On Jan 28, 2023, at 10:30 AM, Julian Blechner via Contra Callers
<[email protected]> wrote:
(Intended tongue in cheek)
Okay, so, lemme get this straight.
First, you swing young partner in the center of the set, and then stop, dosido
back to place.
Tight choreography, indeed.
Then face your neighbor up and down and swing, again, only 8 beats and pausing
mid-stanza. This one flows into a circle left, so, perhaps a bit more doable,
if less conventional.
Let's assume for the sake of good choreography that the circle is 3/4, so partners will
be on the side for the second swing. That gives them a couple beats for the suggested
flourish of a twirl. And while it lists the "switch places" as a separate
sentence, I think we could just infer this is a regular swing and end facing across,
trading that way.
The full hey could be led by the Larks, but we still wind up with people in
Becket Formation. So, assuming notation is correct, we could perhaps infer that
this dance is a novel no-progression dance in sets of four, which rotates 90
degrees each time through.
The remaining things could just be interpreted as patter, given that it is
present through the whole notation.
The first swing is short, but given we have two partner swings, adding a little
bow, perhaps a truncated type, may not be so bad.
Alternatively, the A1 swing to dosido could be a single move, like a bouquet
swing. Again, the author chose to notate it with patter so it means some
interpretation.
Really, the biggest flaw in the dance is that ChatGPT has no intrinsic sense of
how a human inner ear works, and has written a dance with what seems like 48
beats of clockwise rotation. And, given I know some human choreographers who
have written and called dances nearly this much, it may not be a disqualifying
item.
"Human Being Did Not Write This Contra Dance" by ChatGBT
Improper/Becket Contra, No Progression
A1. Larks Give and Take, P Swing in Center (16), to face Ns
A2. Neighbor Swing (8), join hands (2)
Circle L 3/4 (6)
B1. P Swing (16)
B2. Hey For Four (16)
But there could be a simpler explanation. What if ChatGPT just put the bars notation oddly? Like,
"the contra dance is just getting started now" sounds like the "join hands and take
a bow" is actually the first move, describing a balance.
"Human Being Contra Dance" by ChatGBT, Chuck Abell, Julian Blechner
Improper Contra
A1. N DSD (6)
NS (10), end facing across
A2. Circle L 3/4 (6)
PS (10)
B1. Hey for 4 (to next Ns) (16) (LL, NR, RL, PR)
B2. P Bal, Bouquet Swing to next Ns (4, 12)
And look, it's a reasonable amount of clockwise.
I know I started tongue-in-cheek, but, this is an interesting idea for a dance.
I better publish my choreo book soon, I guess, before the robot overlords take
over!
The real sin, in my opinion, is ChatGPT rhyming "finale" with "finale". Ew.
In dance,
Julian B
On Sat, Jan 28, 2023, 8:20 AM Charles Abell via Contra Callers
<[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
So I've been experimenting with the new ChatGBT program, mainly to
determine whether my job as an English teacher is in danger of becoming
obsolete (it's not). While I was at it, I decided to see if it could write a
functional contra dance. This is what I entered, and what it produced.
Write a 32-bar contra dance that starts improper, includes a partner swing,
a neighbor swing, and a full hey:
(8 bars) Start improper with your partner, swing left and right, Come
back to place with a do-si-do in sight
(8 bars) Swing your neighbor with a smile on your face, Then circle
left, it's a wondrous embrace
(8 bars) Swing your partner with a twirl and a spin, Then switch
places, and let the fun begin
(8 bars) Full hey now, join hands and take a bow, The contra dance is
just getting started now!
End the contra dance with a grand finale, Swinging and smiling, what a
perfect finale!
I don't think callers' and dance choreographers' jobs are in much danger
either!
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