Hey Sue (and other community dance callers),
Would you mind posting the content of some of these dances
here? The quadrille sounds very interesting. I've been
asked to call a couple of barn dances too, and keep seeing
references to these dances, but don't have access to the
books they're printed in.
Thank you!!
Tina
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:48:46 -0500
> From: Sue Robishaw <sue(a)manytracks.com>
> Subject: [Callers] Beginner Contras
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Message-ID: <47D887FE.9040700(a)manytracks.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"
>
> Hi,
> We are sadly lacking in contra in my neck of the
> world, and I don't
> have the experience of others on the list (who I'm
> thoroughly enjoying
> learning from), but I've taught a few easy ones to our
> IFD group to
> introduce the idea, and these worked well (I think
> they were all from
> the New England Dancing Masters "Chimes of Dunkirk"
> book:
> Jefferson & Liberty
> Haste to the Wedding
> Broken Sixpence
> A non-contra easy dance that's gone over well with
> both our IFDers and
> mixed public is the quadrille "The Carding" from
> Dudley Laufman's
> "Sweets of May". Lively and you don't need even
> numbers of couples as
> in a square.
> Snowy Cheers,
> Sue Robishaw
> Upper Peninsula of Michigan
>
> --
>
> * * * * * * * * * *
>
> Sue Robishaw ~ [1]sue(a)manytracks.com ~
> 906-644-2598
> 770N Fox Rd, Cooks MI 49817 ~ ~ ~
> [2]www.ManyTracks.com
>
> "At the heart of this story, I think , is a
> simple, abiding
> belief: it is possible to live wisely on the land,
> and to live well.
> And in behaving respectfully toward all that the land
> contains, it is
> possible to imagine a stifling ignorance falling away
> from us."
> Barry Lopez ~ "Arctic Dreams"
>
> * * * * * * * * * *
>
> References
>
> 1. mailto:sue@manytracks.com
> 2. http://www.ManyTracks.com/
>
>
Tina R. Fields, Ph.D.
(707) 824-9318
"Hindsight Now!"
If you are 35 or younger, there is a new contra dance weekend just for you!*
Where: Table Rock State Park
When: June 6-8
Talent: Mock Turtle Soup; The Cornstalkers; calling by Adina Gordon and company
Cost: if a student 35 or under $35 until 3/15; then $45 and up to $55. Prices for others at website.
More info: http://whipperstompers.org/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=21639866704&ref=nf
*Those over 35 are welcome, but know the dance is targeted towards the 35 and under set. (There is also a youth dance weekend in VT in Sept).
The Whipperstompers Weekend is a dance weekend for young people, June 6th-8th 2008 at Table Rock State Park in South Carolina.
A whole week-end festival of high quality dancing made as inexpensive as possible for students and young people in order to encourage them to attend. Not only an opportunity to dance a lot, but also to improve and broaden your dancing skills with awesome instructors and musical artists.
We are fortunate that there is a broad and growing interest among young people in traditional dance. As with every other movement centered around young people, we have brought a new momentum and energy with us. The purpose of this weekend is to both provide an outlet for this energy and channel it into a new unity and positive change in the community as the torch is being passed to new leaders and movers and shakers across the nation.
Please keep in mind that this weekend is open to everyone and we welcome people of all ages. The dance is merely designed primarily for and by young people as a way to help young dancers to mesh well with the dance community nation wide.
This years weekend we will be dancing to music by Mock Turtle Soup and the Cornstalkers, with calling by Adina Gordon and Co.
We have waltz, swing, and other couple dance classes in the works, details soon!
Made possible in part by a Leadership Grant from the Country Dance and Song Society.<http://www.cdss.org/>
We are the
Old
Mountains
Group
of
Wild
Twirly
Folks
We are a group of young people from all over, united by a love of dance, and the fact that we all live and dance in western North Carolina, from Asheville to Brasstown.
