Hi Folks,
Greg from Winnipeg - As customary, I just wrote a new dance and wondering if it's already been penned. It has two versions, below, one is easier, as I introduce many people to contra dancing in my group and it's nice to have a low stress option, the second is more standard. I also really like dances where it doesn't matter what side you're on, but it's hard to find variety without any corner figures.
In Action (standard) - duple proper/improper doesn't matter what side you're on
A1 - P DsD; Circle L
A2 - P B+Sw (end facing neighbours, doesn't matter what side but good to end on the side you started on)
B1 - N DsD; LH Star
B2 - LL F+B, neighbour roll away on the return; new neighbour LH turn
(Or, if I was Rick Mohr: B2 - LL F+B (7), Neighbour Roll Away (3), new Neighbour LH Turn (6)) LOL
Notes: Holding hands in long lines may not be necessary, as you're dropping them on the return to do the roll away, so if you're late you'll only get a 2 beat hand hold with your previous neighbour. It should only be required to pick up your current neighbour for the F+B.
In Action (easy) - duple proper/improper
A1 - P DsD; Circle L
A2 - P Swing
B1 - N DsD; LH Star
B2 - F+B across, with your neighbour (8); roll away your neighbour (4) and the last 4 beats is flex/catch up (because I usually find it's hard for people to orient themselves in the new minor set; I may say "Wave to your neighbour, then face your partner" or something like that).
Notes: I took out the balance because it's only satisfying if you get it right on the beat and my beginners are rarely ever there. The 16 beat swing can be catch-up time.
Greg
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Sent with [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/) secure email.
*my "**Vote Blue No Matter Who,**" tweaked for this election cycle:*
*(let me know how it goes if you call this one!)*
*Vote Blue No Matter Who, Version 2.024 *(5-2-24) *by Elizabeth Bloom
Albert *
Becket formation; start one-quarter turn to left of Improper; this dance
progresses clockwise.
A1* (2) Slide Left to new neighbors:
(6) Ladies Do-Si-Do 1 x
(8) Swing Partner
A2 (4) Ladies: R-hand Balance
(4) Ladies: Pull-by R to switch [places] {Drop hands}
(4) Gents: R-hand Balance
(4) Gents: Pull-by R to switch [places] {Don’t drop hands}
B1 (8) [Hands Across] Star Right
[End in Wavy Lines up/down hall with Gents facing in]
(4) Balance the [Blue!] wave
(4) Balance the wave again
B2 (8) Gents cross Left, for Half a Hey
(8) Swing Partner (again)
NOTES:
A1: CALLER: During walk thru and 1st time thru, couples do not shift left,
dancing instead with couple across.
Hi everyone,
I apologize - email to the list has been held up for a few days as there was a corruption in the mail database. Everything should be fine now. I don't yet know if any emails sent during the down time will come through.
Seth
I’ve been asked to call a dance at a church camp for middle schoolers at the end of July. Two of the campers have cerebral palsy - one is fairly mobile but the other is on crutches. I’m looking for dance ideas that could be used as is or modified for a dancer on crutches. About 40 people are anticipated (middle school aged campers and high school and adult staff).
Thanks,
Dianne
Hello!
I remember seeing a video of a contra dance a few years back, perhaps
during some kind of workshop, where one of the moves involved dancers
pumping their fists into the air and saying something. I think they were
saying "hey," but I'm not completely sure. I remember that the dance seemed
like it was at a typical contra dance level of difficulty and was a duple
minor, not a simple family dance.
Does anyone know what dance this might be?
Thanks!
Kyla Wargel
Bloomington, IN
Hi fellow callers :)
I'm looking for feedback on summer camp workshop descriptions!
*Backstory:* I'm heading into my second year as the caller for a trad music
& dance camp up here in Canada. Last year I offered two daily classes --
one was a daily discussion on various subjects relating to calling. The
other was a learning lab where folks could call dances and receive
feedback. I'm offering those two workshops again this year and I'm
adding a dancer skills session. I'm particularly excited about the skill
building workshop as the dancers at this camp are SUPER enthusiastic camp
but some haven't had much exposure to skills/knowledge building (e.g.,
there's some fun-loving younguns that really whip their partners around and
execute flourishes with little/no notion of consent or safety).
Anyway, I REALLLLLLLLY want to have great 'sell' on the skill-building
session. It's going to be a super fun session focus on play/actually
dancing. I just need to convince dancers that they want to sign up! (Note
-- while this camp is a trad music & dance camp, recent camp years have
been heavily focused on instrument learning workshops.)
I've included draft descriptions for all three workshops below.* Might you
have feedback on how I could make them more enticing????*
Also - I'm wondering if it's appropriate to say 'caller curious' as a term
for folks who haven't called but may be curious in trying it out.
Thank you!
Emily in Ottawa, ON
JOIN THE CONTRA PLAYSHOP!
