31 Jan
2011
31 Jan
'11
11:56 a.m.
Have any of you ever called this dance by Mike Boerschig? It's been in my box for
years, and I've never called it because I haven't been sure about who should go to
which star. It was published one way in Midwest Folklore (see below), but the two YouTube
videos I've seen of it have a shorter partner allemande, ending with the first woman
and second man (i.e., second corners) starring above, while the second woman and the first
man (first corners) star below.
If you've called this and have an opinion about how it's best danced, or if
you've found it challenging to teach, I'd love to hear what you have to say about
it!
--Katy Heine
HAPPY AS A WARM PIG IN COLD MUD
by Mike Boerschig
dpl imp
A1
Neighbor balance and swing
A2
Men allemande left once and a half
allemande right partner once and three quarters
so men are facing in, women out
B1
Star left
away from partner, 1st corners star up, 2nd down; reaching across to shadow in star
swing partner
B2
Circle left three quarters
balance in that circle, California twirl partner to face next couple
31 Jan
31 Jan
12:20 p.m.
Hi Katy,
I learned this dance from the calling of Sue Rosen several years ago and it is one of my
favorites. I advise dancers after the A1 neighbor balance and swing to look on the right
diagonal to identify the shadow with whom they will later star. Then after the partner
allemande, which I call as almost two times around, everyone usually can easily find their
shadow and neighbor for the star. No. 1 lady and No. 2 man star below, No. 1 man and No. 2
lady above.
(By the way, in the past year, I've seen this dance called by two different callers
who told everyone that, during the star left, they could use those eight counts to star
anywhere with anyone in the hall as long as they were back in the correct place and on
time for the partner swing. It created a lot of fun chaos.)
Joyce Miller
Grass Valley, CA
On Jan 31, 2011, at 9:56 AM, <kheine(a)twcny.rr.com> wrote:
Have any of you ever called this dance by Mike
Boerschig? It's been in my box for years, and I've never called it because I
haven't been sure about who should go to which star. It was published one way in
Midwest Folklore (see below), but the two YouTube videos I've seen of it have a
shorter partner allemande, ending with the first woman and second man (i.e., second
corners) starring above, while the second woman and the first man (first corners) star
below.
If you've called this and have an opinion about how it's best danced, or if
you've found it challenging to teach, I'd love to hear what you have to say about
it!
--Katy Heine
HAPPY AS A WARM PIG IN COLD MUD
by Mike Boerschig
dpl imp
A1
Neighbor balance and swing
A2
Men allemande left once and a half
allemande right partner once and three quarters
so men are facing in, women out
B1
Star left
away from partner, 1st corners star up, 2nd down; reaching across to shadow in star
swing partner
B2
Circle left three quarters
balance in that circle, California twirl partner to face next couple
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
12:22 p.m.
I tried calling it at a dance, but ended up switching to a simpler
dance --- it was my problem, not theirs. I wasn't able to clearly
explain how to get into the star -- the problem you are worried about.
I tried it a few days later at a calling party and got it right then,
so I'm going to try again "in public" sometime soon.
The way that worked at the party was:
A2: Men allemande left once and a half to your partner
Partner's allemande one and a half to trade places.
-> You're in a line across the set with men on the outside and
women on the inside.
-> Notice that you and your partner are facing opposite directions
up and down the set.
-> Drop your partner's hand and walk forward into a left hand star
with the people you meet.
B2: Star left all the way around to your partner for a swing.
I still find the 1 3/4 allemende and men facing out/ women facing in
description to be terribly confusing, but the dance itself is fine.
Dale
...
On Mon, Jan 31, 2011 at 11:56 AM, <kheine(a)twcny.rr.com> wrote:
Have any of you ever called this dance by Mike
Boerschig? It's been in my box for years, and I've never called it because I
haven't been sure about who should go to which star. It was published one way in
Midwest Folklore (see below), but the two YouTube videos I've seen of it have a
shorter partner allemande, ending with the first woman and second man (i.e., second
corners) starring above, while the second woman and the first man (first corners) star
below.
If you've called this and have an opinion about how it's best danced, or if
you've found it challenging to teach, I'd love to hear what you have to say about
it!
