Interesting question Don!
Being one of those "trip to" choreographers, I think there are a number of
reasonable places to draw the reference from. Certainly the obvious one of
writing it while on the way to or from the particular location. Then it
might also be to commemorate or honor an individual know by their location.
I wrote one, *Trip to Harlem*, named after the tune I used*, Drop Me Off in
Harlem. *to honor the passing of the great Duke Ellington. I am pretty sure
there is no rule about it, and I'd so feel free to travel wherever your
imagination takes you.
Bob Green
St. Louis
On Thu, Jun 1, 2017 at 2:58 PM, Don Veino via Callers <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Silly question of the day: is there some expectation/standard for what a
> "Trip to ..." dance contains - other than the words "Trip to" appear in the
> title?
>
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>
Hi everyone.
I’m looking for advice. I’m calling a FFF next Sat and live in SF Bay Area, where the average person has never heard of contra dance. I got advice from Alan Winston, who called the contra dance a couple years ago when it was a 2 day event and the contra was Sunday evening. Now it’s a 1 day festival and the contra is Sat 630-10pm. The other dance that evening is Blues/Fusion, which I expect will have a HUGE crowd. There is also a contra dance about 30 minutes South of the venue and a waltz evening 30 minutes East, so I’m not confident that a bunch of experienced contra dancers will show up. I’m sure some will, as many are also musicians who will be volunteering that day.
I have several very easy contras (low piece count, connected, easy single progression, stays in minor set, etc) and plan to slip in brief reminders during each walk through (since new dancers can join at any time in the 3.5 hours). I’m sharing the contra calling with one person, and there is a caller for a couple squares, and a caller of 3/4 time contras. I don’t know how the eve will be broken down yet, but I’m likely to call 2-3 contras in each half.
It’s in a high school gym, so I know to keep calls short and clear due to acoustics.
I’m wondering about offering a 20 minute lesson before the dance???
Thanks for any advice about free folk festivals (assuming there won’t be a lot of experienced dancer ringers). I’m just back from FolkLife and NEFFA and they are full of experienced contra dancers……
Claire Takemori (SF Bay Area)
Requirement? I don't know. All the ones I know have gents and ladies
(in some order) going to the center for a
long wavy line.
On Thu, Jun 1, 2017 at 3:58 PM, Don Veino via Callers
<callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Silly question of the day: is there some expectation/standard for what a
> "Trip to ..." dance contains - other than the words "Trip to" appear in the
> title?
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
Perhaps you must take a "Trip to ... somewhere" and then write a dance to
celebrate the fact?
On Thu, Jun 1, 2017 at 3:58 PM, Don Veino via Callers <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Silly question of the day: is there some expectation/standard for what a
> "Trip to ..." dance contains - other than the words "Trip to" appear in the
> title?
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>
Hi Don, My expectation, or assumption maybe, is that the dance was composed on the way to the place in the title or after returning from there.. I don't think there is anything expected in the choreography.. at least there isn't for me..
bill
________________________________
From: Callers <callers-bounces(a)lists.sharedweight.net> on behalf of Don Veino via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
Sent: Thursday, June 1, 2017 7:58 PM
To: Caller's discussion list
Subject: [Callers] Trip to ... = ?
Silly question of the day: is there some expectation/standard for what a "Trip to ..." dance contains - other than the words "Trip to" appear in the title?
Silly question of the day: is there some expectation/standard for what a
"Trip to ..." dance contains - other than the words "Trip to" appear in the
title?
Hive Mind:
I wrote the following solid little contra on a recent flight when I had too much time on my hands, and it went well on its initial test. It didn't show up in my database, but do you know if it has been written previously?
Improper
A1. Neighbor balance, swing
A2. Gents allemande L 1 1/2, partner swing
B1. Long lines, circle L 3/4
B2. Neighbor allemande R 1 1/2, 1/2 hey (GL, PR, LL, -)
Bob
So, a while back I was working with a band and they played a tune that was sort of new for them, and the A part was fine, but the B part was unusual anyway, and hard to know where the count was, in particular because they were unfamiliar with it, and I tried to count and call so the dancers could keep going, and it kept coming back together in the A, but falling apart in the B, until things snowballed and the dance completely fell apart. What is the best thing to do or say in a situation like that so that the band doesn’t feel too much as if it is their fault, and the dancers don’t feel it’s their fault? And yes, it’s always the caller’s fault, since I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what the heck was going on with that tune, but the dancers couldn’t find their way in it either. Anyway, back to what to do to make everyone feel a little better after that.
Martha
Reminds me of a moment early in my calling career working with a band (with musicians who should have known better) who played a crooked tune.
It took me 3 times through to realize what the problem was and I told the band we need to change tunes, NOW. They did. I asked them afterwards what happened with that and they said "It was only a little crooked".
Really?? A little crooked??
Donna Hunt
-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Morgan via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
To: Martha Wild <mawild(a)sbcglobal.net>; callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
Sent: Tue, May 30, 2017 5:49 pm
Subject: Re: [Callers] What to do?
Ooh tricky - you definitely need to tell the band, maybe point out the odd phrasing and that you'll need to see if you can find a really good specific dance for it to work nicely. I'm intrigued as to what the tune is now - maybe the list can suggest something useful if you let us know?
Bob
On Tue, May 30, 2017 at 10:43 PM, Martha Wild <mawild(a)sbcglobal.net> wrote:
Next dance was rock solid, and easier, and tune was rock solid. So they did redeem themselves. I have listened to a version on line and it has a WEIRD B part - it is nominally 16 counts but the emphasis is kind of like 6, 6 and 4, and it is weird beyond belief. How do I ask them to never play it for me again?
On May 30, 2017, at 2:38 PM, Bob Morgan <ceilidh.caller.bob(a)gmail.com> wrote:
In the moment, move right along. Next dance needs to be rock-solid, next tune needs to be rock solid. Drop the difficulty through the floor and get your dancers dancing again as quickly as possible. Don't dwell and let the dancers forget it ever happened.
Afterwards either ask the band to play it for you again if you have time and see if you can work it out collectively or just say something on the lines of "It's a shame I just couldn't seem to get the hang of tune X, is there something unusual about it?" Ideally of course the band will have been paying attention and be suitably annoyed at themselves that they didn't get it right (the absolute optimal response of course would have been for the band to have changed tune).
Bob
On Tue, May 30, 2017 at 10:16 PM, Martha Wild via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
So, a while back I was working with a band and they played a tune that was sort of new for them, and the A part was fine, but the B part was unusual anyway, and hard to know where the count was, in particular because they were unfamiliar with it, and I tried to count and call so the dancers could keep going, and it kept coming back together in the A, but falling apart in the B, until things snowballed and the dance completely fell apart. What is the best thing to do or say in a situation like that so that the band doesn’t feel too much as if it is their fault, and the dancers don’t feel it’s their fault? And yes, it’s always the caller’s fault, since I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what the heck was going on with that tune, but the dancers couldn’t find their way in it either. Anyway, back to what to do to make everyone feel a little better after that.
Martha
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Wrote this over the last several months and called it last night in
Charlotte:
Swim at Round Pond, improper
A1 1's in the middle gypsy and swing
A2 Circle left 1x and neighbor swing
B1 Down the hall four in line, turn alone, come back
B2 Neighbor balance, 2's gate 1's down the middle, New neighbor mirror
do si do
The dance ends up being a bit on the ECD side. It was written in honor
of my literally hot week at the CDSS Pinewoods Camp last summer. I took
many swims at Round Pond right outside Nonesuch cabin.
Stephanie Marie
