Hive Mind:
I wrote the following solid little contra on a recent flight when I had too much time on my hands, and it went well on its initial test. It didn't show up in my database, but do you know if it has been written previously?
Improper
A1. Neighbor balance, swing
A2. Gents allemande L 1 1/2, partner swing
B1. Long lines, circle L 3/4
B2. Neighbor allemande R 1 1/2, 1/2 hey (GL, PR, LL, -)
Bob
Hi Amy,
Would you be willing to share your program set list for the Cows/Chickens dance?
I’m curious what kind of dances went so well.
Thanks !
Claire Takemori (Campbell CA)
> On Mon, Jul 31, 2017 at 12:59 PM, Amy Wimmer via Callers
> <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote:
>> Hi All,
>>
>> I recently had the opportunity to call a contra to a group of rank
> beginners
>> in a difficult situation: outdoors, on sloping concrete, without
>> amplification for either myself or the band, to people not expecting a
>> dance, with a band mostly unfamiliar with either contra or fiddle tunes,
> who
>> had no opportunity to practice or choose tunes. It was a staff party
> with a
>> barnyard theme. Granted, this particular good of people is accustomed to
>> being spontaneous and silly at times, most are in their 20's, and it's a
>> liberal, accepting group.
>>
>> The organizers wanted to use the terms "cows" and "chickens" instead of
> any
>> other usual terms for dancers. When they arrived at the party each person
>> chose a name tag with either a cow or a chicken on it. They didn't know
> it,
>> but this determined which role they'd play in the dance. I arbitrarily
> chose
>> to "put the chicken on the right, because the chicken is always right."
> (I
>> keep chickens, and they ARE always right)
>>
>> There was not time for much of a lesson, either. It'd have been much
> easier
>> if everyone had joined the dance at the beginning. All said, just about
>> everyone had a really great time, myself included. The band was hyped up
> to
>> try another dance evening later in the week, though that never
> materialized.
>>
>> I never mentioned gender in any way. That part just seemed to not matter.
>> They were dancing with their friends. It didn't matter that they weren't
>> experts or even very good.
>>
>> I was heartened and encouraged to try something like this again, perhaps
>> with more widely used dancer terms.
>>
>> -Amy
Hi All,
I recently had the opportunity to call a contra to a group of rank
beginners in a difficult situation: outdoors, on sloping concrete, without
amplification for either myself or the band, to people not expecting a
dance, with a band mostly unfamiliar with either contra or fiddle tunes,
who had no opportunity to practice or choose tunes. It was a staff party
with a barnyard theme. Granted, this particular good of people is
accustomed to being spontaneous and silly at times, most are in their 20's,
and it's a liberal, accepting group.
The organizers wanted to use the terms "cows" and "chickens" instead of any
other usual terms for dancers. When they arrived at the party each person
chose a name tag with either a cow or a chicken on it. They didn't know it,
but this determined which role they'd play in the dance. I arbitrarily
chose to "put the chicken on the right, because the chicken is always
right." (I keep chickens, and they ARE always right)
There was not time for much of a lesson, either. It'd have been much easier
if everyone had joined the dance at the beginning. All said, just about
everyone had a really great time, myself included. The band was hyped up to
try another dance evening later in the week, though that never
materialized.
I never mentioned gender in any way. That part just seemed to not matter.
They were dancing with their friends. It didn't matter that they weren't
experts or even very good.
I was heartened and encouraged to try something like this again, perhaps
with more widely used dancer terms.
-Amy
Folks,
When I sent out my request back in May soliciting lists of
recommended tunes for patter squares, I wrote:
> ... If you got this query via a mailing list, please send
> tune lists directly to me and *not* to the entire mailing list.
> .., I'm trying to see which tunes get mentioned
> *independently* by many recommenders, so I don't want the lists
> anyone sends me to be influenced one way or another by whatever
> suggestions other people have already sent. ...
>
> I plan to gather recommendations for the next couple months and
> to post a summary some time in July.
Now it's the end of July, and I find myself in a bit of a
quandary, since I haven't gathered nearly as much data as I'd
hoped, and I'd prefer not to have my results so far circulating
around and possibly biasing anyone else who might yet supply
input. On the other hand, I don't want to renege on providing
a summary. So what I'm going to do is take some more time
(possibly several months, at the rate things are going). But
meanwhile if anyone's impatient for a summary, you can contact
me off-list (Jim dot Saxe at-sign gmail dot com), and I'll send
a brief synopsis of what I've gathered as of today, July 31.