--Katy Heine
HAPPY AS A WARM PIG IN COLD MUD
by Mike Boerschig
dpl imp
A1
Neighbor balance and swing
A2
Men allemande left once and a half
allemande right partner once and three quarters
so men are facing in, women out
B1
Star left
away from partner, 1st corners star up, 2nd down; reaching across to shadow in star
swing partner
B2
Circle left three quarters
balance in that circle, California twirl partner to face next couple
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
--
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have
one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day
difficult.
-E. B. White
8:07 p.m.
I just danced (but have never called) this dance last weekend at our local
dance. At the end of the A2 the call was for the gents to face out instead
of in. I am not sure if this was intentional or not, but it not only worked
fine, I liked it better than the original, which I assume is the version in
Katy's original post. I think the dance works fine either way, as long as
all the dancers are doing the same thing, but the calls need to be tweaked a
little.
I preferred the shorter allemande ending with the Gents facing out because,
at the end of the partner allemande, there was a widespread moment of
confusion as people struggled to remember to turn away from their partner
and find their shadow for the LH star. This caused the star to be
consistently late, and the Partner Swing to be short. It seems like this
delay would have been worse if we had continued the partner allemande
another half way around.
If the dance is done this way, I would change the A2 calls as follows:
A2
Men allemande L once and a half
Partner Allemande R a little more than once around until
the men face out and the ladies face in, look away from your partner to find
your shadow on your left
For the B1 I might say something like:
B1
With your shadow and another couple make a LH Star. You are in a different
star from your partner. Star once around until you meet your partner coming
out of a different star and swing your partner.
A little much to say as a calls, but okay for the walk through.
A couple of other notes:
You don't reach across to your shadow; they are next to you when you do the
star.
Also, in this variation of the dance, while you are waiting out you are
obliged to participate in the LH star. If you cross over before the star,
you won't be next to your shadow for the star, although it all works out in
the end. I don't think that is the case in the original version.
It should be noted that there were a fair number of beginners, but the
moment of confusion going into the left hand star seemed to affect more than
just the beginners; in fact, to me it was part of the fun of the dance.
Richard Green
Wayne, Maine
-----Original Message-----
From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net
[mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of kheine(a)twcny.rr.com
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 12:56 PM
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Subject: [Callers] Happy as a Warm Pig in Cold Mud
Have any of you ever called this dance by Mike Boerschig? It's been in my
box for years, and I've never called it because I haven't been sure about
who should go to which star. It was published one way in Midwest Folklore
(see below), but the two YouTube videos I've seen of it have a shorter
partner allemande, ending with the first woman and second man (i.e., second
corners) starring above, while the second woman and the first man (first
corners) star below.
If you've called this and have an opinion about how it's best danced, or if
you've found it challenging to teach, I'd love to hear what you have to say
about it!
--Katy Heine
HAPPY AS A WARM PIG IN COLD MUD
by Mike Boerschig
dpl imp
A1
Neighbor balance and swing
A2
Men allemande left once and a half
allemande right partner once and three quarters
so men are facing in, women out
B1
Star left
away from partner, 1st corners star up, 2nd down; reaching across to shadow
in star
swing partner
B2
Circle left three quarters
balance in that circle, California twirl partner to face next couple
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
8:18 p.m.
This is how I've always taught/called this dance--partners allmd only one
time, spot your shadow and join them in a star left--and it works very well
for the reasons Richard mentioned.
Bree Kalb
Carrboro, NC
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Green
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 9:07 PM
To: 'Caller's discussion list'
Subject: Re: [Callers] Happy as a Warm Pig in Cold Mud
I just danced (but have never called) this dance last weekend at our local
dance. At the end of the A2 the call was for the gents to face out instead
of in. I am not sure if this was intentional or not, but it not only worked
fine, I liked it better than the original, which I assume is the version in
Katy's original post. I think the dance works fine either way, as long as
all the dancers are doing the same thing, but the calls need to be tweaked a
little.
