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2524 discussions

by John Sweeney via Callers

Yes, the spiral is traditional! It is part of the Grand March which goes back at least a couple of centuries. I call a Grand March by leading it, with my wife. I wear a wireless head mike so my hands are free. We just start promenading around the dance-floor encouraging everyone to follow us. For the stationary Arbor/Tunnel, once I have got couples making arches I drop out and go to the end to start leading people single-file through the tunnel. When we get to the March By Platoons (2s, 4,s 8s) my wife goes to the bottom of the hall to direct the joinings, while I stay at the top to direct the alternate directions. We find linking elbows makes the best lines - they are more compact for the turns at the bottom of the hall. I use the longest march/reel track I have at around 116 to 120 bpm - a good walking speed, or tell the band to keep playing. It works with any group. I often finish in a circle with Everyone into the middle Ladies in and clap Men in and clap Swing your partner There are a number of references here: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/dihtml/dihome.html Search for "grand march" For example, select "Prof. M. J. Koncen's quadrille call book and ball room guide" View text Turn to Page 15 You get descriptions of all these Grand March figures: The Serpentine (Spiral) By Platoons (2s, 4s, 8s) In Column (Zig Zags) In Single File The Arbor (Tunnels) We quite often do The Arbor as a two-handed tunnel, then I take one member of the rearmost couple by the hand and start a single file line up through the Arbor - that leaves us in a single file ready for The Serpentine. You can also do The Arbor with the arching couples moving back over the other couples - single-handed arches work best then. When you finish By Platoons in lines of 8 or 16 across you take the left hand person of the front line by the hand and lead the front line across the front of the line then weave down between the lines, telling each left-hand end person to join the end of the line when it reaches them. If they have lots of energy I get them all doing step-kicks in the lines while waiting. The following video shows a classic Grand March: http://www.walternelson.com/dr/grand-march One version of a Grand March is described here: http://www.dancingmasters.com/workshops/downloads/GrandMarch.pdf I wouldn't use the chorus described, but it has nice description of a Serpentine/Spiral variant - that random tunneling is the only move I would be careful with if the group is inexperienced. Another short section of Grand Marching is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNHLBUi6d-w from 3:43 Hope that helps. ☺ Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent

9 years, 4 months

Re: [Callers] Family dance questions

by Linda Leslie via Callers

Thanks for the compliment, Bree! If folks would like to look at other easy dances (including Do Si Three), I have a list of some that I have put together; you can see them at www.lindalesliecaller.website As for the circle/spiral…..I learned it from someone a long time ago (I don’t remember now who it was). My impression is that the dance is surely traditional, and so I never take credit for it, but admire the probably folk process that put it together. Linda On Aug 4, 2015, at 11:03 AM, Bree Kalb via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > I've done house parties with just a fiddler who was very familiar with dance music and knows how to maintain the beat and play square tunes. Not everyone can do that. Does your dance community have a list serve or Facebook page where you can ask for that kind of assistance? Unless you can find someone with those skills, it might be best to have no music. > > Linda Leslie's DoSiThree is one of my favorite beginner dances, but usually after they've done some simple circles. Linda posted here a week or so ago her excellent strategy for getting people dancing and into a spiral that turns into a partner-less circle. I thought I 'invented' that approach, but it seems at least 2 of us came up with the idea. It works really well, especially if you enlist some helpers to get it started and to urge their friends to join. When I call at weddings I make it a condition of my contract that the bride and groom will play that role for at least the first dance. > > > > > > On Tue, Aug 4, 2015 at 6:18 AM, Claire Takemori via Callers<callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > I want to learn to call & share family dances with more kids to spread folk music and dancing in our area (SF bay area, near Santa Cruz). > > I've got an opportunity to teach dances for my son's nature class. It will range in age from 5 to 15 years. There's an option to work with just 8 years and up for some or all of the dancing. > > My questions: > > 1. Can you recommend some really fun dances for starting out? The first couple have be great so I can win them over with fun. > > 2. I'm wondering how vital music is to the success? I think really great live music is a major part of my joy of contra dancing. We are not allowed to use electrical amplification. I'm wondering if I could use a single fiddler? And how do I locate a local fiddler who might volunteer playing? Maybe a talented youth? > > 3. I won't have a mic and will have to use a bullhorn. Any advice? I don't have a naturally loud voice, but do sing so I know about projection and belly breathing. > > 4. They are thinking of 8 consecutive weeks, once a week for 15-30 minutes (before nature classes head out hiking). Is 8 weeks a good initial exposure? How long should each session last, 30 minutes? > > 5. We might culminate with a "field trip" to a local barn dance. Any advice for the preparation for that? > > Thanks for any advice! > > claire takemori > > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net > > > Bree Kalb, LCSW > 301 W. Weaver St. > Carrboro, NC 27510 > 919-932-6262 ext 216 > http://www.thewellnessalliance.com/BreeKalb.html > https://www.facebook.com/carrborokorumindfulness > > Regarding the Use of Email -- Please Note: Although I use a firewall and my computer is password protected, my emails are not encrypted. Therefore, I cannot guarantee confidentiality of email communication. If you choose to communicate confidential information with me via email, I will assume that you have made an informed decision and I will view it as your agreement to take the risk that email may be intercepted. Please be aware that email is never an appropriate vehicle for emergency communication. If you are canceling an appointment less than 48 hours in advance, please also leave me a voice mail message at my office. > > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

