Contra Callers

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21 participants
4391 discussions

by Richard

There is a québécois tradition of quadrilles and squares, all called in French. There is a modest literature and web presence devoted to Danse Traditionelle Quebecoise. I am unaware of any similar tradition for contras specifically. Note that 'French' is a loose term here -- I seem to recall "swingez vos partenaires" for example. R Richard Hopkins 850-894-9212 at home 850-544-7614 mobile Hopkinsrs(a)comcast.net Sent from my iPhone

12 years, 1 month

Re: [Callers] Callers Digest, Vol 107, Issue 18 - cpg culldances

by Charles Galt

__________________________________ Sent from my mobile Droid Bionic 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. Giant Robot Dance (Kalia Kliban) > 2. And while I'm at it... (Kalia Kliban) > 3. Re: And while I'm at it... (Jack Mitchell) > 4. Re: And while I'm at it... (Linda Leslie) > 5. Re: Giant Robot Dance (Linda Leslie) > 6. Re: Giant Robot Dance (Kalia Kliban) > 7. Re: And while I'm at it... (Jack Mitchell) > 8. Re: Giant Robot Dance (Kalia Kliban) > 9. Re: Giant Robot Dance (Michael Barraclough) > > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >Message: 1 >Date: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 13:21:02 -0700 >From: Kalia Kliban <kalia(a)sbcglobal.net> >To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> >Subject: [Callers] Giant Robot Dance >Message-ID: <51DC70AE.2040701(a)sbcglobal.net> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > >I have a scribbled note from a dance weekend back in February that I >really enjoyed this dance but I didn't get the author's name, and now >all I can find online is references to the band with that name. Can >anybody point me to a source? > >Kalia > > >------------------------------ > >Message: 2 >Date: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 13:41:20 -0700 >From: Kalia Kliban <kalia(a)sbcglobal.net> >To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> >Subject: [Callers] And while I'm at it... >Message-ID: <51DC7570.9040501(a)sbcglobal.net> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > >There are a couple of other dances I'm having trouble tracking down. >One is Hotpoint Special, which I think may be by Rick Mohr, and again >there's a band by that name. Criss-Cross Hey by Bob Isaacs is another. > >Kalia > > >------------------------------ > >Message: 3 >Date: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:46:32 -0400 >From: Jack Mitchell <jamitch3(a)mindspring.com> >To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> >Subject: Re: [Callers] And while I'm at it... >Message-ID: <51DC76A8.3010707(a)mindspring.com> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > >*The Hotpoint Special *-- Joseph Pemental*Becket* > >*A1*Ladies Alle R 1? >N Sw > >*A2*Gents Alle L 1? >P Sw > >*B1*Ring Balance >Pass thru to wave (ladies take LH, gents cross set, give RH to P) >Wave Balance >P Alle R, Gents Alle L > >*B2*Wave Balance >from wave facing opp dir of progression -- look behind you for new N >looking back at you >Step forward, turn right,ladies follow partnerSingle file >R&L Thru with these two** > > > >On 7/9/2013 4:41 PM, Kalia Kliban wrote: >> There are a couple of other dances I'm having trouble tracking down. >> One is Hotpoint Special, which I think may be by Rick Mohr, and again >> there's a band by that name. Criss-Cross Hey by Bob Isaacs is another. >> >> Kalia >> _______________________________________________ >> Callers mailing list >> Callers(a)sharedweight.net >> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >> >> > > > >------------------------------ > >Message: 4 >Date: Tue, 9 Jul 2013 18:31:20 -0400 >From: Linda Leslie <laleslierjg(a)comcast.net> >To: jamitch3(a)mindspring.com, Caller's discussion list > <callers(a)sharedweight.net> >Subject: Re: [Callers] And while I'm at it... >Message-ID: <8BA8AF40-DEAB-474E-A67D-B6B7C6836590(a)comcast.net> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed; delsp=yes > >Rick has a very complete web page which includes all of his dances, >and some great commentary! >http://rickmohr.net/Contra/Dances.asp#Introduction > >Joseph's last name is spelled: Pimentel > >Jack: would you please clarify? In the dance below, the allemandes in >the B1 are each 1/2, correct? And the Becket progression is to the >right (counter clockwise)? >Thanks for sharing the dance; such a creative way to progress! >Linda > >On Jul 9, 2013, at 4:46 PM, Jack Mitchell wrote: > >> *The Hotpoint Special *-- Joseph Pemental*Becket* >> >> *A1*Ladies Alle R 1? >> N Sw >> >> *A2*Gents Alle L 1? >> P Sw >> >> *B1*Ring Balance >> Pass thru to wave (ladies take LH, gents cross set, give RH to P) >> Wave Balance >> P Alle R, Gents Alle L >> >> *B2*Wave Balance >> from wave facing opp dir of progression -- look behind you for new N >> looking back at you >> Step forward, turn right,ladies follow partnerSingle file >> R&L Thru with these two** >> >> >> >> On 7/9/2013 4:41 PM, Kalia Kliban wrote: >>> There are a couple of other dances I'm having trouble tracking >>> down. One is Hotpoint Special, which I think may be by Rick Mohr, >>> and again there's a band by that name. Criss-Cross Hey by Bob >>> Isaacs is another. >>> >>> Kalia >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Callers mailing list >>> Callers(a)sharedweight.net >>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >>> >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Callers mailing list >> Callers(a)sharedweight.net >> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > > >------------------------------ > >Message: 5 >Date: Tue, 9 Jul 2013 18:42:14 -0400 >From: Linda Leslie <laleslierjg(a)comcast.net> >To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> >Subject: Re: [Callers] Giant Robot Dance >Message-ID: <363D26B6-3218-46B0-B323-167F565B1300(a)comcast.net> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; format=flowed; > delsp=yes > >Dear Kalia, >I am not sure that the dance you refer to is the following. However, I >wrote this for Dance Flurry 2009, when I had the pleasure of calling >there with Giant Robot. The session was titled "1,2,3,4 Swings". I >would love to know if this is the dance in question! >warmly, Linda > >Giant Robot Dance >by Linda Leslie >Contra/Becket-CW/Dbl-Prog/Easy > >A1 ----------- >Circle left three-quarters >Pass through >Next Neighbor do si do >A2 ----------- >Same Neighbor B & S >B1 ----------- >Long lines forward and back >NEXT neighbor swing >B2 ----------- >Give & Take to the Gent?s side > >On Jul 9, 2013, at 4:21 PM, Kalia Kliban wrote: > >> I have a scribbled note from a dance weekend back in February that I >> really enjoyed this dance but I didn't get the author's name, and >> now all I can find online is references to the band with that name. >> Can anybody point me to a source? >> >> Kalia >> _______________________________________________ >> Callers mailing list >> Callers(a)sharedweight.net >> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > > >------------------------------ > >Message: 6 >Date: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:16:55 -0700 >From: Kalia Kliban <kalia(a)sbcglobal.net> >To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> >Subject: Re: [Callers] Giant Robot Dance >Message-ID: <51DC99E7.2050400(a)sbcglobal.net> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed > >On 7/9/2013 3:42 PM, Linda Leslie wrote: >> Dear Kalia, >> I am not sure that the dance you refer to is the following. However, I >> wrote this for Dance Flurry 2009, when I had the pleasure of calling >> there with Giant Robot. The session was titled "1,2,3,4 Swings". I >> would love to know if this is the dance in question! > >I suspect it is, since the one useful note I have aside from the name is >that there were 2 neighbor swings. Thanks! > >Kalia > > >------------------------------ > >Message: 7 >Date: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 19:21:39 -0400 >From: Jack Mitchell <jamitch3(a)mindspring.com> >To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> >Subject: Re: [Callers] And while I'm at it... >Message-ID: <51DC9B03.7000106(a)mindspring.com> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > >Yes, the B1 allemandes are each 1/2 -- a swing thru in MWSD parlance. >Thanks for the correction on the name. > >I don't have