24 Jun
2015
24 Jun
'15
1:29 p.m.
How do you descibe giving weight, and how do you teach it for circles,
allemandes, and, swings?
Rich
Stafford, CT
24 Jun
24 Jun
2:33 p.m.
On 6/24/2015 11:29 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers wrote:
How do you descibe giving weight, and how do you teach it for circles,
allemandes, and, swings?
Rich
Stafford, CT
In my beginner sessions, I have them form a ring and then circle left
and right a couple of times. Then I ask them to bend their elbows and
feel "that springy tension between you and the dancers next to you. If
you can keep that elasticity while you're connected to other dancers,
then you're all supporting each other as you circle and turn, and it
makes everything easier." And then we circle again, with the extra bit
of sproing, and then do the same with allemandes. Just for fun,
sometimes I'll have them go back to the floppy arms, just to feel the
difference. I also let them know that with a little bit of tension in
the connection, it's easier for the person they're dancing with to give
them physical cues.
And I know there's a better word than tension, and I'm pretty sure I've
used it in the past, but right now I can't think of it.
Kalia
Sebastopol, CA
3:22 p.m.
My main concern is how to acquire that tension/counterweight in a swing, if
you do not lean back.
Rich
On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 3:33 PM, Kalia Kliban via Callers <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
On 6/24/2015 11:29 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers
wrote:
How do you descibe giving weight, and how do you teach it for circles,
allemandes, and, swings?
Rich
Stafford, CT
In my beginner sessions, I have them form a ring and then circle left and
right a couple of times. Then I ask them to bend their elbows and feel
"that springy tension between you and the dancers next to you. If you can
keep that elasticity while you're connected to other dancers, then you're
all supporting each other as you circle and turn, and it makes everything
easier." And then we circle again, with the extra bit of sproing, and then
do the same with allemandes. Just for fun, sometimes I'll have them go
back to the floppy arms, just to feel the difference. I also let them know
that with a little bit of tension in the connection, it's easier for the
person they're dancing with to give them physical cues.
And I know there's a better word than tension, and I'm pretty sure I've
used it in the past, but right now I can't think of it.
Kalia
Sebastopol, CA
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5:18 p.m.
Leaning back implies, at least to me, bending backwards at the
waist. This is something we definitely don't want dancers to do.
Instead they need to move their center of gravity backwards a little.
This can be done by bending the knees and waist a very little, as if you
were going to sit down. That plus the rotation should provide enough
force to provide the tension/counterweight. So we may want the dancers
to move the core of their body back a little, but not by leaning.
Jonathan
On 6/24/2015 3:22 PM, Rich Sbardella via Callers wrote:
My main concern is how to acquire that
tension/counterweight in a swing,
if you do not lean back.
Rich
On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 3:33 PM, Kalia Kliban via Callers
<callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>>
wrote:
On 6/24/2015 11:29 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers wrote:
How do you descibe giving weight, and how do you teach it for
circles,
allemandes, and, swings?
Rich
Stafford, CT
In my beginner sessions, I have them form a ring and then circle
left and right a couple of times. Then I ask them to bend their
elbows and feel "that springy tension between you and the dancers
next to you. If you can keep that elasticity while you're connected
to other dancers, then you're all supporting each other as you
circle and turn, and it makes everything easier." And then we
circle again, with the extra bit of sproing, and then do the same
with allemandes. Just for fun, sometimes I'll have them go back to
the floppy arms, just to feel the difference. I also let them know
that with a little bit of tension in the connection, it's easier for
the person they're dancing with to give them physical cues.
And I know there's a better word than tension, and I'm pretty sure
I've used it in the past, but right now I can't think of it.
Kalia
Sebastopol, CA
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8:10 p.m.
I do (mildly) state that it is a lean. However I don't associate bending
at the waist with it, myself or publicly in any demonstration of it. I
will say the two of us in a swing is a bit like a top, a pull string top
or toy, and I show my two hands, wrists near meeting, finger tips up and
apart. Those hands are straight. If I see anyone bending I'll kindly get
them to try it without that.
I also add that we each remain responsible for keeping ourselves upright.
Sometimes, with time available, or if I'm feeling playful I'll suggest
slowly opening one's grasp a wee bit. "Okay, watch their eyes!"
<grin>
This is a personal approach I try occasionally, mostly as I'm a bit of
goof and like playing around. However if it appears funny (in a safe
context) it may cement an idea.
[Rigid adults -- Do not try this in your dance community. It's use
depends on your own personality. /caution]
-
I start a intro session much like Kalia does with circles, experienced
connection to the music, arms - with springiness, grasp, life,
connection to each other.
I like the idea of comparing the action again with floppy arms/connection.
I may now cover the allemande immediately after any initial circling, if
I have them with a partner. That or circling again (large or small
circles) just before getting into the allemande.
