back is oriented so that the active couple is going
forward and back to each other, and the other four dancers are going
forward and back towards someone who is not their partner.
For two-couple dances, both Billingsdale Pattern by Chip Hendrickson and
O'Donnell Anew by Tony Saletan are in Zesty Contras.
General Dummer's Reel (for five), my dance Shira's Seven (for seven), and
Cornish Six Hand Reel (for six) are three other dances I've found useful.
They are described in the archives, at:
http://www.sharedweight.net/pipermail/callers/2013-February/005742.html
Jacob Bloom
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2014 08:01:29 -0800 (PST)
From: rich sbardella <richsbardella(a)snet.net>
To: "callers(a)sharedweight.net" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: [Callers]
Three Couples or Less Dances
Message-ID:
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Friends,
I have a small weekly dance session with seniors in CT and often lack
dancers.? If anyone could share dances for 5 or 7 people, or two or three
couples, I would?greatly appreciate it.? I often fall back on solo lines
similar to the electric slide, or I dance them in squares with a phantom
(not too successful).
Thanks,
Rich Sbardella
Stafford, CT
3 Mar
3 Mar
6:49 p.m.
New subject: Dummer's Reel + Cottontail Rag (was Re: Three Couples or Less Dances)
On Mar 2, 2014, at 6:46 PM, Jacob Bloom wrote:
General Dummer's Reel (for five), my dance
Shira's Seven (for
seven), and
Cornish Six Hand Reel (for six) are three other dances I've found
useful.
They are described in the archives, at:
http://www.sharedweight.net/pipermail/callers/2013-February/
005742.html
The page Jacob cites references the description of Dummer's Reel
in the syllabus from the 2006 Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend:
http://www.library.unh.edu/special/forms/rpdlw/syllabus2006.pdf
(page 38). In the version as called by Jacob, one dancer--the
one designated as "Jack" in the current round--leads a maneuver
by which a circle of five is transformed into a basket without
anyone releasing hands:
"Jack" lift left hand, turn over own right shoulder to back
under the arch, and pull two other dancers under the arch as
well; all joined hands inside the circle are raised and the
outside dancers duck under them to form a basket
This move is very cool when it works, but often some dancers will
have difficulty with it. Here are a few things you can do about
that:
1. You could just relax about it and encourage the dancers to
be mellow about it as well. Let them know that if they get into
a tangle trying to make the basket, or if someone want's to let
go instead of twisting their shoulder out of its socket, they can
just let go and form the basket any old how (or skip it and go on
to the circle if it's time). As different people take turns
being "Jack", the action of making the basket can start working
better and batter (with occasional regressions), If dancers
succeed at making the basket (at least some of the time)by the
end of the dance after fumbling around with it at first, they
can get a satisfying feeling of accomplishment from it.
2. You could dispense with the fancy method of forming the
basket. In this rec.folking-dancing thread from 1998
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.folk-dancing/
91ANPzO7apQ
Chris Brady describes what he says is an older version Dummer's
reel, with no mention of pulling two dancers under an arch to form
the basket. Presumably the dancers all face the middle, and each
dancer simply reaches behind the backs of the adjacent dancers on
either side to take hands with the next ones around the ring.
3. If you do want to teach the fancy way for forming the basket,
here's an idea that may make it a little easier. Perhaps the most
common mistake dancers make in trying to form the basket is that
"Jack" will lift his (or her) left hand and then turn to the left
(ccw) as if to walk forward under the arch instead of turning
right (cw) and backing under the arch. The idea of forming an
arch and turning your back on it can seem so counterintuitive as
to be rejected apparently without even being considered. One time
when I was in a set while another caller was walking us through
this dance, I suggested to "Jack" that she she needed to "turn the
other way." She took the suggestion, but as she did so, she
lowered her left had and raised her right hand to form a different
arch! Oops. Thinking about that afterwards, I arrived at the
idea I now share: During the walkthrough have "Jack" raise *both*
arms to form arches. Now "Jack" can successfully turn around (180
degrees) either way. In either case, "Jack" will end up in the
middle of the ring facing out with one hand crossed over the other,
and can use whichever arm is lower to pull tow dancers through the
arch made by the higher arm. After that, the dancers still have to
figure out which arms go over which heads to finish forming the
basket, so the opportunities to get into a tangle aren't entirely
eliminated, though I think they're reduced.
* * * * * * * * * *
Another dance that uses the idea of pulling two dancers through an
arch to form a basket of five is "Cottontail Rag" by Steve Schnur.
You can find it described in the 2007 RPDLW syllabus
http://www.library.unh.edu/special/forms/rpdlw/syllabus2007.pdf#page
=19a
under the title "Jack Turn Back" and in the 2012 syllabus
http://www.library.unh.edu/special/forms/rpdlw/syllabus2012.pdf#page
=15b
under the title "Hot Tub Rag" (based on the idea the the basket
resembles a group of people sitting around a hot tub).
You can see a video of the dance (or something like it) here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EiPQhvD0QM
[As I write this, I see that Martha Wild has just posted about
the same dance.]
--Jim
4 Mar
4 Mar
3:01 a.m.
New subject: Dummer's Reel + Cottontail Rag (was Re: Three Couples or Less Dances)
Jim Saxe gives a long discussion about how to "teach" getting into the
basket.
After looking at Dummer's Reel, which is altogether more complicated
than the Cottotail Rag, perhaps teaching it well is a good idea. For the
Cottontail Rag, however, I try to barely teach it. I learned, from Sandy
Bradley, that these type of dances are actually more fun if you don't
really know how it works, and then get the Joy of Getting It. I remember
her teaching the Cottontail Rag -- I think she called it the Jack Dance
then. She'd say, "no matter how spaghetti armed you get, when I say,
'Break the Basket, Left Hand Star,' let go!" And, I've come to believe
her: there are many of these dances where, when dancers actually know
how to do it, and do it exactly right, it looses a lot of the fun of it.