(Note: This will only include information from recent informants
and a few other recent sources, not all the stuff I'm still
working on from old books, articles, record catalogs, etc.)
Meanwhile thanks to the following persons who have supplied tune
lists in response either to my queries on trad-dance-callers and
the SharedWeight or (more commonly) to other requests either by
email or in person: T-Claw supplied a list of tunes that he and
other participants shared at a session called "List of Favorite
Square Dance Tunes" at the 2015 Dare To Be Square Weekend in
Nashville. Bob Dalsemer supplied a short list of tunes that
he had gathered from three Brasstown area fiddlers. He also
supplied a tune list from an unpublished manuscript by the late
D. B. Hendrix with more tunes than the ones listed in his book
_Smoky Mountain Square Dances_ (but I'm not including that list
in my "recent sources" category). I also got tune lists from
Erik Hoffman, Bill Litchman, Tony Mates, Jim McKinney, David
Millstone, Tony Parkes, Jordan Ruyle, Don Stratton, and Vivian
Williams. Thanks, all. I also got at least one well-intentioned
reply that seemed so far off target from what I requested that I
couldn't use it (thanks all the same if you know who you are).
--Jim
I don't recall seeing this mentioned, passing along to people interested
in the history of square dancing, clogging, and other southern
Appalachia dances.
http://www.philjamison.com/hoedowns-reels-and-frolics/
Picked up from the Facebook group Safety Dance: Building Safe and
Empowered Social Dance Communities
--
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 http://rule6.info/
<*> <*> <*>
I'm fond of saying that relationships are a complex dance of dependence,
independence, and interdependence, and the rhythm and steps are different
for each relationship.
Hello Judy,
I found the Dick Leger album with Roger Whynot contras. I remember dancing
many of these at East Hill Farm with Dick Leger.
*SW Contra*
Alternate Duple/Double Progression, No P Swg
A1 N DSD, N Swg
A2 Face Across Flutterwheel, Sweep 1/4, Star Thru
B1 Circle Left, Circle Right
B2 Promenade Across, R&L Thru
*Eighteenth of January*
Alternate Duple/Double Progression, No P Swg
A1 N DSD, N Swg
A2 Square Thru, Slide Thru, Meet New Neighbor, Join Hands w/New Neighbor
B1 Circle Left, Circle Right
B2 Lad Chain, Chain Back
*Route 61*
Alternate Duple, No P Swg
(This is listed as a Double Progression. Is it?)
A1 Across the Set RH Balance, Turn Half by Right, R&L Thru & Courtesy Turn
1/4 More
A2 Promenade Wholeset, Wheel Around & Comeback
B1 Lad Chain, Chain Back
B2 New N Swg, LL F&B
*Sue's Delight*
Alternate Duple Single Progression
The Sweep 1/4 are indicated as with vines.
A1 Holding your P hand, Balance as Couples R, then L, Sweep 1/4, Lad Chain
to N
A2 Lad Chain to P, Holding N Hand, Balance as Couples R, the Left, Sweep 1/4
B1 R&L Thru, Star Thru, Circle Half,
B2 Pass Thru & Swg, LL F&B
These contras are all on the first side of the LP "A Modern Style Contra
Dance Party".
Each dance would all be a tough sell today, since there are no Partner
Swings.
More to come,
Rich Sbardella
Stafford, CT
On Wed, Jul 19, 2017 at 9:48 AM, Rich Sbardella <richsbardella(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
> Judy,
>
> Dick Leger published an LP of contras written by Roger Whynot. The LP was
> aimed at square dancers and included Flutter Wheel and Sweep 1/4 More.
> Perhaps I will be able to find it later and post some dances.
>
> I called contras at the New England Square and Round Dance Convention this
> year and the dancers enjoyed contras that I also call at modern contra
> dances, Keep the progressions simple, and keep the swings short.
>
> Peace,
> Rich
> Stafford, CT
>
> On Tue, Jul 18, 2017 at 10:28 PM, Judy Greenhill via Callers <
> callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> I have undertaken to teach some modern square dancers how to contra
>> dance, and I’m wondering if anyone has experience with this and has any
>> dances to recommend? I’m a square dancer myself but most of my contra
>> repertoire is for modern contra dancers- 2 swings, lots of Balance and
>> swing, etc. I’d like more dances with MWSD moves in them and possibly
>> without any, or only 1, swing, and they don’t need to have a partner swing.
