[Callers] Transgressive contras

Mon May 4 15:25:31 PDT 2015

Hi Luke,
Thanks for sharing all of this! I'm looking for ideas for a sophisticated crowd and a very square room; 4x4s (and 6x6s etc) end up progressing folks to the same neighbors multiple times, and no one cares to be inactive. I could likely get away with one dance where I'd call all the way through; typically I've been dropping out after ~5 times through with this crowd.
I'll check out the Mad Robin site and let you know what, if anything, I decide to try!
Lindsey
(PS: Odd connection- I'm the girlfriend of your brother's former housemate in WA; we've had Jason over for dinner.)      From: Luke Donforth <luke.donev at gmail.com>
 To: Lindsey Dono <lynzimd at yahoo.com> 
Cc: "callers at lists.sharedweight.net" <callers at lists.sharedweight.net> 
 Sent: Friday, May 1, 2015 11:37 AM
 Subject: Re: [Callers] Transgressive contras

I should note, I've never actually tried calling "Luke's Options are Limited" it was mostly a theoretical exercise for me. To my knowledge it's never been danced.

If you have only two sets, it's not clear to me how a transgressive contras are functionally different than 4 face 4 dances or their cousin, Tempest Formation. (In my box, I'd put "Kim's Game" under Tempest Formation.)
The Tempest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qNp-n4CbdI
It becomes a question of if everyone is changing lines, or just half the couples are, but you're bouncing back and forth. 

If that's all you want, great. There's lots of room to write more 4 face 4 and tempest formation dances, and you can incorporate pass through lines there.

If you have more than two sets involved, I haven't found a way to keep things from being either complicated or boring for some dancers.

Option 1: all 1s and 2s progress the same way every time
If you have a progression that's down one couple, and over one set to the left for the 1s, and up one couple over one set to the right for the 2s, you no longer change numbers when you reach the bottom of the hall, you also change numbers when you reach the sides. So even with 5 sets across and 20 hands four deep, nobody is going to go more than 5 hands-four from their original position. If you've got a square (10 sets across, 10 hands four deep, etc) some folks on the main diagonal see 10 different couples, but other folks will bounce back and fourth on short diagonals of just a few couples. 

Option 2: have options that vary the progression
This is what "Luke's Options are Limited" attempts to do (http://www.madrobincallers.org/2013/01/25/attempting-a-grid-contra-choreography/ ). If gives you different dances (thematically linked) to travel to different points on the floor. You could find other pairs of improper/becket dances using wide lines and long lines, and even incorporate passing through lines. But you're stuck with having to have different dances to call and be calling all the way through the dance. I personally try and get out of the way of the band and dancers interacting, and dislike calling through the entire dance.

Option 3: expand 4 face 4 to 6 face 6, 8 face 8, etc.
I played around with this a bit, and I think others have as well (Roger Auman?). There are dances up at 
http://www.madrobincallers.org/2014/02/26/6-facing-6-contra-dances/
I haven't done anything with them after writing them, but if they inspire you; feel free to use them. The hard part (in my opinion) is giving everyone something interesting to do. If your line of 6 has a pass through along the set, you've got to keep your trail buddy groups together and permuting, or some folks get a bum ride.

Option 4: I haven't found one, but let me know if you do!

Have fun.

On Fri, May 1, 2015 at 11:36 AM, Michael Dyck via Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

On 15-05-01 01:02 AM, Lindsey Dono wrote:

Is "grid contra" the more standard terminology than "transgressive?"

I hadn't heard the term "transgressive contra" before, and I'm not finding hits for the term in search engines.

Here's what I've got:

1990-1995
Chris Kermiet: "Beckett's Crossing"
(in his "Zany Contras and Other Stuff!")
http://k-1.us/contras/beckettscrossing.html
(refers to it as "a progressive contra dance")

May 2010
Peter Foster: "Crisscross"
http://pfoster.pcug.org.au/dance/contra.htm#cri
(Doesn't really have a term for the dance form.)

Jan 2012?
Seth Tepfer: "Transgression"
http://lists.sharedweight.net/pipermail/callers-sharedweight.net/2012-January/004159.html
(refers to it as a "grid contra", but also refers to progression across as "transgression", hence the dance's title)
See also other posts in that thread.

Jan 2013
Luke Donforth: "Luke's Options are Limited"
http://www.madrobincallers.org/2013/01/25/attempting-a-grid-contra-choreography/
(refers to it as a "grid contra")

-Michael
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-- 
Luke Donforth
Luke.Donforth at gmail.com

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