I have danced 'modern' variants of Chorus Jig where the twos go UP the middle while the ones go down the outside.
Chorus jig has also lent itself to MANY flourishes and playful adlibs to make use of the available time: 1) The twos can swing in the middle while the ones are going down the outside, but only if they take responsibility for ending in time to be in place for the ones return. It's a short swing if you are responsible about it. 2) During ones down the center, a two in one set will sometimes swing with a two in the next set over if such should be available and willing. Again a short swing and critical to be ready for the cast off. 3) As a one, and with a willing partner, you can go down the center, turn as a couple, and then at the last minute do a forward moving roll-away with a half-sashay to trade places for the cast off. (Naughty and sometimes startling to the twos who are signaling 'no, no, you're on the wrong side', but fun if executed properly. Timing of course must be spot on). I am always mindful as both dancer and caller of Larry Jennings comment in one of his books (paraphrased): "Twirl away for all I care, but do it on your own time." Will on 6/25/10 4:29 PM, Luke Donev at [email protected] wrote: > 64-bar and 48-bar dances are problematic because of the piece count. >> > > I agree that piece count becomes a real issue. The limited playing around > I've done with things like 48 bar dances have things like heys where folks > are on autopilot for one move through a phrase of the dance. > > I think it also requires more attention to avoid repeating moves. If there > were three circle lefts in a 64 bar dance (how many 32 bar dances have 2?), > I think each one adds a moment of possible confusion as folks have to > remember what happens after the current circle. > > Alternating Corners, while a fun dance, requires folks to remember a piece > of information for halfway through the dance (i.e. who went last). It's like > the second time coming out of a circle left and having to remember where > you're at. > > I think a caller would have more luck dropping out on a 64 bar dance if the > first and second half didn't share a bunch of the same moves. > > I'm curious what folks feel the effect of having a couple be inactive is on > the total memory of the dancers? I'm talking about scenarios like chorus jig > where one couple goes down and back twice while the other couple stands > there. An argument could be made that folks pausing get less tired, stay > fresher, and help the dancers remember the dance. My opinion is that the > inactives are more likely to zone out and need to be brought back in by the > actives. Its nice in Chorus Jig if the 2s remembered to slide up the hall, > but I find the 2s often have trouble just remembering which 1s to cast. I'd > advocate for 64 bar dances to keep everyone moving, and not have a lot of > time where some folks are waiting for other folks to do a move. > -- William M. Loving Dedication Technologies, Inc. 7 Coach Lane Amherst, MA 01002-3304 USA [email protected] Tel: +1 413 253-7223 (GMT 5) Fax: +1 206 202-0476
