There isn't a lot that will work well with just preschoolers and a couple adults. Holding hands in a circle and staying in a circle is challenge. I'd suggest really simple singing games because you can pause the music whenever you need to so they can follow the next instruction. Dusty bluebells works. Freeze dancing. The noble duke of York.
Challenging to do that age w/o lots of adults or older kids.
Yours,
Amy
206 330 7408
Amy(a)calleramy.com
Here's my annual bid to keep the dances of Rich Blazej out there; I try and
call his dances whenever I can and this one's a Halloween favorite, re-done
as "Werewolves and Zombies". First the original:
*Garfield's Escape* -- circle of couples PLUS ONE EXTRA in the center --
the Garfield
A1 All into the center EIGHT steps and back, menacing the Garfield
A2 Circle left, circle right
B1 Women (*werewolves*) promenade single file to the right, while men (
*zombies*) "star" by the right -- each man puts his right hand on right
shoulder of the man in front - including Garfield.
B2 Caller hollers "Escape!" (*"Boo!", or maybe "Braaaiiins*") and all men
run to the outside and swing with a woman in the outer circle. A new
Garfield remains in the center.
Rich himself named this after Garfield the comic-strip cat, way back when
he was cynical and funny (the cat, not Rich) --
"The single man remaining at the end of the dance is entitled to a pan of
lasagna and some fresh kitty litter".
My favorite normal tune for this is the minor jig *Coleraine*, played at a
slightly slower lurch-y tempo, but if I'm lucky the band'll do the Alfred
Hitchcock theme.
The thing that makes it is the *eight* counts in/out, the steps become
small and tiptoe-y/menacing -- it gives dancers space and time to throw in
all sorts of shenanigans, and each Garfield tends to try and top the last
with the quivering and shivering. Kids especially love making a grownup
cower.
Have fun, just thought I'd share -- and I'd love to hear how it goes if you
do it, and what variations emerge.
Cheers,
Amy
The long-established dance series in Tracy Hall in Norwich, VT urgently
needs a caller for Nov. 11, 2017. The person we had scheduled is not be
able to make that event. Efforts to find a replacement from within our
usual pool have not borne fruit as of yet. We'd like to be able to announce
the Nov. 11 caller at our 4th-Saturday dance (10/28, this weekend). Our
musicians will include LIz and Dan Faiella, enthusiastic and talented young
musicians. If you could fill this date, please reply to
chip.hedler(a)gmail.com as soon as you can--we'd be extremely appreciative,
can guarantee a decent fee, and could arrange lodging and meals if needed.
Thanks to all for your consideration,
Chip Hedler
Norwich Dance Committee
I must have fallen asleep during a discussion of "ladies". What's the issue?
Sent from my iPad
> On Oct 11, 2017, at 12:13 PM, Martha Wild via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> I’ve got a gypsy star dance (I actually call it “Star Wrong” and not just because of the g-word, but because if you say “gypsy star” everybody starts to gypsy and NOT star, so I gave up on that confusing terminology). Haven’t seen another dance like it. The move from mad robin into the star wrong actually flows quite well. I use men and women for roles, not genders. When I first started calling, we considered “lady” to be a four letter word - women’s movement and bra burning and all that. I still find it hard to use the word “lady” and not bristle. Times have changed, now people bristle at men and women. Go figure. I didn’t correct the “g-word” use on this version
Lovers of traditional dance,
>
>
It is with sadness I announce that Marie Cassady, a dancer and teacher of
dance in Louisville Kentucky for many many years, died on Sunday afternoon.
She was 104, just two months shy of 105.
Marie founded Louisville Country Dancers, which has since become a mostly
contra dance group, but in the day featured English dance as well, and even
occasional international dances.
I first met her in the mid 1970s, when she and husband Frank Cassady taught
Italian folk dances to a performance troupe that my siblings were involved
in. (I was too young to join the first few years). As it turns out, they
also taught performance troupes for many ethnic groups.
She was interested in many things besides dance, including national and
international travel. She also sang with her church group for many years.
As well, she reared several children and was a maternal figure for many
others.
A few years ago, she related to me her memories of the influenza epidemic
of 1919. Imagine that, she had memories of her father from that time, and
of Camp Taylor in Louisville! She also talked about the 1937 flood of the
Ohio River.
She slowed a bit over the years, remaining active in English and
international but leaving contra to younger bodies. She also took up hula
dancing in her 90s. Gotta keep learning!
She remained active and mentally sharp until very recently. I saw her in
August, and she immediately called me by name.
There will be a memorial service for Marie in early November, but the
details are not yet determined.
Many thanks to you, Marie Cassady, for introducing so many people to dance
and the communities it engenders. I am grateful to have known you.
Jerome Grisanti
--
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
"Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power
and magic in it." --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Dear Friends,
Caller's Companion just got it’s 100th user today!
Thanks to everyone for their support, feedback and patience over the last 8 years in making CC an invaluable tool for Contra Dance (and some ECD) callers. I hope to be able to continue improvements in the future. As a labor-of-love / shareware project, you're sharing CC with other callers and showing them how you use it helps spread the word and also support future efforts as well as the hundreds of hours that I've already invested in it.
Special thanks to Bev Bernbaum, my initial beta tester; Linda Leslie, who provided invaluable feedback in the early years and made feature suggestions to support ECD calling; and Nils Fredland, for extensive feedback around iPad use.
Thank you again!