the direction of the progression written down (but should). > Based on my walking it through with myself, though, it is indeed to >the right. >On 7/9/2013 6:31 PM, Linda Leslie wrote: >> Rick has a very complete web page which includes all of his dances, >> and some great commentary! >> http://rickmohr.net/Contra/Dances.asp#Introduction >> >> Joseph's last name is spelled: Pimentel >> >> Jack: would you please clarify? In the dance below, the allemandes in >> the B1 are each 1/2, correct? And the Becket progression is to the >> right (counter clockwise)? >> Thanks for sharing the dance; such a creative way to progress! >> Linda >> >> On Jul 9, 2013, at 4:46 PM, Jack Mitchell wrote: >> >>> *The Hotpoint Special *-- Joseph Pemental*Becket* >>> >>> *A1*Ladies Alle R 1? >>> N Sw >>> >>> *A2*Gents Alle L 1? >>> P Sw >>> >>> *B1*Ring Balance >>> Pass thru to wave (ladies take LH, gents cross set, give RH to P) >>> Wave Balance >>> P Alle R, Gents Alle L >>> >>> *B2*Wave Balance >>> from wave facing opp dir of progression -- look behind you for new N >>> looking back at you >>> Step forward, turn right,ladies follow partnerSingle file >>> R&L Thru with these two** >>> >>> >>> >>> On 7/9/2013 4:41 PM, Kalia Kliban wrote: >>>> There are a couple of other dances I'm having trouble tracking down. >>>> One is Hotpoint Special, which I think may be by Rick Mohr, and >>>> again there's a band by that name. Criss-Cross Hey by Bob Isaacs is >>>> another. >>>> >>>> Kalia >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Callers mailing list >>>> Callers(a)sharedweight.net >>>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >>>> >>>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Callers mailing list >>> Callers(a)sharedweight.net >>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >> >> >> > > > >------------------------------ > >Message: 8 >Date: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:22:00 -0700 >From: Kalia Kliban <kalia(a)sbcglobal.net> >To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> >Subject: Re: [Callers] Giant Robot Dance >Message-ID: <51DC9B18.3060004(a)sbcglobal.net> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed > >On 7/9/2013 3:42 PM, Linda Leslie wrote: >> Giant Robot Dance >> by Linda Leslie >> Contra/Becket-CW/Dbl-Prog/Easy >> >> A1 ----------- >> Circle left three-quarters >> Pass through >> Next Neighbor do si do >> A2 ----------- >> Same Neighbor B & S >> B1 ----------- >> Long lines forward and back >> NEXT neighbor swing >> B2 ----------- >> Give & Take to the Gent?s side > >Is there more to the B2? I think of a give and take as an 8-beat move. > P swing maybe? > >Kalia > > >------------------------------ > >Message: 9 >Date: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 19:28:02 -0400 >From: Michael Barraclough <michael(a)michaelbarraclough.com> >To: callers(a)sharedweight.net >Subject: Re: [Callers] Giant Robot Dance >Message-ID: <1373412482.6811.2.camel@The-Beast> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > >Give and take includes a swing - the give and take part should be as >fast as possible to allow for a longer swing. > >Michael Barraclough >www.michaelbarraclough.com > >On Tue, 2013-07-09 at 16:22 -0700, Kalia Kliban wrote: > >> On 7/9/2013 3:42 PM, Linda Leslie wrote: >> > Giant Robot Dance >> > by Linda Leslie >> > Contra/Becket-CW/Dbl-Prog/Easy >> > >> > A1 ----------- >> > Circle left three-quarters >> > Pass through >> > Next Neighbor do si do >> > A2 ----------- >> > Same Neighbor B & S >> > B1 ----------- >> > Long lines forward and back >> > NEXT neighbor swing >> > B2 ----------- >> > Give & Take to the Gent?s side >> >> Is there more to the B2? I think of a give and take as an 8-beat move. >> P swing maybe? >> >> Kalia >> _______________________________________________ >> Callers mailing list >> Callers(a)sharedweight.net >> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > > > >------------------------------ > >_______________________________________________ >Callers mailing list >Callers(a)sharedweight.net >http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > >End of Callers Digest, Vol 107, Issue 18 >****************************************

