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2524 discussions

by Susan McElroy-Marcus via Callers

Just a bit of Louisville dance community history on this subject—when my husband started dancing there in the late 70’s and I came in 1982, the Monday night dance was a mix of English and contra. The default contradance star grip was the “wrist lock” not hands across as in English. We called it a basket handhold or wrist grip. Our influence came from New England because our friend, Norb Spencer, who started the group along with Marie and Frank (Cassidy?) and who called much of the time—learned in New England. We then taught it that way when we moved to Cincinnati and started that group. Louisville only became a “bastion of hands-across-by-default” sometime in the late 1990’s or ealy 2000’s during my calling hiatus. When I re-entered the calling scene 6-7 years ago, I was surprised and bemused upon calling in Louisville to learn of the high regard held for their ‘traditional’ hands-across star style. Susan McElroy-Marcus From: Chet Gray via Callers Sent: Monday, October 10, 2016 9:44 AM To: Tim Klein Cc: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net Subject: Re: [Callers] Wrist-Lock Stars I tend to consider my home dance, Louisville, KY, and nearby Lexington, as two of the last bastions of hands-across-by-default. Wrist-grip seems to be the default (for contra; squares are a different matter) even in relatively nearby cities: Indianapolis, Bloomington, IN, Nashville, Cincinnati. Not sure about Berea and Somerset, KY, also nearby. I'd be hesitant to use weekends, Flurry in particular, as bellwethers of what is typical in anything but weekends. I'd wager that the vast majority of contra dancers, even habitual dancers, have never been to a dance weekend, perhaps not even their "home" weekend. Just as there is a sort of "weekend-style" dance program, there is a "weekend-style" of dancing that is a pidgin not necessarily representative of any particular regional style. On Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 9:41 AM, Tim Klein via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: I call for dances in Knoxville, TN and occasionally in the surrounding area (Jonesboro, Chattanooga). I've been dancing here for 30 years. Kaufman was correct. I recall hands across stars in Knoxville, Atlanta, Brasstown, Asheville and points between, but wrist grip stars in Lexington, Louisville and Nashville. I'm certain about Knoxville, but perhaps others can confirm for the other cities. The wrist star has gradually taken over as the default in the area, but a couple of us old-timers are still holding out. I still teach the hands across star in the pre-dance lesson because it's quicker, but acknowledge that there are variations. When I call and dance, I still prompt and encourage the hands-across grip. We've got to hold onto our traditions and fight the globalization of contra, right? Of course, there are situations where one variety works better than another - to/from a move with an adjacent person (star to alemande, courtesy turn to star) suggests a wrist star, while moves where the contact is across (star old neighbors to star with new, ladies start star then gents join in) suggest the hands across. In those cases, I'll explicitly suggest one version in the walk through. Tim Klein Knoxville, TN ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Dave Casserly via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> To: John Sweeney <john(a)modernjive.com> Cc: "callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net" <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> Sent: Monday, October 10, 2016 8:37 AM Subject: Re: [Callers] Wrist-Lock Stars Jeff Kaufman wrote a paper on regional variations in contra dance. Here's what he found for wrist-grip stars (page 31 of the link). Basically, they're common everywhere in the US except in some parts of the South. This is based on data from ten or more years ago, so I'm not sure if that's still true. I would not be surprised if it isn't-- there's enough cross-contamination that wrist-grips could have taken over even in the South. We do have people from Georgia and North Carolina on the list; hopefully they'll chime in. -Dave Washington, DC On Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 4:31 AM, John Sweeney via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: Hi all, I have been to contra dances and festivals all over America and everywhere I have danced everyone automatically uses a wrist-lock star (unless the caller has specified hands-across because of the subsequent choreography). But I am constantly challenged in England by people claiming that wrist-lock stars are not the standard in America. When I go to somewhere like The Flurry and see 600 people from all over the country all doing wrist-locks it seems to me that it must be the standard way of doing things. And obviously it has been common in America for a long time; this video is from 1964 in Northern Vermont and shows wrist-lock stars: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=pZubTju7g_s So, are there still significant communities that don't use wrist-locks? Is the wrist-lock the de facto standard? Thanks. Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574 http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive Events & DVDs http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent ______________________________ _________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/ listinfo.cgi/callers- sharedweight.net -- David Casserly (cell) 781 258-2761 _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

8 years, 3 months

Re: [Callers] Good dances for beginners to safely leave/return to minor set.

