I cannot recall dancing a modern contra in the last few years that does not
include a Partner Swing, so I have a few questions.
First, do you call any such modern dances without a partner swing? Why or
why not?
Second, if you do, do you announce it before the preceding dance so as to
inform those pairs of dancer that love to swing together?
The Tease by Tom Hinds is one such creative dance that begs to be called.
Rich Sbardella,
Stafford, CT
Hi, all,
I’m calling the contra dances in Montpelier, VT, and in Cambridge, MA next weekend. I’m hoping to get some insight from people who have danced there or called there about the dance crowd and how they are as a community in helping each other, how many beginners usually come, are they fluent in dances that leave the minor set, any tips for that specific area, etc . I have info from the organizers but would love to hear from you as well. Thanks! You can respond in this group or to me directly at quiann2(a)gmail.com <mailto:quiann2@gmail.com>.
Thanks for any feedback you can provide!
Jacqui Grennan
Los Angeles, CA
Hi friends,
After years of calling at most venues without a caller's monitor, and finding life much easier at the occasional venues that did provide a caller's monitor, I finally sprung for my own monitor. Recalling a recommendation some time ago either on this list or one of the others, I bought a Roland Cube Monitor (CM-30). But having read through the manual and looked over the unit itself, I realized I don't know what to do with it to put it to use in this context. I consulted with the sound person for my next upcoming gig, but that sound person (whom I do appreciate for many reasons) has limited sound skills and also wasn't sure.
Those of you who know more than me on this subject: Is there straightforward guidance that would help me use this unit as a caller's monitor? Or, did I buy the wrong unit for this function despite having good intentions?
Thanks in advance,
Jeremy Korr
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Hey folks,
For REASONS, I'm in search of dances with more than one partner swing --
preferably one of which is a balance and swing. Thoughts?
Cheers,
Maia
Nicholas Rokstroh's
Love Thy Partner by Nicholas Rockstroh
Becket CW
A1: Slide left, ladies allemande right 1x (6)
Partner swing (10)
A2: Gents ricochet, ladies ricochet (8)
Partner swing (8)
B1: Balance the ring, neighbors roll away (8)
Partner swing (8)
B2: Gents pass left, half hey (8)
Partner swing (8)
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Today's Topics:
1. Multiple partner swings? (Maia McCormick)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Tue, 1 May 2018 15:47:54 -0400
From: Maia McCormick <maia.mcc(a)gmail.com>
To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: [Callers] Multiple partner swings?
Message-ID:
<CAHUcZGOzhLBN_pZsR5QrBZECN24Pv1kpogEQOwYa9Pxbth3DDA(a)mail.gmail.com>
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Hey folks,
For REASONS, I'm in search of dances with more than one partner swing --
preferably one of which is a balance and swing. Thoughts?
Cheers,
Maia
Hello all,
Linda Leslie's suggestion of gyre as a replacement for gypsy bubbled around
in my brain and a new (I think) dance percolated up. It has a twist that
isn't the gyre (which I consider just new nomenclature); women casting out
of the swing to travel from one minor set to another (similar to gent's
movement in Scoot by Tom Hinds).
I haven't gotten to test it with dancers yet, as I just finished running it
through with pegs on my desk; but I wanted to share it in support of a new
term.
A Gyre for Linda
by Luke Donforth
Contra/Becket-CCW
A1 -----------
(4) Pass through to an ocean wave (ladies left, catch right with partner)
(4) Balance the short Wavy line
(2) Walk forward
(3) Shadow gyre right 1/2
(3) Gents gyre left 1/2 in the middle
A2 -----------
(16) Neighbor gyre right and swing
B1 -----------
MEANWHILE FIGURE:
(8) Men allemande Left 1-1/2 WHILE women cast cw around whole set one
woman’s place
(8) 1/2 Hey, passing partner by right shoulder
B2 -----------
(16) Partner gyre right and swing at home
As for the other aspects that have been discussed:
I pronounce it with a softer g sound. For reasons unclear to me, gyre has
different accepted pronunciations; but (to my knowledge) gyration doesn't.
As for using the term (which I clearly support); it costs me nearly nothing
to switch and helps make the dance more accessible for some; both in
dropping a term some find offensive and making the name more descriptive of
the move. My job as a caller is to help share the joy of dancing, and if
this does that I'm in favor of it.
--
Luke Donforth
Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com <Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com>
I wanted to share a contra written in honor of Linda Leslie - it was called
this weekend in a session with the Youth Festival Orchestra at the 2018 New
England Folk Festival to a nice reception. Full details at
http://veino.com/blog/?p=1990 .
May it bring dancers joy - as did she.
-Don
*¡Que Linda! - DI - Don Veino 20180211*
*A1*
Neighbor Balance & Swing
*A2*
Long Lines Forward & Back
Mad Robin CCW 1+1/4x (Ladies through center 1st, to Wave/4 across)
[N by LH, Ladies RH center]
*B1*
Balance Wave, Neighbor Allemande Left 1/2x,
Gents Pass Right to cross, Partner Swing
*B2*
Circle Left 3/4x, Ring Balance & CA Twirl
I was recently thinking about star to star transitions. There are lots of
great dances that go star 1x to opposite hand star 1x (such as Lisa
Greenleaf's "Poetry in Motion", Robert Cromartie's "Al's Safeway Produce",
Linda Leslie's "Burlington Spirit"...); and then there are the star -> same
hand star dances (Mike Richardson's "Star Trek", my "Voyager", Dugan
Murphey's "The Next Generation"...)
Are there dances that use star just half way -> with next, opposite hand
star 1/2 way? I'm envisioning something with a bit of a zig-zag feel, but
that could be done in crowded dance halls where you don't want folks
swooping out laterally (like John Coffman's "Boys of Urbana"), but more
connected than a single file promenade snake like Cary Ravitz's "March of
the Coffee Zombies".
Are there already dances out there like this?
Switchback Stars
Improper, single progression
A1
With #1 Neighbors, Left Hand star 1/2x
With #2 Neighbors, Right Hand star 1/2
With #3 Neighbor, left shoulder gyre 1x
A2
With #2 Neighbor, right shoulder gyre and swing (now current neighbors)
B1
Circle Left 3/4
Partner Swing
B2
Ladies chain across to neighbor
Long Lines forward and back
If so, how do they handle the timing?
And for that dance (assuming it doesn't already exist), would you prefer it
as written above, or shifted to put the progression in B2?
Switchback Stars + 16B
Improper, single progression
A1
With Neighbor, right shoulder gyre and swing
A2
Circle Left 3/4
Partner Swing
B1
Ladies chain across to neighbor
Long Lines forward and back
B2
With #1 Neighbors, Left Hand star 1/2x
With #2 Neighbors, Right Hand star 1/2
With #3 Neighbor, left shoulder gyre 1x
come back to Neighbor #2, now current neighbor
--
Luke Donforth
Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com <Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com>
Luke I think you've come up with something original. The only dances I know of that have a series of half stars were written by Rod Linnel. He came up with a figure (i believe) he called grand star and used in a double square.
Sent from my iPad
Hi folks,
This is a pretty simple dance without a neighbor swing. Anyone recognize it
as already existing?
A1
Neighbor Allemande Right 1 1/2
Gents Allemande Left 1 1/2
A2
Partner Balance and Swing
B1
Long Lines forward and back
Promenade across set with partner
B2
Ladies chain back to neighbor
Left hand star 1x
Thanks
--
Luke Donforth
Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com <Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com>
