23 Sep
2013
23 Sep
'13
6:12 a.m.
Hi
I am designing workshop for a dance weekend here in Australia and would like to crowd
source some inspiration:
Simply answer the question - what made you addicted to contra?
Looking forward to your answers
Cheers
Jeanette
"The piano - 88 little mistakes waiting to happen." Peter Barnes.
23 Sep
23 Sep
10:07 a.m.
On Mon, Sep 23, 2013, Jeanette Mill wrote:
I am designing workshop for a dance weekend here in Australia and
would like to crowd source some inspiration:
Simply answer the question - what made you addicted to contra?
"I'm not addicted, I can stop any time I want to. I just don't want
to."
More seriously, I have been doing contra, square, and folk dancing for
over a quarter-century. For about fifteen years, I have primarily
identified as a contra dancer, mainly because I like the energy and can
"dance trance" for an extended period of time. (Most folk dances are
shorter than contras; square dancing requires too much hearing
concentration to dance trance.)
I also like the room for flourishes (count me among the "contra cutups").
--
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 http://rule6.info/
<*> <*> <*>
Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html
4:14 p.m.
Jeanette asked:
I am designing workshop for a dance weekend here in
Australia and would
like to crowd source some inspiration:
Simply answer the question - what made you addicted to contra?
Interesting. I am not all that sure what you mean by "addicted." Here in
the USA that word has negative connotations for many people.
Well, I think of a "contra dance enthusiast" as someone who attended six or
more contra dance events within the last year. I fit that description.
But what is a contra "addict?" What comes to mind is the image of someone
who not only attends regular contra dances, but who also attends workshops,
camps, festivals, or special events--particularly someone who pays air
fares or drives for many hours to attend such events. (A pathological
interpretation might mean someone who cannot control their urge to dance
contras? Or someone who's job or family life is becoming dysfunctional
because of their addiction? But I assume you do not mean that.)
I, personally, don't attend weekends, workshops, or special events. (I may
be an exception on this list in that respect.) I did those kind of events
for about the first ten years of dancing but I have been "clean" now for
over a decade. So I'm not sure I would qualify to answer your question.
I suspect there are folks on this list who do not dance contras that
often. Some favor squares, English Country dancing, or some other dance
form.
Who is the audience for your workshop? Are they, themselves, "addicts?"
Just wondering.
Greg McKenzie
West Coast, USA
4:51 p.m.
On 09/23/2013 06:12 AM, Jeanette Mill wrote:
Simply answer the question - what made you addicted to
contra?
When I first started, it was probably the fact that I couldn't stop
smiling the entire time I was dancing (or for several hours afterwards).
I was terrible, kept breaking the line, didn't understand half the
caller's instructions, etc. but I still couldn't stop smiling.
It might also be the fact that I `just got' the swing (even if I didn't
get most of the other moves). People asked me how long I'd been dancing,
and told me what a great swing I had even though I'd never actually been
to a dance before; it was nice to know that contra was actually simple
enough that all I had to do was walk around someone and they'd think I
was relatively good at it unlike, say, Swing dancing (my other favorite
form of dance) which took me days and days to even get the basic down.
I've seen this in a lot of other new dancers since then; I ask them how
long they've been dancing only to find that this is their first time and
they `just get' what I now know as the concept of `giving weight'.
After I had danced for a while and branched out into other kinds of
dancing, I realized that I also liked contra because no one takes it too
seriously (well, a few people I know do, but I make a point of not
dancing with them). You can cock about, experiment, break half the line,
or just make something up and as long as you can run back and swing your
partner when the caller says too it will all be okay and you'll have a
good time (I know a lot of people will disagree with that one; but it's
one of the things that makes me love contra, so there you are).
I also love the fact that you sweat a lot. I tried ECD a couple of
times, and while I enjoyed the people, and thought a lot of the dances
were really interesting, I couldn't help but wonder why I'd want to do
something that didn't leave me sweaty and breathless afterwards. Lots of
people I know love that sort of thing, but it wasn't for me. It felt too
`delicate' (there are also lots of other issues that made me not
especially love ECD, but they're rather offtopic).
Contra is like driving a Pagani Zonda that's thinking of new and
interesting ways of killing you every 5 seconds, and some other forms of
dance are like driving an old VW Bug: they don't go above 50 MPH, have
the engine on the wrong end of the car, and were conceived by Hitler
(that analogy made more sense in my head before I started typing it out...).
—Sam
--
Sam Whited
pub 4096R/EC2C9934
https://samwhited.com/contact
6:06 p.m.
Research suggests that we humans are happiest when we are succeeding at
something that we can just barely accomplish. I have been contradancing
for 38 years and I keep inventing and learning new flourishes, dips/ swing
move interjections, putting in extra spins, running between lines and
conspiring with fellow dancers to alter order and gender and create new
interactions with defacto trail buddies that 'weren't in the dance'. The
only limit to challenging yourself is not straying into being late and
staying within the bounds of what your particular fellow dancer will enjoy
which means that there is constant strategic intellectual exercise as well.