>> The dancers I am teaching are all either plus or advanced, so they will
>> tire pretty quickly of the usual simple glossary contras I would normally
>> do in a teaching situation. They can do the moves; it’s the formation that
>> is new to them.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Judy
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
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>>
>>
>
Hi all,
I'm re-vamping my list of simple contra dances for new callers, and am
in search of a very particular sort of becket dance. The list is one of
my hand-outs for callers' classes at camps, so the folks who'll be using
it are likely to be nervous, brand-new callers. To that end, I'm
looking for sturdy, hard-to-break, low-piece-count dances. In a perfect
world they'd be composed of simpler glossary figures.
I already have a fair collection of simple dances to choose from, but
would like to include one more becket dance (I have Tica Tica Timing
already on the list). This perfect becket that I'm looking for should
_not_ start with circle L 3/4, and should not contain petronella twirls.
Bonus points if it doesn't have a whole hey, since I've already got a
couple of whole hey dances in the list.
I look forward to hearing what you can recommend.
Many thanks,
Kalia Kliban
Hello all,
Lately, my choreography brain has been churning on community dances
(longways, circles, etc). I've got two new ones that I haven't gotten to
test out yet.
I'd be curious to hear folks thoughts on them; both the dance moves and how
to succinctly explain it to people not used to dancing (for instance, I use
the phrase cross trail in this write-up, which I wouldn't use at a
community dance)
Each of them have (what I think is) a new figure for the progression; and
then could be mixed with the staples of long lines, DSDs, etc.
I'm not even pretending to break this up into A's and B's; because they're
not that kind of dance ;-)
*Long Corners *
by Luke Donforth
longways set
top in left line trade with bottom in right line, giving a high five with
the left hand in the middle
then next trade and high five, and the next, until both lines have swapped
and you're across from partner again
the pair at the top of the line (was bottom couple) stays put and swings
each other around, while two lines do a cross trail at the top; giving your
partner a high five with your right when you pass
head of each cross-trailing line leads back down to bottom of their
original side of the set and stays there. Everyone else follows in their
line
long lines forward and back
DSD partner straight across
Progression
1 2 3 4 5 => 5 1 2 3 4
Here's a link to a series of photos, hopefully illustrating the beginning
sequence:
https://plus.google.com/u/3/104785381669836716439/posts/ZVTsdkH6fj7
(unmarked peg is the caller)
*The Fountain*
by Luke Donforth
Longways sets
Top couple makes an arch and goes over the other two lines
The rest move up, and when the reach the top, they make an arch and go down
over the rest of the line
When the bottom couple reaches the top, the separate (peel the banana
style) and lead their line down the outside (no hands). Everyone except the
original top couple (now at the bottom) follows.
The couple at the bottom swings, and as other folks get back to line; they
can swing their partner.
Long lines forward and back
Allemande your partner
Other hand Allemande your partner
Progression:
1 2 3 4 5 => 2 3 4 5 1
Pictures at:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipO8FvLShqqQllbGxe-IQ0fpvQiQhA1SNUiQ0S7…
> You could just as easily circle Left 1x in B2.
>
>
>> On Jul 18, 2017, at 8:14 AM, Andrea Nettleton via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>>
>> I question the flow of a circle R into a swing. But I don't recognize the sequence.
>> Cheers,
>> Andrea
>>
>> Sent from my external brain
>>
>> On Jul 18, 2017, at 9:55 AM, Jerome Grisanti via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>>
>>>>>
>>>
>>> I wonder if this sequence has already been written (and titled):
>>>
>>> Trip to Kentucky
>>> Improper contra
>>> Jerome Grisanti (unless prior claim exists)
>>>
>>> A1: Long lines go forward, roll away as you go back (women moving from left to right in front of their neighbors).
>>> Men allemande left 1.5.
>>>
>>> A2: Partner B & S.
>>>
>>> B1: Right & Left Thru, Ladies chain.
>>>
>>> B2: Circle RIGHT 1x, Neighbors swing.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Jerome
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> 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
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Callers mailing list
>>> Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
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>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
Hi everyone,
I have undertaken to teach some modern square dancers how to contra dance,
and I'm wondering if anyone has experience with this and has any dances to
recommend? I'm a square dancer myself but most of my contra repertoire is
for modern contra dancers- 2 swings, lots of Balance and swing, etc. I'd
like more dances with MWSD moves in them and possibly without any, or only
1, swing, and they don't need to have a partner swing. The dancers I am
teaching are all either plus or advanced, so they will tire pretty quickly
of the usual simple glossary contras I would normally do in a teaching
situation. They can do the moves; it's the formation that is new to them.
Thanks,
Judy
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