I second Alan's suggestion - Chorus Jigg is a true chestnut - a great tune, too! On Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 9:24 PM, Alan Winston <winston(a)slac.stanford.edu>wrote;wrote: -- *Looking forward, Linda S. Mrosko 7302 CR 2829 Mabank, Texas 75156 (903) 451-5535 (H) (903) 288-4401 (cell) (903) 603-9033 (Skype) www.towerwebsites.com/dancinglinda *"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once." -- Friedrich Nietzsche

I often feel the best one ever written is the one I am currently dancing Mac ________________________________ From: Greg McKenzie <grekenzie(a)gmail.comTo: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Sent: Friday, November 30, 2012 8:49 AM Subject: Re: [Callers] What is the best contra dance(s) ever written? Alan asked: "Best" for what purpose? Thank you Alan.  This is the real question.  What is the purpose? Maybe that is the only real question. - Greg McKenzie _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

My votes: among "modern" contras: 3-33-33 by Steve Zakon-Anderson of the chestnuts: Chorus Jig Joyce Miller Grass Valley, CA On Nov 29, 2012, at 11:19 PM, Paul Wilde <zenyente(a)gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Kalia  Best dance experience of course depends upon both partner and music, but a best dance transcends both partner and music   Michael Fuerst      802 N Broadway      Urbana IL 61801       217-239-5844 ________________________________ From: Kalia Kliban <kalia(a)sbcglobal.net> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Sent: Friday, November 30, 2012 3:06 PM Subject: Re: [Callers] What is the best contra dance(s) ever written? It's hard to single out any particular dance since so much depends on the music and the partners.  I could have a massively peak dance experience doing a completely generic dance if my partner and I were really in tune with each other and the room and if the band was cooking.  Likewise, the best dance in the world wouldn't be able to make up for a partner or line who weren't getting it, or a band that was struggling. That being said, I'm paying a lot of attention to the dances folks are singling out here.  It's always good to hear recommendations. So I can't speak to its objective perfection or lack thereof, but I had a fantastic time with Joel's In The Kitchen (Sue Rosen) at the Petaluma contra a few weeks back.  KGB was playing and I had an excellent partner (thanks, Dan!).  So that one's a standout for me at the moment. Kalia _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

Jonathan, you left out 18 The first time you danced it, you must have been dancing with your favorite partner to music by your favorite band with a world class caller. And slightly more seriously. I don't want to start religious war but I have always wondered about A Chorus Jig. I just don't see why anyone likes it other than those who cherish it as a relic of a bygone era. The few times I have danced it my primary impression was that the inactive couples stood still for the entire dance -- offering admiration an occasional helping hand to the actives, and even the actives spent a great deal of time walking up and down the set. What am I missing? Why do people like it? Dale -- *So if you knew what was broken...how long would it take you to fix it?*

On 11/30/2012 4:26 PM, Dale Wilson wrote: Why I like it: Whether I'm inactive or active, I like the music, I really like the way the parts of the dance interlock, I like the many things that remind me I'm dancing in a bigger set than just my foursome - go down the outside and you have to see the whole line, be in line, match their timing; go down the middle and it's the same, but if I'm inactive I have to see people outside of my foursome on the way through. I really like how much it requires timing and rewards timing and geographical sense. I rather like the feeling of being a good cog in the big dance machine. I like supporting the actives and being supported when it's my turn. - When I'm an active, the way the excitement of the tune builds up during the contra corners to resolve at the balance with partner (and the balance + swing is way better than the balance without swing) is just unparalleled. Hitting the balance on the dot is just a tremendous moment. The whole dance (which is, incidentally, made of standard early-nineteenth century figures which show up in other dances but aren't as satisfying there) is an exercise in delayed gratification; I leave my partner, we're apart (but have a flirtatious peek, perhaps, in the middle of the down-the-outside-and-back), we're closer together for the down-the-middle-and-back; we connect with our same-sex neighbors on the cast off, we interact with two opposite-sex neighbors in the contra-corners, briefly seeing partner in between others, and we finally connect. It's awesome. - When I'm inactive - well, you can always swing your partner during the down-the-outside, and I have no problem for that. During the down-the-middle you can likely cheat-swing somebody from the next line (although I won't generally do that and don't much like it when my partner abandons me to cheat swing). But here's what I like there - I enjoy being able to support the actives in the contra corners, I enjoy getting a read on whether they want to push off and spin out of the allemande and supporting that, I enjoy helping to get them to their appointment with their partner on time. (I'll usually balance or stomp at the end of the contra corners even if I'm an inactive.) I'll admit that I'd be a bit frustrated if I were inactive all the way to to the top and the dance ended without my ever getting to be active, but I'm happy to have it run long enough for everybody to get to be both active and inactive. Your mileage may well vary. People like different things. -- Alan

