Ditto all that.I tell dancers (and demonstrate) that only my ring and pinky fingers are wrapped around the base of the other's thumb and the rest of my hand is loose. I think that helps them understand that this isn't a "power" move (read "arm wrestle"), but more gentle but with a good connection, flat wrist, imagine a pole where our hands are and we're walking around the pole.
Let's keep working on this!
Donna Hunt
-----Original Message-----
From: Bree Kalb via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
To: Martha Wild <mawild(a)sbcglobal.net>
Cc: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Sent: Sat, May 18, 2019 8:37 am
Subject: Re: [Callers] Hand Turns & Safety
This is a long term project of mine: to teach and encourage what I call “the physical therapist approved” way to Allemande. I don’t seem to be making much progress so am delighted that others care about it, too.
On Fri, May 17, 2019 at 8:55 PM Martha Wild via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Hear, hear! My sentiments exactly! How on earth are you supposed to “give weight” (in the proper way, just a tiny bit so you are both part of a unit) and get around each other with a flat, palm to palm contact? The only way that works is that people bend their wrists so that they have some purchase on the other person. Which hurts my now no longer flat wrist! So wrong, painfully wrong. Please, please, please, stop teaching a flat hand allemande. It doesn’t work. Curved fingers, straight wrist, the thumb is just sort of loose and not doing much. Thank you for bringing that up, Erik!Martha
On May 17, 2019, at 3:01 PM, Erik Hoffman via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
John Sweeny below hoped we callers would teach more about hand turns and the like. I’ve been thinking on this for quite a while. Years ago I had a discussion with Brad Foster. We both lamented the loss of the allemande with mildly interlocking thumbs to the modern overprotective thumb against the side of the palm allemande. At that time I think I was still in Santa Barbara, thus it must have been pre 1994. I wrote an article for our dance rag called, “If Allemande Left, Where’d Allemande Go?” I talked about what I do when someone grips my hand—and I think all of us should remove that word, “grip” from our caller’s vocabulary… But the most important thing I discussed is:
- Our Wrist is Strongest When It’s Straight
- Our Fingers are Strongest When Curved
- Thus, however one does an allemande, it should be a hook, with curved fingers and a straight wrist.
Lately I’ve seen teachers promote the straight fingers, bent wrist, and flat palm method. The almost always makes one person’s wrist uncomfortable. Not as bad as when someone draws the others hand into that almost-Aikido-put-them-on-the-ground position, but usually quite uncomfortable. Thus I hope most of us learn the curved fingers, straight wrist, no grip, and, no thumb clamping allemande, ECD hand turn, two hand turn type hand connections. ~Erik Hoffman, Oakland, CA From: Callers <callers-bounces(a)lists.sharedweight.net> On Behalf Of John Sweeney via Callers
Sent: Friday, May 17, 2019 2:09 PM
To: 'Caller's discussion list' <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Name that Dance Hi Rich, I would just call it a “Big Set Mixer”. It is a slight variation of the one in the Community Dances Manual. Callers just make up a 32 bar sequence that works for their dancers. While it is a good example of all ages having fun together, I really wish callers would teach the dancers just a tiny bit about how to do better hand/arm turns and swings :-) Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574 http://contrafusion.co.uk/KentCeilidhs.html for Live Music Ceilidhs http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive DVDs _______________________________________________
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Can anyone put the title to this dance from the web?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=20AzpUhcl_E&fbclid=IwAR2cUdLxooGD3zONkK4KatXcca3B3spscqRK26CLlOFcVgzPuEPaYhCf8Tc
Do you know "Double Double This This"? It can be done as a mixer or keeper.
Concentric circles, partners facing each other
Partners tap 2 fists together at chin's height 2 times: "Double, double"Partners tap 2 hands together, palms together 2 times: "This, this"Partners tap 2 fists together 2 times: "Double, double"Partners tap 2 hands back to back 2 times: "That, that"Partners tap fists 1 time, and open palms 1 time: "Double, this"Partners tap fists 1 time, and backs of hands 1 time: "Double, that'Partners tap 2 fists together 2 times: "Double, double"Partners tap open palms together 1 time and backs of hands 1 time: "This, That!"Repeat the above with same partner (or shift to the next person in the circle if making it a mixer)B Right hand allemande your partner;Do si do partnerLeft hand allemande partnerDo si do partner
At this point you can throw in an elbow swing or a promenade. I've done it with ages 9-10, never tried it with younger.
-----Original Message-----
From: Charles Abell via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
To: Callers(a)Lists.Sharedweight.net <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>; John Sweeney <john(a)modernjive.com>
Sent: Wed, May 15, 2019 8:51 am
Subject: Re: [Callers] Looking for "fun" dances
#yiv2122591051 P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;}I'm sure there is already a thread on this somewhere, but I'm wondering what are your favorite dances for those in the 4-10 year old range. Specifically, dances that are not mixers since many younger dancers prefer to stay with a particular partner the whole time. I have a number of good ones already (Alabama Gal, Haste to the Wedding, La Bastringue, etc), but I'd like to expand my existing collection of dances geared towards "little ones".
