Contra Callers

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4369 discussions

Re: [Callers] Ron Nelson wants to share new pictures with you

by Dhuntdancer＠aol.com

Is this spam?? Donna "Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should dance." -unknown In a message dated 11/9/2012 11:51:59 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, callerman(a)hotmail.com writes: Zoosk Hi , Ron Nelson sent you an invite on Zoosk. [1]View Invite This message was sent by a Zoosk user who entered your email address. If you'd prefer not to receive emails when other people send you emails through Zoosk, [2]click here You have received this message at the email address: [3]callers(a)sharedweight.net Copyright 2007-2012 Zoosk, 989 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94103 USA. [4]Privacy Policy References 1. https://www.zoosk.com/signup/friend?invite-token=085215f872d1a8c65184295254… N_70_00_en_00_US_01_S_20121109_16_E 2. https://www.zoosk.com/optout.php?with=callers%40sharedweight.net&key=b5adc2… 3. mailto:callers@sharedweight.net 4. http://www.zoosk.com/privacy _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

12 years, 6 months

Ron Nelson wants to share new pictures with you

by Ron Nelson

Zoosk Hi , Ron Nelson sent you an invite on Zoosk. [1]View Invite This message was sent by a Zoosk user who entered your email address. If you'd prefer not to receive emails when other people send you emails through Zoosk, [2]click here You have received this message at the email address: [3]callers(a)sharedweight.net Copyright � 2007-2012 Zoosk, 989 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94103 USA. [4]Privacy Policy References 1. https://www.zoosk.com/signup/friend?invite-token=085215f872d1a8c65184295254… 2. https://www.zoosk.com/optout.php?with=callers%40sharedweight.net&key=b5adc2… 3. mailto:callers@sharedweight.net 4. http://www.zoosk.com/privacy

12 years, 6 months

Re: [Callers] Circle mixers for newbies

by tavi merrill

Re: "First Turn in May", i called it for a beginner-heavy crowd in Montague, MA recently (about 10 first-timers and several more inexperienced dancers out of 50 total). Timing on the allemandes didn't seem to be an issue. One thing i really liked about that dance was the opportunity to use it as a teaching tool for allemandes (eg, offering style points followed by intensive use of allemande, and being able to point out that weight-sharing makes a big difference in tight timing). Also, thanks to the clear corner/partner relationships, there seemed to be less confusion about direction of progression than i've observed in similar allemande/weave-heavy mixers under similar experience level conditions. tavi

12 years, 6 months

Dancing in the Provo, Utah area?

by Kalia Kliban

Hi all I'll be in Provo from December 8-14th. Is there any dancing in that neck of the woods? Contra or ECD would be great. I'm taking a class there and would love to have something to do in the evenings. I'll have a car so could travel a little ways if needed. Kalia ps Hi Frannie! Nice meeting you last night.

12 years, 6 months

Re: [Callers] Circle Mixers for newbies

by colin＠colinhume.com

On Mon, 5 Nov 2012 10:34:59 -0500, Luke Donforth wrote: > First Turn in May has 3 allemandes in the A2, with the B1 being a > balance and swing. North Shore Mixer does something similar, but > goes to a DSD. > > Do you not worry about the timing? I've been at several new dancer > orientations where the caller stressed the 8 count phrasing as a > way to keep track and demarcate the moves; I've even used it myself. That's generally true, but in this case the writer knows that an allemande doesn't take the full 8 steps so he's able to fit three moves into the normal time for two. If you did just two allemandes in the 16 beats you'd find it very slow. > Is it just not an issue? Do new dancers get through 3 full > allemandes in 16 It's an issue but it's not a problem! The issue is teaching people to give weight, and you can encourage them to do this by saying, "If you bend your elbow and give some weight in the turns, you'll be there right on the beat for the balance". Of course this presupposes that you're doing some teaching! Colin Hume Email colin(a)colinhume.com Web site http://www.colinhume.com -------------------------------------------------------------------- myhosting.com - Premium Microsoft® Windows® and Linux web and application hosting - http://link.myhosting.com/myhosting

12 years, 6 months

Circle Mixers for newbies

by Ron T Blechner

Hi callers, I've been finding circle mixers extremely valuable for dances with newer dancers. They provide a way both to expose them to many different experienced dancers as well as to make them comfortable with the idea of dancing with different people all night. (We've all seen The Couple That Shows Up And Dances Just With Each Other that doesn't come back because they don't really meet anyone ...) I was looking for some alternatives to La Bastringue that I can do early in the evening, like 2nd or 3rd dance. Other mixers I've seen include doing things like Do-Si-Do or Allemande one person and coming back to another; I've found for new dancers that can often be confusing. ("Find another partner-less person in the middle of the circle" is only amusing so many times.) Also, I called this at MIT on Tuesday evening and it worked pretty well with a high percentage of new dancers. It's a variation on La Bastringue which I'm tentatively calling "La String Bean". If you've seen this or something really similar before, let me know so I can start calling it by its proper name. A1: Ladies to the center and back (4,4) Gents to the center, turnaround and back (4,4) A2: Current P Alle L 1.5x (8) New P DSD (8, forgiving) B1: Same New P B+S (4,12) B2: Promenade the ring CCW, Gents turn in Ladies so all face in (14,2) Optional: Make the promenade 8 beats and end the B2 with a courtesy turn once and a little more. One major point of this dance is to stealthily teach the Courtesy Turn from the Promenade, something I stole from a new-dancer-lesson from, if I recall correctly, Peter Stix. Critique / suggestions welcome. (Thanks to Mr. Bob Isaacs for initial suggestions earlier this week.) In dance, Ron Blechner contradances.tumblr.com

