Contra Callers

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40 participants
4387 discussions

by Rickey

Hi All, I have a dance which I remember dancing in Montpelier Vermont with Charles Woodard, probably in the 1980s. It is below. It is a duple proper dance. (A1) Actives Balance and allemande right 1 ½ (A2) Ladies Chain over and back (B1) Left Hand Star Above, Right Hand Star Below (B2) Actives Swing, end facing up and cast off. I do not have a name for this dance. There does not seem to be enough to do in A1, so Ive changed it to Actives Balance and Do-si-do and allemande right 1 ½. But the biggest problem is with the ladies chain. My wife tells me that she has never started a ladies chain from the left side of the gent, which is what happens here. I thought that this was a common way to set up a ladies chain when starting from a duple formation, but I cannot find any where the woman does start from the gents left. I have written a fix that eliminates the ladies chain altogether, but I was wondering if anyone is familiar with this dance. Do I have part of it wrong? What might your fix be, or do you have any other dances that are fairly easy that have a star with old neighbors flowing into a star with new neighbors (since this is the part I like best). If it was also without a hey that might be ideal. Got too many heys programmed into the evening already I suspect. Thanks, Rickey Holt.

18 years, 4 months

Star grips was Re: Star Promenade

by crunchymama＠juno.com

In reference to "Sounds Like a Match" by Lynn Ackerson, it seems to me like the A1 would be a little smoother with a Southern style star than a New England style? Has anyone found this to be the case? Our local dance must have been started by Yankees as we typically use the wrist grip. I've been enjoying Bill Olson's "The Eggbeater" http://www.megalink.net/~pweeks/eggbeater.htm but I have to remember to specify the Southern grip for it when teaching the walkthrough. Are there any dances that you all enjoy dancing/calling that do better with one particular style of star? -Alison Murphy in Memphis TN -- mavis mcgaugh <yankeecalls(a)yahoo.com> wrote: I have used this dance several times: Sounds Like a Match Lynn Ackerson {bkt 1/4 left] A1 Balance Ring Ladies Trade by Left Hand ALL - Left hand star 1x ----- Progression A2) w/ Next Neighbor D-S-D & Swing B1 Men Left AL 1 1/2 W/ Parner Star Promenade B2 Ladies Right AL 1x Partner Swing

18 years, 4 months

Re: [Callers] Old Dance in Need of a Name and Repair

by David.Millstone＠valley.net

Hi Rickey, I suspect the dance you're thinking of is Dandies' Hornpipe. Charles certainly included many of the older dances in his repertoire. David Smukler discussed the dance at length in his "Cracking Chestnuts" column in the Jan/Feb, 2007, issue of the CDSS News, and you can find it on David's website here: http://www.davidsmukler.syracusecountrydancers.org/dandies.htm When Ralph Page published the dance in Northern Junket in 1968, he printed the triple minor version, but added that he preferred it as a duple minor. Here's a link that will take you to a scanned version of the dance as it appeared in Northern Junket: http://www.izaak.unh.edu/dlp/NorthernJunket/pages/NJv09/NJv09-02/NJv.09.02.… tm This is from the University of New Hampshire's Library of Traditional Music and Dance, which maintains the Ralph Page collection. The dance also appeared in _The Ralph Page Book of Contras," a slim booklet published in 1969 by the English Folk Dance and Song Society. Here's the triple minor version: Dandies' Hornpipe Couples 1 - 4 - 7 etc. active. Don't cross over (Counts) Active couples forward and back (8) Turn by the right hand once and a half around (8) Go below one couple and the opposite ladies chain (8+8) Left hand star with the couple below (8) Right-hand star with the couple above (8) Active couples swing in the center (stop facing UP) (8) Up the center and cast off one couple (8) In his article, David suggests making the first figure in A1 be "Long lines, forward and back," instead of just the active couple, and he offers a few other modifications that you may wish to consider. Hope this helps. David Millstone