Thus, I say: don't over teach these things, let dancers play with
discovery and a likely 'aha!' moment.
~erik hofffman
oakland, ca
On 3/3/2014 10:49 AM, James Saxe wrote:
On Mar 2, 2014, at 6:46 PM, Jacob Bloom wrote:
General Dummer's Reel (for five), my dance
Shira's Seven (for seven),
and
Cornish Six Hand Reel (for six) are three other dances I've found
useful.
They are described in the archives, at:
http://www.sharedweight.net/pipermail/callers/2013-February/005742.html
The page Jacob cites references the description of Dummer's Reel
in the syllabus from the 2006 Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend:
http://www.library.unh.edu/special/forms/rpdlw/syllabus2006.pdf
(page 38). In the version as called by Jacob, one dancer--the
one designated as "Jack" in the current round--leads a maneuver
by which a circle of five is transformed into a basket without
anyone releasing hands:
"Jack" lift left hand, turn over own right shoulder to back
under the arch, and pull two other dancers under the arch as
well; all joined hands inside the circle are raised and the
outside dancers duck under them to form a basket
This move is very cool when it works, but often some dancers will
have difficulty with it. Here are a few things you can do about
that:
1. You could just relax about it and encourage the dancers to
be mellow about it as well. Let them know that if they get into
a tangle trying to make the basket, or if someone want's to let
go instead of twisting their shoulder out of its socket, they can
just let go and form the basket any old how (or skip it and go on
to the circle if it's time). As different people take turns
being "Jack", the action of making the basket can start working
better and batter (with occasional regressions), If dancers
succeed at making the basket (at least some of the time)by the
end of the dance after fumbling around with it at first, they
can get a satisfying feeling of accomplishment from it.
2. You could dispense with the fancy method of forming the
basket. In this rec.folking-dancing thread from 1998
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.folk-dancing/91ANPzO7apQ
Chris Brady describes what he says is an older version Dummer's
reel, with no mention of pulling two dancers under an arch to form
the basket. Presumably the dancers all face the middle, and each
dancer simply reaches behind the backs of the adjacent dancers on
either side to take hands with the next ones around the ring.
3. If you do want to teach the fancy way for forming the basket,
here's an idea that may make it a little easier. Perhaps the most
common mistake dancers make in trying to form the basket is that
"Jack" will lift his (or her) left hand and then turn to the left
(ccw) as if to walk forward under the arch instead of turning
right (cw) and backing under the arch. The idea of forming an
arch and turning your back on it can seem so counterintuitive as
to be rejected apparently without even being considered. One time
when I was in a set while another caller was walking us through
this dance, I suggested to "Jack" that she she needed to "turn the
other way." She took the suggestion, but as she did so, she
lowered her left had and raised her right hand to form a different
arch! Oops. Thinking about that afterwards, I arrived at the
idea I now share: During the walkthrough have "Jack" raise *both*
arms to form arches. Now "Jack" can successfully turn around (180
degrees) either way. In either case, "Jack" will end up in the
middle of the ring facing out with one hand crossed over the other,
and can use whichever arm is lower to pull tow dancers through the
arch made by the higher arm. After that, the dancers still have to
figure out which arms go over which heads to finish forming the
basket, so the opportunities to get into a tangle aren't entirely
eliminated, though I think they're reduced.
* * * * * * * * * *
Another dance that uses the idea of pulling two dancers through an
arch to form a basket of five is "Cottontail Rag" by Steve Schnur.
You can find it described in the 2007 RPDLW syllabus
http://www.library.unh.edu/special/forms/rpdlw/syllabus2007.pdf#page=19a
under the title "Jack Turn Back" and in the 2012 syllabus
http://www.library.unh.edu/special/forms/rpdlw/syllabus2012.pdf#page=15b
under the title "Hot Tub Rag" (based on the idea the the basket
resembles a group of people sitting around a hot tub).
You can see a video of the dance (or something like it) here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EiPQhvD0QM
[As I write this, I see that Martha Wild has just posted about
the same dance.]
--Jim
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Callers(a)sharedweight.net
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3:36 a.m.
New subject: Dummer's Reel + Cottontail Rag (was Re: Three Couples or Less Dances)
On Mar 3, 2014, at 7:01 PM, Erik Hoffman wrote:
Jim Saxe gives a long discussion about how to
"teach" getting into
the basket.
In fact, I offered three options for dealing with potential
confusion about forming the basket from the circle. In brief,
they were:
1. ... just relax ... ... As different people take turns
being "Jack", the action of making the basket can start
working better and batter ...
2. ... dispense with the fancy method of forming the basket.
...
3. ... During the walkthrough have "Jack" raise *both*
arms ... Now "Jack" can successfully turn ... either way.
... [Really a pretty brief suggestion, though I led up to
it with a somewhat wordy analysis.]
I understand Erik to be advocating option 1, and I fully agree
that that can often be a good choice. I wasn't at all intending
to put it up as a "straw man" and then knock it down.
By the way, in "Cottontail Rag"/"Hot Tub Rag"/"Jack Turn
Back", as
described in the RPDLW syllabi I cited, dancers form the basket
starting from a ring where one dancer is already facing out with
arms crossed. So the issue I address with option 3 (getting into
that position from an ordinary circle with all facing in) doesn't
even come up.
--Jim
3946
days inactive
3947
days old
contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net
3 comments
3 participants
participants (3)
-
Erik Hoffman -
Jacob Nancy Bloom -
James Saxe