12 years, 1 month

Re: [Callers] Cone-Shaped Swings

by John Sweeney

Responding to Jean's post - reproduced at the bottom of this note. <<Apologies for the length of this note, but it is a complex area, better handled on the dance-floor rather than through this very limited form of communication.>> There are countless ways to swing. Every generation in every country in every style of dance has their own way of doing it. Countless variations on body position, arm positions, foot positions, foot movements and more. So we will never get agreement on every aspect of swinging. And that is fine - each couple, at the moment in time that they are swinging together, creates a beautiful (hopefully) experience. In England there is a lot of stepping at some dances (especially at e-ceilidhs) and we do indeed bounce in the swing, not so much in a close hold as that can be awkward, but in a slightly more open hold both people can skip around with lots of bounce. I wouldn't normally do it in contra dance, but when I meet a first-timer who skips through a contra then I do too - it works fine and is great fun for a change! But for now, let's focus on a smooth buzz-step swing. We haven't discussed the man's left hand connection to the lady's right hand yet! :-) Again there are lots of ways - my personal preference is the one shown on the cover of Larry Jennings' "Zesty Contras", with the man's left hand cupping the lady's right elbow and vice-versa. It is a lovely hold, taking up less room on a crowded dance-floor, adjusting your angle slightly to reduce the V between you, and providing two more contact points for countering centrifugal force. Sadly, that hold seems to have fallen out of favour. Things change! But the one thing that is constant in every form of swing is physics. So let's look at how that works. Energy comes from somewhere and is used to generate Angular Momentum. We use that Angular Momentum to spin at a certain speed, our Angular Velocity, rotating around a shared axis. What we are fighting against is our Moment of Inertia - the resistance of our joined bodies to rotating. The Moment of Inertia is a measure of how far our mass is from the rotational axis. These three elements are related by this equation: Angular Momentum = Moment of Inertia x Angular Velocity. The Angular Momentum comes from us using our feet against the floor. For a fixed amount of energy from our feet, if the Moment of Inertia goes up then the equation says that the Angular Velocity has to go down, and vice versa. So, once we have generated some Angular Momentum, how fast we go depends on how close together we are. If we move further apart then our Moment of Inertia increases and our Angular Velocity decreases. LEANING BACK MAKES YOU GO SLOWER! Jean says, "To end the swing, the partners stand more and more upright which naturally slows the momentum." Sorry, standing upright and therefore coming closer together will reduce your Moment of Inertia so you will go round FASTER! The reason you slow down is not because you stand more upright, it is because you move your feet more slowly in preparation for the end of the swing, thus reducing your Angular Momentum. (Note: we are looking here at how fast we are spinning, not at how fast any particular point on our body is moving.) Watch any ballet dancer or ice-skater preparing for a spin. They extend their arms to increase their Moment of Inertia, start spinning to generate some Angular Momentum, then bring their arms in to reduce their Moment of Inertia - the Angular Velocity increases. They spin faster! Your example of a two-hand turn seems to me to be mixing up weight and mass, my apologies if I have misunderstood. Your weight is straight down - the pull of earth's gravity. You are keeping that under control by taking your weight with your feet. And please, nothing personal, but I really don't want you to give me any of your weight! I have enough of a challenge looking after my own :-) Centrifugal force makes your mass try to move away from the centre as you rotate - this is what you need connection to counter. If you force the two dancers to maintain zero tension in their arms during the two-hand turn, then, yes, they can't move as fast because they are having to work at not moving away from each other just using the friction of their feet on the ground. If you allow them to use their arm muscles, then they can increase the tension to counter centrifugal force. They don't need to lean or pull. Indeed leaning just slows you down as you move away from each other, and pulling just makes your arms tired. A world class (partner dancing) champion and teacher once taught me, "Always start at zero tension and build up to the minimum you need to do the move." I believe that this is excellent advice. Just counter centrifugal force and you will achieve your optimum speed; there is no need to add more tension! :-) If you are pulling or leaning, then if you let go you will probably stumble, but if you are just countering centrifugal force and let go, then you should move smoothly away in a straight line. When I am demonstrating this I usually use an Allemande rather than a Two-Hand Turn. Just take an Allemande hold making a nice W of your joined arms. If you walk around with no tension in your arm then you will move away and your arm will straighten. If you pull too hard you will move together and end up arm-wrestling. But if you both gently increase the tension just enough to counter centrifugal force then you have a great Allemande where the nice W shape of your arms stays constant. I don't understand the idea of leaning left or right to speed up or slow down. The only way to change your speed in a frame is by how fast and far you move your feet. All your Angular Momentum comes from your feet. There is nowhere else it can from. I dance with one lady who leans very far to her left. Rather than holding her up and making my arm ache, I move my hand down to her waist so she has to become more upright or fall over; if she keeps leaning then I let go and let her slide all the way around me, catching her again when she comes around to the front - quite a nice move actually! :-) For me the essence of a good frame is connection through contact. The human body is amazing, if my hand is on your back or your fingers and I move it slightly then you can feel that movement and respond to it with your feet. Leading is about giving the follower an invitation using gentle signals through your connection. Following is about responding to the leads. It is called lead and follow, not drag and resist! I specialise in dancing with two ladies at the same time. I lead they follow. I really don't want them to fight back! You can see me at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE6Iu6Fh6bw Yes, a little of it is choreographed, but most of it is me leading