Here are a couple
novelty dances I've made up:
Garbology
Erik Hoffman
Odd—Modified Tempest
Formation
December 1998
A1 Ones
down center, turn as a Couple, Return, WHILE the twos and threes
slide up the set
one Couples place, cast off with (new) same sex two and three
person
A2 Hey for
Four, ones start, passing Right shoulder, Couples two and three
acting as “units”
latching (arms around each others backs) onto Partners.
B1 Finish
the hey (it takes longer with “units”), ones cross to Star Left
(in threes) with
the opposite Couple (ones without Partners)
B2 All Balance & Swing
Partners
Formation is a U shaped
triple minor formation,
Couple one facing down, Couple two to the Right of Couple one (from the callers
point of view), facing in, Couple
three to
the Left of Couple one, also facing in. I
set this up by having both the ones and the twos get Improper,
then the twos
and threes circle Left one-quarter, as in Becket formation.
On the first
walk-through I don't teach the
progression; I do on the second walk-through. Note that when couples
finally
progress, two couples come out at the same time.
Since only one goes in the next time round, at the top I
have the number two Couple
go in first, and the number three Couple wait out an extra time. At the bottom, when the a
couple comes
out, they need to wait for a second Couple before entering the
dance. I suggest the
first Couple waiting out become a
number two, the second a number three. That way, Twos wait out
twice at the bottom, threes, twice at the top.
This dance was written
at Camp Harmony, the San
Francisco Folk Music Club’s annual new years camp. It was at a workshop where
I was making up
“experimental contras.” I
was naming them
for the signs around the hall. This
one
landed on the “Garbology” sign – one discussing the use of
garbage. Since this is
something we should all
consider, I think it’s well named
Part of the idea for this came from the beautiful and
flowing dance, American Summer, by Phillipe Callens.
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The next is designed as a Christmas dance, to go with the tune,
We Three Kings, played as a straightened out jig. But I think it
can be fun just as it is:
Follow That Star
Improper
Erik Hoffman
-- ~Erik 510-410-0456 Mobile 510-444-4397 Land-Line