9 years, 4 months

Re: [Callers] Family dance questions

by Bree Kalb via Callers

9 years, 4 months

[Callers] Family dance questions

by Claire Takemori via Callers

I want to learn to call & share family dances with more kids to spread folk music and dancing in our area (SF bay area, near Santa Cruz). I've got an opportunity to teach dances for my son's nature class. It will range in age from 5 to 15 years. There's an option to work with just 8 years and up for some or all of the dancing. My questions: 1. Can you recommend some really fun dances for starting out? The first couple have be great so I can win them over with fun. 2. I'm wondering how vital music is to the success? I think really great live music is a major part of my joy of contra dancing. We are not allowed to use electrical amplification. I'm wondering if I could use a single fiddler? And how do I locate a local fiddler who might volunteer playing? Maybe a talented youth? 3. I won't have a mic and will have to use a bullhorn. Any advice? I don't have a naturally loud voice, but do sing so I know about projection and belly breathing. 4. They are thinking of 8 consecutive weeks, once a week for 15-30 minutes (before nature classes head out hiking). Is 8 weeks a good initial exposure? How long should each session last, 30 minutes? 5. We might culminate with a "field trip" to a local barn dance. Any advice for the preparation for that? Thanks for any advice! claire takemori

9 years, 4 months

Re: [Callers] [Musicians] worthiness of a tune for contra?

by Erik Hoffman via Callers

I, too, had no trouble hearing phrases of 4-beats, 8-beats, and the major parts. (In music speak: 2-bar phrases, 4-bar phrases, and 8-bar parts.) I would have no trouble calling to either tune in that video. Thus, I'm also curious about what makes it hard to hear, for those of you who have trouble with it. ~erik hoffman oakland, ca On 7/30/2015 6:52 PM, James Saxe via Musicians wrote: > After Emily Addison asked about the tunes in this video > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DkJQ9xNGuU > > several people commented that they found the phrasing of > the jig (Jim Rumboldt's Tune) deceptive. I'm curious to > know what any of you--or other list members--think after > listening to it at 1.25x speed, as described in my previous > message (quoted below). > > I did a little searching for other videos of the tune. > This one > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx_E3qeZAfQ > > is played at about 165 bpm. If it were played at a > normal contra tempo and with a clear four-beat intro, but > otherwise in the same style as in the video, I think it > would be fine for dancing. Yes, there are a couple places > where, if I started the video at a random point in the > tune, I could momentarily wonder whether a particular note > was a pick-up note or the true beat 1 of a new phrase. > But, to my ear, there are enough other places where the > phrasing is quite clear so that it's not a problem. I'd > be interested in reading other people's reactions. > > I found another rendition starting about 3:15 in this > video > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCnFlmrN1mk > > with tempo in the high 140s. I can't make sense of > the phrasing in this one at all. It seems to me it's a > different, and genuinely crooked, variant of the tune. > Does anyone disagree. > > After watching that last video, I tried searching for abc > notation or pdfs of sheet music or tablature to see whether > I'd find notation for different versions--straight vs. > crooked--of the tune. So far, however, I haven't turned > up any notation at all. > > --Jim > >> On Jul 30, 2015, at 1:58 AM, James Saxe <jim.saxe(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> >> I'm a mere caller and pretty much a musical muggle, but >> here are some observations about the jig for what they're >> worth. >> >> First off, in the video the jig is played at about 93 or 94 >> beats per minute (based on my stopwatch timing, which also >> appears to agree closely with the YouTube time counter). >> You might get a better idea of how it would sound as a dance >> tuen by playing it at 1.25x speed. (Click on the gear-shaped >> "Settings" button near the lower right of the YouTube video >> frame; then click on the Speed box (typically defaulting >> to "Normal"); then click "1.25" in the menu that pops up. >> YouTube should then play at 1.25x normal speed but with the >> audio pitch-shifted back down to normal pitch.) > <remainder snipped> > > > _______________________________________________ > Musicians mailing list > Musicians(a)lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/musicians-sharedweight.net > > >

