I recently called a wedding dance in a tiny church (the only building left standing after a plague killed off everyone in the village hundreds of years ago!). We managed to clear a 3 x 5 yard area (but even that had dogs and sitting people intruding into the space!).
Fortunately it was a small wedding!
We had 20 people dancing in that space – very crowded – but they all had great fun!
No, we didn’t do any contras!
For a wedding, you use the space you have and make it fun.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574
http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive Events & DVDs
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
Friends,
I have been hire to call a wedding with 145 attendees and 15 known contra
dancers. The bride and groom are insisting on modern contras.
I have never thought about floor space, what is the typical requirement for
a line of twenty couples?
Any very easy duple improper dances to recommend? I plan on using "Family
Contra" and "Jefferson and Lincoln".
Thanls,
Rich
Hi, Rich. I can't answer your question about space. But I do have one suggestion about dancers. How about doing a simple Sicilian Circle dance to introduce the concept of modern contra dance progression? Good luck!
Sent from my Verizon LG Smartphone
------ Original message------From: Rich Sbardella via Callers Date: Mon, Aug 1, 2016 9:02 AMTo: Caller's discussion list;Cc: Subject:[Callers] Floor Space Requirement
Friends,
I have been hire to call a wedding with 145 attendees and 15 known contra dancers. The bride and groom are insisting on modern contras.
I have never thought about floor space, what is the typical requirement for a line of twenty couples?
Any very easy duple improper dances to recommend? I plan on using "Family Contra" and "Jefferson and Lincoln".
Thanls,Rich
Given the simplicity of the following, I expect to confirm they already
exist... but thought I'd check in with the knowledgeable horde here on SW.
This is something I apparently "wrote" over a year ago but found again
during a files dive today. :) I expect I may have put it aside due to no
Neighbor swing in the first pass. Spun off w/another A2 to address that
just now, below.
Revisiting them in light of the great heat we've had locally, they might be
sweet lower exertion dances with the right tunes. And lack of a second
swing can be a "feature" vs. "bug" in such conditions.
Please let me know the real author(s), should it not be me. :)
Thanks,
Don
Don Veino DRAFT 20150117 - Becket Left/CW
A1
LT Diag R&L Thru
Ladies Chain Straight Across
A2
Star Left
Star Right
B1
Big Oval Left and Right (until opposite P)
B2
Gents Allemande Left 1/2x
Partner Glance Around* Right, Swing
Don Veino DRAFT 20160726 - Becket Left/CW
A1
LT Diag R&L Thru
Ladies Chain Straight Across
A2
Ladies Glance Around* Right 1x
Neighbor Swing
B1
Big Oval Left and Right (until opposite P)
B2
Gents Allemande Left 1/2x
Partner Glance Around* Right, Swing
*Glance Around is just a placeholder for that other call, you know the
one...
On Tue, 26 Jul 2016 21:57:30 -0700, Martha Wild via Callers wrote:
> What is it with people and every dance having to have a neighbor swing? I
personally dislike dance programs where
> every dance has a neighbor swing. Sometimes Id like to pay attention to
the partner Im dancing with and not
> everyone else. Sometimes interesting choreography is available when you
dont have to squeeze two swings into
> everything.
That's exactly what I think, and I'm so pleased to hear an American say the
same thing!
Colin Hume (currently in Ann Arbor, MI where I'm calling a workshop of
Advanced Contras & Squares on Saturday)
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mail2web.com ? Enhanced email for the mobile individual based on Microsoft?
Exchange - https://link.mail2web.com/Personal/EnhancedEmail
I completely agree with the others who have responded. The world needs more
dances with fewer swings. I love swinging but I love other moves as well.
If a dance has something like "Partner Balance & Swing, Circle Left 3/4,
Neighbour Swing" then my immediate reaction is that that is half the dance
gone already and it has nothing interesting in it. We've all done that a
thousand times. Let's have some variety!
Once you break out of the need for two swings in a dance you can use the
space to create much more interesting choreography.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
I agree with Martha and Colin. There's no reason to think that any contra
dance without two swings has a bug, necessarily, although Don may have been
in the mindset of fulfilling the desires and catering to the tastes of his
audiences when he said what he said. I can support that, too!
Greg
On Wed, Jul 27, 2016 at 3:01 PM, via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
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> 1. Another Existential Inquiry (Don Veino via Callers)
> 2. Re: Another Existential Inquiry (Martha Wild via Callers)
> 3. Re: Another Existential Inquiry (colin(a)colinhume.com via Callers)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2016 21:39:33 -0400
> From: Don Veino via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
> To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: [Callers] Another Existential Inquiry
> Message-ID:
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> f5-3v4a4uA(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Given the simplicity of the following, I expect to confirm they already
> exist... but thought I'd check in with the knowledgeable horde here on SW.
>
> This is something I apparently "wrote" over a year ago but found again
> during a files dive today. :) I expect I may have put it aside due to no
> Neighbor swing in the first pass. Spun off w/another A2 to address that
> just now, below.
>
> Revisiting them in light of the great heat we've had locally, they might be
> sweet lower exertion dances with the right tunes. And lack of a second
> swing can be a "feature" vs. "bug" in such conditions.
>
> Please let me know the real author(s), should it not be me. :)
>
> Thanks,
> Don
>
> Don Veino DRAFT 20150117 - Becket Left/CW
>
> A1
> LT Diag R&L Thru
> Ladies Chain Straight Across
> A2
> Star Left
> Star Right
> B1
> Big Oval Left and Right (until opposite P)
> B2
> Gents Allemande Left 1/2x
> Partner Glance Around* Right, Swing
>
> Don Veino DRAFT 20160726 - Becket Left/CW
>
> A1
> LT Diag R&L Thru
> Ladies Chain Straight Across
> A2
> Ladies Glance Around* Right 1x
> Neighbor Swing
> B1
> Big Oval Left and Right (until opposite P)
> B2
> Gents Allemande Left 1/2x
> Partner Glance Around* Right, Swing
>
> *Glance Around is just a placeholder for that other call, you know the
> one...
>
Hi All,
I collected a dance from Lisa Greenleaf. Neither she nor the person
from whom she collected it knows the author. I'm hoping you can help
me. Here it is:
Holiday Daze
Becket
A1 Cir L 3/4, pass through
New neighbor swing
A2 Long lines F&B
Ladies chain
B1 Left diag. hey for 4
B2 (original) Ladies L shoulder gypsy
Partner swing
Thanks
-Amy
I would always include in the notation the fact that the balances for a Box
Circulate are MUCH more satisfying if they are Forward & Back - that sets
you up with the right momentum to cross the set.
I really wish callers would specify the direction of every balance; for
instance if the next move is Allemande Left, then balancing Left/Right is
much better than Right/Left (which leaves you too close to the person you
are Allemanding).
Spinning as you cross the set in a Box Circulate is also fun, and much
easier to do if you have balanced Forward & Back.
:-)
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
Hello all. In addition to the lovely Du Quoin Races dance by Orace Johnson, are you familiar with any other box circulate dances that you could share? Thanks!
Vicki MorrisonTallahassee, FL
