Those of you using a tablet for calling, what size do you have? Do you
wish you had a larger/smaller tablet? (I'm currently leaning toward 7-8"
but am happy to get swayed by majority opinion -- particularly with
reasons. ;-)
--
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 http://rule6.info/
<*> <*> <*>
Chekov's Rule for musicals: if there's a barrel, it must be danced on.
When I first started calling, I despaired when I heard experienced callers
say I must memorize my dances! I couldn't imagine keeping the order of
each dance straight in my mind! But now that I've been calling a couple of
years, I find that there are a few dances I know by heart and that there
are other dances I recognize when someone else calls them. The longer I
call, the larger my group of dances with which I am very familiar without
my notes.
I keep my dances in a google docs spreadsheet which I can access from my
Nexus 7 tablet with or without internet. But I print up the dances I am
calling and a few backups in a binder on a music stand on the stage with
me. The notes are not in my hands so I find it easier to pay attention to
the dancers instead of being glued to my notes. While the dances are not
"memorized" in the sense that I couldn't call it again next week without
reviewing the notes, for that evening, I am familiar enough with the dance
that I only need to glance at the notes before I start the walk-through.
This gets easier as time goes by.
So if you're a newbie caller, don't despair! It could be that the dances
will start sticking with you for longer and longer periods of time.
--
JoLaine Jones-Pokorney
"We are as gods and might as well get good at it!"
- Stewart Brand
Great dance! The back to back roll aways really build energy. John
Coffman mentions the potential timing problem and suggests a solution in
his teaching notes:
"Notes: A2: For ladies that like to twirl (ladies choice), a twirl works
nicely with the Right and Left Through. [Without the twirl, some men may
roll the ladies away prematurely, mildly disrupting the flow of the
dance.] So, when teaching, I like to suggest a twirl for the ladies that
like to twirl.
We have noticed that without careful teaching, many dancers will attempt
the first (ladies roll) prematurely, because lots of dances have the right
and left through and courtesy turn and roll away compressed into 8 counts
of music. For this dance to flow properly, dancers need to take the full 8
counts to do the right and left through (including the courtesy turn).
Then the first (ladies) roll away takes place during the first 4 counts of
the following (8 count) phrase."
Jim Hemphill
Hi all,
I need help with 2 dances:
(1) Where is the progression in Steve Zakon-Anderson's 3-33-33
(2) Alternating Current is a great dance by John Coffman. The A2 has a
Right and left Through into a men roll his neighbor lady away along the line
and then she rolls him into (B2) Ladies Allemande Right (once and a half). A
great sereis of moves that zip. But dancers are consistently getting
through the 2 roll aways early. I thought of putting a 'power turn' in at
the end of the Right and Left Through (i.e. an extra turn as a couple coming
out of the Right and left Through), but have not tried that yet. Anyone
else have experience with this dance or have other suggestions?
Rickey Holt,
Fremont, NH
Of course, the ultimate question with regarding to calling a CC BY-NC dance
at a paid event: is it in fact noncommercial use? What would describe
'commercial use' of a contra sequence, other than republishing it? (It is
my understanding the rich tradition of collecting dances from performers
and caller friends would fall under SA, but i'd require legal verification
of that before i chose to advocate adding specific protections to
choreography.) (p.s. while copyright/left exists to provide an incentive
for creatives to create, i highly doubt that the people who write
contradances require that incentivization for dance composition, or that
there is significant economic gain to be had in the publication of contra
dances...)
also REALLY sorry i couldn't delete the quoted text, trackpad button isn't
working to cut & paste atm
On Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 12:00 PM, <callers-request(a)sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Send Callers mailing list submissions to
> callers(a)sharedweight.net
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> callers-request(a)sharedweight.net
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> callers-owner(a)sharedweight.net
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Callers digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Orange You Glad We Met? (Aahz Maruch)
> 2. Re: Orange You Glad We Met? (Aahz Maruch)
> 3. Re: Orange You Glad We Met? (Bill Olson)
> 4. Re: Scheduling/programmer Question (Aahz Maruch)
> 5. Re: See Saw (was Re: Code's Compiling) (Aahz Maruch)
> 6. Re: Norms/Ethics of Dance Choreography Sharing (Aahz Maruch)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 13:57:47 -0700
> From: Aahz Maruch <aahz(a)pobox.com>
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Subject: [Callers] Orange You Glad We Met?
