New subject: Triple Minors in the Midwest

18 Jan 2008

...
  I was considering adding some of the Chestnuts to my
calling repertoire --- end of quote ---

Huzzah! Do you have musicians who can learn the tunes that traditionally
accompany these dances? Not every dance has an associated tune, but for those
who do, part of the fun is hearing particular music accompany particulat
patterns, as is common in English country dance. In this way, of course, the
chestnuts remind us of the close linkage between early contras and their ECD
ancestors. 

If you're in the part of the midwest where folks are accustomed to dancing
contras to Appalachian old-time string band music, one of the challenges you'll
face, possibly as great as teaching triple minor formation intricacies, is
helping dancers appreciate a different style of music. I mean, Sackett's Harbor
is typically played here to a jig, and that alone will sound alien to many ears
accustomed to old-time bands, who generally don't do things in 6/8. 'Tain't
natural!

...
  I was considering calling a triplet or a duple minor
dance with contra corners in the first half to make sure everyone was comfortable
with that
figure, and then calling "Sackett's Harbor" in the second half

Hmm... contra corners (with one exception, described below) is actually more
easily taught in a dance such as Sackett's, because the twos and threes only
have to make one turn with the active couple. in a duple minor, the twos must be
ready to turn as a corner twice, with an active One coming at them first from
one direction and then from another.

The exception mentioned above is in timing. Typically, at the end of contra
corners the active couple meets in the middle for a balance and swing. In
Sackett's, they need to be back in their own lines, man #1 with the men and
woman #1 with the women, in time for the forward and back before the circle of
six circles right back to long lines. This requires active couples to move
through contra corners with greater "intentionality"-- i.e., no dilly-dallying!

Your rules for triple minors are just fine. We usually encourage dancers to
dance at the bottom with a ghost couple to carry out the progression. At the top
of the set, the rule is to wait out twice, using that time to pay attention to
the musicians or, if you're even slightly unsure about how to proceed, to watch
the active couples ahead of you to see the pattern of their movements.

Jerome, please let us know how it turns out.

And for other chestnut fans, be advised that CDSS is in the process of
publishing a book that contains all of David Smukler's "Cracking Chestnuts"
columns from the CDSS news plus additional material that he and I have
contributed.

David Millstone 
Lebanon, NH

Re: [Callers] Triple Minors in the Midwest