The happiness of contradancers is infective and the inclusiveness is
inspiring.
As a biologist I believe (with all due modesty and suspicion of teleology)
that life evolved for ~4 billion years on earth precisely so that there
could be contradancing :).
On Mon, Sep 23, 2013 at 4:51 PM, Sam Whited <sam(a)samwhited.com> wrote:
On 09/23/2013 06:12 AM, Jeanette Mill wrote:
Simply answer the question - what made you
addicted to contra?
When I first started, it was probably the fact that I couldn't stop
smiling the entire time I was dancing (or for several hours afterwards).
I was terrible, kept breaking the line, didn't understand half the
caller's instructions, etc. but I still couldn't stop smiling.
It might also be the fact that I `just got' the swing (even if I didn't
get most of the other moves). People asked me how long I'd been dancing,
and told me what a great swing I had even though I'd never actually been
to a dance before; it was nice to know that contra was actually simple
enough that all I had to do was walk around someone and they'd think I
was relatively good at it unlike, say, Swing dancing (my other favorite
form of dance) which took me days and days to even get the basic down.
I've seen this in a lot of other new dancers since then; I ask them how
long they've been dancing only to find that this is their first time and
they `just get' what I now know as the concept of `giving weight'.
After I had danced for a while and branched out into other kinds of
dancing, I realized that I also liked contra because no one takes it too
seriously (well, a few people I know do, but I make a point of not
dancing with them). You can cock about, experiment, break half the line,
or just make something up and as long as you can run back and swing your
partner when the caller says too it will all be okay and you'll have a
good time (I know a lot of people will disagree with that one; but it's
one of the things that makes me love contra, so there you are).
I also love the fact that you sweat a lot. I tried ECD a couple of
times, and while I enjoyed the people, and thought a lot of the dances
were really interesting, I couldn't help but wonder why I'd want to do
something that didn't leave me sweaty and breathless afterwards. Lots of
people I know love that sort of thing, but it wasn't for me. It felt too
`delicate' (there are also lots of other issues that made me not
especially love ECD, but they're rather offtopic).
Contra is like driving a Pagani Zonda that's thinking of new and
interesting ways of killing you every 5 seconds, and some other forms of
dance are like driving an old VW Bug: they don't go above 50 MPH, have
the engine on the wrong end of the car, and were conceived by Hitler
(that analogy made more sense in my head before I started typing it
out...).
—Sam
--
Sam Whited
pub 4096R/EC2C9934
https://samwhited.com/contact
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
8:06 p.m.
Social circle of dancers extending past dance time, after dance hangouts,
making friends.
On Sep 23, 2013 6:07 PM, "Mark Stowe" <mkstowegnv(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Research suggests that we humans are happiest when we
are succeeding at
something that we can just barely accomplish. I have been contradancing
for 38 years and I keep inventing and learning new flourishes, dips/ swing
move interjections, putting in extra spins, running between lines and
conspiring with fellow dancers to alter order and gender and create new
interactions with defacto trail buddies that 'weren't in the dance'. The
only limit to challenging yourself is not straying into being late and
staying within the bounds of what your particular fellow dancer will enjoy
which means that there is constant strategic intellectual exercise as well.
The happiness of contradancers is infective and the inclusiveness is
inspiring.
As a biologist I believe (with all due modesty and suspicion of teleology)
that life evolved for ~4 billion years on earth precisely so that there
could be contradancing :).
On Mon, Sep 23, 2013 at 4:51 PM, Sam Whited <sam(a)samwhited.com> wrote:
On 09/23/2013 06:12 AM, Jeanette Mill wrote:
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
Simply answer the question - what made you
addicted to contra?
When I first started, it was probably the fact that I couldn't stop
smiling the entire time I was dancing (or for several hours afterwards).
I was terrible, kept breaking the line, didn't understand half the
caller's instructions, etc. but I still couldn't stop smiling.
It might also be the fact that I `just got' the swing (even if I didn't
get most of the other moves). People asked me how long I'd been dancing,
and told me what a great swing I had even though I'd never actually been
to a dance before; it was nice to know that contra was actually simple
enough that all I had to do was walk around someone and they'd think I
was relatively good at it unlike, say, Swing dancing (my other favorite
form of dance) which took me days and days to even get the basic down.
I've seen this in a lot of other new dancers since then; I ask them how
long they've been dancing only to find that this is their first time and
they `just get' what I now know as the concept of `giving weight'.
After I had danced for a while and branched out into other kinds of
dancing, I realized that I also liked contra because no one takes it too
seriously (well, a few people I know do, but I make a point of not
dancing with them). You can cock about, experiment, break half the line,
or just make something up and as long as you can run back and swing your
partner when the caller says too it will all be okay and you'll have a
good time (I know a lot of people will disagree with that one; but it's
one of the things that makes me love contra, so there you are).