> Message-ID: <20130925205747.GA28591(a)panix.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> In light of the earlier discussion about both double-progression and
> dances with neighbor swing that don't have circle left 3/4, I wrote the
> following. I'd first like to double-check that this doesn't already
> exist under some other name, nor does the name exist for some other
> dance; I'd also like feedback on the choreography.
>
> Orange You Glad We Met?
>
> Becket
>
> A1
> Men L allemande 1/2 (4)
> Neighbor B&S (12)
>
> A2
> L star 1/2 to prev neighbor (6)
> R star full to current neighbor (10)
>
> B1
> Pass thru current neighbor to new neighbor (4)
> PROGRESSION
> End in wave
> Balance wave (4)
> Square thru 3.5 (8)
>
> B2
> Partner B&S (16)
> --
> Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6
> http://rule6.info/
> <*> <*> <*>
> "It's 106 miles to Chicago. We have a full tank of gas, a half-pack of
> cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses." "Hit it."
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 14:09:02 -0700
> From: Aahz Maruch <aahz(a)pobox.com>
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Orange You Glad We Met?
> Message-ID: <20130925210902.GA21016(a)panix.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> Ignore this, I hate when I hit "send" and immediately realize there's a
> major choreography boo-boo...
>
> (The square thru doesn't work.)
>
>
> On Wed, Sep 25, 2013, Aahz wrote:
> >
> > In light of the earlier discussion about both double-progression and
> > dances with neighbor swing that don't have circle left 3/4, I wrote the
> > following. I'd first like to double-check that this doesn't already
> > exist under some other name, nor does the name exist for some other
> > dance; I'd also like feedback on the choreography.
> >
> > Orange You Glad We Met?
> >
> > Becket
> >
> > A1
> > Men L allemande 1/2 (4)
> > Neighbor B&S (12)
> >
> > A2
> > L star 1/2 to prev neighbor (6)
> > R star full to current neighbor (10)
> >
> > B1
> > Pass thru current neighbor to new neighbor (4)
> > PROGRESSION
> > End in wave
> > Balance wave (4)
> > Square thru 3.5 (8)
> >
> > B2
> > Partner B&S (16)
> > --
> > Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6
> http://rule6.info/
> > <*> <*> <*>
> > "It's 106 miles to Chicago. We have a full tank of gas, a half-pack of
> > cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses." "Hit it."
> > _______________________________________________
> > Callers mailing list
> > Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
> --
> Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6
> http://rule6.info/
> <*> <*> <*>
> "It's 106 miles to Chicago. We have a full tank of gas, a half-pack of
> cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses." "Hit it."
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 21:10:15 +0000
> From: Bill Olson <callbill(a)hotmail.com>
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Orange You Glad We Met?
> Message-ID: <BAY177-W3731E9DF4F06A5F1A4CE35C62F0(a)phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> well, better here than on the dance floor.. *been there*.. hee hee..
>
>
>
>
> > Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 14:09:02 -0700
> > From: aahz(a)pobox.com
> > To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> > Subject: Re: [Callers] Orange You Glad We Met?
> >
> > Ignore this, I hate when I hit "send" and immediately realize there's a
> > major choreography boo-boo...
> >
> > (The square thru doesn't work.)
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Sep 25, 2013, Aahz wrote:
> > >
> > > In light of the earlier discussion about both double-progression and
> > > dances with neighbor swing that don't have circle left 3/4, I wrote the
> > > following. I'd first like to double-check that this doesn't already
> > > exist under some other name, nor does the name exist for some other
> > > dance; I'd also like feedback on the choreography.
> > >
> > > Orange You Glad We Met?
