Re: Contras for One Nighters

The question of “contras” being called at ONSs has been raised before, and fairly recently, and several of us chimed in quickly with “WHY?” If the gig is a one nighter, and 95% of the folks there have not been exposed to contras before, then no matter what you choose for a dance, it will have to be taught and walked through, which, even if done well, can throw a damper on that kind of a party. So, why? There are so many other good dances, whole set, sets, circles. We played for a rowdy barn dance near here once for another caller. After a few fairly successful whole sets and circles he said “Oh, we haven’t done a duple contra yet.” and proceeded to spend the next half hour trying, unsuccessfully, to do A-Roving. Train wreck and end of evening. What happens is that the musicians are having a great time playing the chunes and the dancers appreciate that, and the dancers are having a great foot stomping time, but the poor caller is sometimes not getting much attention and so cooks up a figger too complex so that the dancers have to work too hard to get it which they might not, so they don’t feel successful..... But if you must do a “contra” at an ONS Jefferson & Liberty is the one. Even ONSers like to swing, so I sometimes leave out the star, just call it A1 circle left & right,/ A2 down the outside and back/ B1 Down the center 4 in line, inside arch, outside under/ B2 All swing partners.. Or, do it with the stars, and do the swing at the end, adding an extra 8 bars of music, making it a 40 bar dance. You can look around for a 40 bar chune, or just roar into it and have it come out right occasionally. Dudley Dudley & Jacqueline Laufman PO Box 61, 322 Shaker Rd Canterbury, NH 03224 www.laufman.org 603-783-4719 jdlaufman(a)comcast.net Education book & CD at www.humankinetics.com Performance Calendar at www.laufman.org From: mailto:trad-dance-callers@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, March 05, 2016 1:44 PM To: trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com ; Caller's discussion list Subject: [trad-dance-callers] Contras for One Nighters I rarely call a contra at a One Night Party Dance, but occasionally I am asked to. I have a few in my cards, but can anyone make some sure fire recommendations. Assume 95%-100% non dancers. Thanks, Rich Stafford, CT