I preferred the shorter allemande ending with the Gents facing out because,
at the end of the partner allemande, there was a widespread moment of
confusion as people struggled to remember to turn away from their partner
and find their shadow for the LH star. This caused the star to be
consistently late, and the Partner Swing to be short. It seems like this
delay would have been worse if we had continued the partner allemande
another half way around.
If the dance is done this way, I would change the A2 calls as follows:
A2
Men allemande L once and a half
Partner Allemande R a little more than once around until
the men face out and the ladies face in, look away from your partner to find
your shadow on your left
For the B1 I might say something like:
B1
With your shadow and another couple make a LH Star. You are in a different
star from your partner. Star once around until you meet your partner coming
out of a different star and swing your partner.
A little much to say as a calls, but okay for the walk through.
A couple of other notes:
You don't reach across to your shadow; they are next to you when you do the
star.
Also, in this variation of the dance, while you are waiting out you are
obliged to participate in the LH star. If you cross over before the star,
you won't be next to your shadow for the star, although it all works out in
the end. I don't think that is the case in the original version.
It should be noted that there were a fair number of beginners, but the
moment of confusion going into the left hand star seemed to affect more than
just the beginners; in fact, to me it was part of the fun of the dance.
Richard Green
Wayne, Maine
-----Original Message-----
From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net
[mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of kheine(a)twcny.rr.com
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 12:56 PM
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Subject: [Callers] Happy as a Warm Pig in Cold Mud
Have any of you ever called this dance by Mike Boerschig? It's been in my
box for years, and I've never called it because I haven't been sure about
who should go to which star. It was published one way in Midwest Folklore
(see below), but the two YouTube videos I've seen of it have a shorter
partner allemande, ending with the first woman and second man (i.e., second
corners) starring above, while the second woman and the first man (first
corners) star below.
If you've called this and have an opinion about how it's best danced, or if
you've found it challenging to teach, I'd love to hear what you have to say
about it!
--Katy Heine
HAPPY AS A WARM PIG IN COLD MUD
by Mike Boerschig
dpl imp
A1
Neighbor balance and swing
A2
Men allemande left once and a half
allemande right partner once and three quarters
so men are facing in, women out
B1
Star left
away from partner, 1st corners star up, 2nd down; reaching across to shadow
in star
swing partner
B2
Circle left three quarters
balance in that circle, California twirl partner to face next couple
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
8:50 p.m.
Interesting discussion, looks like a fun dance, but what temperature is the pig?
I have a dance card with a cold pig and warm mud! The title on the you tube
video title has a warm pig, but the title frame in the video has a cold pig. I
suppose the pig would be happy either way.
Cheers, Bill
8:58 p.m.
The "Gent's face out" call still confuses me. If it means "face away
from the center line of the longways set" which is what "out" means
when, for example, you're doing a long wavy line, then I can see why
dancers are confused about whom they are supposed to to star with.
The people you are going to star with are either up the hall or down
the hall from you and that's the orientation I think the dancers need
to hear.
Maybe the "turn away from your partner" that Richard mentioned
conveys that information, but "a widespread moment of confusion"
doesn't sound like fun to me -- especially with newcomers in the mix.
To me it just indicates that either the dance is flawed or the caller
hasn't taught it well.
Ah well. I have my plans for how I'll call it. We'll see if the
dancers are having fun -- the ultimate test.
Interesting discussion -- I'm enjoying reading different perspectives
on this dance.
Dale
On Mon, Jan 31, 2011 at 8:18 PM, Bree Kalb <bree(a)mindspring.com> wrote:
This is how I've always taught/called this
dance--partners allmd only one
time, spot your shadow and join them in a star left--and it works very well
for the reasons Richard mentioned.
Bree Kalb
Carrboro, NC
-----Original Message----- From: Richard Green
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 9:07 PM
To: 'Caller's discussion list'
Subject: Re: [Callers] Happy as a Warm Pig in Cold Mud
I just danced (but have never called) this dance last weekend at our local
dance. At the end of the A2 the call was for the gents to face out instead
of in. I am not sure if this was intentional or not, but it not only worked
fine, I liked it better than the original, which I assume is the version in
Katy's original post. I think the dance works fine either way, as long as
all the dancers are doing the same thing, but the calls need to be tweaked a
little.