by Chet Gray via Callers

Maia, thanks for sharing Will's advice on "go back to". I appreciate his insight on word choice. I called "Becky's Brouhaha", shared by Meg Dedolph yesterday, last night in Louisville, and, though it went quite well overall, I think a few small hiccups early on could have been avoided with "return to" rather than "back to". Noted for the future. Does anybody have any experience with using "original neighbor" vs "current neighbor" in these outside-minor-set-interaction dances? My thinking is to prefer "current neighbor" for dances with previous neighbor interaction, and "original neighbor" for dances with future neighbor interaction, but I don't have enough evidence for any strong decision in the matter. On Tue, Oct 11, 2016 at 9:04 AM, Maia McCormick via Callers < callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > Anything that gets a laugh is more likely to be remembered. I've heard > folks (Adina Gordon comes to mind) say something like: "If there's no one > on your left diagonal... (dramatic pause) ...for the love of God, don't do > anything!" Still don't have a particularly good way to get folks back IN on > a diagonal though, eagerly following this thread for that! > > I *will* mention a bit of advice I got (believe it was from the esteemed > Will Mentor) on calling new/old neighbor figures: and that's to avoid use > of the phase "go BACK to your..." because to many that implies backwards > motion and generally folks will be walking forward, and you only perceive > that direction as "back" if you have a pretty well-developed sense of > contra geography. Instead, say something like "return". I also find it > useful, in this cases, to give the players funny and memorable names other > than "current neighbor" and "next neighbor"--like maybe your "one true > neighbor"? > > Cheers, > Maia > > On Tue, Oct 11, 2016 at 8:27 AM, K Panton via Callers < > callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > >> Thanks to all for the ideas. >> >> Special thanks to Maia! >> >> If anyone has insights into teaching diagonal figures to the uninitiated >> I'd love to hear them. >> >> Ken >> >> On Oct 10, 2016 12:36, "K Panton" <panton90(a)tricolour.queensu.ca> wrote: >> >>> 3-33-33 is not a good choice for introducing beginners to extra-4some >>> expeditions. I've also found that a diagonal chain followed by a >>> straight-across figure causes confusion. >>> >>> The Young Adult Rose,and others, have a pass-through to shadow allemande >>> which is doable. >>> >>> Does anyone have some reliable key to unlock this mystery for new >>> dancers, thereby opening up a whole new world! >>> >>> Thanks >>> >>> Ken >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Callers mailing list >> Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net >> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net > >

8 years, 3 months

Re: [Callers] Good dances for beginners to safely leave/return to minor set.

by Maia McCormick via Callers

Anything that gets a laugh is more likely to be remembered. I've heard folks (Adina Gordon comes to mind) say something like: "If there's no one on your left diagonal... (dramatic pause) ...for the love of God, don't do anything!" Still don't have a particularly good way to get folks back IN on a diagonal though, eagerly following this thread for that! I *will* mention a bit of advice I got (believe it was from the esteemed Will Mentor) on calling new/old neighbor figures: and that's to avoid use of the phase "go BACK to your..." because to many that implies backwards motion and generally folks will be walking forward, and you only perceive that direction as "back" if you have a pretty well-developed sense of contra geography. Instead, say something like "return". I also find it useful, in this cases, to give the players funny and memorable names other than "current neighbor" and "next neighbor"--like maybe your "one true neighbor"? Cheers, Maia On Tue, Oct 11, 2016 at 8:27 AM, K Panton via Callers < callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > Thanks to all for the ideas. > > Special thanks to Maia! > > If anyone has insights into teaching diagonal figures to the uninitiated > I'd love to hear them. > > Ken > > On Oct 10, 2016 12:36, "K Panton" <panton90(a)tricolour.queensu.ca> wrote: > >> 3-33-33 is not a good choice for introducing beginners to extra-4some >> expeditions. I've also found that a diagonal chain followed by a >> straight-across figure causes confusion. >> >> The Young Adult Rose,and others, have a pass-through to shadow allemande >> which is doable. >> >> Does anyone have some reliable key to unlock this mystery for new >> dancers, thereby opening up a whole new world! >> >> Thanks >> >> Ken >> > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net > >

8 years, 3 months

Re: [Callers] Good dances for beginners to safely leave/return to minor set.

by K Panton via Callers

Thanks to all for the ideas. Special thanks to Maia! If anyone has insights into teaching diagonal figures to the uninitiated I'd love to hear them. Ken On Oct 10, 2016 12:36, "K Panton" <panton90(a)tricolour.queensu.ca> wrote: > 3-33-33 is not a good choice for introducing beginners to extra-4some > expeditions. I've also found that a diagonal chain followed by a > straight-across figure causes confusion. > > The Young Adult Rose,and others, have a pass-through to shadow allemande > which is doable. > > Does anyone have some reliable key to unlock this mystery for new dancers, > thereby opening up a whole new world! > > Thanks > > Ken >