I also love the fact that you sweat a lot. I tried ECD a couple of
times, and while I enjoyed the people, and thought a lot of the dances
were really interesting, I couldn't help but wonder why I'd want to do
something that didn't leave me sweaty and breathless afterwards. Lots of
people I know love that sort of thing, but it wasn't for me. It felt too
`delicate' (there are also lots of other issues that made me not
especially love ECD, but they're rather offtopic).
Contra is like driving a Pagani Zonda that's thinking of new and
interesting ways of killing you every 5 seconds, and some other forms of
dance are like driving an old VW Bug: they don't go above 50 MPH, have
the engine on the wrong end of the car, and were conceived by Hitler
(that analogy made more sense in my head before I started typing it
out...).
—Sam
--
Sam Whited
pub 4096R/EC2C9934
https://samwhited.com/contact
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
9:24 p.m.
On Mon, Sep 23, 2013, Mark Stowe wrote:
Research suggests that we humans are happiest when we are succeeding at
something that we can just barely accomplish.
There may be some truth to that, but it certainly isn't true for my
relationship with contra dancing and square dancing. I'm far more
accomplished at contra than square due to my hearing, which was the
whole point of my earlier "dance trance" comment; I suppose it might be
argued that I'm in fact not accomplished at square dancing, but I doubt
many people would make that claim.
(In case it's not clear, I'm much happier after a contra dance than a
square dance -- I'm physically exhausted after contra but mentally and
often emotionally exhausted after squares.)
--
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 http://rule6.info/
<*> <*> <*>
Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html
24 Sep
24 Sep
4:09 p.m.
replying off list 'cause I can't get to there from here (work) sorry,
addicted yes, I am. I have bilateral hip replacements and even when I
could not walk (pre-surgery) I could dance. the music and the rhythm of
the dance(walk) made it possible for me to move and exercise. It also
gives me the same "runner's high" that I got when I used to jog (years
ago). I've been one of the key coordinators for our local dance for over
10 years, just so I can be sure it will be here while I still need to
dance. Selfish I know, but what better motivator? I agree with another
post that says, smiling. I've rarely met anyone in the line that is not
smiling. I smile whilst dancing as well.
I also like the rhythm of the music and the moves, esp. the balance. The
cadence of the steps and the notes matching appeals to my sense of order.
I am also a fan of flourishes, as long as they are consensual and ON TIME.
I'm a bit of a dance snob about that.
good luck with your event and all.
Mary Collins
QCCD.org
On Mon, Sep 23, 2013 at 6:12 AM, Jeanette Mill
<jeanette_mill(a)yahoo.com.au>wrote;wrote:
Hi
I am designing workshop for a dance weekend here in Australia and would
like to crowd source some inspiration:
Simply answer the question - what made you addicted to contra?
Looking forward to your answers
Cheers
Jeanette
"The piano - 88 little mistakes waiting to happen." Peter Barnes.
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
6:47 p.m.
I usually simply say "it's aerobic, it's social, and I usually love the
music. Thanks, George Mercer
On Tue, Sep 24, 2013 at 4:09 PM, Mary Collins <nativedae(a)gmail.com> wrote:
replying off list 'cause I can't get to there
from here (work) sorry,
addicted yes, I am. I have bilateral hip replacements and even when I
could not walk (pre-surgery) I could dance. the music and the rhythm of
the dance(walk) made it possible for me to move and exercise. It also
gives me the same "runner's high" that I got when I used to jog (years
ago). I've been one of the key coordinators for our local dance for over
10 years, just so I can be sure it will be here while I still need to
dance. Selfish I know, but what better motivator? I agree with another
post that says, smiling. I've rarely met anyone in the line that is not
smiling. I smile whilst dancing as well.
I also like the rhythm of the music and the moves, esp. the balance. The
cadence of the steps and the notes matching appeals to my sense of order.
I am also a fan of flourishes, as long as they are consensual and ON TIME.
I'm a bit of a dance snob about that.
good luck with your event and all.
Mary Collins
QCCD.org
On Mon, Sep 23, 2013 at 6:12 AM, Jeanette Mill
<jeanette_mill(a)yahoo.com.au>wrote;wrote:
Hi
I am designing workshop for a dance weekend here in Australia and would
like to crowd source some inspiration:
Simply answer the question - what made you addicted to contra?
Looking forward to your answers
Cheers
Jeanette
"The piano - 88 little mistakes waiting to happen." Peter Barnes.
_______________________________________________
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
4077
days inactive
4078
days old
contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net
8 comments
8 participants
participants (8)
-
Aahz Maruch -
George Mercer -
Greg McKenzie -
Jeanette Mill -
Mark Stowe -
Mary Collins -
Ron Blechner -
Sam Whited