18 years, 4 months

Re: [Callers] Star grips

by Jerome Grisanti

Alison, Here are two dances by Cary Ravitz that use the hands-across grip in a star. Both feature the flow from star to allemande or chain. I also specify a hands-across grip in several dances where there is a "balance the star" move before or after turning the star, though I don't have those figures handy right now. I don't have any that specify the cogwheel star, and with most stars I let the crowd do the "default" star for that area. ---Jerome Dancing Spell Cary Ravitz 9-98 Improper contra Easy A1 - Neighbors balance and swing (16). A2 - Circle left (8). - Star left using a hands across star (8). B1 - Men allemande left 1+1/2 (8). - Partners swing (8). B2 - Right and left through across (8). - Ladies chain across (8). Starburst Cary Ravitz 7-95 Improper contra A1 - Neighbors take right hands and balance (4). - Neighbors box the gnat (4). - Star right using a hands across star (8). A2 - Ladies chain across to your partner (8). - Star left using a hands across star (8). B1 - Ladies turn out and partners gypsy and swing (16). B2 - Circle left 3/4 and pass through up and down (8). - New neighbors do-si-do (8). Alternate B1, can be called as ladies' choice B1 - Ladies turn in and partners gypsy by the left (4). - Partners turn alone clockwise and swing (12). For callers up to medleys, I have had success teaching Starburst and then switching to Dancing Spell, but only if the crowd has seen a right-and-left thru that evening. ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 05:45:48 GMT From: "crunchymama(a)juno.com" <crunchymama(a)juno.com> Subject: [Callers] Star grips was Re: Star Promenade To: callers(a)sharedweight.net Message-ID: <20070416.224645.5614.2814317(a)webmail02.lax.untd.com> Content-Type: text/plain In reference to "Sounds Like a Match" by Lynn Ackerson, it seems to me like the A1 would be a little smoother with a Southern style star than a New England style? Has anyone found this to be the case? Our local dance must have been started by Yankees as we typically use the wrist grip. I've been enjoying Bill Olson's "The Eggbeater" http://www.megalink.net/~pweeks/eggbeater.htm but I have to remember to specify the Southern grip for it when teaching the walkthrough. Are there any dances that you all enjoy dancing/calling that do better with one particular style of star? -Alison Murphy in Memphis TN -- Jerome Grisanti 660-528-0858 660-528-0714 http://www.jeromegrisanti.com

18 years, 4 months

Re: [Callers] writing dances

by David.Millstone＠VALLEY.NET

Good place for guinea pigs for testing dances-- and for practicing calling-- is at a house party, a kitchen junket. Invite a handful of friends over, roll up the proverbial rug, clear out the kitchen or dining room, and go at it. We danced all of Ted's Triplets (41 of 'em) in out kitchen one day, with a second set in the dining room when the crowd was at its peak. With nine people, you can have someone calling and enough for a square, a four couple longways, triplets with a few folks resting or preparing the next dance. Have fun! David Millstone