8 years, 3 months

Re: [Callers] Wrist-Lock Stars

by Robert Livingston via Callers

Millstone or "windmill" - term I've seen used in print for older Canadian dances. Bob Livingston From: Angela DeCarlis via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> To: Jacob or Nancy Bloom <jandnbloom(a)gmail.com> Cc: callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> Sent: Monday, October 10, 2016 12:45 PM Subject: Re: [Callers] Wrist-Lock Stars I've never heard "millstone" or "mill" before, but it sounds like it has precedence. My guess is that it was (is?) a useful term at dances where hands-across stars are default. Since that isn't generally the case in many places any longer, it makes sense that "hands-across" has become the more useful modifier. On Oct 10, 2016 11:37 AM, "Jacob or Nancy Bloom via Callers" <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: When I attended the Berea Christmas Dance School forty years ago, and put my hand on the wrist in front of me during a walk through, someone complained, saying, "He said a star, not a mill!" Is the term "mill", or the term "millstone", commonly used to refer to wrist stars in areas where hands-across is the default way of doing a star? Jacob Bloom On Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 10:29 AM, Jerome Grisanti via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight. net> wrote: I agree with Chet that Louisville's default star is hands-across, although weekend festivals in nearby cities tend toward the millstone star. I avoid the terms wrist-lock or even wrist-grip star, as I prefer the fingers to lay atop the adjoining wrist without using the thumb to "grip" in any way. The Midwest where I dance/call now is pretty solidly wrist-star territory (St. Louis, Columbia MO, Kansas City, Lawrence). When I call one-night events (parties, weddings), I dictate hands-across stars, but when calling for an established contra community I ask for the default. --Jerome Jerome Grisanti 660-528-0858 http://www.jeromegrisanti.com "Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it." --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe On Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 3:31 AM, John Sweeney via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.ne t> wrote: Hi all, I have been to contra dances and festivals all over America and everywhere I have danced everyone automatically uses a wrist-lock star (unless the caller has specified hands-across because of the subsequent choreography). But I am constantly challenged in England by people claiming that wrist-lock stars are not the standard in America. When I go to somewhere like The Flurry and see 600 people from all over the country all doing wrist-locks it seems to me that it must be the standard way of doing things. And obviously it has been common in America for a long time; this video is from 1964 in Northern Vermont and shows wrist-lock stars: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=pZubTju7g_s So, are there still significant communities that don't use wrist-locks? Is the wrist-lock the de facto standard? Thanks. Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574 http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive Events & DVDs http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent ______________________________ _________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/ listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedwei ght.net ______________________________ _________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/ listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedwei ght.net -- jandnbloom@gmail.comhttp://jacobbloom.net/ ______________________________ _________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/ listinfo.cgi/callers- sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

8 years, 3 months

Re: [Callers] Good dances for beginners to safely leave/return to minor set.

by Don Veino via Callers

With more experience I've become very sensitive to when to use dances that include out-of-set action. For me, once you get to something like ~20% of the hall being "new", I likely won't include any out of set dances in the first half (second half, only if things are going well). Cal and Irene by Dan Pearl is one I do use a fair bit when introducing out of set action: A1 (16) N Bal., & Swing (SHDW on Lt. Diag. while facing in) A2 (2,6) N Slide Lt., Cir. Lt. 3/4 (SHDW in this Cir./Ring) (4,4) Ring Bal., N Calif. Twirl B1 (16) P Bal., & Swing B2 (8) Rt. & Lt. Thru **OR** P Prom. Across (6,2) Cir. Lt. 3/4, Pass Thru Up/Dn The parts are basic and common earlier in a program. The CA Twirl to face P is an AHA! moment. I now stress that the A2 Circle is NOT with your Partner (but you'll come back to them) in the teaching. I can vividly remember a dancer that repeatedly "fixed" that circle to be with their P every time through the dance, breaking it for those around them. Call coaching didn't work, I had to get on the floor and "twin" them once through the dance to convince them it was OK to separate. I've recently come up with the following, which I've had luck with under similar conditions, as you excurse and return with your Partner: (I'll Take) What's Behind Door #2 - DI - Don Veino 20160822 A1 Star Right Neighbor Allemande Rt. 1+1/2 A2 Next Neighbors Star Left Original (A1 Allemande) Neighbor Swing B1 Circle Left 3/4, Partner Swing [alt. music fit: Give and Take to Gent's Side, Swing] B2 (Author preferred) Ring/4 Balance, Slide/Twirl Right 1x Neighbor Left Hand Balance, Pull By Up/Down (leisurely) B2 (Easier alternate) Ring/4 Balance, Slide/Twirl Right 1x Ring/4 Balance, Pass Through Up/Down Written to match with the tune Door County #2 by Larry Unger, but fits with other old timey or common tunes. -Don On Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 12:36 PM, K Panton via Callers < callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > > 3-33-33 is not a good choice for introducing beginners to extra-4some expeditions. I've also found that a diagonal chain followed by a straight-across figure causes confusion. > > The Young Adult Rose,and others, have a pass-through to shadow allemande which is doable. > > Does anyone have some reliable key to unlock this mystery for new dancers, thereby opening up a whole new world! > > Thanks > > Ken > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net <Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net <http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net> >

