These are all great. Thanks, everyone! On Thu, Jul 27, 2023 at 6:36 PM Rich Goss <[email protected]> wrote:
> I’ve called this dance a number of times. I learned a couple of don’ts: > > Never use a hat or anything you would put on your head, particularly when > children are involved. (Head lice) And…. > > Never use chairs if it’s a clothing optional dance. 🥱. > > I don’t ever separate the genders and encourage folks to switch lines > especially if there are two or more sets. And, I like to join in after a > couple of times through. > > Rich > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Jul 27, 2023, at 1:15 PM, John Freeman via Contra Callers < > [email protected]> wrote: > > I used to occasionally throw a twist or two into this dance, depending > upon my mood and that of the dancers. I would sometimes suggest to the > center person that he/she either dance alone to the bottom or take both of > the other dancers along. Or, I would sometimes insert myself into the > dance. These always added a bit of fun into the proceedings. > > John B. Freeman SFTPOCTJ > Retired > > > Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS > <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/aol-news-email-weather-video/id646100661> > > On Thursday, July 27, 2023, 2:06 PM, Allison and Hunt Smith via Contra > Callers <[email protected]> wrote: > > This is a very interesting article. I would be very grateful if someone > here would share their version of it as done today, especially for a > wedding. I have a wedding coming up in (eek, less than a month) between two > regulars at our contra dance series. There will be a lot of our dancers at > the wedding, and I think it would be a fun way to get some of the > friends-and-relations who don't dance into the fun. There will be no > alcohol served at the event, so no champagne glasses, please! > Thanks in advance, > The Other Allison > > On Thu, Jul 27, 2023 at 1:58 PM Ben A via Contra Callers < > [email protected]> wrote: > > I was curious about the origins of the "Brooms/Fan/Roses/Umbrellas" being > used as props, and found this. > Looks like others have wondered about the origins of this silliness - but > no mention of rubber chickens! > > Ben > > > https://www.kickery.com/2008/04/three-chairs-a.html#more > > Three Chairs: A Genre of Civil War Era Dance Games > > - Era: America, 1840s into early 20th century > > "My friend Patricia asks in email: > > > Do you know of any documentation for a dance that is known to many as the > "hat", "flower", "broom", "paddle", or "fan" dance? It is described as > having two lines of people (usually men in one line and ladies … > … He/she looks back & forth between them, hands the item to one of them > and sashays or dances down the between the lines with the other person. > Sometimes it's done with three chairs, sometimes with no chairs. > I know several dances with most of those names (all but paddle), none of > them what Patricia had in mind. The dance she's describing is a variation > on several of the mid-19th century cotillion figures also known as > "Germans". These were not cotillions in the 18th-century sense of a > chorus/verse-structured dance for couples in a square. Instead they were > party games with dancing, some of which were quite silly and seem to us > today more like children's games than pastimes for a formal ballroom. By > the end of the 19th century, the role of these games had evolved from an > amusing way to end a ball into the entire point of the evening, and > hostesses vied to run the best "Favor-Germans", with elaborate trinkets as > game props and party favors for their guests. > > American dancing master Allen Dodworth, writing in 1885, explained the > nomenclature of these dance games as follows: > > > This dance was introduced in New York about the year 1844. At that time > the quadrille was the fashionable dance, but was known as the cotillion. To > make a distinction between that and this dance, which was known in Europe > by the same name, this was called the "German Cotillion;" gradually the > word cotillion was dropped, the dance becoming simply "The German." > > > The German connection is not fantasy: the earliest definitive source I > have for the this sort of dance game is an 1820 manual published in Berlin > and does include a version of what I call the "three chairs" genre of > figures as part of a larger list of figures under the heading "Cotillion" > or "Codillon". > > Given Dodworth's dating of their introduction, these games are appropriate > for Americans reenacting the mid-19th century (Civil War era) and later > 19th century. While many of the games used in Germans were probably in > existence earlier (musical chairs, blind man's buff, etc.), there is no > evidence of their incorporation into ballrooms of earlier eras outside of > Germany. Their history there, to the best of my knowledge, awaits further > research. > > The hat - or other object - dance as described above is clearly > folk-processed. 19th-century dancers would not have lined up like that for > a German; they would have waited patiently in their chairs for the dance > leader to direct them a few at a time. Sashaying down the room would not > have been used; couples would have taken the opportunity to really waltz or > polka. Dance manuals from the 1840s onward often contained lists of > cotillion figures, sometimes hundreds of them, often identical from manual > to manual. I don't pretend to have done a comprehensive survey, but there > are clear roots for the hat dance in at least four different Germans, all > of which use three chairs as a setup, as shown at right in an illustration > from Coulon. Note that the outer chairs face in the opposite direction > from the middle one. This is also specified in some of the descriptions > below. > > All the dancers would be seated in a large circle. The dance leader, or > conductor, selects the figures and directs the dancers, choosing a small > group (as few as two, depending on the figure) to start each figure, which > is then repeated until everyone in the company has had a chance to > participate to the extent practical given size, balance of ladies and > gentlemen, etc. Each figure is done to music - polka, waltz, and mazurka > were common - and involves actual dancing around the room with whatever > dance fits the music...." > _______________________________________________ > Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > > > > -- > www.huntandallison.net > > [email protected] > > www.centralhallcommons.org > > _______________________________________________ > 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] > > -- www.huntandallison.net [email protected] www.centralhallcommons.org
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