Are you into contra dancing? Then you’ve GOT to sign up for this
session!!!! We are going to spend the whole week working on building our
dancing skills and knowledge in a SUPER playful and engaging way. Even
very experienced dancers will find that there’s lots of surprising fun that
can happen in this session as well further learning to finness your dance
style. Plus… we’ll do some flourishes you’ve likely never tried before.
Are you new to contra dancing? This is also a great session for you. You
will learn lots of skills that make your dancing that much more fun and
we’ll focus on some details that we can’t get into during an evening of
dance.
ARE YOU A CALLER or ARE CALLER CURIOUS?
This session is for anyone who wants to build their calling practice
whether you are an experienced caller or haven’t even yet called your first
dance. We’ll be spending a lot of time looking at repertoire and
programming this year — how to choose dances for different crowds, how to
craft an evening of programming, and much more. (I’ll also be sharing some
of my favourite dances for different levels and contexts.)
CALLER LEARNING LAB
Callers of any level are invited to participate in this open mic time -
it's a perfect chance to try calling for the first time OR try teaching
dances new to you and receive feedback in a supportive environment. If you
are interested in this session, register early and email Emily (
EmilyLAddison(a)gmail.com). Emily will work with you to identify a few dances
to focus on and will help set you up for success so you get the most out of
the open mic opportunity. Dancers: You are most welcome at this daily
session as well! We'd love to have your participation … the more the
merrier on the dance floor!
Hi all,
In response to some recent requests I have set up a page that
provides links to sites that provide instructions for dances, or videos or
animations.
The page is http://contrafusion.co.uk/CallerResources.html. It
covers all genres of English and American dances.
I would love to add more resources to this page. Please let
me know the Web site addresses of any recommendations that you have.
Please let me know if you have a Web site with multiple
dances, with full instructions.
I will add as many as I can that look relevant.
Thanks for your help.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802
940 574
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
I've just had a second running of my Positional Squares workshop and I've now put up a large page of notes,
so if you're interested in calling or dancing squares positionally, please browse to
https://colinhume.com/dtpositional.htm
and I'll be pleased to receive your feedback, good or bad!
Colin Hume
tldr: those of you who are anti-Petronella claps (in general, not just in
specific cases where they interrupt flow from the spin into the next move),
I want to understand why!
Clapping on Petronella turns has been the overwhelming norm ever since I
started dancing, but I know that it wasn't always this way, and that some
folks vehemently dislike it. Well recently I've noted the (baffling??
inexplicable??) rise of clapping after the spin on Rory O'Moore's, which
makes my blood boil (it's so satisfying to catch hands in the new wave out
of the spin, why would you ever NOT do that??), and it's making me think
more about Petronella claps.
Clapping on a Rory bugs me so much because it interrupts the momentum of
spin-and-catch-hands. I'll admit that I don't understand the objection to
Petronella claps, at least through that lens. Like certainly, in a
specifically Cure for the Claps-type* dance (with e.g. Petronella spin into
allemande left, Petronella spin into swing, etc.), clapping interrupts the
momentum, and it's way more satisfying to spin directly into the next move.
But given a bog standard "Petronella, Petronella, balance and swing" or
similar, I don't feel like the claps interrupt the momentum or disrupt
transitions, and in fact are a nice fun way to fill space.
To be clear, the above isn't an argument in favor of Petronella claps, just
me explaining where I'm coming from. So now we come to my question:
1. *those of you who are anti-Petronella claps, can you explain why?* I
want to understand! Is it a satisfying momentum thing that I've just never
experienced because I'm so used to clapping? Dedication to historical
accuracy? Something else entirely?
2. *what dance(s) would you use to make your case to a contemporary contra
hall, that aren't explicitly written as Cure for the Claps dances?* Petronella
spin to a swing feels great, and of *course* you shouldn't clap there
(although some folks inexplicably do, sigh)—but if you'd prefer that we
didn't clap even in a dance like Tica Tica Timing, then a CftC dance isn't
the whole story. If you had the infinite good will of a contemporary contra
hall, and were able to say to the dancers "don't clap on the Petronellas in
this one and just pay attention to how nice it feels to X and how
satisfying it is to Y", what dance would you use, what things would you
tell the dancers to clue into, etc. to make your case? (And what would you
ask the band for?)
Thanks as always for your expertise!
Cheers,
Maia
* Cure for the Claps contra: a dance that discourages clapping during the
Petronella turn, often by putting moves directly after the Petronella that
flow nicely from a spin. May be intentional or incidental. See e.g.: The
Cure for the Claps
<https://www.ibiblio.org/contradance/thecallersbox/dance.php?id=10364> (Bob
Isaacs), Becket in the Kitchen
<https://www.ibiblio.org/contradance/thecallersbox/dance.php?id=17> (Becky
Hill)
--
Maia McCormick (she/her)
917.279.8194