8 years, 3 months

Re: [Callers] Wrist-Lock Stars

by Andrea Nettleton via Callers

John, Somewhere south of Asheville and leading west possibly into the lower Midwest, is the land of hands across stars. They are standard in Atlanta, the heart of hands-across-land. Andrea Sent from my external brain > On Oct 10, 2016, at 8:37 AM, Dave Casserly via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > > Jeff Kaufman wrote a paper on regional variations in contra dance. Here's what he found for wrist-grip stars (page 31 of the link). Basically, they're common everywhere in the US except in some parts of the South. This is based on data from ten or more years ago, so I'm not sure if that's still true. I would not be surprised if it isn't-- there's enough cross-contamination that wrist-grips could have taken over even in the South. We do have people from Georgia and North Carolina on the list; hopefully they'll chime in. > > -Dave > Washington, DC > >> On Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 4:31 AM, John Sweeney via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: >> Hi all, >> I have been to contra dances and festivals all over America and >> everywhere I have danced everyone automatically uses a wrist-lock star >> (unless the caller has specified hands-across because of the subsequent >> choreography). >> >> But I am constantly challenged in England by people claiming that >> wrist-lock stars are not the standard in America. >> >> When I go to somewhere like The Flurry and see 600 people from all >> over the country all doing wrist-locks it seems to me that it must be the >> standard way of doing things. >> >> And obviously it has been common in America for a long time; this >> video is from 1964 in Northern Vermont and shows wrist-lock stars: >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZubTju7g_s >> >> So, are there still significant communities that don't use >> wrist-locks? >> >> Is the wrist-lock the de facto standard? >> >> Thanks. >> >> Happy dancing, >> John >> >> John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 >> 940 574 >> http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive Events & DVDs >> http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Callers mailing list >> Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net >> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net > > > > -- > David Casserly > (cell) 781 258-2761 > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

8 years, 3 months

Re: [Callers] Good dances for beginners to safely leave/return to minor set.

by Tom Hinds via Callers

Cheat or swing in a square. On Oct 10, 2016, at 12:36 PM, K Panton via Callers wrote: > 3-33-33 is not a good choice for introducing beginners to > extra-4some expeditions. I've also found that a diagonal chain > followed by a straight-across figure causes confusion. > > The Young Adult Rose,and others, have a pass-through to shadow > allemande which is doable. > > Does anyone have some reliable key to unlock this mystery for new > dancers, thereby opening up a whole new world! > > Thanks > > Ken > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

8 years, 3 months

Re: [Callers] Wrist-Lock Stars

by Louise Siddons via Callers

Here in Oklahoma I call it a wagon-wheel grip, but I think I picked up that term in either Michigan or California when I was starting to dance contra circa 2008. Wagon-wheel stars are the default in OK/TX/KS/MO local dances, and also seem standard in the SF Bay Area. When I teach a star in a room with a lot of new dancers, I say “our convention here is to make a wagon-wheel in the middle — your hand should be on the wrist of the person in front of you.” Our intro workshops usually speak to the question of grip (nothing the other person can’t get out of wordlessly without injury, please), so we don’t generally get people who are gripping tightly. Incidentally, I enjoy the wagon wheel as a moment when experienced dancers can help new dancers have an “ah ha!” moment without disrupting my teaching. It’s a neat opportunity to introduce the concept of dancers being able to learn details of technique from each other, which I hope then continues throughout the evening. Louise (Stillwater, OK)

8 years, 3 months

[Callers] Mark Widmer's email address is changing

by via Callers

Please change your address book to use Mark Widmer's new email address: widmermt98(a)gmail.com The old email address (mark(a)harbormist.com) will be going away soon.

8 years, 3 months

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