Hi all
I'm posting this to several different callers' lists (ECD,
trad-dance-callers and shared weight) in hopes of some speedy advice.
I'm heading off shortly (Weds. evening, 6/8) for an event that is not a
dance event, but at which I've been asked to lead a short community
dance session on "honky tonk night." The band for this is _not_ a
traditional dance band. They're more of a garage band with bar-band
aspirations. I wrote to them several weeks ago to check in about music,
and when I didn't hear back, wrote again about a week ago. Then again,
and finally heard back right as I was getting ready to leave for the
airport for a weekend gig, from which I've just returned.
Their contact person tells me that sheet music would be useful, which
puts me in the position of trying to figure out a very small assortment
of tunes to send them. We're doing about 1/2 hour of dancing, so at the
most it'll be 3 dances. With 2 jigs and 2 reels I can make this work.
The question is "which ones?" And that's where you all come in. I'm
looking for recommendations for a small assortment of simple, enjoyable
tunes for community dancing. As a non-musican, I have no idea which
tunes are easy to pick up quickly and which aren't, so I'm hoping some
of you can help me out.
Kalia Kliban
This discussion got me thinking about dances which have both a Gents RH chain and Ladies LH chain. I wasn't sure if any existed, so I wrote a few. I have no idea when I would ever call them, but it was a fun exercise :)
On a somewhat related note, I appear to have a thing for writing Becket dances, but I'm proud to say that none of these start with "Circle Left 3 places". In fact, they don't have any circles in them, so they can also help with the "dances without a circle left" campaign.
That's Not How We Do ItContra, BECKET, by Rona Wiener, Jan 2016
A1 (4) Balance the Ring (4) Gents Roll away P along set (8) Gents RIGHT HAND chain [To N] A2 (8) Gents [Gypsy] x1 (8) Neighbor Swing B1 (4) Balance the Ring (4) Ladies Roll away N along set (8) Ladies LEFT HAND chain [to P] B2 (8) On Right Diagonal Half a hey [Ladies lead by L] (8) Partner Swing
Slightly Less Wrong
Contra, BECKET, by Rona Wiener, Jan 2016
A1 (4) Balance the Ring (4) Spin R (as in Petronella), face NN (4) Balance the Ring (4) Spin R A2 (8) Star L x 1 [hands across, gents drop out] (8) Ladies LEFT HAND chain [to N] B1 (8) Star R x 1 [hands across, ladies drop out] (8) Gents RIGHT HAND chain [To P] B2 (4) Pass Through (12) Partner Swing
Double NegativeContra, BECKET, by Rona Wiener, Jan 2016
[Starts on side with P, Gents on R] A1 (8) Star R x 1 [hands across, ladies drop out] (8) Gents RIGHT HAND chain [To N] A2 (8) Star L x 1 [hands across, gents drop out] (8) Ladies LEFT HAND chain [to P] B1 (8) Half a hey [Ladies lead by L] (8) Partner Swing B2 (8) Right and Left Through (8) Pass Through, Single File Promenade along the set to NN
On Wednesday, January 20, 2016 10:17 PM, Alexandra Deis-Lauby via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
I think I just danced one in CDH which both chains. But I can't remember who was chaining when because I was swapping anyway. But if anyone else was there and remembers...
On Sun, Jan 17, 2016 at 7:11 PM, Ron Blechner via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Anyone know any contras with gents chaining from right-hand position? I have four I wrote on the plane, and I don't think I've ever danced one. And considering the ro swapping I encounter at many of my gigs, maybe it's time I start calling them sometime.I know there's one by Gene Hubert where ladies chain, are rolled away with 1/2 sashay, and gents are right-hand chained from the right. Notes for that appreciated. I'd like dances where gents are doing a regular right hand chain.I'm not talking about "Gents chain", which is from the Left-hand side. For that matter, I want to make it clear that "gents chain" is named poorly. I called "gents, left-hand chain" the other night in Greenfield and it required less explanation than when I've called/taught it as "gents chain". But I digress.Thanks!
Ron Blechner
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I am a new caller, and I have called two dances. The first, I completely
blew the microphone part. Since then, I practiced holding the mic close to
my mouth like was suggested to me.
The second dnce, I was told that my voice was too deep for the microphone,
and I was overpowering it. It was suggested that I hold the microphone
further away and project, which I tried, but again, not something I
practiced.