Let 'em rip!
From: Callers <callers-bounces(a)lists.sharedweight.net> on behalf of John Sweeney via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2018 9:58 AM
To: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
Subject: Re: [Callers] Looking for "fun" dances Since so many people enjoy the contrary circling in The Wheel, you might
enjoy this one as well:
Suicide Square
http://www.ceilidhcalling.co.uk/danceviewpage.php?view=1&id=9
It is extremely chaotic! You can reduce the chaos slightly by getting the
band to stop randomly during the circling, at which point everyone grabs a
partner; the band waits a few seconds while everyone finds a partner and
decides whether they are Heads or Sides, then gives two notes and starts the
next Heads Gallop.
I modify it to give a bit more recovery time:
Start in a big square around the room
A1: Head couples take partner in a ballroom hold and gallop eight steps
into the centre and back
A2: Sides gallop eight steps into the centre and back
B1: All the men form an outer circle facing in, while the ladies form an
inner circle facing out. All circle left then find a new partner
B2: Partner Swing - stop early enough to decide whether you are now
Heads or Sides - Heads get ready to gallop
There is also The Muffin Man Jig:
http://www.ceilidhcalling.co.uk/danceviewpage.php?view=1&id=11
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802
940 574
http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive Events & DVDs
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
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Dear Shared Weight callers,
Do you have experience in WordPress design? Do you love Shared Weight? Shared Weight is looking for a volunteer to help us on a well-defined website development task. Essentially, we need someone to create a wordpress site that will serve as a new website for: https://www.sharedweight.net
Here are a few details:
--> There would be a few additional pages to what is on the current site, but as you can see, our needs are relatively basic. (Template/model pages for each of the lists, FAQ for the whole site, etc)
--> The Shared Weight team would like to have some say into the look of the site but we also welcome your ideas.
--> You will not need to be responsible for maintaining the site - simply creating the templates will be a great help! We will provide all the content for the site and can even populate the content once you have created the template if you don’t want to do the initial upload of text.
Please email Emily at emily(a)cdss.org if you are interested in helping us on this project.
***An exciting heads up about Shared Weight*** The new wordpress site is part of an exciting new initiative for Shared Weight. Seth Seeger and Chris Weiler (Shared Weight founders) have partnered with Ridge Kennedy (Trad Dance caller listserv), Alan Winston (English Country dance listserv), and Weogo Reed (Contra Sound Forum) to collectively update and enhance the lists. All six lists will be hosted on an upgraded Shared Weight software platform with the new website and better mailing list software. We will also be doing lots more promotion of these lists. Emily (CDSS Consultant) is helping to coordinate some of this work and so am the contact for finding a wordpress volunteer.
Watch for more updates from the Shared Weight team over the next new months!
Seth & Chris
Sure they're all fun (we hope). I'm looking for a few dances that are particularly playful, quirky, silly....something that typically gets the dancers laughing.
Some examples would be "Over the Hill and Still Chased" with the lady round two/gent cut through figure, or Beneficial Tradition when the dancers throw their free arm up and shout "Wooo!"
You get the idea. What are your favorites?
Sue Gola
Princeton, NJ
Hello Shared Weight callers,
I know most of the conversation on this list is very much caller focused.
However, I did want to share the May issue of CDSS's Shop Talk as I know
many of you are also organizers and even if are not, you may still be
interested in some of the topics in this issue.
Take a look below...there are announcements about a web chat focusing on
creating safe dance communities as well as news about a collaborative
project between Shared Weight, some of the other traditional dance/music
listservs, and CDSS.
Here's a link to the issue: https://conta.cc/2HlZOXA
Shop Talk is free and you can sign up here to receive it:
https://www.cdss.org/resources/how-to/organizers#shop-talk
With thanks!
Emily Addison
*In the May issue:*
- Heads up regarding an article in the upcoming June CDSS News which
outlines *how to easily plan organizer discussions*.
- Announcing the *CDSS Web Chat: Building Safe Dance Communities* which
is happening on July 11th
- *CDSS Scholarships* still available for camp sessions!
- News about an *exciting collaboration among organizer, caller, and
musician listservs*
- A *survey for Open Bands* to support resource development.
- Heads up regarding the upcoming *CDSS Group Affiliates survey*
- A *call for volunteers *interested in developing organizer resources.
- *Join CDSS as an affiliate and individual member to help make
resources and supports like these possible!*
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Virus-free.
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Kamryn Wisner and I wrote a dance!
Does it exist?