18 years, 4 months

Re: [Callers] Greetings from a new caller and some random questionsabout calling

by ebay＠hands4.com

Long winded, personal, comments in line----> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Green" <richard.a.green(a)hotmail.com> To: "'Caller's discussion list'" <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 8:24 AM Subject: [Callers] Greetings from a new caller and some random questionsabout calling > Greetings to all of you! And to you!!! <snip history (nice to know, though)> > Since then I have doubled my calling experience by calling a mixer at a > recent family dance that we played at. John has also scheduled another > dance next month with guest callers which I will be one of. Other than that > I have spent time preparing by transcribing several dances that I have found > online,(several on this list), donning my mp3 player and practicing calling > as I jog around the neighborhood. It is a pretty good way to become > familiar with the timing of the calls, but doesn't really do much for the > stage fright that I will still have to deal with, although I suppose that > running around the streets shouting contradance calls in cadence does make > me an object of attention. Focus on the dancer's need and how to meet them. Any time that I am thinking about ME it really messes things up. Even if what I am thinking is something that is supposed to help. The only thing that is really important is what's going on between you, the dancers and the band. For me, if I am thinking about all of the really important things, then unimportant things like my own fear, recede into the background. If stagefright is significant, there are really good self-calming techniques available that can help. (Any professional counselor would know about this.) > Despite my lack of experience I now have several gigs lined up to call. > They are all for family type and special dances that we have been asked to > play at. Since it is not very likely that much of this dancing is going to > be done to the phrasing of the music it takes a little pressure off the need > to be precise with timing, but in general I think that calling these types > of dances is actually more difficult in some ways because teaching, as well > as just maintaining the dance, can be a challenge. In my, not so very humble, opinion, you have just given yourself the most difficult and most rewarding challenge a caller can have: non-experienced dancers. They need the finest calling and the best bands. Experienced dancers will fix your mistakes for you. Beginners will fail and blame themselves saying: "I just can't do this" when YOU mess up. So pat yourself on the back for taking these dances and enjoy the learning experience involved with calling the toughest gigs (and most rewarding gigs) there are. > I would like to say that I will be satisfied with calling these family > dances, but I really harbor a secret desire to make it to the big time and > call a "real" dance. I have always been pretty impressed by how the callers > could stand up there and make a dance happen, and now that I know more about > what goes into it I am even more in awe of you all. <Soapbox> Hah, almost anyone can call a modern urban contra dance for experienced dancers: pick a dance, walk it through once, call it two or three times and let the band do their thing. It doesn't take a whole lot of skill to do that. You can read right off the card and it will work. Your family dances and private party dances are what take real skill. (but I repeat myself.) </Soapbox> > Since it is too late to avoid being long-winded, I would like to add a few > random questions which I will throw out to see if they generate any > discussion: > > Timing issues- I think that I have a pretty good handle on the eight and > sixteen beat figures, but how do you keep track of others? For example, the > petronella balance & spin are 4 & 4, I think. Do you call them together, > like a balance and swing, or try to separate the call a little? And for > that matter, for a balance and swing call, is it better to call that all at > once, or would it be good to call balance......and swing, with a separation. > And what about these dances that have other timing. Sometimes I see timing > of 7 or 9, or other odd numbers. Does the timing of the calls have to > change to reflect this? Think a little about what it was like when you first learned to play an instrument: you had to think about where your fingers went for each note, how to make the notes sound right, etc. etc. etc. Eventually these things became second nature and you could focus on other things. Right now, you are thinking a lot about things that with experience and practice will become second nature. One great way to get to know timing is to listen to what other callers do and imitate them. There are a fair number of recordings available of callers and you can do field recordings at any dances you attend. In all timing cases, you need to end the call just before the point where the action takes place. For an action that starts on the 1 beat, you end, of course, on the 8 beat of the previous phrase. For an action that starts on the 5 beat, you end the call on the 4 beat, etc. But, as with any instrument, counting is not as good as feeling it. I can think of dances where I started out figuring out exactly where the call should go, and counting. But after doing it a while, the counting needs to go away. Just like when people first learn to waltz they may count 1-2-3, but a good waltzer doesn't. (I suspect you know all of this, but I figure it is not good to assume. And other folks on the list may not know these things. <G>.) About imitating other callers: I worried about sounding too much like someone else if I did this, but you won't. You will have your own style even if it is influenced by another caller's. After 20 years of marriage (almost) I can tell when Tony is "channeling" another caller. There are times when I hear Ralph Page or Ted Sanella in his timing and tone (and even accent) but anyone who knew him less well wouldn't know. I, of course, worried about sounding too much like Tony. Hah, hah! Our personality styles are so different that even if my timing, phrasing, enunciation and words were the same, I would still not sound like him (more's the pity.) > Calling and Playing - Does anyone call and play an instrument at the same > time? Are you able to call and play simultaneously or do you do some > calling and then join the band when the calling is no longer needed. Any > hints on how to share these tasks? > Don't try to call and play until