I think I need either a martini or a cigarette after reading this. Maybe both.
Well done, Jim! On 2/25/23, jim saxe via Contra Callers <[email protected]> wrote: > Colin Hume wrote, regarding the dance No Use Crying Over Spilled Milk, by > Chris Weiler: > >> I called this last night, and one woman said she spent the whole dance >> around the end of the set and couldn't get out of >> it, and she said a woman at the other end was in the same situation. I >> haven't had time to analyse the dance (or check >> that I called it correctly) but I'll do so eventually. > > I did such an analysis several years ago, after doing the dance in the > womens's/robin's role and, I'll confess, having a similar experience of > getting stuck at an end for multiple rounds. I ended up diagramming about > five rounds of the dance to be sure I really understood the end effects. I > won't give full details here because people who'd have the patience to study > a fully detailed explanation would also have the patience to work it out for > themselves. But here's a high-level summary. It's still pretty wordy, and > anyone who doesn't have the patience for it can of course feel free to skip > the rest of this message. > > The dance is a single progression for the women/robins and a triple (not > double, as I've heard someone say) progression for the men/larks, making it > a mixer. Here's s sketch of what's supposed to happen as you approach and > reach an end of the set if you're dancing as a robin. [Note: Henceforth, > I'll use the gender-neutral role names, and the word "you" will refer to > the experience of someone in the robin role.] > > As you progress along the set, you will encounter various larks, some > progressing in the same direction as you are (but more quickly), and some > progressing in the opposite direction. You will swing as a "partner" with > each lark who catches up to you as they progress in your same direction, and > you'll swing as a neighbor with just half of the larks you meet as they > progress in the opposite direction. (You'll allemande left with the other > half.) > > After you swing any particular lark as a "partner," they will continue > progressing along the set ahead of you, then reach the end and start > progressing back towards you. When you meet again, you might swing as > neighbors. As you move closer to the end of the set, the time between > swinging someone as a "partner" and swinging them again as a neighbor (if > you do) will grow shorter and shorter. > > Eventually, you'll swing with some lark as "partner" on one side of the set > and then swing that same person again as "neighbor" at the very end of the > set just a few seconds later. Then there will be another lark with whom you > swing at the very end of the set, but as a "partner", and with whom you > never swing as a "neighbor" (or at least not until you meet again near the > other end of the set). And then there will start being larks with whom you > swing first as neighbors and then as "partners", with the intervals between > two swings with the same person now growing longer and longer as you > progress away from the end of the set. > > During the time that your two swings with the same person are first as > "partners" and then as neighbors, those swings will be happen on opposite > sides of the set (except in the one case where the second swing is at the > very top of the set). Let's say that the first swing (as "partners") happens > near the "kitchen" wall and that the second swing (as neighbors) happens > near the "clock" wall. After you turn around at the end of the set and start > meeting people with whom you swing first as neighbors and then as partners, > your "partner" swings will now be near the clock wall and your neighbor > swings will now be near the kitchen wall. That means that the _first_ of > your two swings with the same person will still be near the kitchen wall, > and the _second_ will still be near the clock wall, *just as they were > before.* Also, since the dance is a mixer, the "partner" swings don't feel > very different from the neighbor swings. > > The result of all this is that when you've reached an end of the set and are > just about starting to progress in the opposite direction, you can get a > strong sense of déjà vu. It can feel like you've gotten stuck at the end, > and you can be tempted to "fix" things somehow. Whatever you do to "fix" > things may then prevent you from progressing normally. Effectively you will > have traded places with the robin who had been following you along the set, > allowing them to reverse direction a little early and to start progressing > the other way just ahead of you. Also, you may have set yourself up to get > the same déjà vu experience all over again, and then to try to "fix" things > again, leaving yourself stuck at the end for another round. And since the > dance is a mixer, the other dancers are unlikely to notice that anytihng is > going wrong, as they would if you inadvertently stole someone's partner in a > dance that wasn't a mixer. > > Whew! There you have it. Feel free to ask questions if I haven't confused > you enough and you need me to confuse you more. > > Cheers, > --Jim > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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]
