I would add this it's important for the dancers to know to keep holding on during the spiral.
Also, I often quip as the ball is nearing its tightest that "planning ahead wasn't always my strongest skill." Adds a bit of drama as people wonder, "how's this going to end?" Jerome On Tue, Feb 14, 2023, 9:04 AM Jessica Atkinson via Contra Callers < [email protected]> wrote: > I’ve done this often as part of the Grand March, I do it as the first > “dance” of the evening. The only people who really need to know what will > happen is the first few people - I typically lead the group, and either > prompt the next couple of people as necessary or give them a heads up > before the dance. I don’t often do it as a partner dance just so that > everyone of all ages can join in, and let everyone know it’s a “follow the > leader” dance. I turn on the music, start walking around and have people > join onto the end of the line as I weave around room. Once everyone > interested has joined, I lead the line in a circle around the edge of the > room. Gradually I tighten the circle in a spiral formation until there’s > just a small space in the middle - you do have to slow down as the spiral > tightens to avoid too much pulling on arms. Once there’s just a bit of > space in the middle, it’s a sharp u-turn for the leader, then spiral out. > It is everyone’s favorite moment when it happens, especially if they didn’t > realize it was coming! From there, as the spiral unwinds I lead around in a > circle again until the next set of figures. I will weave in and out of the > line without dropping hands as one move. Another is making arches - the > first two make an arch, the line travels under and the next two make an > arch and so on everyone has travelled under the arches and then formed one. > At the point the arches “collapse” - the lead two people drop their arch > and then travel under the arch themselves. Once out on the other side, can > either transition to a move with everyone paired up or form up the > line/ring of joined hands. When done with live music, once I’ve completed > all the figures I drop hands and everyone gathers around where the band is > and claps along until the music stops. Hopefully that makes sense! I can’t > remember which book, but either Sashay the Donut or Listen to the > Mockingbird describes some of the different possible moves. Google may > bring up some different ideas and videos as well. 🙂 > > -Jessica > > > > > > > On Feb 14, 2023, at 7:43 AM, Hannah Chamberlain via Contra Callers < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > Greeting callers! > > I am calling a friend's wedding this weekend and she requested "the > spiral dance," a circle dance where at some point one person leads everyone > into a spiral (or, optionally, anywhere around the hall?). I think I've > danced it before, but I'm having a hard time finding a name or notes on how > to call it. Can anyone share a version with me? > > Thanks in advance, > > Hannah Chamberlain > > (outside of) Portland, ME > > _______________________________________________ > > Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] > > To unsubscribe send an email to > [email protected] > _______________________________________________ > Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >
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