[Callers] monkey in the middle instructions?

Amy Carroll via Callers callers at lists.sharedweight.net
Mon May 18 19:02:04 PDT 2015 

And if you like patter calling you end it with "those four, swing four; there's a new monkey on the dance floor!"

I don't know if I made that up or got it from sherry.   I love this dance but it is very hard to get kids to go pick someone who is not already swinging. They gravitate to those already in the action.  It's great with all adults at weddings and such. 

Amy
206 330 7408
Amy at calleramy.com

> On May 18, 2015, at 6:40 PM, James Saxe via Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> 
> The author of "Monkey in the Middle" is Sherry Nevins of Seattle.
> Her original version is slightly different from the version
> (collected by Lynn from Carol) in Val's recent message.
> 
>      Monkey in the Middle, by Sherry Nevins
>      9-person set: circle of 8, plus 1 in the middle
> 
>      A1 Circle left (8)
>         Circle right (8)
>      A2 Into the middle & back (8)
>         Into the middle & back (8)
>      B1 One in the middle, swing [some]one [Ballroom,
>         elbow, or 2-hand swing.  Choose fast!] (8)
>         Those 2, swing 2 [The swinging pair let go of each other, and
>             each swing someone new.] (8)
>      B2 Those 4, swing 4 [Each swings one of the remaining five.  The
>             left-over person becomes the ...] (16)
>         New monkey in the middle.  [The other eight] join hands and ...
> 
> In a message I have from Sherry, she wrote (in 2011):
> 
>> ... I found a page
>> from late December 2003 or early January 2004 headed "9 Pin Var."
>> with the dance written out ...  It appears I first called
>> it (listed as "9 Pin Var.") at the South End Square Dance on
>> 1/30/04. On 2/1/04 it was written on the set list for the Family
>> Dance as "Monkey in the Middle".
> 
> Note that Sherry considers the formation to be a "circle" of eight--
> rather than a "square"--plus one extra person.  While Sherry got her
> inspiration from traditional versions of Ninepin Reel, her dance
> has no calls directed to "heads" or "sides", and there needn't be
> any presumption that swinging pairs will be in opposite gender roles.
> 
> Another thing that distinguishes the dance from traditional versions
> on Ninepin Reel is the sequence in the B part
> 
>      One in the middle, swing [some]one
>      Those 2 swing 2
>      Those 4 swing 4
> 
> with the person left over becoming the new "Monkey in the Middle".
> This contrasts with the usual method of choosing a new "ninepin",
> in which five dancers race to dance with four potential partners.
> The result of Sherry's method is that the person not chosen in one
> round of the dance gets to be the first chooser in the next round.
> 
> The pattern of having 2, then 4, then 8 dancers swinging is
> reminiscent of a "multiplication" (a/k/a "snowball") dance of
> the sort sometimes done at wedding receptions or used as an
> ice-breaker at teen parties.  I can remember seeing such dances
> in the 1960s, and I'm sure the idea wasn't new then.  But so
> far as I know, Sherry is the first to have integrated the
> multiplication/snowball idea into a version of the ninepin
> dance.
> 
> Sherry composed her dance as a 32-bar phrased sequence (though as
> you can see, her version is just a little different from what Carol
> apparently called at RPDLW).  Some of the people who have since
> spread the dance call it unphrased, for example Michael Ismerio
> as heard in this video:
> 
>   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg2xx9tkxmE
> 
> Note also that Michael only has dancers go in and back once
> before the middle person starts the series of swings.  It didn't
> take many steps of folk processing to produce these differences:
> Michael tells me he learned the dance from Sherry.  While Sherry
> understands that once a dance is released "into the wild", the
> folk process will follow its course, I believe that if the dance
> is published anywhere, she'd like her original phrased version to
> be given.
> 
> The words
> 
>      ... swing one.
>      Those 2 swing 2
>      Those 4 swing 4
> 
> are the way Sherry calls the action in the B parts.  I use those
> calls also.  But during the walk-through, I explicitly tell the
> first swinging pair to let go of each other and each swing
> someone new.  I do that because the very first time I called the
> dance, I said "Those 2 swing 2 more" during the walk-through,
> and I saw some people swinging in a basket of four.
> 
> Note, by the way, that the dance adapts very easily to a 10-person
> version.  Just have two people in the middle each time and have
> them start the sequence of swings by swinging each other.
> 
> --Jim
> 
> On May 18, 2015, at 10:48 AM, Val Medve wrote (to the SharedWeight
> callers' forum):
> 
>> Hi all. Several folks asked me off-line for the Monkey directions. Here's Lynn Ackerson's note and dance instructions, with her permission -- and our thanks. And thanks, too, to Rich Goss for his even speedier reply to my request! Val
>> 
>> From Lynn Ackerson:
>> The [RPDLW 2015] syllabus will be available for sale soon. We usually wait a year before putting it online. But as a sneak peak, here's how the dance will look in the syllabus:
>> 
>> Monkey in the Middle
>> 
>> As called by Carol Ormand
>> Source: Unknown
>> Formation: Ninepin: 4 couples in a square, with an extra person (the “monkey”) in the middle
>> Music: Joys of Quebec 
>>  
>> A1    Circle left
>>          Circle right
>> A2    Into the middle and back
>>          Monkey in the middle, swing someone
>> B1    Those two separate and swing two more
>> B2    Those four separate and swing four more; finish in a square with a new monkey in the middle
>> 
>> 
>>> On Mon, May 18, 2015 at 9:32 AM, Val Medve <val.medve at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> That was quick! 
>>> 
>>> Two list members sent the instructions to me. Thank you! Val
>>> 
>>>> On Mon, May 18, 2015 at 8:32 AM, Val Medve <val.medve at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> At the Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend (RPDLW) in January, Carol Ormand called a fun & silly little dance that I liked: Monkey in the Middle. I think there were 4 couples plus 1 extra person ("the monkey"). ​I don't think that the 2015 RPDLW syllabus is available yet online. Would anyone have instructions they're willing to share? Val Medve, Essex, Vermont (val.medve at gmail.com) 
>>>> 
>>>> -- 
>>>> My new email address is val.medve at gmail.com
> 
> <snip>
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers at lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.sharedweight.net/pipermail/callers-sharedweight.net/attachments/20150518/1130c54e/attachment.htm>

More information about the Callers mailing list