Someone afterwards suggested that it could have been dealt with by the
sound board. Although, the sound guy was sitting there and I'm sure would
have done something if it would have helped.
So, any advice? Is there a particular mic or mic type that is good for
deep voices? Any techniques to practice? Sound guy/gal need to be on the
ball?
Any advice welcome.
... Darwin
That article had a few interesting *new* points, for me.
1. That Roma are in the US, not just Europe, and face continued
discrimination.
2. That Roma in the US often don't speak up about their identity out of
fear of discrimination.
3. That perhaps the use of "gypsy" as a term isn't as bad as non-Roma
self-identitying as "dance gypsies". Roma wander because they are
persecuted or can't find work. When we talk about "dance gypsies" beig
wandering from place to place, we're comparing our having fun traveling to
various dances to the widespread persecution of an ethnicity (the worst
being the Holocaust).
On Apr 1, 2016 10:03 AM, "via Callers" <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
wrote:
> I was thinking that very thing, but didn't have any experiences.
> Something I read recently pointed out that Romani people in Spain proudly
> refer to themselves as "Gitano" which translates to Gypsy.
>
> This is issue is not as cut and dry as many of us would like it to be.
>
> Thanks for sharing this story.
>
>
> ******************************************************************************************************
> Amy Carroll
> amy(a)calleramy.com
> 206-330-7408
> http://www.calleramy.com/
>
>
>
> On April 1, 2016 at 9:02 AM Rich Sbardella <richsbardella(a)gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> There are still at least two sides to this argument. Although I am using
> the term less and less, I want to relate a recent experience.
>
> I was dancing in one of MA biggest contra venues as a caller walked the a
> dance with a "two eyed" turn. A dancer in my line became more than a
> little upset, yelling it "it's a gypsy". Turns out the dancer is Romani,
> and the term "gypsy" is one he proudly owns.
>
> I do not think the Roma people as a whole have come to a consensus. (For
> example, The Gypsy Kings proudly use the term as a reference to their
> heritage.)
>
> Rich Stafford
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 1, 2016 at 4:56 AM, Michael Fuerst via Callers <
> callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> Ms Carroll:
>
> Quite frankly a fairly useless article for us.
> Ms Raessi is "a Romani/Métis researcher and activist" so it seems logical
> that she dislikes the term gypsy.
> She lists alleged myths stereotypes about Romani people
> Every ethnic group has an associated set of myths and stereotypes.
> Every ethnic group tries to purge the negative stereotypes and retain the
> positive aspects of their heritage.
> Ms Raessi writes "many people find that using this term is wrong because
> it perpetuates misinformation about our origins"
> This makes little sense. Anyone person bigoted enough to entertain
> any of her alleged stereotypes has no idea about the origins of Romani
> people.
>
> Ms Raessi writes "...the term has been used as a racial slur and is
> loaded with stereotypes ..."
> Yes the word gypsy has been used to deprecate Romani people but over the
> years it evolved to mean a free-spirited or nomadic person.
> Other ethnic slurs (such as kike, chink, jap or nigger) have not similarly
> evolved, and thus their use remains offensive.
> This article discusses some English words or idioms that evolved from
> ethnic slurs:
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/offensive-words-_n_4144472.html
>
> The ongoing discussion during the past year of the word gypsy has included
> claims that some persons of Romani descent embrace gypsy and its positive
> aspects of current usage, most don't care, and some hate the word. And
> of course only those who object will speak out.
> As long the common usage of gypsy keeps evolving towards a free-spirited
> or nomadic person, keeping it in the contra lexicon seems appropriate
>
>
> Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217 239 584
>
>
> On Thursday, March 31, 2016 11:32 PM, via Callers <
> callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>
> http://bellydanceu.net/culture/520/
> "What's wrong with the Word 'Gypsy'?"
>
> ******************************************************************************************************
> Amy Carroll
> amy(a)calleramy.com
> 206-330-7408
> http://www.calleramy.com/
>
> _______________________________________________
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> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
Hi, Jack - Yes, indeed. The dance is "Vallimont's Silver Hammer" by Luke
Donforth. Luke shared it on Shared Weight recently.
If the video you're talking about is
https://www.facebook.com/DuganMurphyContraDanceCaller/videos/10367957730752…,
that's me!