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<Would you mind sharing some of these dances,>
Be glad to -- here they are:
Haste to the Wedding (contra duple proper or circle)
A1 4 Circle left
4 Circle right
A2 4 Right hand star
4 Left hand star
B1 4 Partner Do-si-do
4 Clap 2x; Two hand turn
B2 4 Neighbor Do-si-do
4 Clap 2x; Walk on by (right shoulders)
Jefferson & Liberty - 1 contre proper duple
A1 8 Circle left
8 Circle right
A2 8 Right hand star
8 Left hand star
B1 16 Ones Down Outside & Back (between twos)
B2 8 Four hands down
8 Ones Arch (back up) & pull Twos thru (move up)
Jefferson & Liberty - 2 contre Improper duple
A1 8 Circle left
8 Circle right
A2 8 Right hand star
8 Left hand star
B1 8 Ones Down Ctr
8 Back and Cast Off (with twos, going one below)
B2 16 Right and Left through, over and back*
(* not a beginner figure but a comfortable place to
teach it if they've done J&L1)
Broken Sixpence contre Improper duple (by Don Armstrong)
A1 8 Neighbors - Do-si-do
8 Ladies - Do-si-do
A2 8 Men - Do-si-do
8 Ones - Two hand turn
B1 8 Four Hands Down (ones between twos)
8 Turn single; Back to place
B2 8 Bend the Line - Circle Left
8 Left Hand Star (prog 1s below 2s - remember which side
you're on*)
(*for women dancing men's side, more a problem with
lots of women)
The Carding Quebec quadrille for as many as will
(refers to carding of wool) (from Dudley Laufman's "Sweets of May"
book)
(note: music is 4 1/2 x through a regular reel. Something lively with a
strong rhythm for the stamps. Not too fast for beginners. Faster for
experienced is fun.)
In "square" formation, one or two couples per side. Doesn't have to be
even number anywhere. Single person can easily dance with ghost
partner. Pattern of Heads do figure, then Sides do figure, back to
Heads, etc.
Starts with
CHORUS - CARDING: Heads Card // then Sides Card: (face partner,
sashay/side slips)
4-4 In-2-3-stamp / Out-2-3-stamp
8 Cross over (sashay across)
4-4-8 In - Out - Cross back
Verse1 8-8 Heads Circle Left / Circle Right // Sides ...
Chorus: 8-8-16 Heads Card // Sides Card
Verse2 8-8 Heads Right hand Star/ Left hand Star // Sides ...
Chorus: 8-8-16 Heads Card // Sides Card
V3 8-8 All Circle Left / Circle Right ("face partner" at end so
ready for..)
4-4-4-4 All (sashay) In-2-3-stamp / Out-2-3-stamp. That
again (strong Stamp on final beat).
Notes: Couples have to pass by when sashaying across, so when setting
up, look across at opposites. If same number of couples on both sides,
all step one step to their own right, and see that space to their opps
right where they will go. If two cpls on one side and one on the other,
the one cpl go between the two, so the two step away from each other a
step to make room.
Point out need to face partner at end of V3 so they're ready to all
Sashay In... If they're slow going they'll probably end In the circle
instead of out, which isn't a big problem.
Sue Robishaw
--
* * * * * * * * * *
Sue Robishaw ~ [1]sue(a)manytracks.com ~ 906-644-2598
770N Fox Rd, Cooks MI 49817 ~ ~ ~ [2]www.ManyTracks.com
"At the heart of this story, I think , is a simple, abiding
belief: it is possible to live wisely on the land, and to live well.
And in behaving respectfully toward all that the land contains, it is
possible to imagine a stifling ignorance falling away from us."
Barry Lopez ~ "Arctic Dreams"
* * * * * * * * * *
References
1. mailto:sue@manytracks.com
2. http://www.ManyTracks.com/
Hi,
We are sadly lacking in contra in my neck of the world, and I don't
have the experience of others on the list (who I'm thoroughly enjoying
learning from), but I've taught a few easy ones to our IFD group to
introduce the idea, and these worked well (I think they were all from
the New England Dancing Masters "Chimes of Dunkirk" book:
Jefferson & Liberty
Haste to the Wedding
Broken Sixpence
A non-contra easy dance that's gone over well with both our IFDers and
mixed public is the quadrille "The Carding" from Dudley Laufman's
"Sweets of May". Lively and you don't need even numbers of couples as
in a square.