Hello Alan and Dorcas I intended  the usual case of dances standing alone without associated tunes. Relatively few contras have matching tunes, but I suspect  such dances were designed to match the tunes--and thus the pairs usually work very  well   Michael Fuerst      802 N Broadway      Urbana IL 61801       217-239-5844 ________________________________ From: Dorcas Hand <handd51(a)tekkmail.com> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Sent: Friday, November 30, 2012 9:10 PM Subject: Re: [Callers] What is the best contra dance(s) ever written? Beautifully put. One other thing I like is the Sufi dance aspect of dancing in perfect tune with the music and the set, without having to think much about what move is next.  Delicious. Dorcas hand -----Original Message----- From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net [mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Alan Winston Sent: Friday, November 30, 2012 7:40 PM To: callers(a)sharedweight.net Subject: Re: [Callers] What is the best contra dance(s) ever written? On 11/30/2012 4:26 PM, Dale Wilson wrote: Why I like it: Whether I'm inactive or active, I like the music, I really like the way the parts of the dance interlock, I like the many things that remind me I'm dancing in a bigger set than just my foursome - go down the outside and you have to see the whole line, be in line, match their timing; go down the middle and it's the same, but if I'm inactive I have to see people outside of my foursome on the way through.  I really like how much it requires timing and rewards timing and geographical sense.  I rather like the feeling of being a good cog in the big dance machine.  I like supporting the actives and being supported when it's my turn. - When I'm an active, the way the excitement of the tune builds up during the contra corners to resolve at the balance with partner (and the balance + swing is way   better than the balance without swing)  is just unparalleled. Hitting the balance on the dot is just a tremendous moment.  The whole dance (which is, incidentally, made of   standard early-nineteenth century figures which show up in other dances but aren't as  satisfying there) is an exercise in delayed gratification; I leave my partner, we're apart   (but have a flirtatious peek, perhaps, in the middle of the down-the-outside-and-back), we're closer together for the down-the-middle-and-back; we connect with our   same-sex neighbors on the cast off, we interact with two opposite-sex neighbors in the contra-corners, briefly seeing partner in between others, and we finally connect.   It's awesome. - When I'm inactive - well, you can always swing your partner during the down-the-outside, and I have no problem for that. During the down-the-middle  you can likely cheat-swing somebody from the  next line (although I won't generally do that and don't much like it when my partner abandons me to cheat swing).  But here's what I like there - I enjoy being able to support the actives in the contra corners, I enjoy getting a read on whether they want to push off and spin out of the allemande and supporting that, I enjoy helping to get them to their appointment with their partner on time.  (I'll usually balance or stomp at the end of the contra corners even if I'm an inactive.)  I'll admit that I'd be a bit frustrated if I were inactive all the way to to the top and the dance ended without my ever getting to be active, but I'm happy to have it run long enough for everybody to get to be both active and inactive. Your mileage may well vary.  People like different things. -- Alan _______________________________________________ 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

This thread reminds me of a question posed years ago - probably because of the staying power of the chestnut dances like Chorus Jig, Rory O'More, Petronella, etc. - WHICH CONTRA DANCES DO YOU THINK FOLKS WILL STILL BE DANCING 100 YEARS FROM NOW? On Sat, Dec 1, 2012 at 1:01 PM, Bree Kalb <bree(a)mindspring.com> wrote: -- *Looking forward, Linda S. Mrosko 7302 CR 2829 Mabank, Texas 75156 (903) 451-5535 (H) (903) 288-4401 (cell) (903) 603-9033 (Skype) www.towerwebsites.com/dancinglinda *"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once." -- Friedrich Nietzsche

The "chestnut"  dances have staying power because  1) The excellent  tunes associated with them.  2) People like to connect with the distant past.   Relatively few new contra dances appeared between the early 19th century  (by which time all the chestnuts existed--although they may have since been modified to please today's dancers) and the 1930's or 1940's Without their  corresponding tunes, today  Chorus Jig, Petronella, Hull's Victory, etc, would likely  be danced much less often, if at all Michael Fuerst      802 N Broadway      Urbana IL 61801       217-239-5844 ________________________________ From: Linda Mrosko <elmerosko(a)gmail.com> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Sent: Saturday, December 1, 2012 2:40 PM Subject: Re: [Callers] What is the best contra dance(s) ever written? This thread reminds me of a question posed years ago - probably because of the staying power of the chestnut dances like Chorus Jig, Rory O'More, Petronella, etc. - WHICH CONTRA DANCES DO YOU THINK FOLKS WILL STILL BE DANCING 100 YEARS FROM NOW? -- *Looking forward, Linda S. Mrosko 7302 CR 2829 Mabank, Texas 75156 (903) 451-5535 (H) (903) 288-4401 (cell) (903) 603-9033 (Skype) www.towerwebsites.com/dancinglinda *"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once."                                   -- Friedrich Nietzsche

Speaking of great dances Dale, your *Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss*certainly makes my top 5. http://dancevideos.childgrove.org/contra/contra-modern/74-fly-around-my-pre… On Fri, Nov 30, 2012 at 6:26 PM, Dale Wilson <dale.wilson(a)gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Chris Sarah's Journey would probably be one of my top five or ten, but not thetop one None of the others on your list  (at least the 50% for which I had familiarity or could find on the  internet)  would make my top ten list.   Michael Fuerst      802 N Broadway      Urbana IL 61801       217-239-5844 ________________________________ From: Chris Page <chriscpage(a)gmail.com> To: Michael Fuerst <mjerryfuerst(a)yahoo.com>om>; Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Sent: Friday, November 30, 2012 4:57 PM Subject: Re: [Callers] What is the best contra dance(s) ever written? A lot of it is very personal -- what you were exposed to, what was your original "tradition," whether that started in 1958 or 2009. There's also context. Favorite for me as a dancer is a bit different than favorite for me as a caller. My favorite is probably 333, with a B2 that varies from year to year. (Right now it's chain, star left.) A couple years ago I wrote a longer list of favorites here: http://chrispagecontra.awardspace.us/choreography/index.htm If I were updating the list, I'd delete one or two, and add several. (At least Quick Spin, Bicoastal Contra, Fatal Attraction, Contra Primer, Heart of Glass, O'Brien's Star, Oak Hill Quickstep, and Yankee Reel.) -Chris Page San Diego On Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 7:19 PM, Michael Fuerst <mjerryfuerst(a)yahoo.com> wrote: If you had to choose one or two or at most  three  ...