Dugan Murphy
dugan(a)duganmurphy.com
> Date: Thu, 02 Jun 2016 22:30:01 +0000
> From: Jack Mitchell via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
> To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: [Callers] ID This dance? Square thru, shadow DsD
> Message-ID:
> <
> CAP+XMj40fp4XDMRt1FyBYO5Pr6RKfXKQRvxaY_xh_O-8UcZNYA(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Spotted on a video earlier today.....
>
> A1 Circle L 3/4, N Sw
> A2 N Promenade, Ladies Chain
> B1 RH to N balace, N pull by R, Partner pull by L; Shadow DsD
> B2 P B&S
>
> --
> Jack Mitchell
> Durham, NC
>
Hi Callers,
I’m booked to call a dance this Saturday; the temperature is predicted to be 98F. This is an unusually hightemperature for the area and time of year- this organization does not hold summerdances.
I’ve emailed the organizers asking for their thoughts/contingency plans.My first priority is keeping the dancers safe.
While I’m waiting to hear back from them, I’m brainstormingideas for how to make a hot weather dance a safe and fun experience (presumingit isn’t cancelled due to heat).
Here’s what I’ve come up with generally:
-Remind dancers to take time to hydrate/change shirts etcrather than rushing to maximize the number of dances called.
-Offer ice/popsicles at the break.
And specifically as a caller:
-Run dances shorter.
-Moderate band tempo
-Select dances where ladies/gents/ones/twos/first corners/second corners get “solos.” Thehall tends to consist of two long lines, so I imagine that I might want to makeshorter lines if I call something uneven.
-Avoid butterfly whirls
-Walk all dances, but avoid unnecessarily long walk-throughs.
Other thoughts? Are there figures that tend to take lessenergy? I’m imaging that sequential balances are less tiring than full heys,but I’m not certain of this.
Also, suggestions for interesting dances with more recoverytime?
A dance that comes to mind is Tecumseh (Dylan Bustin).
Thanks!
Lindsey
(Tacoma, WA)
Spotted on a video earlier today.....
A1 Circle L 3/4, N Sw
A2 N Promenade, Ladies Chain
B1 RH to N balace, N pull by R, Partner pull by L; Shadow DsD
B2 P B&S
--
Jack Mitchell
Durham, NC
Danced this Mary Cay's Reel look-alike recently--anyone know the title and
author?
(becket L)
A1: circle L 3/4
N swing
A2: llf&b
ladies alle R 3/4, next lady alle L 3/4
B1: pass P by R for full hey
B2: P B&S
Thanks!
Maia
Hi,
I thought Don had some great suggestions for a periodic open caller dance.
I helped keep Seattle's Open Band/Open Caller monthly dance going for
awhile, and really liked having a host caller. The expectation was that the
host would help keep the flow of the evening going by calling the first and
last dance of the night, and fill in with others if needed, would arrange
the order of the other callers (so more experienced callers might alternate
with newer ones). The host caller would sometimes mentor (or chose a more
experienced caller who was willing to mentor) less experienced callers:
step in if they needed advice on choosing a dance, have dances to suggest
on hand, help with band signals and knowing when to end the dance (but as
Don says - also let it be learning experience - know how much to support &
give reassurance, without taking over).
We did not do sign-ups in advance, but put out a sign-up sheet during the
potluck before the dance. It was a given that signing up to call a dance
was not necessarily an indicator of the order.
Great for you for keeping this tradition going! Hope it goes well,
Valerie
Message: 3
Date: Mon, 23 May 2016 15:31:21 -0400
From: Don Veino via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
To: Chet Gray <chetgray+sharedweight(a)gmail.com>
Cc: Don Veino via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Organizing open calling
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Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Hi,
Sue Rosen generally does this for the periodic NEFFA caller nights at the
Scout House Thursday dance. The expectation there is you have your wall
clock time slots (e.g.: 7:30-7:55) and you *end* your slot on time, no
matter what happened before or during your slot. Having slots specified as
real clock time instead of elapsed time makes staying on/recovering to
schedule much easier. I appreciate/leverage her approach and have taken it
a bit more on-line.
I've done this several times for our other Scout House series. My approach
is to set up a shared Google spreadsheet with the available time slots,
names assigned to slots. Generally in the first "half" (curiously, longer
than the second :), a given caller gets two dance slots in a row and one in
the second (one caller gets the flip assignment). I have the four callers
enter two dances for each slot. One choice for "beginner heavy" and the
other for "more experienced". Having them all in one place, we can
visualize the program choices and challenge arc of the selections. The
crowd that arrives leads us to which column will be the program that night.
