trad-callers

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352 discussions

by Bob Green

Does anybody have the dance notes for *Truffles for Breakfast* by Joy Greenwolfe? Thanks, Bob Green bobgreen(a)swbell.net

8 years, 10 months

Teen dancers

by Marian Rose

Hello all Marian Rose here. I have been lurking on this listserve for several years, but don't join in since I haven't been actively calling squares or contras lately. I am preparing for several conferences where I will be giving a session entitled 'Folk Dancing for Teens'. It is an age group that I love to work with, and I happen to believe that they are the ones who should be dancing, even more than us old folks. I am currently writing a philosophical and historical introduction for my handout, and would love some input from all of you. 1.. Why is folk/social dancing so important for teens? 2.. Why do people (teens and teachers) so often shy away from it? 3.. Do we have to give them music that they are used to hearing, or is it valid to present 'older' music that is nevertheless thrilling and that has excited generations of young people before them? d.. How does dancing help with teen angst and courtship? e.. What are some of your best experiences working with teens? Your own stories dancing as a teen? If you want to include some of your favourite 'reel-in-the-adolescents' dances, that would be great. I have my favourites, but increasingly will use anything at all, if it feels right. I look forward to your thoughts! --- Marian, in Quebec, where it is cold, clear and stunningly beautiful. Marian Rose CP 8162, 150 rue Racine Est Chicoutimi, QC G7H 5B7 (418) 545-6603 (maison) (581) 234-1614 (cellulaire) www.marianrose.com

8 years, 10 months

Request starter squares ("Of course everybody knows this dance")

by JD Erskine

Hullo All, I've been enjoying the "auto pilot" thread. I loved Bob's "(Of course everybody knows this dance)" which I had to grin at. I don't. Now I'll look for it now as it appears to be a standard, somewhere. The picture here -- Aside from Cumberland Square Eight and some dances which occur in the ECD evenings in my "village" and area (like La Russe, Heidenroslein, and Newcastle), I've yet to break into calling squares. I have/had an opportunity to step into a MWSD callers workshop series, however while challenging, it doesn't seem a fit to my interests or needs. (I'm not in a club, and will likely not have an opportunity to call in that form.) Why am I interested? These trad./named dances exist, they're fun, and few call them in these parts. I'd like to include them in evenings/events that welcome them, and there is a geographically near-enough monthly series of traditional square dances where a few folks know how/what to call that I've been asked to participate in. Any tips or suggestions of how to begin calling such dances, what technique to learn first, and perhaps which basic dances go over well? As I dance or call/lead a variety of dances/dance forms I'd suspect formations or whole set dances aren't the issue. I suppose basic points on comparisons of similarity or major differences to barn/community, eCeilidh, ECD, SCD, "ACD" (Contra), Scottish ceilidh, etc. might be a quick path to understanding, relaxing with this. Thank you for any suggestions. Cheers, John -- J.D. Erskine Victoria, BC

8 years, 10 months

North, South, East, West Square

by Rich Sbardella

Does anyone have the choreography for Dick Leger's North, South, East, West square dance figure. It was not quite a progressive square, or grid square, but it had interation between suares that were aligned along the floor. Rich Sbardella Snowed in at Stafford, CT

8 years, 10 months

Re: Traditional Music

by Tony Parkes

I know of two callers who recorded "Lady Around the Lady" to the tune of "Eleven More Months and Ten More Days," both in the 1950s. I believe Floyd "Woody" Woodhull of Elmira, NY was the first; he and his band, the Old Time Masters, made both called and instrumental 78s on the Folkraft label. (The called version was later reissued on Folkraft LP-7 along with several other Woodhull squares.) Bob Treyz of Acton, MA called it on an LP that has turned up on several "supermarket" labels, sometimes with a fictitious caller's name; no instrumental version was released. In recent years, many Folkraft singles were reissued on CD under the general title "Let's Dance." Each CD had a strange mix of square, contra, and international folk dances, rather than grouping like with like. I believe that both the called and instrumental versions of Woodhull's "Lady Around the Lady" were part of this series. The Folk Arts Center of New England and the Anglo-American Dance Service in Belgium used to carry these CDs, but I think they're out of print. Regarding the timing of the dance when called to that tune: If memory serves, the directions packed with the Folkraft recording said that "circle around the lady" was a separate and distinct movement from "the lady go 'round the lady". In other words, the active couple passed through the inactive couple, then both active people went around the inactive lady before going into the "lady 'round the lady, gent around the gent" movement. In addition, I think "pass right through" may have meant "split the inactive couple": the meaning of calls was not at all standardized in the 1950s, especially in non-MWSD communities. Tony Parkes Billerica, Mass.