“Techno fix” by Kamryn Wisner and Alexandra Deis-Lauby
A1 N b and swing
A2 Mad robin, Larks allemande left 1.5
B1 Partner b and s
B2 Circle 3/4 balance ring, CA twirl
Sent from my iPhone
I'm calling the Boston Gender-free dance on 11th June, and in preparation for this I've updated my Dance Organiser program so that
when you display the dance instructions full-screen you have the option of converting "man" to "lark" and "lady" or "woman" to
"raven", etc.
You can download the latest version and try it out free of charge:
http://colinhume.com/download
There may be one or two quirks - I noticed that the dance title "Les Manches Vertes" was displayed as "Les Larkches Vertes" but I
can live with that! If you find more serious problems please let me know.
Colin Hume
About a month ago, I asked for help and suggestions because I was calling a dance for visually impaired students. Thank you to all who responded. Well, the dance was last Saturday. The students ranged in age from 8-17. Many of the partnerships contained two visually impaired dancers. We started with a big circle dance with basic figures and without a progression. They did really well with the basics. We did the Snake dance and since the room had two doors opening out to a deck we took advantage of going outside during the dance. We danced Les Salute, Seven Jumps (modified version so we didn't have to lay on the floor), Bridge Dance, the Chicken dance, and ended with the Snake dance again because the kids loved that one. When we spiraled into the middle, they kept yelling, "Let's see how tight we can get it!" It was so much fun seeing all the smiles and I was told, it was the best Saturday evening activity in all the years they have had the Snowshoe Weekend. I found that they did best with large circles, no progression, and no specific partner. I hope to be able to dance with these kids again and try something maybe a little more challenging with them. Unfortunately, due to privacy concerns I am unable to share pictures. The photos did make me tear up. In all my years of calling, this was one of the best, funnest, and most rewarding gigs.
Helle
Hi Lenore,
I think part of the challenge with contra is that there is so little teaching done at dances. Technique is very rarely taught; people are just supposed to pick it all up as they go along. As a result people who can get through challenging dances consider themselves “advanced” while still having no basic dancing skills.
One of the most frustrating sequences for me is “Men Allemande Left 1.5; Neighbour Swing”. I like to spin out of the Allemande into my Neighbour’s arms for the Swing. But no-one ever teaches Allemande technique and very few dancers do it well (the ladies tend to be much better than the men). I get offered all sorts of strange hand positions; the dancers put their arms at strange angles which prevent you disengaging smoothly; many of the dancers seem to think that they are arm-wrestling instead of dancing; some of them have misunderstood the term “give weight” and lean away strongly so that I have to devote myself to stopping them from falling over (very tiring!); and, possibly as a result of all this poor connection, they don’t move fast enough - their steps are too small. All of this means that getting around 1.5 times takes too long and there is no time to add a spin out of the Allemande.
You can’t build on shifting sands.
Whenever I teach a Swing Variations workshop I always start by going over the basics of a good swing. It’s amazing how many people afterwards thank me and say they hadn’t realised that they could improve their basic swing. See http://contrafusion.co.uk/Contra.html#swinging for details.
You may also find some ideas you can use at http://contrafusion.co.uk/Contra.html#connection.
For improving technique in twirls (e.g. in and out of swings, and multiple twirls in a Ladies’ Chains), see http://modernjive.com/history/tension.html. Although this article was written for a different dance style, the technique points apply equally well to contra twirls. Note: this article refers to Lead & Follow which is not a fundamental part of contra dance. However, for many flourishes the Lead & Follow principles apply for the duration of that flourish.
Some flourishes that can be done easily by yourself are:
Spin into a Tidal Wave (long wavy line)
Twirl yourself going from Up The Hall in Lines of Four into a Circle Left
Spin yourself out of Allemandes - great fun if you can do all four in a Contra Corners
Do something on beat four of Long Lines Go Forward & Back: shimmy, stamp, hip bump the opposite person (if you know them well), bow…
I hope some of that helps.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com <mailto:john@modernjive.com> 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574
http://contrafusion.co.uk/KentCeilidhs.html for Live Music Ceilidhs
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive DVDs
From: Callers <callers-bounces(a)lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:callers-bounces@lists.sharedweight.net> > On Behalf Of Lenore Frigo via Callers
Sent: 26 April 2019 22:45
To: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>
Subject: [Callers] Easy flourishes or other "bonus" movements?
I would like to teach some of my more advanced dancers some flourishes or other embellishments to contra dance. I'd like to start with things that are easy and obviously that can be smoothly integrated into a dance.
Simpler is better and I am especially looking for "extras" that can be done singly rather than within a couple. For example, simply twirling during a do-si-do, or little "meanwhile" things you can do while waiting out as your partner allemandes with their diagonal.
I've found some YouTube videos, but they tend to be for more elaborate technique than I am interested in introducing at this time.
Thanks for any thoughts, tips, support, or warnings! :)
Lenore Frigo