I preferred the shorter allemande ending with the Gents facing out because,
at the end of the partner allemande, there was a widespread moment of
confusion as people struggled to remember to turn away from their partner
and find their shadow for the LH star. This caused the star to be
consistently late, and the Partner Swing to be short. It seems like this
delay would have been worse if we had continued the partner allemande
another half way around.
If the dance is done this way, I would change the A2 calls as follows:
A2
Men allemande L once and a half
Partner Allemande R a little more than once around until
the men face out and the ladies face in, look away from your partner to find
your shadow on your left
For the B1 I might say something like:
B1
With your shadow and another couple make a LH Star. You are in a different
star from your partner. Star once around until you meet your partner coming
out of a different star and swing your partner.
A little much to say as a calls, but okay for the walk through.
A couple of other notes:
You don't reach across to your shadow; they are next to you when you do the
star.
Also, in this variation of the dance, while you are waiting out you are
obliged to participate in the LH star. If you cross over before the star,
you won't be next to your shadow for the star, although it all works out in
the end. I don't think that is the case in the original version.
It should be noted that there were a fair number of beginners, but the
moment of confusion going into the left hand star seemed to affect more than
just the beginners; in fact, to me it was part of the fun of the dance.
Richard Green
Wayne, Maine
-----Original Message-----
From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net
[mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of kheine(a)twcny.rr.com
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 12:56 PM
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Subject: [Callers] Happy as a Warm Pig in Cold Mud
Have any of you ever called this dance by Mike Boerschig? It's been in my
box for years, and I've never called it because I haven't been sure about
who should go to which star. It was published one way in Midwest Folklore
(see below), but the two YouTube videos I've seen of it have a shorter
partner allemande, ending with the first woman and second man (i.e., second
corners) starring above, while the second woman and the first man (first
corners) star below.
If you've called this and have an opinion about how it's best danced, or if
you've found it challenging to teach, I'd love to hear what you have to say
about it!
--Katy Heine
HAPPY AS A WARM PIG IN COLD MUD
by Mike Boerschig
dpl imp
A1
Neighbor balance and swing
A2
Men allemande left once and a half
allemande right partner once and three quarters
so men are facing in, women out
B1
Star left
away from partner, 1st corners star up, 2nd down; reaching across to shadow
in star
swing partner
B2
Circle left three quarters
balance in that circle, California twirl partner to face next couple
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
--
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have
one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day
difficult.
-E. B. White
9:32 p.m.
My dance card says "Happy as a Cold Pig in Hot Mud", but it could be
that I have overheated the mud. I think the pig should be cold, given
the time of year that the Pigtown Fling is held.
This dance is one of my all-time favorites. I have been calling it from
time to time for many years, after (IIRC) getting it directly from Mike
Boerschig. (I wish I knew when that was. I don't have a date on my
card.) I've always taught it more or less in the fashion described by
Dale as "the way that worked."
-- Marlin
On 01/31/2011 09:50 PM, Liz and Bill wrote:
Interesting discussion, looks like a fun dance, but
what temperature
is the pig?
I have a dance card with a cold pig and warm mud! The title on the you
tube
video title has a warm pig, but the title frame in the video has a
cold pig. I
suppose the pig would be happy either way.
Cheers, Bill
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10 p.m.
Hi Martin,
Dale's "way that worked" is how Mike's dance appears in
http://ravitz.us/mike/
and "Written for 1992 Pigtown Fling (in Cincinnati)" appears on
http://www.cambridgefolk.org.uk/contra/dances/midwest_folklore/happy_as_a_c….
As march is hot here downunder, I'll use a warm pig.
Cheers, Bill
1 Feb
1 Feb
1:30 p.m.
So is this coming weekend going to be "Warm Pig" weekend?
I'd be curious how many times it gets called this weekend. I like the bit about
encouraging folks to play around with the stars.
6 Feb
6 Feb
8:51 a.m.
On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 1:30 PM, <richgoss(a)comcast.net> wrote:
So is this coming weekend going to be "Warm Pig" weekend?
I'd be curious how many times it gets called this weekend. I like the bit about
encouraging folks to play around with the stars.