> > >
> > > Becket
> > >
> > > A1
> > > Men L allemande 1/2 (4)
> > > Neighbor B&S (12)
> > >
> > > A2
> > > L star 1/2 to prev neighbor (6)
> > > R star full to current neighbor (10)
> > >
> > > B1
> > > Pass thru current neighbor to new neighbor (4)
> > > PROGRESSION
> > > End in wave
> > > Balance wave (4)
> > > Square thru 3.5 (8)
> > >
> > > B2
> > > Partner B&S (16)
> > > --
> > > Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6
> http://rule6.info/
> > > <*> <*> <*>
> > > "It's 106 miles to Chicago. We have a full tank of gas, a half-pack of
> > > cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses." "Hit it."
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Callers mailing list
> > > Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> > > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
> >
> > --
> > Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6
> http://rule6.info/
> > <*> <*> <*>
> > "It's 106 miles to Chicago. We have a full tank of gas, a half-pack of
> > cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses." "Hit it."
> > _______________________________________________
> > Callers mailing list
> > Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 07:39:24 -0700
> From: Aahz Maruch <aahz(a)pobox.com>
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Scheduling/programmer Question
> Message-ID: <20130926143923.GA6566(a)panix.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> On Thu, Sep 12, 2013, Colin Hume wrote:
> > On Wed, 11 Sep 2013 20:57:04 -0400, Linda Leslie wrote:
> >>
> >> A few dances, such as the Concord MA Scout House, follow the
> >> quarterly rule (with exceptions for traveling callers/bands from
> >> far away). But others seem to schedule up to a year (or more!) in
> >> advance.
> >
> > Groups in England book bands and callers much further ahead. I have
> > 12 bookings for 2014 (it would often be more by this time of the year)
> > and 3 for 2015.
>
> How do y'all bring in new talent?
> --
> Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6
> http://rule6.info/
> <*> <*> <*>
> Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 08:06:35 -0700
> From: Aahz Maruch <aahz(a)pobox.com>
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Subject: Re: [Callers] See Saw (was Re: Code's Compiling)
> Message-ID: <20130926150635.GA17999(a)panix.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> On Tue, Sep 10, 2013, James Saxe wrote:
> >
> > So it appears from the above that CALLERLAB has officially deprecated
> > use of "See Saw" to mean a left shoulder Dosado for ten years (as of
> > tomorrow). I don't have a copy of the CALLERLAB Basic/Mainstream
> > definitions from just before that time, but it seems clear that the
> > prescribed for "See Saw" would have been (left) gypsy-like in some
> > cases and (left) dosado-like in others.
> >
> > Ten years may seem like a long time to younger members of this list,
> > and to people who first took MWSD lessons within the last ten years,
> > it may seem like the definitions they learned describe the way things
> > were from time immemorial. But by 2003 MWSD had already substantially
> > diverged from "traditional" SD for forty years or so.
>
> Well, I certainly appreciate the history lesson. Memory is unreliable,
> of course, but I don't remember ever doing See Saw in MWSD as a left
> dosado, starting in 1986 at UCDavis nor the Stanford Quads a year later
> (just to nail down the timing and locations more precisely). From what
> I can tell, Callerlab seems to be more in the descriptivist camp than
> prescriptivist, so almost certainly the definitional changes you describe
> followed majority practice that started earlier.
>
> If anyone's curious, I can do more digging into people's memories on the
> MWSD side.
> --
> Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6
> http://rule6.info/
> <*> <*> <*>
> Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 08:31:49 -0700
> From: Aahz Maruch <aahz(a)pobox.com>
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Norms/Ethics of Dance Choreography Sharing
> Message-ID: <20130926153149.GA12176(a)panix.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> [late again]
>
> On Fri, Sep 13, 2013, Don Veino wrote:
> >
> > I freely offer that some of the distinctions may or may not make sense to
> > others, but feels right to me in this environment. The grey area one
> above
> > would probably be stifling to several of the choreography review and
> > criticism threads which are otherwise very helpful were it made "not OK."
> >
> > I'd love to hear what others think!
>
> Not sure what I think yet, but because of this and Sam's thread, I've
> stuck "CC BY-NC-SA" on the dances I'm writing -- can't hurt.
>
> I prefer that over Sam's CC BY-NC because the SA requires a pass-along
> license: if there's ever a situation where copyright is relevant, I want
> to force the copyleft.
