Hi Amy, Would you be willing to share your program set list for the Cows/Chickens dance? I’m curious what kind of dances went so well.
Thanks ! Claire Takemori (Campbell CA) > On Mon, Jul 31, 2017 at 12:59 PM, Amy Wimmer via Callers > <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> > wrote: >> Hi All, >> >> I recently had the opportunity to call a contra to a group of rank > beginners >> in a difficult situation: outdoors, on sloping concrete, without >> amplification for either myself or the band, to people not expecting a >> dance, with a band mostly unfamiliar with either contra or fiddle tunes, > who >> had no opportunity to practice or choose tunes. It was a staff party > with a >> barnyard theme. Granted, this particular good of people is accustomed to >> being spontaneous and silly at times, most are in their 20's, and it's a >> liberal, accepting group. >> >> The organizers wanted to use the terms "cows" and "chickens" instead of > any >> other usual terms for dancers. When they arrived at the party each person >> chose a name tag with either a cow or a chicken on it. They didn't know > it, >> but this determined which role they'd play in the dance. I arbitrarily > chose >> to "put the chicken on the right, because the chicken is always right." > (I >> keep chickens, and they ARE always right) >> >> There was not time for much of a lesson, either. It'd have been much > easier >> if everyone had joined the dance at the beginning. All said, just about >> everyone had a really great time, myself included. The band was hyped up > to >> try another dance evening later in the week, though that never > materialized. >> >> I never mentioned gender in any way. That part just seemed to not matter. >> They were dancing with their friends. It didn't matter that they weren't >> experts or even very good. >> >> I was heartened and encouraged to try something like this again, perhaps >> with more widely used dancer terms. >> >> -Amy
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