15 Jul
2018
15 Jul
'18
11:27 p.m.
I call in primarily a traditional dance community but am investigating
starting to call using larks and ravens. I am curious about what words you
use and how you teach larks and ravens positioning. Thanks.
15 Jul
15 Jul
11:44 p.m.
Hi Mary,
The important thing, I think, is that you communicate something along the
following lines: "Contra dance is divided into two roles, so that sometimes
half the people dancing do one thing while the other half do something
different. Otherwise, the two dance roles are nearly identical, with most
moves happening for dancers in both roles. The two roles have been named to
correspond to positions, so that the Lark begins the dance and ends the
swing on the Left, and the Raven does those things on the Right. If you
abide by these positional rules, you'll always find yourself in a good
place to move on to the next piece of choreography."
As is the case with technically simple but uncommon figures like 'Circle
Right,' beginners will generally have an easier time with new terms than
will experienced dancers. Their brains are already in learning mode,
whereas some of the old hands may be flying on autopilot. The tricky part
is that you can't necessarily rely on the experienced folks to be as
helpful to the newbs as they may be ordinarily, so programming just a tick
easier than you are used to could be a safe bet, especially if you're in
the process of getting comfortable using the new terms yourself!
If you're on Facebook, I highly recommend joining the group Larks and
Ravens Contra Dancers
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/1340769606022971/?ref=br_rs>. There have
been a lot of really great conversations in that group, including several
about how calling with genderfree terminology benefits the whole community,
including those of us who are straight and cisgendered.
For what it's worth, I've officially gotten to a point where calling Larks
and Ravens is *easier* for me. It's lovely that the common Allemandes
alliterate with the new terms (Larks typically allemande left, while Ravens
often allemande right), and it now feels so strange to say "Ladies
allemande right"; it feels like I've messed up!
Good luck and please feel free to reach out to me if you have further
questions on this!
Angela
On Sun, Jul 15, 2018 at 6:27 PM, Mary Collins via Callers <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
I call in primarily a traditional dance community but
am investigating
starting to call using larks and ravens. I am curious about what words you
use and how you teach larks and ravens positioning. Thanks.
_______________________________________________
List Name: Callers mailing list
List Address: Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
Archives: https://www.mail-archive.com/callers@lists.sharedweight.net/
16 Jul
16 Jul
12:24 a.m.
Mary,
This doesn't really answer your question, but I think it is important to bring up.
Please try to avoid gendered pronouns. As a male person who often dances The Raven role,
one thing I really appreciate is a caller who doesn't use gendered pronouns regardless
of the terms being used.
So for instance, don't say "Larks allemande left to your partner and swing
her" instead just say "... And swing your partner" or "swing
them". Usingg endered pronouns defeats the entire point of using larks and Ravens.
While still using gents and ladies (community preference) I have been trying really hard
to remove any use of she, he, her, him, etc.
Regards,
Ben
Sent from my iPhone
On Jul 15, 2018, at 4:44 PM, Angela DeCarlis via
Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Hi Mary,
The important thing, I think, is that you communicate something along the following
lines: "Contra dance is divided into two roles, so that sometimes half the people
dancing do one thing while the other half do something different. Otherwise, the two dance
roles are nearly identical, with most moves happening for dancers in both roles. The two
roles have been named to correspond to positions, so that the Lark begins the dance and
ends the swing on the Left, and the Raven does those things on the Right. If you abide by
these positional rules, you'll always find yourself in a good place to move on to the
next piece of choreography."
As is the case with technically simple but uncommon figures like 'Circle Right,'
beginners will generally have an easier time with new terms than will experienced dancers.
Their brains are already in learning mode, whereas some of the old hands may be flying on
autopilot. The tricky part is that you can't necessarily rely on the experienced folks
to be as helpful to the newbs as they may be ordinarily, so programming just a tick easier
than you are used to could be a safe bet, especially if you're in the process of
getting comfortable using the new terms yourself!
If you're on Facebook, I highly recommend joining the group Larks and Ravens Contra
Dancers. There have been a lot of really great conversations in that group, including
several about how calling with genderfree terminology benefits the whole community,
including those of us who are straight and cisgendered.
For what it's worth, I've officially gotten to a point where calling Larks and
Ravens is easier for me. It's lovely that the common Allemandes alliterate with the
new terms (Larks typically allemande left, while Ravens often allemande right), and it now
feels so strange to say "Ladies allemande right"; it feels like I've messed
up!
Good luck and please feel free to reach out to me if you have further questions on this!
Angela
On Sun, Jul 15, 2018 at 6:27 PM, Mary Collins via
Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
I call in primarily a traditional dance community but am investigating starting to call
using larks and ravens. I am curious about what words you use and how you teach larks and
ravens positioning. Thanks.
_______________________________________________
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/
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2 comments
3 participants
participants (3)
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Angela DeCarlis -
Ben Werner -
Mary Collins