Snowy Cheers,
Sue Robishaw
Upper Peninsula of Michigan
--
* * * * * * * * * *
Sue Robishaw ~ [1]sue(a)manytracks.com ~ 906-644-2598
770N Fox Rd, Cooks MI 49817 ~ ~ ~ [2]www.ManyTracks.com
"At the heart of this story, I think , is a simple, abiding
belief: it is possible to live wisely on the land, and to live well.
And in behaving respectfully toward all that the land contains, it is
possible to imagine a stifling ignorance falling away from us."
Barry Lopez ~ "Arctic Dreams"
* * * * * * * * * *
References
1. mailto:sue@manytracks.com
2. http://www.ManyTracks.com/
Diane Silver confirmed that the dance in question is her calling Road Kill by Cary Ravitz. See link to his site below.
Chrissy Fowler
>
> Hi Chrissy --
>
> Well, dang! I am so flattered. That IS me, but the fact that you
> recognized it is amazing. I had not seen this Moondance footage
> before. Do you know if it's possible to save the video to my hard
> drive? Saving the link target doesn't seem to work.
>
> The dance is Road Kill by Cary Ravitz --it's on his webpage:
> http://ravitz.us/dance/
>
> - Diane
>
> Chrissy Fowler wrote:
> > hi diane,
> > someone on the shared weight caller list was asking about this dance
> > (title, composer) and the caller sounded like you (to me, anyhow)
> > just curious.
> > hope all's well,
> > c
> >
> > Does anyone know the title and composer of this dance?
> >
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQbsl5lvJZc
> >
_________________________________________________________________
Climb to the top of the charts! Play the word scramble challenge with star power.
http://club.live.com/star_shuffle.aspx?icid=starshuffle_wlmailtextlink_jan
The name of that dance is "Roadkill" by Cary Ravitz. It's a really fun
dance to do, even if it falls apart like the one time that I actually danced it.
Kenny Greer
>Does anyone know the title and composer of this dance?
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQbsl5lvJZc
**************It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms, and advice on AOL Money &
Finance. (http://money.aol.com/tax?NCID=aolprf00030000000001)
Hi Contra Callers,
My wife and I have just had 10 days of
fantastic contra dancing here in New Zealand. We
joined up with Ron and Cathy Arps' contra
tour. We had a ball! It was our first chance to
experience real contra dancing.
I've called "barn dances" here for many years, and
call MWSD too. I hope we can get contra going here
in Christchurch. We had a first go last Sunday
(www.baritompa.com/contra)
I've been on the ABC square dance forum for
awhile, which promotes the idea of dances rather
than classes. On the tour I really enjoyed calling
a simple traditional flavour dance to the contra
dancers - who would swing for 8 beats!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4zInEY84UI&feature=PlayList&p=40331DECD14CC…
Since coming back from the tour, I've made contact
via the web with a number of contra callers and
musicians and received so much help and useful
material. The contra community is very welcoming.
Cheers, Bill
Another easy fix for Country of Marriage, which maintains most of the
original dance sequences would be:
A1 and A2 the same
in the B1:
Right and left through (or promenade) and then a Roll away with a
half sashay with partner, ladies rolling to the left, gents moving
right. At this point, the men have their right arms free and can go
into the center more easily for the allemande. In addition, the women
move to the left, and thus help the couple progress more easily.
The rest of the dance remains the same.
Hope this helps!
warmly, Linda Leslie
On Mar 10, 2008, at 12:00 PM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote:
> Send Callers mailing list submissions to
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Organizing Dance Cards (Dan Black)
> 2. Re: Organizing Dance Cards (Chris Weiler)
> 3. Re: Organizing Dance Cards (Dan Black)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2008 09:16:10 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Dan Black <blackjunier(a)yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Organizing Dance Cards
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Message-ID: <625143.67882.qm(a)web52209.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> Gang,
>
> By the way, Mary Kays Reel is a favorite and I enjoy changing roles
> in this dance ( the lady role rocks). There seems to be an awkward
> sequence in the B1 in the below referenced dance:
> B1 Promenade (the dance originally called for a right and left
> through
> here)
> Gents allemande Right 3/4 to a fleeting long lineThe gents right
> hand may be behind the lady for the promenade then the gent has to
> reach out with his right hand for an allemande right without
> bopping his neighbor in the head or worse.