-
I see Giving Weight as one of the more problematic terms when used in
isolation, or rather with little context. (Another major one is "1s
cross over" -- from some unknown/unnamed spot. A relative directive.
Ugh. I don't use this.)
-
Starting that gallop of a buzz step on the right foot, something I very
recently picked up from this or the Trad Dance Callers list, really
seems to minimise the sideways or backward movement I've seen some do.
Cheers, John
--
J.D. Erskine
Victoria, BC
Island Dance - Folk & Country
dance info - site & mail list
http://members.shaw.ca/island.dance/
10:20 p.m.
I do 2 hand turn first.
On Jun 24, 2015 4:22 PM, "Rich Sbardella via Callers" <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
My main concern is how to acquire that
tension/counterweight in a swing,
if you do not lean back.
Rich
On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 3:33 PM, Kalia Kliban via Callers <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
On 6/24/2015 11:29 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers
wrote:
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
How do you descibe giving weight, and how do you teach it for circles,
allemandes, and, swings?
Rich
Stafford, CT
In my beginner sessions, I have them form a ring and then circle left and
right a couple of times. Then I ask them to bend their elbows and feel
"that springy tension between you and the dancers next to you. If you can
keep that elasticity while you're connected to other dancers, then you're
all supporting each other as you circle and turn, and it makes everything
easier." And then we circle again, with the extra bit of sproing, and then
do the same with allemandes. Just for fun, sometimes I'll have them go
back to the floppy arms, just to feel the difference. I also let them know
that with a little bit of tension in the connection, it's easier for the
person they're dancing with to give them physical cues.
And I know there's a better word than tension, and I'm pretty sure I've
used it in the past, but right now I can't think of it.
Kalia
Sebastopol, CA
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Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
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25 Jun
25 Jun
9:43 a.m.
Someone in my community who teaches swings often likes to explain the
sharing of weight as, "If my partner let me go, I would stumble a step or
two, but not fall." Seems to be a good benchmark when used in conjunction
with some of these other explanations.
One I've had in my head for a while now but not actually used is explaining
it in terms of that amusement park ride where you're in a big, really
fast-rotating cylinder and the floor drops out--you're held against the
wall and it feels like your entire back is pushing against the wall. That's
how sharing weight in a swing should feel--it's not a lean (which, as
Jonathan aptly points out, to many people suggests a bend at the waist),
it's a sort of pressing back with your entire torso against your partner's
hand.
On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 11:20 PM, Ron Blechner via Callers <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
I do 2 hand turn first.
On Jun 24, 2015 4:22 PM, "Rich Sbardella via Callers" <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
My main concern is how to acquire that
tension/counterweight in a swing,
if you do not lean back.
Rich
On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 3:33 PM, Kalia Kliban via Callers <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
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On 6/24/2015 11:29 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers
wrote:
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How do you descibe giving weight, and how do you teach it for circles,
allemandes, and, swings?
Rich
Stafford, CT
In my beginner sessions, I have them form a ring and then circle left
and right a couple of times. Then I ask them to bend their elbows and feel
"that springy tension between you and the dancers next to you. If you can
keep that elasticity while you're connected to other dancers, then you're
all supporting each other as you circle and turn, and it makes everything
easier." And then we circle again, with the extra bit of sproing, and then
do the same with allemandes. Just for fun, sometimes I'll have them go
back to the floppy arms, just to feel the difference. I also let them know
that with a little bit of tension in the connection, it's easier for the
person they're dancing with to give them physical cues.
And I know there's a better word than tension, and I'm pretty sure I've
used it in the past, but right now I can't think of it.
Kalia
Sebastopol, CA
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
9:48 a.m.
On Wed, Jun 24, 2015, Rich Sbardella via Callers wrote:
My main concern is how to acquire that tension/counterweight in a swing, if
you do not lean back.
Let momentum do the work. The way I teach swinging, I tell people to
stand nose-to-nose. Then I tell each of them to take a small half-step
to the left. If they twist, I tell them to go back to the nose-to-nose
and explain that it is critical that they stay facing the same direction
when they move left. Then I have them go into ballroom hold and start
walking forward, telling them to notice how the pressure of holding each
other just naturally forces them into a circle.
Particularly when I do this with people who've been twisting their
bodies, they go, "Wow, it's a lot easier this way."
When they start swinging a bit faster, that's when I talk about the
giving weight aspect of swinging. It's a matter of holding the swing
together, and you just don't need the tension until they're moving fast.
--
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 http://rule6.info/
<*> <*> <*>
Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html
9:50 a.m.
You don't find "nose-to-nose" makes some uncomfortable?