9 years, 4 months

Re: [Callers] "Flash Mob" dances

by Claire Takemori via Callers

Alan, I went to the demo contra last year. I had only been doing contra for a year and found it a little intimidating to ask strangers out of the crowd to join us. For me, it would've been great to add in the FB announcement a little blurb about having experienced dancers ask the crowd to join before each dance. That way those of us who might be intimidated by that can prepare a little mentally for the task..... I love the ideas Linda wrote for an initial crowd gathering technique. I'd also really LOVE to do a REAL flash mob contra sometime, and maybe we can get someone to do a nice video for BACDS. Could be a fabulous promo. It would be cool to start with a violin and 2 couples , then have folks/musicians dribble in by 1s or 2s. Obviously everyone knows the first dance by heart already. Then the caller comes at the end to start a new dance! Thanks for doing that again Alan! Looks like a great time. Claire Takemori Message: 1 Date: Sun, 26 Jul 2015 20:52:13 -0700 From: Alan Winston via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> To: <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> Subject: [Callers] "Flash Mob" dances Message-ID: <55B5AAED.4020808(a)slac.stanford.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; format=flowed Over in San Jose we've just done a second annual not-really-flash-mob dance. Symphony Silicon Valley does a free public series of Pops concerts, get permission from them, pick one, get a bunch of volunteer dancers and a pickup band, print up some flyers and put up a sign with the sponsoring organization logo and URL, We put up a sign with the name of the organization, set up in the path of foot traffic to the concert spot, and do an hour and a half (or so) of easy contra dances, encouraging passersby to join in and hooking them up with more-experienced partners. This is successful in terms of getting some exposure, and today we got somewhere between a half-dozen and a dozen new people to actually try it, and probably moved 25 flyers. Nobody got hurt, some of the dancers stayed for several dances, etc. We flushed out some old square dancers (who of course wanted to swing once around and wait for the next call) and some previous non-dancers of various ages. (I was calling. First round was missing many volunteer dancers and had multiple newbies, so I did a one-night-stand dance ("Up the Sides and Down the Middle") rather than a duple-minor contra; then Cranky Ingenuity, Inflation Reel, Kitchen Stomp, and Delphiniums and Daisies.) Posting to ask if people who've done this kind of thing have any tips or tricks to get things going. As caller I relied on my volunteer dancers to do the recruiting, and people had different comfort and skill levels doing that. Is there something I can tell them that will increase their comfort in talking to strangers? Thanks! -- Alan

9 years, 4 months

Re: [Callers] "Flash Mob" dances

by Mac Mckeever via Callers

What we do and what I think Alan is referring to is a bit different. He already has a critical mass of experienced dancers - so he can do beginner level contras and even a bit above that level. You often end up with about 1/3 new dancers. We have done this many times without having to go to one night stand type dances. It is really good at encourage the new people to attend a regular dance. We have often set up in areas where there is good cultural diversity to help us out in that area. We used to do about one a month in good weather - but have tapered off lately. We need to start these up again. Mac Mckeever From: Jack Mitchell via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> To: Linda Leslie <laleslierjg(a)comcast.net>; Alan Winston <winston(a)slac.stanford.edu> Cc: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net Sent: Monday, July 27, 2015 9:58 AM Subject: Re: [Callers] "Flash Mob" dances LInda-- I love those ideas for getting folks out on the floor. So simple. Thanks! On Mon, Jul 27, 2015 at 10:51 AM Linda Leslie via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: What a great idea, Alan! I hope you are able to continue this as a successful annual event! Whenever I find folks are reluctant to join in dances (weddings, parties, etc.,), I find a surefire solution is to begin with a no-partner circle. I hold hands with the “volunteer” dancers, and snake around the area, picking up folks as we go by them. You can encourage folks with happy smiles, “Join us!” and other exhortations….Once we have a good group, I close the circle, and do hash calls: circle left, circle right, single file left, right, all f&b, “everybody over 50 into the center and back”, etc., etc. I then from a circle left, become the lead again, and spiral the circle in, then back out. It is wonderful how this simple movement to music, and the surprise of reversing the spiral makes people happy, From here, I would have people pair up and do a very simple circle mixer, which gets them used to the P change idea. Then the simple contras. Looking forward to seeing the other suggestions that folks offer you! warmly, Linda On Jul 26, 2015, at 11:52 PM, Alan Winston via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > Over in San Jose we've just done a second annual not-really-flash-mob dance. Symphony Silicon Valley does a free public series of Pops concerts, get permission from them, pick one, get a bunch of volunteer dancers and a pickup band, print up some flyers and put up a sign with the sponsoring organization logo and URL, We put up a sign with the name of the organization, set up in the path of foot traffic to the concert spot, and do an hour and a half (or so) of easy contra dances, encouraging passersby to join in and hooking them up with more-experienced partners. > > This is successful in terms of getting some exposure, and today we got somewhere between a half-dozen and a dozen new people to actually try it, and probably moved 25 flyers. Nobody got hurt, some of the dancers stayed for several dances, etc. We flushed out some old square dancers (who of course wanted to swing once around and wait for the next call) and some previous non-dancers of various ages. > > (I was calling. First round was missing many volunteer dancers and had multiple newbies, so I did a one-night-stand dance ("Up the Sides and Down the Middle") rather than a duple-minor contra; then Cranky Ingenuity, Inflation Reel, Kitchen Stomp, and Delphiniums and Daisies.) > > Posting to ask if people who've done this kind of thing have any tips or tricks to get things going. > > As caller I relied on my volunteer dancers to do the recruiting, and people had different comfort and skill levels doing that. Is there something I can tell them that will increase their comfort in talking to strangers? > > Thanks! > > -- Alan > > _______________________________________________ > 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 -- Jack Mitchell Durham, NC _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