>
> Do I have this right? While walking this in my living room it seems
> uncomfortable, has anyone dance this sequence to confirm this?
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Jerome Grisanti <jerome.grisanti(a)gmail.com>
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Sent: Wednesday, February 6, 2008 5:16:05 PM
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Organizing Dance Cards
>
> Susan Kevra's "The Country of Marriage" has that "Mary Cay's" move
> as well,
> done by the men.
>
> http://www.io.com/~entropy/contradance/sequences/the-country-of-
> marriage.html
>
> Jerome
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ______________
> Be a better friend, newshound, and
> know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://
> mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2008 13:36:45 -0400
> From: Chris Weiler <chris.weiler(a)weirdtable.org>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Organizing Dance Cards
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Message-ID: <47D4202D.40005(a)weirdtable.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Dan,
>
> You're right, the move is awkward for the men. If I were going to
> re-write the dance it might look something like this:
>
> A1 Circle left 3/4, gents roll neighbor right
> 1/2 hey (gents pass left)
> A2 Neighbor bal. & swing
> B1 Long lines
> Gents Al. Right 3/4, new gents Al. Left 3/4 (ladies take a step to
> the left)
> B2 Partner Bal. & swing
>
> I have danced other dances with the gent's using this progression, but
> can't think of them right now. Maybe someone else on this list has
> them
> in their collection and would like to share?
>
> Chris Weiler
> Goffstown, NH
>
>
>
>
> Dan Black wrote:
>> Gang,
>>
>> By the way, Mary Kays Reel is a favorite and I enjoy changing
>> roles in this dance ( the lady role rocks). There seems to be an
>> awkward sequence in the B1 in the below referenced dance:
>> B1 Promenade (the dance originally called for a right and left
>> through
>> here)
>> Gents allemande Right 3/4 to a fleeting long lineThe gents right
>> hand may be behind the lady for the promenade then the gent has to
>> reach out with his right hand for an allemande right without
>> bopping his neighbor in the head or worse.
>>
>> Do I have this right? While walking this in my living room it
>> seems uncomfortable, has anyone dance this sequence to confirm this?
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: Jerome Grisanti <jerome.grisanti(a)gmail.com>
>> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> Sent: Wednesday, February 6, 2008 5:16:05 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Callers] Organizing Dance Cards
>>
>> Susan Kevra's "The Country of Marriage" has that "Mary Cay's" move
>> as well,
>> done by the men.
>>
>> http://www.io.com/~entropy/contradance/sequences/the-country-of-
>> marriage.html
>>
>> Jerome
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _____________________________________________________________________
>> _______________
>> Be a better friend, newshound, and
>> know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://
>> mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>>
>>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2008 16:19:14 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Dan Black <blackjunier(a)yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Organizing Dance Cards
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Message-ID: <361141.32214.qm(a)web52205.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> Chris,
>
> Thanks for the fix and I hope all is well.
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Chris Weiler <chris.weiler(a)weirdtable.org>
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Sent: Sunday, March 9, 2008 1:36:45 PM
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Organizing Dance Cards
>
> Dan,
>
> You're right, the move is awkward for the men. If I were going to
> re-write the dance it might look something like this:
>
> A1 Circle left 3/4, gents roll neighbor right
> 1/2 hey (gents pass left)
> A2 Neighbor bal. & swing
> B1 Long lines
> Gents Al. Right 3/4, new gents Al. Left 3/4 (ladies take a step to
> the left)
> B2 Partner Bal. & swing
>
> I have danced other dances with the gent's using this progression, but
> can't think of them right now. Maybe someone else on this list has
> them
> in their collection and would like to share?