you can call without thinking about it. And remember that you are always responsible for what is going on on the floor. Many callers at contra dances do the thing I said above: walk the dance, call it a couple of times and let the band have at it. Even if you do that (and it works well when it is working) you must continue to watch the dancers to see when they start having trouble. My experience is that dancers have trouble at first and then have trouble again after the dance has been running a while. The caller who jumps back in with a few choice words is doing his/her job. The caller who is busy playing an instrument (or sorting through cards, or chatting with people at the sides, or even dancing) is likely to not notice when the dancers start to have trouble (and you want to place those few choice words when the dancers are *starting* to have trouble, not after they are in full-bore meltdown.) If you can play and still have your full attention on the floor, great. Tony is a great contra dance piano player and just about the best caller around, but he doesn't do both at the same time. He will take over piano mid-dance, but only if he really knows the crowd and even then it is risky. > Ending the Dance - Do most callers change the call at the end of the dance > so that you swing your partner or something to close the dance? I know Bill > Olson does, but I can't really remember if it is the common thing to do. If > so, do you have some special ending already prepared or do you just develop > something on the fly or with experience. In transcribing dances and I have > not included anything like that. Ending the dance with a different call is a style and taste thing. This is, after all, an art. Decide what you like as a dancer. I (very personally) am not fond it when a dance ends with me a long way away from my partner and with the focus on someone else. Therefore, I will change the last time through on such dance to end with folks near or focused on their partners. I think doing it all of the time is a bit much, a dance where the band gets to end things without warning is a nice touch too. I'm fond of a mix, so I try to have some with a changed ending, some with a "bow to your partner" ending and (at a contra dance) some with just the banding ending. > Varying your Calls - Is it a good thing to vary the words that you use when > calling a dance or is it better to use the exact same words each time > through? It seems like it would be a nice to avoid repetition, but on the > other hand it also seems like it would be easier to be consistently > understood if you stick to the same phrases. Also, should you always call > using the same phrases from dance to dance? It seems like the dancers would > get used to hearing things in the same way and understand them better, but I > wonder if it would make you seem limited or boring as a caller. Again, it's your artistic taste, and it may depend on the dancers as well. Within a contra dance, diminishing calls are a good thing. Since the figure repeats and people will be learning it, a call that makes sense at first will be a call that prompts people too soon later. Example: Face your next neighbor, Balance and Swing is a good call for the beginning of a round early in the dance, but as the dance progresses people will know to face the next. Eventually they will, of course, know it all and you will drop out, but in between you may need to just say "New Neighbor, Balance & swing" and then "Balance & swing the next" and then "Balance & swing" and perhaps just "balance the next" etc. Again, listening to your favorite callers helps get a range. > Judging the Dancer's Level - Any tips on how to judge the ability of the > dancers in order to introduce more complex dances? Is this something that > is obvious or does it take some special skills to observe, or is it > something that you develop over time? How do you get to Carnegie Hall? (i.e., it is something you develop over time.) The best advice you can get has been given: it is better to underestimate than to overestimate the crowd. This especially goes for non-experienced (private party, one night stand, bandana dance, whatever you call them) dancers. Contra dance progression is not appropriate for most private party dances: you do best with whole sets, circles and squares. (Definition of contra dance in this context: a dance in lines where you keep your partner, but progress to a new neighbor each round. For purposes of this discussion, the Virginia Reel is not a contra dance but a whole set dance.) For an eveing of contra dancing, as Tony says in his book (Contr Dance Calling, currently out of print, second edition underway) "beware the dance camp romance." Dances you pick up at dance camps, festivals and other places where hot-shot dancers gather may seem easy in that context. Brought back to a mixed floor dance, however, they may just be hard and not so fun. There are many things that make a particular dance hard or easy: the experience of the dancers, the caller's choice of words, the quality of the music (honest, a tight band supports harder figures. A lesser band makes all dances more difficult.) Judging this is an art and there is a balance. If your floor is more experienced, the band is tight and hot, and you are feeling good, then you DO want to have those tricker dances available. But you also need to have the opposite: the dances you can swap in if any of those things don't come together. Ted Sannella's dance programs (which he maticulously crafted prior to an event) usually had two dances in each slot. The dances went to the same type of music, so he didn't need to ask the band to change in order to change his program on the fly. Even with that, however, there are times when, mid-evening, you are pulling out the cards and swapping dances. One of the things that I look for are dances that are interesting but "forgiving." That is, they feel tricky, but they contain a place where folks can repair confusion. So it's not just about judging the dancer's level, but also judging the dances level. And it's not just "easy" or "hard" but what the crowd likes. I've noticed that the younger dancers in Boston are not "into" figures that my generation finds very cool. So when I have a hall full of younger dancers, I may change to a different dance because it will be more satisfying to them. The opposite is also true, if my floor is mostly my own generation, then I have a different set of dances up my sleeve. And that knowledge comes from experience and paying attention. > Thanks in advance for your help. > > Richard HTH, Beth Parkes