>
> http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
> --
> Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6
> http://rule6.info/
> <*> <*> <*>
> Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
> End of Callers Digest, Vol 109, Issue 47
> ****************************************
>
Aahz wrote:
> Despite your admonition that the caller is responsible for
> everything (which certainly is worthwhile as general advice), I think
> that placing the onus for the sound system also on the caller is probably
> going a bit too far.
>
Actually,…I don’t think anyone should place an onus on anybody at a social
event. Unfortunately the fact is that sometimes onuses just “fall” in the
dance hall. Nobody knows where they fall *from* but I suspect they are up
there—perhaps somewhere near the light fixtures.
Often the onus falls upon the dancers. That’s not good. Onuses are not
attractive and dancers don’t like them. I try to keep those guys off the
dancers if at all possible.
I think that having onuses falling in a dance hall is a bad idea. When an
onus falls on a dancer, for instance, it can be very disturbing for the
dancer and makes it harder for them to concentrate on anything else but
that damned onus. Once an onus gets on a dancer they are not easy to get
rid of. And, fact is, that there are a lot of folks who won’t even want to
dance with you once you’ve got an onus on you. And who could blame them. If
one onus falls then it’s a good bet that there’s another one up there,
lurking, and the critter is likely to fall on the same dancer again. It is
safer to stay away from a dancer who has an ornery onus on them. Some
folks even stay away from the spot in the hall where an onus fell on a
dancer on account of there are probably more of them up there.
Once onuses start falling in a dance hall everybody gets a little edgy. Nobody
wants an onus to get on them. Onuses can hurt when they hit a dancer.
But the caller can do something about the onuses. A good caller can catch
an onus before it falls on a dancer. A live microphone is an effective
onus-catching device. By being a leader the caller can take responsibility
and apologize for whatever the onus is about and that is how the caller can
catch the onus before somebody is injured or hurt.
I was not calling before we had microphones. Back then maybe leaders could
catch onuses without a mike…if they had a strong voice. But the pa system
sure helps with onus catching. Masters of Ceremony have to catch onuses
all the time. It’s part of their professional responsibility
The caller can catch most onuses before they hit the dance floor. Even
better they should catch them before one even hits the stage, where the
musicians are. And they should certainly try to catch an onus before it
hits a sound engineer.
Years ago I saw a rock performer drop an onus on a sound engineer and it
was an ugly thing. The singer was inebriated and didn’t like the sound he
was getting so he dropped a particularly onerous onus smack dab on the
sound engineer’s head. Man! When that onus hit him the guy lost it. He
shut down the pa system, screamed a few descriptive words at the singer,
and stomped out of the hall in a huff. It took a half hour to get the
sound system working again and the singer’s performance was not well
received after that.
I would never drop an onus on the sound guy.
The night I attended my first contra dance the lovely woman who dragged me
there told me that I should not worry because, if anyone makes a mistake
everybody knows that it’s always the caller’s fault. That’s when I
realized that the caller is the Chief Onus-Catcher in the hall. The caller
catches the onus by stepping up, taking responsibility, and being a leader.
But it’s not just the caller’s professional responsibility. It’s also the
smartest thing a caller can do.
When the dancers realize that somebody is catching the onuses they can
relax and focus on dancing and having fun. The dancers are not stupid
either. Some of them will realize that the caller has a high opinion of
the dancers and expects more from them.
If you want to be a true “Folk Hero” start catching falling onuses at the
dances you call. The dancers will love you for that. Some will follow
that example and take more personal responsibility themselves. And many
will work harder to make the caller look good.
Everybody wins when the onuses are kept out of the dance hall.
- Greg McKenzie
West Coast, USA
Hello fellow callers,
I'm theoretically calling the Glen Echo (MD) dance on Friday, but as many
of you know, this is National Park land. If the Congressional standoff
continues, it may very well be that the gates will remain closed.
While things are obviously in flux, there is a possibility that I might
either calling at Glen Echo or at an alternate venue. In either case, I'd
like to incorporate some shutdown-themed dances for our DC folks.
So, in the event that I call, I'd love some ideas for dances themed/titled
around shutdowns, openings, bickering, childishness, etc. What have you
guys got? Any suggestions are happily welcome!
