Greetings colleagues,
Anyone want to weigh in on their preference on these two terms?
Context is naming the figure in a written document.
Grand Right and Left
vs
Right and Left Grand
thanks,
sue
Sue Hulsether
shulsether(a)mac.com
www.suehulsether.com
608-632-1267 Cell
608-629-6250 Home
P.O. Box 363
Viroqua, WI 54665
I have a set of tapes of single tips from 1950 by Rickey Holden and Cal
Golden. In one of the Golden tapes Cal uses the term Taw referring to
partner. Clearly our use of the term has been around for a long time.
Jim Mayo
In a message dated 7/20/2017 4:47:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com writes:
The etymology of the term "taw" to mean a square dance partner is
a topic that I've seen come up before--I think both on the
rec.folk-dancing Usenet newsgroup and on some MWSD list I used to
subscribe to--but never with any definitive resolution.
One explanation sometimes offered is the one alluded to by Phil
Jamison and Richard Hart, namely, that it derives from use of
"taw" to mean a favorite marble. However, I haven't seen any
citations of early sources to support this idea. I've only seen
it offered as a conjecture after the actual origin of the usage
was already obscure.
The word "taw" also occurs in the phrase or "bring [someone] to
taw" (or "come to taw"). The precise nuance of meaning implied
by this phrase isn't clear to me, but it seems related to the
ideas of getting someone under control and making them toe the
line, and perhaps by extension the idea of bringing ("dragging"?)
someone to the altar.
You can find a long discussion of the phrase "come to taw" on
the Mudcat Cafe site here:
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=50284
One of participants quotes the Oxford English Dictionary (1989
edition) as citing this poem from a 19th-century source:
He smiles at all the girls he meets,
And you smile at him on the crowded streets,
Why don't you make him 'come to taw',
I know he wants a mother-in-law.
Did this sort of usage "come/bring to taw" lead to the use of
"taw" to mean a square dance partner? Perhaps. But the idea
would seem more compelling if someone could provide evidence of
any regional usage of "taw" to mean a spouse/sweetheart outside
the context of square dancing.
(By the way, I have no idea whether the expression "bring/come
to taw" is etymologically connected with the phrase "toe the
line" or with the "taw line" in marbles games.)
Another suggestion is that "seesaw your taw" is a mangling via
oral tradition, of the French phrase "chasse autour' (sidestep
around). I think I first read that idea in an article by Stewart
Kramer, which you can find here:
https://www.ceder.net/ArticleCoOp/articles/sashay.php
Personally, I think that this explanation has more of a ring of
plausibility than the others. What keeps me from being fully
sold on it is that I haven't yet seen an example of the phrase
"chasse autour" (or the plural/polite form "chassez autour",
with implied subject "vous" instead of "tu") appearing in an
old French dance manual. I'd be interested if anybody can cite
one.
--Jim
As long as I have danced (since 1947) Taw has been the man's partner and,
to my knowledge, was never derogatory. In my first two years dancing to
Ralph Page and Gene Gowing, I don't believe either used the term. Starting in
1949 I was dancing with Al Brundage who had just returned from Pappy Shaw's
and I believe that was the first that I heard the term Taw.
Jim Mayo
In a message dated 7/20/2017 8:08:13 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com writes:
What did Taw mean and why is it no longer used? (I seem to remember
seeing something about it being considered derogatory, or is that just my lousy
memory?)
So, first a thank you to tony Parkes for sharing info about the Jitterbug
Swing relative to Pistol Packin' Mama. I was fiddling with it and trying
to figure how to make it work for my Beaver Lake dance party.
I decided in the end that the music for Pistol Packin' Mama was pretty
boring. I was already subjecting my band to "The Farmer" same little
16-bar ditty like 17 times. And we ended up doing Deep in the heart of
Texas which is similarly finger-numbing. Anyway, thinking about music --
something about the dance reminded me of a like from a song that went
"sweet mamma, tree-top tall, won't you kindly turn your damper down" I
didn't place my source for it at first. I found a song on youtube -- but
it was crooked. finally I found a country version of it that was square.
The tune reminded me of "Alices's Restaurant and I thought about using that
for music. Then I placed the source -- an early Tom Rush recording --
maybe -- but I can't seem to locate it on his discography but anyway, it
was back to Sweet Mamma. Here's a link. Listen at the :45 second mark --
that's what we ended up using for the dance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC2Wq39gXvc
However, we did it with a much more raggy/swingy feeling and slower tempo.
I was still working on paper and didn't really watch the dancers but my
bandmates said the dancers wetting it and having lots of fun with it.
For contra dancers, I'd make it an opposite swing then come back to partner
for the Jitterbug swing I think.
