Instead of an odd progression, I'd just start the dance at the A2 and make
it duple improper.
N B+S (4,12)
Hey (GL, PR, LL, NR) (16)
Gents cross L (2)
PS (14)
Circle L 3/4 (8, forgiving)
Bal Ring, Cali Twirl (4,4)
It's a nice simple Hey dance with two swings. Why complicate it with
unnecessary CCW Becket progression in the A1 when you can do a duple Imp
with a B2 progression?
Buy I suspect this one has to have been written already, no?
Ron Blechner
On Jul 11, 2015 2:32 PM, "Don Veino via Callers" <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Also it appears to progress backwards as noted - shouldn't it be
> Becket-CCW/Right instead?
>
> -Don
>
> On Sat, Jul 11, 2015 at 2:04 PM, James Saxe via Callers <
> callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>> Keith,
>>
>> I don't have a title or author for the dance you ask about,
>> but I hae a question. Are you sure you mean
>>
>> > B1 Hey for 4, M start R
>>
>> ? When men start a hey after a swing, I think it's much
>> more common for them to start by left shoulders than by
>> right.
>>
>> --Jim
>>
>>
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>
>
Keith,
I don't have a title or author for the dance you ask about,
but I hae a question. Are you sure you mean
> B1 Hey for 4, M start R
? When men start a hey after a swing, I think it's much
more common for them to start by left shoulders than by
right.
--Jim
> On Jul 11, 2015, at 10:57 AM, Keith Tuxhorn via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> Becket
>
> A1 Circle L 3/4; bal, CA twirl
> A2 N bal/swing
> B1 Hey for 4, M start R
> B2 M cross, P swing
>
> Thanks!
>
> Keith Tuxhorn
> Austin TX
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Thanks Alan! Sounds like a lot to learn. I'm really grateful that there are so many callers willing to mentor new callers and help with these things.
When I called at camp last week, I was listening for the 3rd song and even my experienced caller helper was not sure on the transition....... but knew when to ask.
Must be an amazing thing when really good callers like George Marshall can get out on the floor and dance for a bit, or Nils Fredland can join the band......
Thanks for all the help!
claire
Message: 3
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2015 00:31:54 -0700
From: Alan Winston via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
To: <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Thanks
Message-ID: <559F74EA.4010603(a)slac.stanford.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"; format=flowed
On 7/9/15 11:58 PM, Claire Takemori via Callers wrote:
>
> I'm still looking for good instructions on when to cue the band for the ending? Is it simply when a couple is out at the top that you signal during B1 that there are 3 more times left?
Basically, mostly.
And you have to stay with them because sometimes they'll catch the 3,
know it's happening, and then look to you for confirmation of the last
one and if you're thinking about the next dance or glazing over and
can't confirm it, confusion may ensue. So it doesn't hurt to be ready
to show them 1 finger (not that one) before the last time. Usually a
full 3-2-1 is more than they need and actually unhelpful because your
coming over with the "2" makes them think this is new information and
they need to process it.
Complications: Some dances have a couple out at the top in B1 who are
going to be brought back in B2, so you have to know the end effects of
the dance.
Talk to the band.
Rarely (in the Bay Area, anyway) you get an old-timey band that's just
going to pound one tune all the way through, and they just want to know
when to go out.
I've mostly been used to bands that are playing three-tune medleys.
They're going to play like 6-6-7 or 6-6-5. The last tune is probably
climactic so you don't want to cut it short. You ideally will keep
track of which tune they're on (which can be surprisingly hard to do
from the stage with your attention on the floor and no monitors pointing
at you and the tune sounding different every time they play it because
of variations and dynamics - you might not realize they've changed) and
know when they're in the third tune and give them the 3-more at B1 of
tune 2 or 4. If you give 'em 3 when they're about to change tunes
they might wave you off and play 5.
But the band might want to play a two-tune medley, and then they want to
know when you're (about) halfway through the dance so they know when to
switch, and for that you have to decide how many times you want to run
the dance, keep count of how many times it's been run by the time you
said it was halfway, and count down to your "3", remembering to do it
when there's a couple out at the top, if that's possible.