and them following. I do most of those moves at dances with strangers - I first dance individually with them to make sure they follow without resisting! Of course, some of our disagreement may just be to do with our interpretation of words. I much prefer to refer to connection, contact, relaxing and gentle counter-balances than tension, resistance, leaning and giving weight. I feel that those words are too easily misunderstood. When I dance with dancers who relax and use minimum tension and good technique then I have a wonderful evening of fast swings and allemandes and go home feeling great. When I have lots of partners who lean, pull, press and resist then the moves are all slower and I end up with aching shoulders. Even if you don't agree with all of this, I hope it at least has given some food for thought. The best place to follow up on this would undoubtedly be the dance-floor. I hope to see you there one day! :-) Happy dancing, John = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Jean's Post: I was a bit surprised by the comment that went something like "She's supposed to be following, why would she want to resist him?" In 25 years of teaching couple dancing, during my initial ranting about frame, I've had lots of interesting questions from students, but haven't heard that one yet. Remember the line in "Dirty Dancing" " you stay in your space, I'll stay in mine"? Gentle resistance is the essence of frame. Let me preface this small collection of web gleanings below by a line from one of them : "I have a feeling that honorable teachers will differ on this point." Here's my position: Non-believers in the cone (within reason as I initially stated) might want to try this exercise. Have 2 dancers join both hands, stand upright with nice posture, each supporting 100% of their own weight. No noodle arms of course. Put something on the floor in the middle of them (rock, cup?) and ask them to circle around the object as fast as they can while maintaining absolutely upright posture and supporting 100% of their own weight. You could time their revolutions per minute. Then ask them to "Give weight" (let's reflect a moment on that "give" "weight" ..give to whom? Whose weight?..why, your weight to your partner of course or rather both your weights given to the central part of the frame). Each person leans back from the feet a bit, maybe you have them move their feet in toward the object a bit?and they find the central balance point?certainly not enough to topple if let go, but to begin to feel that sensation?then ask them to repeat the exercise. Time their revolutions. More important, ask them which felt more thrilling. It is not that one partner is throwing weight on the other, its not that the man has a burden of holding the woman?s dead weight. Its that they?ve found a physical balance point. An 80 pound grandchild could do this with a 200 pound granddad. What I find very interesting in this exercise, which I use in each waltz class before teaching couple turns and couple pivots, is that the folks have a bit of a hard time following the instructions for the first part?they want badly to make a cone at the very start?they know or their bodies know that?s the way to go faster And of course the couple doesn?t maintain the cone at the end of the swing, so the suggestion they would topple over as an argument against the cone is reductio ad absurdum. To end the swing, the partners stand more and more upright which naturally slows the momentum. The instantaneous forming of the cone and the dissolving of it are, in fact, meta-leads that signal the start and finish of the swing. And re: the woman pressing back into the Man?s right hand. It?s called by many dance teachers "finding the lead". Some nights when I am social dancing the man?s part, I find many women partners who have bought into the biggest lie in couple dancing "Be light as a feather in a man?s arms". If I can?t find you I can?t lead you!! Women whose backs come to rest shy of my palm are absolutely unleadable. A nice firm press back into my right hand by her shoulder blade maximizes skin (and nerve) contact so she can feel the slightest suggestion I may give her. ? http://www.cocoabeachcontra.org/contrais.htm The Swing. Contra dance's flagship move is a spin in ballroom position. Develop a good swing and people will want to dance with you! Experienced dancers are eager to give you pointers, so ask, and try them when they're given whether they're requested or not. * Hand position. The man's right hand goes on the lady's back on or just below the bra strap, placed to support her weight in the spin. The woman?s left arm goes on top of his arm and around his shoulder with the hand wherever it lands. If she can reach behind his shoulder, she should support the spin as well, but don't stretch to reach if you are much smaller than he is. The other hands touch lightly. Their arms should be tensed, with elbow bent, creating a "frame." * The spin. Rotate the frame to your left, placing your right foot down on every odd beat, parallel to your partner's. Left feet can walk or "buzz step" (ask for a demo). Do not bounce! That's for (bad) movies. Rotate as smoothly as you can, like a merry-go-round. Leaning left asks to go faster, right asks to decelerate. If you easily get dizzy, say, "spin slowly" when you start. * Giving weight. Keep your upper body straight and lean out to give your partner a feeling of connectedness. Your arms hold you together; if you let go you should fly apart (so don't!). It's a tension between the two people - you can feel that there's someone there. Look at each other! If they're smiling, you're doing fine. If not, ask. * * adapted from information created by Gary Shapiro ? * http://www.ras-this.com/dance-frame-vs-spaghetti-arms/ On the other hand ladies, it is our responsibility to offer a stable frame. One that is a constant, toned resistance, equal to that of our partner ? http://www.cyber-tango.com/art/frame.html Maybe I'm just stuck in a certain style that works for me, but I have partners here with whom I cannot dance very well at all because they don't maintain a "V". I have a feeling that honorable teachers will differ on this point. http://www.jmnelson.com/studio/dance/articles/summary.pdf Closed Position:?.The man's right wrist should be at the back edge of the woman's armpit, fingers and thumb together, hand cupped slightly, resting gently on her shoulder blade. The man is responsible for keeping his hand in the proper position,and the woman is responsible for keeping gentle pressure against his hand? http://socialdancemusings.wordpress.com/2012/04/22/dance-frame/ Have tension in your arms so each partner can move the other around. Sit back a bit, settle your weight, use your frame to hold the two of you up. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent

12 years, 1 month

Re: [Callers] Give-and-take

by John Sweeney

Hi Kalia, Here is Larry Jenning's definition of Give-and-take (from "Give-andTake" http://www.kempt.net/~entropy/zcs/zcs-complete.pdf ): = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = GIVE-AND-TAKE: <<General definition adopted by some callers and composers: >>The "swingers", a man and a woman facing across the set, meet, join free hands, retreat to the designated side of the set, and prepare to swing. Unless otherwise specified, the dancers retreat to the man's side. Original implementation: I visualized a very crisp, four-count interpretation. The previous twosomes (not the new twosomes) end the previous figure (perhaps a swing, a promenade, or a courtesy turn) in half shoulder-waist position. The previous twosomes move forward at the start of the phrase, and the swingers form new twosomes by joining free hands (woman's right, man's left). The woman resists for a moment while they establish firm but elastic connection, and they take only two more counts to position themselves to swing a step cw around the entire set from where the man started. This puts the set in SAWTOOTH FORMATION. I was put on the defensive by a woman who let me know in no uncertain terms that she was not about to be given or taken by any man. I felt much relieved, therefore, to find "give-and-take", with the hyphens even, in the dictionary: "the practice of compromise." Now that's my kind of attitude; I even invite you to compromise with your swinger (and with me) by taking up to as many as eight counts for your implementation. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Text in <<>> was added in later editions. Larry, in his dances "Give-and-Take I" and "Give-and-Take II" does explicitly specify the swing after each Give-and-take, but I am sure it is implied in the dance instructions you were querying. You can get your own copy of "Give-and-Take" from http://www.neffa.org/give_and_take.html Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent

12 years, 2 months

criss cross heys

by JoLaine Jones-Pokorney

Hello Bob - Can you elaborate on the A1 in Criss Cross Heys? I don't understand "pass thru R." If it's becket and the circle L is all the way around, then you're passing through across the set, yes? Are you passing thru on the right diagonal? Sorry to be dense ;-) -- JoLaine Jones-Pokorney "We are as gods and might as well get good at it!" - Stewart Brand

12 years, 2 months

And while I'm at it...

by Kalia Kliban

There are a couple of other dances I'm having trouble tracking down. One is Hotpoint Special, which I think may be by Rick Mohr, and again there's a band by that name. Criss-Cross Hey by Bob Isaacs is another. Kalia

12 years, 2 months

hambo

by barb kirchner

what is the perfect tempo for a hambo??

12 years, 2 months

Giant Robot Dance

by Kalia Kliban

I have a scribbled note from a dance weekend back in February that I really enjoyed this dance but I didn't get the author's name, and now all I can find online is references to the band with that name. Can anybody point me to a source? Kalia

12 years, 2 months

Allemande Alphabet

by Edmund Croft

A year or two ago I was at a dance where Rhodri Davies called some squares with Allemande Alphabet figures, of the form: Allemande (corner) left to an Allemande X: Pass your partner and swing the next. Allemande left to an Allemande R (appears in MWSD as Allemande Thar): chain right then left to a back-up star. Where can I find more of these? Were there well-agreed uses of each letter, or did the caller just make up something that rhymed as well as being danceable? Edmund Croft, Cambridge, UK

12 years, 2 months

Coconut Cream Pie: easy 4-facing-4s

by Tina Fields

Hi everyone, I had the pleasure of calling Lynn Ackerson's 4x4 "Coconut Cream Pie" for the first time last night. It was, forgive me, easy as pie for everyone to get - which I suppose was her reason for writing it as it's a simplified version of Apple Pie Quadrille. (It was also perfect for an American 4th of July weekend dance, featuring both stars and stripes [long lines]. Ha.) Do you have other favorite, not too difficult, 4-facing-4 dances you're willing to share? Tina

12 years, 2 months

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