I called it last night and it worked with my revised instructions, but
the "widespread moment of confusion" was still there -- I'd say it was
verging on a moment of total chaos.
There were three people stars. There were six people stars. There
were people starring themselves. I kept calling through the entire
dance -- with particular emphasis on the swing after the star.
Fortunately the dancers seem to find that a lot more fun than I
expected them to (what do I know?) I got several unsolicited positive
comments from the crowd. I think they were intentionally playing with
the chaos. This one's going into my repertoire to be called when the
time is right.
Dale
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
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--
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have
one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day
difficult.
-E. B. White
12 Feb
12 Feb
9:05 a.m.
I've actually seen a caller...encourage the chaos. Gents allemande once
and a half. Now with your partner, allemande some number of times. Go
make a LHS with someone (it's ok if it's a 5 person star, or a 3 person
star, as long as it KEEPS MOVING it'll get you back to your partner for
a swing). I don't go quite that far, but do tell people that the trick
is to not worry about the star being *correct* but to *keep moving* and
come back and swing your partner. Even if they followed you into the
same star, or starred with people in the next set, as long as they
*don't stop moving* (or try to stop and fox things) it'll still work.
Yes, it can verge on chaos, but it also is an amazingly resilient dance.
Jack
On 2/6/2011 9:51 AM, Dale Wilson wrote:
On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 1:30
PM,<richgoss(a)comcast.net> wrote:
So is this coming weekend going to be "Warm
Pig" weekend?
I'd be curious how many times it gets called this weekend. I like the bit about
encouraging folks to play around with the stars.
I called it last night and it
worked with my revised instructions, but
the "widespread moment of confusion" was still there -- I'd say it was
verging on a moment of total chaos.
There were three people stars. There were six people stars. There
were people starring themselves. I kept calling through the entire
dance -- with particular emphasis on the swing after the star.
Fortunately the dancers seem to find that a lot more fun than I
expected them to (what do I know?) I got several unsolicited positive
comments from the crowd. I think they were intentionally playing with
the chaos. This one's going into my repertoire to be called when the
time is right.
Dale
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
3:15 p.m.
Here is the video of Dale calling it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c-lMdyRlRU
On Sat, Feb 12, 2011 at 9:05 AM, Jack Mitchell <jamitch3(a)mindspring.com>wrote;wrote:
I've actually seen a caller...encourage the chaos.
Gents allemande once
and a half. Now with your partner, allemande some number of times. Go make
a LHS with someone (it's ok if it's a 5 person star, or a 3 person star, as
long as it KEEPS MOVING it'll get you back to your partner for a swing). I
don't go quite that far, but do tell people that the trick is to not worry
about the star being *correct* but to *keep moving* and come back and swing
your partner. Even if they followed you into the same star, or starred with
people in the next set, as long as they *don't stop moving* (or try to stop
and fox things) it'll still work.
Yes, it can verge on chaos, but it also is an amazingly resilient dance.
Jack
On 2/6/2011 9:51 AM, Dale Wilson wrote:
On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 1:30
PM,<richgoss(a)comcast.net> wrote:
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So is this coming weekend going to be "Warm
Pig" weekend?
I'd be curious how many times it gets called this weekend. I like the
bit about encouraging folks to play around with the stars.
I called it last night and it worked with my revised instructions, but
the "widespread moment of confusion" was still there -- I'd say it was
verging on a moment of total chaos.
There were three people stars. There were six people stars. There
were people starring themselves. I kept calling through the entire
dance -- with particular emphasis on the swing after the star.
Fortunately the dancers seem to find that a lot more fun than I
expected them to (what do I know?) I got several unsolicited positive
comments from the crowd. I think they were intentionally playing with
the chaos. This one's going into my repertoire to be called when the
time is right.
Dale
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
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4845
days inactive
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days old
contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net
12 comments
10 participants
participants (10)
-
Bob Green -
Bree Kalb -
Dale Wilson -
Jack Mitchell -
Joyce Miller -
kheine＠twcny.rr.com -
Liz and Bill -
Marlin Whitaker -
Richard Green -
richgoss＠comcast.net