Petronella claps interfere with my listening to the music On Wed, May 22, 2024 at 10:50 AM Maia McCormick via Contra Callers < [email protected]> wrote:
> tldr: those of you who are anti-Petronella claps (in general, not just in > specific cases where they interrupt flow from the spin into the next move), > I want to understand why! > > Clapping on Petronella turns has been the overwhelming norm ever since I > started dancing, but I know that it wasn't always this way, and that some > folks vehemently dislike it. Well recently I've noted the (baffling?? > inexplicable??) rise of clapping after the spin on Rory O'Moore's, which > makes my blood boil (it's so satisfying to catch hands in the new wave out > of the spin, why would you ever NOT do that??), and it's making me think > more about Petronella claps. > > Clapping on a Rory bugs me so much because it interrupts the momentum of > spin-and-catch-hands. I'll admit that I don't understand the objection to > Petronella claps, at least through that lens. Like certainly, in a > specifically Cure for the Claps-type* dance (with e.g. Petronella spin into > allemande left, Petronella spin into swing, etc.), clapping interrupts the > momentum, and it's way more satisfying to spin directly into the next move. > But given a bog standard "Petronella, Petronella, balance and swing" or > similar, I don't feel like the claps interrupt the momentum or disrupt > transitions, and in fact are a nice fun way to fill space. > > To be clear, the above isn't an argument in favor of Petronella claps, > just me explaining where I'm coming from. So now we come to my question: > > 1. *those of you who are anti-Petronella claps, can you explain why?* I > want to understand! Is it a satisfying momentum thing that I've just never > experienced because I'm so used to clapping? Dedication to historical > accuracy? Something else entirely? > > 2. *what dance(s) would you use to make your case to a contemporary > contra hall, that aren't explicitly written as Cure for the Claps dances?* > Petronella > spin to a swing feels great, and of *course* you shouldn't clap there > (although some folks inexplicably do, sigh)—but if you'd prefer that we > didn't clap even in a dance like Tica Tica Timing, then a CftC dance isn't > the whole story. If you had the infinite good will of a contemporary contra > hall, and were able to say to the dancers "don't clap on the Petronellas in > this one and just pay attention to how nice it feels to X and how > satisfying it is to Y", what dance would you use, what things would you > tell the dancers to clue into, etc. to make your case? (And what would you > ask the band for?) > > Thanks as always for your expertise! > > Cheers, > Maia > > * Cure for the Claps contra: a dance that discourages clapping during the > Petronella turn, often by putting moves directly after the Petronella that > flow nicely from a spin. May be intentional or incidental. See e.g.: The > Cure for the Claps > <https://www.ibiblio.org/contradance/thecallersbox/dance.php?id=10364> > (Bob Isaacs), Becket in the Kitchen > <https://www.ibiblio.org/contradance/thecallersbox/dance.php?id=17> > (Becky Hill) > > > -- > Maia McCormick (she/her) > 917.279.8194 > _______________________________________________ > Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >
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