9 years, 4 months

[Callers] "Flash Mob" dances

by Alan Winston via Callers

Over in San Jose we've just done a second annual not-really-flash-mob dance. Symphony Silicon Valley does a free public series of Pops concerts, get permission from them, pick one, get a bunch of volunteer dancers and a pickup band, print up some flyers and put up a sign with the sponsoring organization logo and URL, We put up a sign with the name of the organization, set up in the path of foot traffic to the concert spot, and do an hour and a half (or so) of easy contra dances, encouraging passersby to join in and hooking them up with more-experienced partners. This is successful in terms of getting some exposure, and today we got somewhere between a half-dozen and a dozen new people to actually try it, and probably moved 25 flyers. Nobody got hurt, some of the dancers stayed for several dances, etc. We flushed out some old square dancers (who of course wanted to swing once around and wait for the next call) and some previous non-dancers of various ages. (I was calling. First round was missing many volunteer dancers and had multiple newbies, so I did a one-night-stand dance ("Up the Sides and Down the Middle") rather than a duple-minor contra; then Cranky Ingenuity, Inflation Reel, Kitchen Stomp, and Delphiniums and Daisies.) Posting to ask if people who've done this kind of thing have any tips or tricks to get things going. As caller I relied on my volunteer dancers to do the recruiting, and people had different comfort and skill levels doing that. Is there something I can tell them that will increase their comfort in talking to strangers? Thanks! -- Alan

9 years, 4 months

[Callers] Sticky floors

by jean francis via Callers

another option is to buy shuffleboard wax (ebay or large janitorial supplies) aka ballroom wax. This is a fine powdered wax that comes in various "slipperiness" grades...a tiny bit of a moderate slipperiness goes a very very long way. A container the size of a kitchen cleanser 'can' could last an entire dance community a year. Since it is a wax, I imagine it is good for wood floors, however the venue must be consulted and there is some danger from exuberant use such that folks could end up horizontal. Sprinkling it evenly around the floor and then sweeping it off before the dance will generally leave a beneficial amount. Alternate solutions might be to offer a 'step in' tray of it, where those who found the floor too sticky might smoosh their shoes in it briefly or a bottle could be passed around so dancers could put a pinch in their palms and rub it on the bottom of their dance shoes from time to time. I suspect this works best on smooth soles (suede, leather, composite) and not so well on 'tread' soles like athletic shoes. I carry a small plastic bottle of this to all dance events to rub on my own shoe soles.

9 years, 5 months

Re: [Callers] sticky floors

by Bill Olson via Callers

yep, that was my point I guess.. We as dancers look at these big wooden floors as great dance venues but in fact the intended use is completely different! b > From: donperley(a)gmail.com > Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2015 08:01:48 -0400 > Subject: Re: [Callers] sticky floors > To: callbill(a)hotmail.com > CC: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > > On Mon, Jul 20, 2015 at 4:21 PM, Bill Olson via Callers > <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > > They are often very proprietorial about their floors, > > especially schools! The sad thing is a lot of venues think a "shiny floor" > > is the best floor. > > For a gym floor, it's primary function is sports. For a lot of those > you want to be able to apply large horizontal forces without your feet > slipping out from under you. How much sympathy can you expect when > you say you want more slide?

9 years, 5 months

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