I tend to use the heads to the right and do the figure, heads in the middle
do figure and then go to other side to do figure pattern for visiting
couple figures.
Anyway, this is a work in progress, but I thought it might be worth
sharing. Feel free to comment and suggest, etc.
Oh, and re: the turn, it's nice because the musician have a lot of freedom
and the singer has lots of room to improvise too. I think the combination
has a top of potential.
R.
***************
The Jitterbug Swing
Music: Sweet Mamma Treetop Tall
*Verse*
Heads/sides to the right, circle a half
with your opposite turkey wing
(and with your opposite swing)
That’s a right elbow, about once and half
(swing a little while than find your own)
then catch your partner for a jitterbug swing
Push em away and pull em back in
and give em a big old hug;
Push em away and pull em back in
just like a little jitterbug.
*Opener/Closer*
All join hands and circle a while
go about half a mile
Head two couples, promenade straight home
right down the center aisle
Now the sides take a walk; go back home
everybody do that jitterbug thing
Push em away, pull em back in
and that’s the jitterbug swing
--
Ridge Kennedy [Exit 145]
When you stumble, make it part of the dance. - Anonymous
And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least
once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at
least one laugh. - Friedrich Nietzsche
Sue asked me about this. this is what I did this weekend at Beaver Lake.
Everything worked pretty well for a dance party crowd (once a year dancers,
mostly elbow swings to I'm seeing some convers to ballroom swings). The
break was new this year and It seemed to work pretty well. The music
available in Dick Kraus book Square Dances and How to Call them and other
places I'm sure but suffice it say Tucker's Waltz is not a waltz. It is
used as music for singing square My Little Girl. I have tried to write it
out in 4-beat phrases, if that helps to fit it to the tune. Sort of works
for me, your mileage may vary.
**************
The Tilt-A-Whirl
Music: Tuckers Waltz
Dance made up by Ridge Kennedy
(Dance party version of verse)
Head (side) couples forward
And you go back now
Promenade half way
Half way around the ring
Meet a couple on the right
and you circle
Get those circles turning
and then ride the tilt-a-whirl
*(bouquet waltz)*
Keep on moving
Keep your circles turning
All around the
world you go
Then go back home
and swing your own
After you ride the
Tilt-AWhirl
Opener/Break/Closer
All four gents in the center
make little ring
Ladies step next to your partner
Make another ring outside
Ladies bow; gents arch over
Make a basket
Let’s get this ride going great
We’re gonna swing all eight
Whirl around
a very merry lee go round
Until the ride stops
back at home
And if you’ve got some zing
give your partner one more swing
After you ride the
Tilt-AWhirl
(contra dancer version of verse)
Head (side) couples forward
And you go back now
Promenade half way
Half way around the ring
Meet a couple on the right
and you circle
And swing your corner
swing that corner girl
Same four circle left now
and ride the tilt-a-whirl
(bouquet waltz)
All around the
world you go
Then go back home
and swing your own
After you ride the
Tilt-A-Whirl
--
Ridge Kennedy [Exit 145]
When you stumble, make it part of the dance. - Anonymous
And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least
once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at
least one laugh. - Friedrich Nietzsche
Traditional Dance Callers List
Hello Everyone,
A group of dancers/callers/musicians in the Triangle area of North Carolina are in the midst of exciting plans to create a continuing care retirement community centered around music and dance. We have been meeting with groups of interested people, conducted a market study (with an excellent outcome), started working with a group of consultants who design innovative retirement communities, and have begun fundraising to pay for the design process.
So far, we have focused on reaching out to local folks; now we are spreading the word more widely.
If you are curious, please visit our website. http://dancingintoretirementnc.org/
Right now, the website is the way we communicate with people out of town, but I'll soon create a Facebook page and then an electronic newsletter. If you are close enough to Durham, NC to attend a 1/2 day informational session, let me know if you would like to be invited. We offer one every few months--the next is August 26.
You can write to me directly or leave a message at the website if you want more information or have comments/reactions.
Bree Kalb
Carrboro, NC
Rich's dance inspired this:
A1. Heads forward and back. Dosido opp.
A2. Swing opposit, face sides, circle left
B1. Same 4 star right, heads star left
B2. Bal. C, box, dosido, pull by
C1. Do paso (partner left, corner right, partner left)
C2. 4 ladies chain ........
The one thing I don't like is the dosido in the B2. It's there for timing. It could be taken out is you wanted a more patter square feel.
The timing is easy in the first half and a bit tighter in the second. There isn't much partner interaction so if I ever try this I'll use a break that includes a P swing.
