[Callers] Chinese Fan from Square dance

Mon May 4 11:54:15 PDT 2015

Hi Neal and All,
thank you for the replies and help.  I can see that it's not a simple choreography issue. 
I will give the floor pattern/teaching to my friend to see how choreography goes. 
I will ask an Advanced caller who knows how to teach Chinese Fan to see if they want to try the Contra 4x4, AFTER teaching a square with the Chinese Fan, so the crowd knows it already. 

Neal, I hear you on bringing a square move to Contra.  And I've experienced some new contras that are not so rigid or linear, so I thought it might work.  

Thanks everyone! 
claire

On May 4, 2015, at 9:46 AM, Neal Schlein <nschlein at gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Claire,

I can help, but am not certain you asked for what you truly want.  Are you really looking for a set of calls for the square, or do you need directions for the floor pattern, teaching instructions, a working timing for the square-style calls, or the timing of the figure for a contra setting?

I'm asking because I suspect your friend doesn't actually need the calls.  This is going to open a can of worms on the list, but contras and mescalonzas (aka 4x4 dances) are prompted, not called.  Although most dancers and many callers don't make a distinction, the mechanics and timing of the two techniques are different.  If you move Chinese Fan into a contra-type setting, the calls (as a square dance caller would see them) are technically irrelevant because you wouldn't want to use them.  (And, with many figures, you can't use them without either changing the wording, changing the timing, or stepping outside of the contra-prompting technique.)  What I am betting he actually needs to know is the full floor pattern and the timing of that sequence.

The Call
For someone who knows the Chinese Fan figure is coming and how to do it, the only necessary words for prompting are some variation on:
Head (side) ladies turn back (lead, roll back, open out...) for a Chinese fan.  (After completion, repeat for either same ladies or other pair of ladies)

That would suffice for a New England style square or a quadrille, as everything else in the call is just filler.  A longer call with patter would be personalized to the caller and the region; in my calling tradition, there would be near-constant running patter throughout.  Both the phrasing and the timing of the above would port over to contras and your 4x4, although you wouldn't need to identify the leading parties because their identity would be pre-defined.

Floor pattern/teaching
Start in a Star Promenade; men keep the star and continue turning it moving throughout.  Identified ladies will turn out and away from their partner to face the other direction, and then hook free elbows with the lady behind them.  Ladies turn 1/2 while men turn the star 1/4; lead lady rejoins the star promenade with next man to arrive (original opposite).  Star turns another 1/4 and the following ladies rejoin star promenade with the next man behind (original opposite).  Repeat with either lady to return to partner.

Timing
If done precisely, each piece can be accomplished in 2 counts and it takes 6 counts to complete the figure:
1-2 Lead lady turns away from partner to face reverse direction; star moves forward 1/4.  (ending position: Ladies have met to hook elbows in the position the lead ladies were in.)
3-4 Men rotate star one position while ladies turn 1/2.  (Ending position: Lead lady has rejoined star with opposite man and released following lady.)
5-6 Star rotates 1/4; following ladies ladies loop toward center and rejoin star. (Ending formation: Star Promenade.  Ending location: All with opposite person from start.  Men have moved forward 3/4 around circle, and ladies have moved forward 1/4 from beginning position.)

That is a tight, performance-style timing.  In reality, it takes between 2 and 4 beats per part and a total of 8 to 12 counts to complete; also, if called square to the walls the action will actually happen on the corner diagonals and the set will have turned somewhat less than the full men 3/4 ladies 1/4.

Also...and this is an entirely personal opinion and something of a soapbox... I would caution against moving this figure out of its traditional environment, especially if you really love it.  I know lots of people on here will disagree with me, but figures that are lively, expansive, and joyously free in their original square-dance context (such as basket swings, the docey-do, Harlem Rosettes, or Texas Stars and the related figures) tend to be greatly diminished when shoehorned into the rigid 8 count phrase and linear, mechanical, progressive format of contra dancing.  Sometimes it is done successfully, but not very often.  (End of soap box.)

Good luck; if your friend does want a set of calls for the square dance version, I can write something up.
Neal Schlein

Neal Schlein
Youth Services Librarian, Mahomet Public Library

Currently reading: The Different Girl by Gordon Dahlquist
Currently learning: How to set up an automated email system.

On Sat, May 2, 2015 at 3:58 PM, Claire Takemori via Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Hi.
I'm new to the list, not a caller yet, but wanting to learn more about Contra dance and maybe calling.

I've got a friend who is writing a 4x4 contra for me with a Chinese Fan in it.  He needs to know how to call the Fan as he can't figure it out from the one video I've found on youtube that has it in it (Three Arches)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8c6Xzn3AyE

Can you tell me how to call a Chinese Fan?

Thanks!
claire
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