As you know, contra dancers on this side of the pond have little or no patience for dances without at least a partner swing. In fact I hear complaints if there are too many dances in an evening that don't also include a neighbor swing. Dances like Illegal in Most States, with a neighbor, shadow, and partner swing, are much more popular and well received. A dance with no swings, or with a neighbor only swing, would prompt immediate unhappy feedback from the floor. Just a different set of expectations.
Chorus Jig is the only familiar dance I can think of that doesn't leave you next to your partner on the side of the set at any point. Many younger dancers I know don't consider it a "real" contra, and find its lack of swings frustrating. (When it's called at Glen Echo [rarely], many 2s add a swing in the middle of the set while the 1s go down the outside, and often a second swing while the 1s swing in B2.) On Apr 10, 2017 4:25 AM, John Sweeney via Callers <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi all, > My categories are a little different: > Dances I want to try once I am calling for a group that can handle them > Dances for beginners > My current set of favourite dances which I will use for most gigs > Dances to fall back on when something doesn't work > Chestnuts and other traditional dances > Contra style dances in other formations (Triple Minor, Double Contra, Hex, > etc.) > Everything else is in alphabetical order - otherwise how can you find them? > - I work out which ones I want from my database > Then there are lots more categories for all the other genres I call > > The stuff in alphabetical order doesn't get used as much. I would rather > use great dances. Most dancers are very happy to dance the favourites > regularly. > > I get very bored with dances which go "swing, circle 3/4, swing" or "swing, > someone Allemande 1 & 1/2, swing" and very rarely use them now unless the > other half of the dance is stunning. > > April said, "I believe that at some point in every dance, you and your > partner are on the same side, usually swinging, so from that perspective all > dances can start in Becket". > > But dances can be: > Partner Swing only > Neighbour Swing only > Partner & Neighbour Swing > No Swing > > And the Partner Swing doesn't have to be on the side - it could be #1s > swinging in the middle (or in an old dance everyone swinging in the middle) > > So, no, they are not all Becket! > > I use quite a few No Swing dances and everyone seems happy to do them - > though attitudes are somewhat different on this side of the pond. > > Does anyone use No Swing contras at American contra dances? > > Happy dancing, > John > > John Sweeney, Dancer, England [email protected] 01233 625 362 > http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