>
>
>> __________________________________________________________
>> 1a. Question about a square
>> Posted by: "Rich Sbardella" richsbardella(a)gmail.com
>> Date: Wed Jun 28, 2017 10:55 am ((PDT))
>>
>> Here is a square with MWSD roots. I am wondering if is too much for an
>> experienced contra crowd? Is there a similar square in the trad circles?
>>
>> Hds DSD and face sides (8)
>> Star R with the sides (8)
>> Hds to Center Star L (8)
>> With same outside two R&L Thru (6)
>> Rollaway with Half Sashay (4)
>> Box Gnat (4)
>> Pull By (2)
>> Allemande Left (4)
>> New Partner Swg (4)
>> Promenade (16)
>>
>> Any thoughts?
>>
>> Rich Sbardella
>> Stafford, CT
>>
>
>
Hello Mo,
It's probably right that progression was not there originally. Here, a 1P2P line formation (facing couples) or a line of three formationwith a single or lonesome dancer at the open sides, would not change partners.
Example is Hurry Hurry with a "chain the route" from Square Dance History - still an active dance.
https://squaredancehistory.org/items/show/990
Bob Livingston
| | Virus-free. www.avg.com |
From: "'Mo Waddington' mjw(a)mowaddington.plus.com [trad-dance-callers]" <trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com>
To: trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, July 4, 2017 4:45 AM
Subject: Re: [trad-dance-callers] Re: Other Old-Time Singers? - changing partners
I don't like dancing Yellow Rose of Texas http://www.contrafusion.co.uk/Dances/EFDS6312-TheYellowRoseofTexas.html from 2nd position because 2nd lady is always next to the active couple.Used to think "that dance must have been written by a man", but am told that the progression was added later.Never thought to 'fix' it by each man leading twice - hmm - that would give you your partner back.Mo Waddington
----- Original Message ----- From: Robert Livingston rlivngstn(a)yahoo.com [trad-dance-callers]
Regarding single active dances such as Uptown/Downtown or Golden Slippers each position is active twice before relinquishing.
So it's "same ole gent with a brand new girl" down the center etc. All lady positions active equally at the end of the dance.
Bob Livingston Middletown, CT
From: "Tony Parkes tony(a)hands4.com [trad-dance-callers]" <trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com>
To: "trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com" <trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, July 3, 2017 4:09 PM
Subject: [trad-dance-callers] Re: Other Old-Time Singers?
Normally it’s not good practice to combine a partner change with a one-couple-active figure. Uptown, Downtown is a prime example: If each couple is called out once, the same lady is active four times and no other lady is active at all. But in the Jitterbug figure, the “active” and “passive” couples do basically the same thing, so it doesn’t matter as much who is officially active. The “push her away” action is the same as the patter figure “Step right back and watch her smile, step right up and swing her awhile.” >From a swing Tony Parkes Billerica, Mass.
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Ridge wrote:
I've noted before that I do this dance every year for a lakeside community
(dancers arrive in boats) where we do dances from the 40s and 50s…
I've thought I should come up with a good Pistol Packin Mamma figure but
have not found one I like.
Ridge, do you know the Jitterbug Square? I believe it was the “standard” figure to Pistol Packin’ Mama in some communities.
First old couple out to the right and circle four hands round;
Swing your opposite lady, swing her up and down.
Push her away and pull her in and give her a great big hug;
Push her away and pull her in just like a jitterbug.
Take *that* lady on to the next/last and circle four hands round…
So Gent 1 takes Lady 2 to Couple 3, then he takes Lady 3 to Couple 4, then he takes Lady 4 home with him, so each lady has moved one place to the right and everyone has their corner.
Normally it’s not good practice to combine a partner change with a one-couple-active figure. Uptown, Downtown is a prime example: If each couple is called out once, the same lady is active four times and no other lady is active at all. But in the Jitterbug figure, the “active” and “passive” couples do basically the same thing, so it doesn’t matter as much who is officially active.
The “push her away” action is the same as the patter figure “Step right back and watch her smile, step right up and swing her awhile.” From a swing in closed (waltz) position, the couple retain their “pointy” joined hands (lady’s right, gent’s left) and separate to arms’ length, then move in and resume closed position.
I used Jitterbug to Pistol Packin’ at the huge DC Square Dance (200 noisy people on the floor). They got it right away and loved it.
Tony Parkes
Billerica, Mass.
www.hands4.com<http://www.hands4.com>
New book! Square Dance Calling: An Old Art for a New Century
(to be published Summer 2017)
I remember doing that jitterbug figure to Captain Jinks. First line of the
song is I'm Captain Jinks of the horse marines, I feed my horse on corn and
beans.................
Sylvia Miskoe, Concord NH