On Jun 25, 2015 10:48 AM, "Aahz Maruch via Callers" <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
On Wed, Jun 24, 2015, Rich Sbardella via Callers
wrote:
My main concern is how to acquire that tension/counterweight in a swing,
if
you do not lean back.
Let momentum do the work. The way I teach swinging, I tell people to
stand nose-to-nose. Then I tell each of them to take a small half-step
to the left. If they twist, I tell them to go back to the nose-to-nose
and explain that it is critical that they stay facing the same direction
when they move left. Then I have them go into ballroom hold and start
walking forward, telling them to notice how the pressure of holding each
other just naturally forces them into a circle.
Particularly when I do this with people who've been twisting their
bodies, they go, "Wow, it's a lot easier this way."
When they start swinging a bit faster, that's when I talk about the
giving weight aspect of swinging. It's a matter of holding the swing
together, and you just don't need the tension until they're moving fast.
--
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6
http://rule6.info/
<*> <*> <*>
Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html
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3:22 p.m.
On Thu, Jun 25, 2015, Ron Blechner wrote:
On Jun 25, 2015 10:48 AM, "Aahz Maruch via
Callers" <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Hasn't happened yet AFAIK. I think most people understand that the
phrase doesn't mean "smash your noses together".
--
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 http://rule6.info/
<*> <*> <*>
Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html
On Wed, Jun 24, 2015, Rich Sbardella via Callers
wrote:
You don't find "nose-to-nose" makes some uncomfortable?
My main concern is how to acquire that tension/counterweight in a
swing, if you do not lean back.
Let momentum do the work. The way I teach swinging, I tell people
to stand nose-to-nose. Then I tell each of them to take a small
half-step to the left. If they twist, I tell them to go back to the
nose-to-nose and explain that it is critical that they stay facing
the same direction when they move left. Then I have them go into
ballroom hold and start walking forward, telling them to notice how
the pressure of holding each other just naturally forces them into a
circle.
2:48 p.m.
I have two methods of demonstrating how much connection will give others a sense of your
presence:
1) individually hook the fingertips of your own two hands together, then pull just till it
locks and becomes firm.
2) make a big circle and take hands with the joined hands all slightly in front of the
bodies, and the elbows all bent. Then I tell them to peel their toes off the ground, so
their weight is only on their heels. Suddenly they all need each other and the sense of
using the community to mutually hold everyone up is made evident.
I tell them to keep the electricity running through the ring as they put their toes down
and circle L then R, and say that every time they have hands, in pairs, in fours, or with
the whole room, they need to make that same kind of firm connection, because it's all
about making units out of disparate parts.
Andrea
Sent from my iOnlypretendtomultitask
On Jun 24, 2015, at 1:22 PM, Rich Sbardella via
Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
My main concern is how to acquire that tension/counterweight in a swing, if you do not
lean back.
Rich
On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 3:33 PM, Kalia Kliban via
Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
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http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net On 6/24/2015 11:29 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers
wrote:
How do you descibe giving weight, and how do you teach it for circles,
allemandes, and, swings?
Rich
Stafford, CT
In my beginner sessions, I have them form a ring and then circle left and right a couple
of times. Then I ask them to bend their elbows and feel "that springy tension
between you and the dancers next to you. If you can keep that elasticity while you're
connected to other dancers, then you're all supporting each other as you circle and
turn, and it makes everything easier." And then we circle again, with the extra bit
of sproing, and then do the same with allemandes. Just for fun, sometimes I'll have
them go back to the floppy arms, just to feel the difference. I also let them know that
with a little bit of tension in the connection, it's easier for the person they're
dancing with to give them physical cues.
And I know there's a better word than tension, and I'm pretty sure I've used
it in the past, but right now I can't think of it.
Kalia
Sebastopol, CA
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
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2:52 p.m.
I use a buzz step plus elbow swing to give the sense that people rotating quickly around a
point of connection will naturally fall away from one another, that this is desirable, and
to note that they have to use their own strength to hold themselves up with their own bent
arm. Then in ballroom hold, I invite them to note that when they bend their knees as if
beginning to sit, their weight automatically becomes counterweight.
Andrea
Sent from my iOnlypretendtomultitask
On Jun 24, 2015, at 1:22 PM, Rich Sbardella via
Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
My main concern is how to acquire that tension/counterweight in a swing, if you do not
lean back.
Rich
On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 3:33 PM, Kalia Kliban via
Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
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Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net On 6/24/2015 11:29 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers
wrote:
How do you descibe giving weight, and how do you teach it for circles,
allemandes, and, swings?