People can comment in the sheet and we work out most conflicts or necessary
adjustments on-line (or by phone, etc.) before the evening. Of course there
may be some tweaks that night, but having the two program difficulty
choices spelled out minimizes that.
This process typically takes about 2 weeks. Can be done in less time but
would need to be led strongly with deadlines. People (particularly at this
level) have focus on their "primary" job/life and the turnaround time on
requests and changes can take days.
Other thoughts:
- Work out who'll introduce/recognize the band, sound, etc. (easily
overdone or forgot otherwise).
- Outgoing caller introduce the next one.
- Tape a copy of the program up near the caller's mic.
- Following caller helps enforce (gently) finishing clock time of
previous caller.
- Have slop slots built into your schedule (~7 minutes first half, ~5
second - not distributed into the caller slots and ideally remaining
unused) and explicitly schedule any waltz/scandi and break(s) too.
- You're the glue in this process. Be ready to help out but also stay
back to let them work out any issues themselves - that's part of their
learning too!
Good luck!
-Don
On Mon, May 23, 2016 at 2:04 PM, Chet Gray via Callers <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Hello, all,
>
> After losing monthly open-calling evenings to venue schedule conflicts
> last year, the local contra group where I live (Louisville, KY) are
> re-implementing them on 5th-week dances (so, about four or so times a
> year). I am "organizing caller" for the first of these, next Monday, and
> I'm wondering if any of y'all have advice on coordinating an evening of
> open-calling.
>
> The extent of organization for our previous open-calling dances had been,
> essentially, callers put their name on a list and everyone hopes it works
> out, and, while this was usually serendipitous fun, it often led to
> long-running dances (both individually and for the evening overall) and
> less-than-enjoyable experiences for newer dancers. When our board was
> discussing re-starting open calling, I had recently been at the Jan Jam
> (Champaign/Urbana, IL) after party, where Lauren Peckman had coordinated
> open calling, and where I'd had the best open-calling experience?as both a
> dancer and a caller?I'd ever encountered. I suggested to our board that,
> this time around, the evenings each have an "organizing caller" to help
> ensure overall program flow, coordinate callers/dances with an eye to
> complexity/energy/time, incorporate and assist novice callers, wrangle
> callers if need be for time limits, fill in gaps in the program, have
> back-pocket dances at the ready, etc.
>
> Lo, they asked me to take a go at coordinating. Suggest a change, be the
> change, I suppose. ^_^
>
> The open calling has been announced at our weekly dances leading up, and
> tonight (a week before) I'll be asking (but not requiring) prospective
> callers to talk to me to help me get an idea for how I can best help the
> evening flow.
>
> Any suggestions/anecdotes/warnings from my more-experienced fellows would
> be greatly appreciated.
>
> ? Chet Gray
>
Hello, all,
After losing monthly open-calling evenings to venue schedule conflicts last
year, the local contra group where I live (Louisville, KY) are
re-implementing them on 5th-week dances (so, about four or so times a
year). I am "organizing caller" for the first of these, next Monday, and
I'm wondering if any of y'all have advice on coordinating an evening of
open-calling.
The extent of organization for our previous open-calling dances had been,
essentially, callers put their name on a list and everyone hopes it works
out, and, while this was usually serendipitous fun, it often led to
long-running dances (both individually and for the evening overall) and
less-than-enjoyable experiences for newer dancers. When our board was
discussing re-starting open calling, I had recently been at the Jan Jam
(Champaign/Urbana, IL) after party, where Lauren Peckman had coordinated
open calling, and where I'd had the best open-calling experience—as both a
dancer and a caller—I'd ever encountered. I suggested to our board that,
this time around, the evenings each have an "organizing caller" to help
ensure overall program flow, coordinate callers/dances with an eye to
complexity/energy/time, incorporate and assist novice callers, wrangle
callers if need be for time limits, fill in gaps in the program, have
back-pocket dances at the ready, etc.
Lo, they asked me to take a go at coordinating. Suggest a change, be the
change, I suppose. ^_^
The open calling has been announced at our weekly dances leading up, and
tonight (a week before) I'll be asking (but not requiring) prospective
callers to talk to me to help me get an idea for how I can best help the
evening flow.
Any suggestions/anecdotes/warnings from my more-experienced fellows would
be greatly appreciated.
— Chet Gray