18 years, 4 months

Re: [Callers] New Friendship Reel

by David.Millstone＠valley.net

Sounds like the version of the dance Jeff encountered has been considerably folk processed! In Ted's original dance, there's no partner swing-- I know, a shocking omission. There are other dances with the "lady round two, gent cut through figure," but Ted was the first to incorporate that figure (from Appalachian dancing) into a contra. New Friendship Reel is published in "Swing the Next," a collection of dances by Ted Sannella, and available from the CDSS Sales Office. Highly recommended, an essential in any caller's library, in my opinion. It contains 80 contras, squares, triplets, and circle dances, with a suggested tune (and musical notation) for each plus Ted's suggestions about dancing and teaching tips, as well as the background of how each dance came to be. Most but not all of the dances are Ted's, and he was a master of composing dances that move smoothly from one figure to the next. His books also explain the dances using very clear language. David Millstone Lebanon, NH ----- New Friendship Reel by Ted Sannella, 1981 Contra, duple improper A1 Balance and swing your neighbor A2 Long lines, fd & back Actived do-si-do, ending with the lady facing out B1 Active lady go around the couple above, followed by her partner who crosses the set and goes around the gent above (8) Active gent goes around the couple above, followed by his partner who crosses the set and goes around the gent above (8) B2 Those two couples circle to the left (8) Same four make a left hand star (8)

18 years, 4 months

New Friendship Reel

by John C. McIntire

Hi All, The dance Jeff noted as "New Friendship Reel" looks like a conglomeration of Ted's dance, New Freindship Reel and a dance by Penn Fix, Honor Among Thieves. Penn's dance, along with notes on how it came to be and the variations it went thru, are in his book, Contradancing in the Northwest, published in 1991 by CDSS and still available from them <www.cdss.org>. I have found the book very interesting to read, both for the dances and the history it contains. I have used both dances but prefer Penn's dance as it "sets up" the #1 lady to be chased around the #2 couple by her partner. In Ted's dance, the chase figure begins after the #1 couple dances a Do Si Do and the #1 lady has to turn around to face out of the set to start the next figure. One of the nice features about Ted's dance is that it does not contain the now ubiquitous "circle left 3/4 and swing someone" figure. Honor Among Thieves By Penn Fix, 1986 Contra, Duple, Improper A1 Neighbor Do Si Do Neighbor Almd Right 1 1/2 X A2 Active Lady around two and the Active Gent cuts thru (Lady round 2 and the Gent cuts thru) Active Gent around two and the Lady cuts thru (Gent round 2 and the Lady cuts thru) B1 Same Four, Circle Left 3/4 Partners Swing B2 Lines Forward & Back Ladies Chain Across The "chase" figure in A2 has the #1 Lady moving up the set clockwise around the #2 couple followed by her partner who "cuts thru" down the center between the #2 couple. At that point he is "chased" by his partner clockwise around the #2 couple and Lady #1 "cuts thru" the #2 couple and all end where they began at the end of the A1. It is a fun figure with lots of opportunity for flirting and frivolity. Enjoy, John McIntire, Unity, ME

18 years, 4 months

Star Promenade

by Jeffrey Petrovitch

Hey Everyone! Looking for some help... Looking for interesting contra dances with a star promenades.? Also wondering if anyone has the dance sequence "Through The Looking Glass" by Wendy Greenberg. Thanks, j_petro

18 years, 4 months

New Friendship Reel

by Jeff Kaufman

The caller in Bethlehem called the New Friendship Reel tonight and I've been trying to figure it out enough that I could call it. I'm mostly unsure about the phrasing of the "X around through, Y cut though". I have the dance as: Aleman right 1.5 (#1 lady facing out) Gent around two, lady cut through Lady around two, gent cut through Circle left 3/4, swing partner Circle left 3/4, swing neighbor And would break it up as: A1: (8) Aleman R 1.5 (8) Gent around two? A2: (4) Lady cut through? (8) Lady around two? (4) Gent cut through? B1: (16) Circle L 3/4, swing P B2: (16) Circle L 3/4, swing N This seems weird, though. I I remember "X around through, Y cut though" as taking 8 counts. Am I forgetting a figure? Jeff -- Jeff Kaufman http://sccs.swarthmore.edu/~cbr/

18 years, 4 months

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Contra Callers