>
> Chris Weiler
> Goffstown, NH
>
>
>
>
> Dan Black wrote:
>> Gang,
>>
>> By the way, Mary Kays Reel is a favorite and I enjoy changing
>> roles in this dance ( the lady role rocks). There seems to be an
>> awkward sequence in the B1 in the below referenced dance:
>> B1 Promenade (the dance originally called for a right and left
>> through
>> here)
>> Gents allemande Right 3/4 to a fleeting long lineThe gents right
>> hand may be behind the lady for the promenade then the gent has to
>> reach out with his right hand for an allemande right without
>> bopping his neighbor in the head or worse.
>>
>> Do I have this right? While walking this in my living room it
>> seems uncomfortable, has anyone dance this sequence to confirm this?
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: Jerome Grisanti <jerome.grisanti(a)gmail.com>
>> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> Sent: Wednesday, February 6, 2008 5:16:05 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Callers] Organizing Dance Cards
>>
>> Susan Kevra's "The Country of Marriage" has that "Mary Cay's" move
>> as well,
>> done by the men.
>>
>> http://www.io.com/~entropy/contradance/sequences/the-country-of-
>> marriage.html
>>
>> Jerome
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _____________________________________________________________________
>> _______________
>> Be a better friend, newshound, and
>> know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://
>> mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
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>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
> End of Callers Digest, Vol 43, Issue 7
> **************************************
Rickey,
I was reminded the other day of a good tool. Since I often use a whole-set
longways dance like Virginia Reel or something like that, I have already
covered "cast down the outside" and it's just a matter of changing it to
"cast down one place." This is appropriate for teaching dances with an
unassisted cast.
--jerome
Hi Callers,
>
> I call a regular contra dance, once a month that is attended by many
> beginners. Yes they really are beginning something as we encourage them
> to
> come back. Often I do a lot of dances that are not contras as this is
> appropriate. Recently I decided to do an evening mostly of easy contras.
> I
> had problems I have had before, so, I have two requests today:
>
> (1) Many of the dances I do would now be called ?unequal? dances as the
> actives do a lot more than the inactives. We often do ?Actives down the
> center, turn alone, back and cast off?, figures that used to be among the
> most basic, but are not often done at today?s dances. Are any of you still
> doing dances that use these calls? Are any of you who do use these figures
> calling to a room made up mostly of beginners? Here is what I have been
> saying (roughly), or at least trying to say:
>
> * Actives identify who you are and notice who your neighbors are.
>
> * You are going to end up changing places with your neighbor, so
> that you are one place down from where you are now, and you will again be
> facing your partner as you are now.
>
> * Here is how you get there
>
> * Actives only, go down the center with your partner 5 or 6 steps
> (the meaning of ?actives?, ?down?, ?center?, and ?Partner? have all been
> previously established)
>
> * Turn alone in place.
>
> * Come back up the hall until you are standing between your
> neighbors.
>
> * Inactives put your arm around your active neighbor?s waists.
>
> * Actives you are going to separate from your partner
>
> * Inactives pivot your neighbor around, actives continuing
> forward,
> inactives backing up about ? of the way around until
>
> * The actives are one place down, below their neighbors, and all
> are
> facing their partners across the set as I showed you earlier.
>
> OK, I probably do not say all of this, all of the time, but I come close
> (I
> have recorded myself so I can check). There cannot be anything left to
> say
> can there? Do you think that there is something else to say or something
> to
> say differently? A demonstration preceded this. What do you do to teach
> these figures?
>
> (2) I also need more ?equal? beginner and ?very beginner? contras. My
> favorite is ?Family Contra?. Do you have other equal contras for
> beginners
> and very beginners. I have several set dances and a few Sicilian circles
> for such folks, and I normally do them first so that dancers can get the
> idea of progressing to new neighbors, before we try contras. What I seem
> to
> need more of are ?equal? contras for beginners and ?very beginners?. What
> do you have that you can send me?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Rickey Holt
>
> Fremont, NH
>
>
--
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
660-528-0714
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
