Hi all, DuQuoin Races is one of my all time favorite dances. I have called it numerous times with the Coffee Zombies and their fantastic set "March of the Coffee Zombies". The march-like precision of the A parts and the flow of the B parts work wonderfully with this tune set. Two of the three tunes were written by Tom Cunningham, fiddler extraordinaire of the CZ's.
I also love dances by Becky Hill, especially "Kopp's on the Loose". best, Susan On Dec 2, 2012, at 1:25 AM, Michael Fuerst wrote: > Hello Delia > > All the moves take relatively short amounts of time to complete, and the > first half has several balances on the odd phrases, and the B part starts > with a short swing on an odd phrase. > So either > > 1) bouncy jigs played at average or a bit faster than average speed (my > personal preference), or > 2) reels played a bit faster than average, and which have **well defined > eight count phrases** (so dancers can tell when to stop the swing). > > Tunes played more slowly than average will not likely work well. > The tune Irish Washerwoman will work really well. > > Mac, who calls the dance quite often, lives in the St Louis area, where bands > tend to play fast driving tunes and few jigs, so his preference and > experience might be 2) > I'm sure he will correct me on this if needed. > > In either case, the caller should vigilant throughout the dance, ready to > prompt the dancers as needed to end the swing and start the the first circle. > > I once called DuQuion Races at an open calling weekend, where often the bands > and callers do not coordinate dances with tunes. > The band played a tune where only the 16 count phrases were clear. The ends > of the odd 8 count phrases were not. First time through the dance I > unwittingly let the partners swing for 16 beats. > I had the presence of mind to recover by calling the rest of the dance with > the music 8 counts ahead of the dance. > > Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217-239-5844 > > > ________________________________ > From: Delia Clark <[email protected]> > To: Caller's discussion list <[email protected]> > Sent: Saturday, December 1, 2012 7:20 PM > Subject: Re: [Callers] Fw: What is the best contra dance(s) ever written? > > Catching up, Michael, > What kind of music do you feel works best / doesn't work with DuQuoin Races? > Delia > > > On Nov 30, 2012, at 5:22 PM, Michael Fuerst wrote: > >> Mac: >> >> DuQuoin Races would be in my top five or ten, but certainly not the top one, >> probably because the experience of dancing it varies with the music more >> than other dances.. > > > <>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<> > > Delia Clark > PO Box 45 > Taftsville, VT 05073 > 802-457-2075 > [email protected] > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