"If that's possible" because sometimes you're trying to manage all this
and some couple drops out of one set or tries and fails to trade or some
other damn thing and the sets get out of synch. (For some reason that's
happened to me most often calling Lake City.) Then it's not possible to
finish after a couple has come in at the top in all sets.
People who care about that care about that, most won't notice, and a
lot of dancers will just say "huh" and move on if they do notice it.
>
>
> What I was mostly curious is if someone had written out ways to teach the various steps. I guess this is one of those things that is still passed down the old-fashioned way. I have to find a great caller, listen to them call and write down what they say..... I was hoping I would not have to miss out on dancing to learn this.
You can set up a voice recorder and transcribe later. (Polite to ask if
it's okay first.) If you're friends with the sound man you might the
caller mic feed ...
-- Alan
Thank you for all the great advice!
I do plan to call a simple contra that is still interesting to the experienced dancers. I have no ideas of calling hard figures until I've got experience and am ready.
I'm still looking for good instructions on when to cue the band for the ending? Is it simply when a couple is out at the top that you signal during B1 that there are 3 more times left?
What I was mostly curious is if someone had written out ways to teach the various steps. I guess this is one of those things that is still passed down the old-fashioned way. I have to find a great caller, listen to them call and write down what they say..... I was hoping I would not have to miss out on dancing to learn this.
Thanks for the help.
claire takemori
Hi Callers,
In a couple of weeks, I'll be calling the annual Ferry Boat Contra for the second time. Last year I put a good deal of effort into coming up with nautical themes/jokes, so this year I'll really need to go "overboard."
I'd love to hear your ideas regarding entertaining (but not distracting) maritime moves/terminology/jokes/trivia to add into my program. The majority of folks in my area have at least been on a boat other than a ferry, and a number sail regularly, but I'd rather keep the references from becoming too obscure.
Looking forward to your suggestions!
Lindsey(Tacoma, WA)
Hi. I just called my first contra dance at camp last week. I didn't die, so I'm thinking of working with our son's nature class to do some family dances.
In the meantime, I will try to call a contra when I can as a guest at our local dances.
Do you know of a source/s (would you share yours) that has good clear wording for how to teach things like Hey, Pull-by, California Twirl, Petronella, Rory O'more, etc?
I will ask good callers if I can record their teachings when I'm at dances with lots of beginners.....
Where else can I learn good, simple wording? I sure don't want to reinvent it myself......
Thanks!
claire takemori
On 7/8/2015 1:00 PM, Maia McCormick via Callers wrote:
> If you can get the band on-board, any number of sea chanteys are
> contra-tune-able--for instance, Drunken Sailor and South Australia, in
> addition to the sea songs already in the repertoire like Sailor's
> Hornpipe (which turns up in the Popeye theme!). Also, He's a Pirate from
> Pirates of the Caribbean is loads of fun to dance to (I've got a version
> that I engraved if you/the band wants).
>
> As far as dances in the theme, A Pirate's Life for Me by Nathaniel Jack,
> High Seas by Diane Silver, and Captain Shank's Revenge by Maggie Jo
> Saylor all come to mind, and I'm sure there are loads more! (Though my
> favorite part about Captain Shank can be applied to pretty much any
> dance: in a Petronella, instead of clapping, shout "yo ho!")
Andrea Nettleton may have already responded offline, but she's written a
really fun contra called Pirates Across The Atlantic, based on an
English dance called Dancing Across The Atlantic (by Loretta Holz). The
distinctive opening figure has a chase move that can get really silly.
Did someone already mention Nathaniel Jack's "Walk the Plank"?
Kalia
I recently attended a dance weekend where the excellent callers, while teaching dances, used the phrases ".. as in Rory O'More" and ".. as in Petronella"Many of the dancers in attendance probably have never danced either Petronella or Rory O'MoreThe movements implied by these terms can be easily explainedI've heard callers ask dancers to "Petronella one place."But if the the world can xerox a document, or google for information, no deity would probably object if contra dancers occasionally "petronella." Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217 239 5844
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