Love, Will
http://callerscompanion.com
--
Will Loving
2419 S York St Apt 5
Denver CO 80210-5319
413-253-7223 (desk)
413-221-8626 (iPhone)
I like the A parts motion of this trad dance (thanks Bob for posting!).
Seeing this got my brain going while I was running my errands this
morning... and out popped these two multi-swing retakes. I hope they're
unique but please let me know should you have info otherwise.
Thanks,
Don
The Devil's a Swinger - DI - Don Veino 20171012
A respin on the traditional dance Devil's Dream to incorporate swings yet
retain some of the tradtional feel.
Starts with the 1s facing down in the center and 2s facing up on the
outside.
A1 (6,2) 1s go down center/2s go up outside - 1s turn as couple, 2s turn
alone
[I'd probably teach/prompt "centers as couples, outsides turn alone" as
it fits both instances]
(6,2) 1s go up center/2s go down outside - Handy Hand Allemande 1/2x
same role Neighbor to 2s in center
A2 (6,2) 1s go down outside/2s go up center - 2s turn as couple, 1s turn
alone
(6,2) 1s go up outside/2s go down center - Right Hand Allemande 1/2x
opposite role Neighbor
B1 Half Hey (G Pass Left to start)
Neighbor Swing
B2 Long Lines Forward & Back [Alternative: Circle Left 1x]
1s Swing in Center, all face progression
I ♥ Devil Dogs - DI - Don Veino 20171012
A respin on the traditional dance Devil's Dream to incorporate Partner and
Neighbor swings.
Starts with the 1s facing down in the center and 2s facing up on the
outside.
A1 (6,2) 1s go down center/2s go up outside - 1s turn as couple, 2s turn
alone
[I'd probably teach/prompt "centers as couples, outsides turn alone" as
it fits both instances]
(6,2) 1s go up center/2s go down outside - Handy Hand Allemande 1/2x
same role Neighbor to 2s in center
A2 (6,2) 1s go down outside/2s go up center - 2s turn as couple, 1s turn
alone
(6,2) 1s go up outside/2s go down center - Right Hand Allemande 1/2x
opposite role Neighbor
B1 Gents Cross
Partner Swing
B2 Give & Take to Gents (N Swing), all face progression
[Alternative: Circle Left 3/4x, Neighbor Swing, all face progression]
On Thu, Oct 12, 2017 at 10:34 AM, Bob Peterson via Callers <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> There’s this no-swing dance, which I got from https://www.
> cambridgefolk.org.uk/contra/dances/devils_dream.html
>
> The Devil's DreamTraditional
>
> Improper Contra
> A1
>
> - 1s face down and lead down the centre while the 2s face up and go up
> the outside
> - all turn alone and lead back to give neighbour nearest hand and half
> turn neighbour
>
> A2
>
> - 1s facing down the outside and 2s up the middle: lead up or down
> again
> - you promenade in the same direction both times
> - all turn alone and lead back to give *left* hands to neighbour
>
> B1
>
> - turn neighbour into a full ladies chain across
>
> B2
>
> - half promenade neighbour across set
> - half right and left back
>
>
>
Hi Angela,
“Hole in the Wall” isn’t a move. It is a dance from 1695.
The “Hole in the Wall Crossing” is not a new move. It is a stylised version of a normal Cross Over.
You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=25&v=TUxbcJIOHNY
There are countless contra dances already with moves like: Balance the Ring; Ladies Cross.
You just do the crossing in that style and you are doing a “Hole in the Wall Crossing”. You don’t need to write new dances, just give the dancers that stylistic option.
Notes:
They almost certainly didn’t cross over like that in 1695. That style was added by someone, probably in the middle of the 20th century, and it became so popular in that dance that when people wanted that style in other dances they started referring to it as the “Hole in the Wall Crossing”.
While the video of them dancing The Hole in the Wall is very nice, it was extremely unlikely to have been danced in Jane Austen’s time. It was over 100 years old, and they didn’t dance old dances in the way that we do today.
I hope that helps to clarify things! 😊
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
OK then... Here's a gypsy star dance where the star doesn't start in interwoven long waves. From a dance choreography workshop. Been waiting for me to wrap my brain around it and publish it for a year and a half now.. It actually works and is easier to dance than it might appear at first glance. It has a figure that Peter Johnson had dreamed up and had been sitting on for a while.. Guess then *I* sat on it. Not sure if anyone else of the authors published it any where. If so, I didn't see it.. - bill
Stellar Gypsy Becket
by: Bill Olson, Peter Johnson, Riley Geistman, Sam Smith, Ray Jantzen, Laura Garchar, Patricia Danscen, Anthony Risenhoover, Peter Koza, Tina Fields, Hamish ?
A1 promenade 3/4*, Swing new N (on ladies' home side)
A2 1/2 R&L, W 1/2 chain (to partner)
B1 LLF&B, Arch to Gypsy Star** (facing partner, move Star 1/2 way)
B2 Gypsy and Sw Partner (on home side)
*Promenade 3/4 is just continuing a normal promenade another 1/4 position so dancers are across from partner
**Arch to Gypsy Star (concept was presented by Peter Johnson): Make Arch, walk forward, Ladies walk through arches.. when hands are all together, women take Left hands across and Men take Right hands across to form the Gypsy Star (women's hands under, men's hand over). Looking partner in the eye women sort of "draw" the men half way around the star. (the women are actually doing a do sa do pattern with each other here)
written at a dance choreography workshop at Stellar Days and Nights dance weekend in Colorado, Feb 2016