Rich
Stafford, CT
In my beginner sessions, I have them form a ring and then circle left and right a couple
of times. Then I ask them to bend their elbows and feel "that springy tension
between you and the dancers next to you. If you can keep that elasticity while you're
connected to other dancers, then you're all supporting each other as you circle and
turn, and it makes everything easier." And then we circle again, with the extra bit
of sproing, and then do the same with allemandes. Just for fun, sometimes I'll have
them go back to the floppy arms, just to feel the difference. I also let them know that
with a little bit of tension in the connection, it's easier for the person they're
dancing with to give them physical cues.
And I know there's a better word than tension, and I'm pretty sure I've used
it in the past, but right now I can't think of it.
Kalia
Sebastopol, CA
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
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24 Jun
24 Jun
3:38 p.m.
I have the dancers think of a time when they were descending some steps and someone
offered them a hand to steady themselves. You don't give all of your weight to the
person offering their hand. You share the weight, giving just enough to allow some
stability as you make your own way down.
And then I ask them to think about themselves offering their hand to steady someone else
who is descending the steps. If you're too aggressive about it, you could throw the
person off balance and send them toppling down. If you don't offer enough support,
you're not really helping.
And then I apply that analogy to "helping" each other through the moves of a
contra dance by the gentle support of shared weight.
BrooksMérida, México
Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2015 12:33:30 -0700
To: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
Subject: Re: [Callers] Giving Weight
From: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
On 6/24/2015 11:29 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers wrote:
How do you descibe giving weight, and how do you teach it for circles,
allemandes, and, swings?
Rich
Stafford, CT
In my beginner sessions, I have them form a ring and then circle left
and right a couple of times. Then I ask them to bend their elbows and
feel "that springy tension between you and the dancers next to you. If
you can keep that elasticity while you're connected to other dancers,
then you're all supporting each other as you circle and turn, and it
makes everything easier." And then we circle again, with the extra bit
of sproing, and then do the same with allemandes. Just for fun,
sometimes I'll have them go back to the floppy arms, just to feel the
difference. I also let them know that with a little bit of tension in
the connection, it's easier for the person they're dancing with to give
them physical cues.
And I know there's a better word than tension, and I'm pretty sure I've
used it in the past, but right now I can't think of it.
Kalia
Sebastopol, CA
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
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10:18 p.m.
This! I explain weight similarly
On Jun 24, 2015 3:34 PM, "Kalia Kliban via Callers" <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
On 6/24/2015 11:29 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers
wrote:
How do you descibe giving weight, and how do you teach it for circles,
allemandes, and, swings?
Rich
Stafford, CT
In my beginner sessions, I have them form a ring and then circle left and
right a couple of times. Then I ask them to bend their elbows and feel
"that springy tension between you and the dancers next to you. If you can
keep that elasticity while you're connected to other dancers, then you're
all supporting each other as you circle and turn, and it makes everything
easier." And then we circle again, with the extra bit of sproing, and then
do the same with allemandes. Just for fun, sometimes I'll have them go
back to the floppy arms, just to feel the difference. I also let them know
that with a little bit of tension in the connection, it's easier for the
person they're dancing with to give them physical cues.
And I know there's a better word than tension, and I'm pretty sure I've
used it in the past, but right now I can't think of it.
Kalia
Sebastopol, CA
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
26 Jun
26 Jun
7:50 a.m.
In my separate beginners’ workshops, I have people take allemande hold, and then move
around as fast as they comfortably can (“faster than you ever would in a dance”), paying
attention to what that feels like in their hands and arms. I then have them do it again,
starting fast and then slowing down a lot (slower than in a dance), keeping that same
feeling in their hands/arms. Then I’ll have them do a 2-hand turn with that same feeling
(my workshops most often combine contra & English), and then a circle of 4. I talk
about the circle 4 being the most boring move in contra when it’s done without weight, and
pointing out that it has quite a nice feeling when everyone is giving weight. (That’s also
where I explain grapevining—why it’s done in MWSD (giving weight isn’t part of their
style, so grapevine makes it a more interesting figure), and why it’s a bad thing to do in
contra (because it makes it so much harder to give weight).)
Giving weight is the first thing I teach in a beginners’ session, partly to emphasize how
important it is, and partly because it gives me the opportunity to point out everywhere
else where you do it, including just a little like in a courtesy turn.
Read Weaver
Jamaica Plain, MA
http://lcfd.org
On 6/24/2015 11:29 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers
wrote:
>
> How do you descibe giving weight, and how do you teach it for circles,
> allemandes, and, swings?
> Rich
> Stafford, CT
3235
days inactive
3237
days old
contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net
14 comments
10 participants
participants (10)
-
Aahz Maruch via Callers -
Andrea Nettleton via Callers
-
Brooks Hart via Callers
-
JD Erskine via Callers
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Jonathan Sivier via Callers
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Kalia Kliban via Callers
-
Maia McCormick via Callers
-
Read Weaver via Callers
-
Rich Sbardella via Callers
-
Ron Blechner via Callers