On Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:07:05 -0700 (PDT), Michael Fuerst wrote: > In contra dancing, at least in the tradition on this side of the > Atlantic, specialized names for figures should be avoided whenever > possible.
But "ladies chain", "hey", etc. are all specialised names for figures. We use them because they are a shorthand which people recognise. > A caller can teach a figure and designate name for prompting during > the dance. Are you saying that it's OK in the walkthrough to say "I'm going to call this a tidal wave" and then call "New neighbour allemande left all the way to tidal waves"? If so I agree with you. I do think a caller needs to make a distinction between a wave of four across the hall and a long wave up and down the hall, and the easiest way to do this is to use the phrases "ocean wave" and "tidal wave". Agreed, you might need to explain to some people what they mean, just as you might have to explain how to dance a ladies chain or a hey. Colin Hume Email [email protected] Web site http://www.colinhume.com