-Sargon
This is maybe a silly question, but in an allemande to a star promenade, is
it assumed that the allemanders will keep their allemande until they've
brought the promenade-ee across the set?
On Thu, Oct 3, 2013 at 10:58 PM, Eric Black <eric(a)mirador.com> wrote:
> At 12:48 PM -0700 10/3/13, Alan Winston wrote:
>
>> Not to hijack this completely, but dancing a man's role in a
>> men-allemande star promenade is also often really unsatisfying. Something
>> like 20% of the men I run into line (in the SF Bay Area) just let go of me
>> as soon as they've picked up their partner; 70% hold on but stop giving
>> weight either immediately or before the promenade part is omplete, and it's
>> no more than 10% who give me a satisfying connection all through the
>> promenade and a positive push off at the right time.
>>
>> (And in star promenades with the neighbor lady, I find that about half of
>> them step ahead. Good star promenade, according to me, is like this
>> }
>> {
>> and what happens half the time is more like this
>> Z
>>
>> I find them pretty frustrating to do most of the time, and wonderful when
>> they work.)
>>
>> -- Alan
>>
>
>
> Two important points I was taught long ago (~1982) by Sandy Bradley:
> - star promenade is an ARC, not "straight across". The outside person
> MUST walk the outside of a circle, and not just head straight across.
>
> - the outside person needs to match timing and velocity exactly as the
> allemander comes to pick them up. The image was docking with the Space
> Station. Don't be early, and don't be late. Be moving exactly at the
> right speed exactly as the rotating station comes around so you can
> dock.
>
> And then walk in an arc!
>
> I sometimes say that if the outside person starts out early so that the
> allemander is empty-armed, it's like taking a shower with your socks on.
> You might accomplish your goal OK, but it's completely unsatisfying.
>
> -Eric
>
>
> ______________________________**_________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> http://www.sharedweight.net/**mailman/listinfo/callers<http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers>
>
Came up against this question while writing a dance the other day: women
leading men into a star promenade and butterfly whirl? Does this happen?
Are there compelling reasons for me not write it into a dance, or would it
be a fun bit of genderswappery? (I imagine that as far as genderswappery
goes, it's still less confusing for all involved than a gent's chain...)
Cheers,
Maia
How about a dance that progresses backwards? Or has up-the-hall instead of down-the-hall?
On Oct 3, 2013, at 7:05 AM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote:
> Send Callers mailing list submissions to
> callers(a)sharedweight.net
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> callers-request(a)sharedweight.net
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> callers-owner(a)sharedweight.net
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Callers digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Shutdown-related dances? (Sargon de Jesus)
> 2. Re: Shutdown-related dances? (Donna Hunt)
> 3. Re: Shutdown-related dances? (Greg McKenzie)
> 4. Re: Shutdown-related dances? (Greg McKenzie)
> 5. Re: Shutdown-related dances? (Richard Fischer)
> 6. Re: Favorite mixers? (Jacob Nancy Bloom)
> 7. Re: Shutdown-related dances? (Yoyo Zhou)
> 8. simple dance identification (Ron T Blechner)
> 9. Women leading a star promenade? (Maia McCormick)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 2 Oct 2013 12:37:15 -0400
> From: Sargon de Jesus <sargondj(a)gmail.com>
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Subject: [Callers] Shutdown-related dances?
> Message-ID:
> <CAD0K=j+iFPEjXOVTpeErfMcASBfZVMe8n=ey5hHfO=juTUXnUA(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Hello fellow callers,
>
> I'm theoretically calling the Glen Echo (MD) dance on Friday, but as many
> of you know, this is National Park land. If the Congressional standoff
> continues, it may very well be that the gates will remain closed.
>
> While things are obviously in flux, there is a possibility that I might
> either calling at Glen Echo or at an alternate venue. In either case, I'd
> like to incorporate some shutdown-themed dances for our DC folks.
>
> So, in the event that I call, I'd love some ideas for dances themed/titled
> around shutdowns, openings, bickering, childishness, etc. What have you
> guys got? Any suggestions are happily welcome!
>
> -Sargon
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