8 years, 10 months

Re: [sd-callers] Traditional Music

by Robert Livingston

I've called this dance a lot (along with Swannee River) for a "lady round lady" singing call but with live music. Plenty of vocal versions on line of course!Once found an instrumental on YouTube but not now. There were once square dance recordings on 78s. If you call it as found in books the timing is terrible. It goes - first couple to the right and you pass (split) right thru - you walk around the lady and I'll tell youwhat to do." That's two full phrases (16 beats) just for one single file around the lady. But it was danced that way.. I started to fix it by saying first couple to the right and you balance four right there. But who would balance anymore at "club" level or ONSs?!So now its "First Couple to the Right and you say How do you do. - The Lady go Round the Lady and the Gent you Follow too.The Rest: The lady go round the lady and the gent go round the gent - now the lady go round the gent and the gent go round the gal. Swing in the middle go on to the next - you say How do you do.... Bob LivingstonMiddletown, CT From: Don Yosten via sd-callers <sd-callers(a)all8.com> To: sd-callers(a)all8.com Sent: Thursday, February 4, 2016 2:52 PM Subject: [sd-callers] Traditional Music I'm looking for the music to an old traditional square dance. The dance is called "The Lady Around the Lady". The song used is "Eleven More Months and Ten More Days". Can anyone tell me where I can find the instrumental version of the song in any format? Don Yosten _______________________________________________ sd-callers mailing list To unsubscribe, change settings, etc. visit: http://all8.com/mailman/listinfo/sd-callers_all8.com or http://all8.com/mailman/options/sd-callers_all8.com/rlivngstn%40yahoo.com

8 years, 10 months

[sd-callers] Traditional Music

by Rich Sbardella

Can anyone help with this? Don is part of another group, but I am curious as well. I will forward the source, if one is found. Rich Stafford, CT ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Don Yosten via sd-callers <sd-callers(a)all8.com> Date: Thu, Feb 4, 2016 at 2:52 PM Subject: [sd-callers] Traditional Music To: sd-callers(a)all8.com I'm looking for the music to an old traditional square dance. The dance is called "The Lady Around the Lady". The song used is "Eleven More Months and Ten More Days". Can anyone tell me where I can find the instrumental version of the song in any format? Don Yosten _______________________________________________ sd-callers mailing list To unsubscribe, change settings, etc. visit: http://all8.com/mailman/listinfo/sd-callers_all8.com or http://all8.com/mailman/options/sd-callers_all8.com/richsbardella%40gmail.c…

8 years, 10 months

Re: trad-dance-callers] Request starter squares ("Of course everybody knows this dance")

by John B. freeman

Wow! Gene Ward! Gene was one of my early mentors. He called "Northern Lights" at my wedding in 1987. Some of us from the contra world used to go to his small town square dances. They were the "real McCoy". John

8 years, 10 months

Ever seen dancers start a square on auto-pilot?

by James Saxe

I have a question for any of you who have ever called an occasional square at a dance series where they are rare. [We might assume, for the sake of discussion, a primarly-contra series where the organizers are amenable to inclusion of squares in a program, but where most of the callers booked don't include even one square in an evening. In any case, I'd appreciate it if responders would stick to answering the question I'm about to ask, and would refrain from diverting this thread into yet another rehash of "squares vs. contras"--why you personally dislike squares, why you think "people" don't like squares, why you think mixing squares and contras is an inherently wrong-headed idea, etc., etc., etc. Thank you.] My question is, have you ever seen something like this happen? You get the dancers into squares and walk them through the figures of a dance. Perhaps you also walk them through a break/chorus figure. After the walk-through, you get everyone squared up at home with their original partners and have the band start playing. As you start calling the first moves of the opening chorus (e.g., "Bow to your partner. ..."), or maybe even as you let a few bars of music go by before you start to call, you see some of the dancers start off on their own doing something they remember from the walk-through. I think there's no mystery about why such a thing can happen: If dancers have little or no experience with squares, and if they have lots of experience with contras--where the dance almost always follows a predictable repeating pattern that matches the walk-through--then there's no reason to expect they'll magically know that squares work differently. I also think there's no mystery about finding a preventative measure: Get the dancer's attention before the music starts, and give them a succinct but clear explanation/reminder about waiting and listening for the calls because squares are different from contras and don't follow a completely predictable pattern. Anyway, I'd be interested in knowing how many of you can recall seeing, even once, something like the scenario I described above, either while you were calling or while you were at a dance with someone else calling. Thanks. --Jim

8 years, 10 months

ONS with a *tiny* inexperienced crowd?

by contra_groups_yahoo＠veino.com

I've agreed to an extremely last minute "Hoe Down" gig this Saturday for a local church, where I'm promised 25-75 people of mixed ages. No dance experience at all. I've reset their expectation to a family/barn dance - no cowboy outfits on the performers, no line dances. They asked for some squares - ok. If the crowd is really that size, I'm all set. Have the material, live music with a contra and squares, etc. fiddler & piano player. Good to go. My nightmare is there's only 5 people that show, say: a toddler, a teen, 2 parents and a grandparent. I have a few things we could do with that small number of inexperienced folks, but not enough to fill 2 (fun) hours. Any ideas on what you'd do/use in that instance? I'm all ears! (and yes, I've taken note of the recent 9-person threads)

8 years, 11 months

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