On 9/4/2012 10:45 AM, Maia McCormick wrote:
My name is Maia, and I'm new to this listserv, though I've been lurking
around for a few weeks. I call college dances at my school in Western Mass,
and every now and then I do an area dance. I've got two questions for your
collective wisdom.
Is this meant to be an ongoing series or a one-off dance event. In
the case of a one time event I would stick with basic dances that are
composed almost entirely of figures where the name pretty much tells you
what to do (i.e. circles, hand turns, lines of one sort or another).
Most people know the do-si-do somehow so that works well and stars are
easy to teach. Use whole set dances like Galopede and Cumberland Reel.
Check the Country Dances Manual, there are plenty of good dances in
there. Easy circle mixers can work as well. Depending on the crowd you
might throw in a dance with a swing. I called a dance for a freshman
orientation event at a local college a few years ago and swings went
over fine (imagine Circassian Circle for 300+ 18 year olds).
If this is to be a continuing series then you can work your way up
to more challenging material. Run the first dance as you would a one
time event and then introduce more stuff at each subsequent dance.
Don't try to do it all at once. There are plenty of fun dances that are
composed of basic simple figures. I think the main thing is to keep
things moving and the dancers active, rather than trying to get them to
do a lot of complex moves. So a simple dance at a faster tempo will be
better than a challenging dance you have to do slow. I like to use
Jefferson's Reel by Dudley Briggs as a first contra dance. I've used it
at one time events as well as beginning dances for dance series. It
doesn't have a swing, but can be done proper or improper so it doesn't
matter who dances with whom. It teaches the basics of the duple minor
formation and progression. I find that new dancers often have an "Aha"
moment when the 2's duck under the 1's arch and find new neighbors. If
you do it right the whole crowd will all cheer at the same time as they
realize they have progressed. I've occasionally done this with a
rolling start at one night stands, where the band plays softly during a
couple of walkthroughs and then just starts playing for real on the 3rd
time as I start calling rather than teaching.
As far as swinging goes you might start everyone off with a walking
swing and then add the buzz step later. Make sure everyone is moving
forward, rather than sideways or backwards. This will make the
transition to the buzz step easier.
Here is Jefferson's Reel in case you don't have it.
Jefferson's Reel
Dudley Briggs; adapted from Jefferson and Liberty
duple proper or improper
music: Jefferson and Liberty or any 32 bar reel
1 - circle left
2 - circle right
3 - star right
4 - star left
5 - actives down the outside
6 - return to place
7 - down the hall 4 in line, actives in the center
8 - all back up, actives arch joined hands,
inactives duck through the arch to meet new neighbors
Good luck.
Jonathan
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Jonathan Sivier
Caller of Contra, English and Early American Dances
jsivier AT illinois DOT edu
Dance Page: http://www.sivier.me/dance_leader.html
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Q: How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
A: It depends on what dance you call!