12 years, 6 months

Thanks to Bob Isaac

by Hgrastorf＠aol.com

I will be calling Vote With Your Feet tonight at Glen Echo. Thanks, Bob! April Blum

12 years, 6 months

Reminder: Callers workshop with Carol Ormand - Save the Date!

by Jack Mitchell

The Triangle Country Dancers Callers Collective will be sponsoring a callers' workshop with Carol Ormand, an amazing contra and square dance caller from Madison, WI. Carol has been calling traditional contra and square dances since the spring of 1990, and regularly calls at dances, weekends, and festivals all over the United States (and occasionally abroad). Since she moved to Madison, WI in 2005, she's also been playing fiddle for dances. The workshop will be held near Chapel Hill, NC the weekend of April 12-14. Carol will call for the 2nd Friday TCD dance in Carrboro (before which, I hope that many of the workshop participants can gather to have dinner and an informal conversation with Carol.) Saturday will be an all day workshop, followed by an evening contra dance, both of which will be hosted at Stephen Stiebel's house. Finally, on Sunday, we will have a wrap up and brunch to discuss what we've learned, how the dance went, and other topics that may come up. I will have a more complete description when I send out the official announcement in the next week or so. Right now, I just ask that if you're interested, you go ahead and get this on your calendar. I hope to see many of you there! Jack Mitchell

12 years, 7 months

Yet more mystery dances!

by Maia McCormick

Since my last mystery dance question got answered in a flash: I've been going through some old papers and finding all these dances I wrote down at various contras that don't have titles or authors attached. Any thoughts? 1) (improper: begin in long wavy lines with women facing in) A1: Rory O'Moore A2: (balance and?) swing neighbor (in RH) B1: men by L 1 1/2; partner swing B2: pass through to an ocean wave and balance (8) men go on; women allemande L 1/2 (4); new neighbor turn R into long waves (4) (was called at the most recent Dawn Dance) 2) (improper) A1: neighbor balance and swing A2: ladies chain; pull by partner L to gypsy shadow once B1: partner balance and swing B2: circle L 3/4; neighbor allemande R 1 1/2 3) (improper) A1: neighbor balance and swing A2: pass the ocean, balance; neighbor alle R 1/2, men alle L 1/2 B1: partner gypsy; partner swing B2: circle L 3/4; pass through, next neighbor do-si-do 4) (improper) A1: neighbor box the gnat (no balance), gents pull by L; partner swing A2: circle left once; partner dosido once B1: partner box the gnat (no balance), women pull by L; neighbor swing B2: right and left through; star L 5) (becket) A1: (slide left to) circle L 3/4; neighbor swing A2: right and left through; ladies chain B1: balance ring and spin to swap (2x) B2: partner balance and swing Also, does anyone happen go have the dances Baracky Mountain High (author unknown) or Young Adult Rose (David Kaynor)? Thank you for your lovely collective wisdom! Maia

12 years, 7 months

Need help with "Mr Know It All"

by Ben

Okay, I need some other perspectives on this. Last year we had a new couple move to our area, and start attending our local contra dance. They had danced "somewhere else" for several years, and the gentleman had obviously been involved in some of the dance organizing duties in their last location (web site upkeep, etc). First impressions were positive - he came to the dances for a few months and offered some worthwhile feedback, while also actually offering to take some action. He suggested we offer a waltz "lesson" for a few minutes before we have the first waltz, and he offered to "teach" the waltz, anytime and every time. So far, we have taken him up on this and it does seem to have encouraged more people to get up and waltz, which was the point. The emerging problem (I see..) is that he now wants to insert himself in the "contra dance lesson" before the dance, which we ask the caller of the evening to conduct. Several times over the last year, after I have done "the teach," (where I don't focus on new dancers learning moves, I focus on making them comfortable and getting them moving to music) Mr. Know It All has told me that several people "just weren't getting it" and he has offered to take them into a separate room to give them "more training" so that they "don't muck it up for everyone else." (Yes, these were his exact words). I have consistently declined his offers, as tactfully as I could. At our last dance, though, he had obviously made contact with the caller before hand, as he was taking the microphone during the teach and offering his "two cents worth" on contra dance set management, formations, etc. I don't think anyone died in the train wreck, but I see trouble ahead. (Didn't John Fogerty sing a song about this.??) My concern is that we have "given someone an inch, and now he wants to take a mile." This guy, due to his occupation, is used to coming into an organization and being the new sheriff in town, and I get the distinct feeling that he sees our dance group as one that he needs to "shape up." I am personally quite troubled by what I am seeing, but unsure of the best course of action. (In my view, he is a "bull in a China Shop" and he has broken quite a bit of china already...) I have seen other dance communities where a "dancer" does the beginner teach for every one of the dances, and when people in the community find that they need to make a change, they don't feel that they can, politically. (How do you "fire" a volunteer??) Have any of you had a similar experience? Any suggestions? Thanks!

12 years, 7 months

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