[Callers] Fuel-efficient dancing

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

I've been wrestling with this concept myself, since over the last few 
years I've been flying a LOT for calling, and even my local gigs require 
a fair bit of driving.  Where I live in Sonoma County, CA, the public 
transit options for getting to gigs in the greater Bay Area are very 
poor. There's a lot of dancing inside the greater Bay Area (and I'll 
include Sacramento, 2 hours away, in that cluster) within easy-ish 
driving distance but outside the Bay Area there's a fairly wide radius 
without any substantial dance communities, so that it's roughly 6 or 
more hours of driving north or south to the next island of dancing.


Carpooling definitely makes the trips to gigs more fun, but it's not 
always possible.


Should we consider going to dances with out-of-town callers as a 
slightly transgressive treat, like fresh raspberries in February? 
Should organizers stop booking callers or bands from beyond a certain 
radius?  I agree that our communities should model responsible behavior. 
 I'm just not sure exactly what that would look like.  I'm genuinely 
curious, as a caller, organizer and dancer, what solutions or practices 
our communities might be able to come up with that would make some kind 
of a difference.  Strongly encouraging carpooling certainly helps. 
Maybe posting transit maps prominently at dances or on the event 
websites.  Other thoughts?


Are there any dance serieseses that have considered booking local talent 
only to help reduce the impact of travel fuel-consumption?  And giving 
it yet more thought, at a moderate-sized contra dance, the caller and 
band account for maybe 1 in 10 or 15 of the bodies there.  Depending on 
the travel habits of the crowd, the best booking habits in the world 
might not make a dent.  Just thinking out loud here.


Looking forward to hearing other people's thoughts on this.

Kalia Kliban in slightly-inaccessible Sebastopol, CA
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Re: [Callers] Feeling Superstitious 

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 9/10/2019 6:24 AM, Angela DeCarlis via Callers wrote:

Hello all!

I'm calling a delightful small-town dance here in Melrose, Florida this 
Friday...which is Friday the 13th, and also a full moon.


I love using theme opportunities to collect new dances! Anyone have any 
ideas?


Off the top of my head, I'll probably need to look into Mirror Mirror 
(Jim Kitch, I believe) and Cats and More Cats (Melanie Axel-Lute). I 
wonder if I could convince the band to play Stevie Wonder? 


Dead Cat Bounce by Nathaniel Jack or Double Cat Bounce by Chris Page. 
Evil Duane by Erik Weberg.  Hocus Pocus by Lisa Greenleaf.  Snake Oil 
Reel by Roger Diggle.  Lucky 7 mixer.  Some of these are just 
generically spooky, but they might fill a useful niche.  Can't wait to 
hear what the eventual program is!


Kalia

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Re: [Callers] Brain Dead - Need Suggestions

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 8/16/2019 9:40 PM, Linda S. Mrosko via Callers wrote:
Although I've been calling forever and I know things, I'm not currently 
inspired to do this and am asking for help.


Been hired to lead a dance for a music school -- ages 5 and up to teens 
and their parents and my contact asked if I could lead "dances that 
encourage really paying attention to beat counts….throw in some music 
education in addition to fun."


Pattycake polka is very beat-specific.  Le Brandy has a bit where you're 
counting to the music ("Un, deux, trois, poussez!").  Hard to know what 
they're fishing for with the phrase "throw in some music education..." 
Maybe mentioning how jigs feel different from reels...  Something like 
The Flying Scotsman would certainly get that point across, especially if 
it followed something 2-ish like Galopede.


Kalia
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Re: [Callers] New Dance- St George's Day Contra

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Since it was written on St. George's Day, how about "A Dance With Dragons"?
Kalia

On 4/21/2019 4:53 AM, Liam Binley via Callers wrote:

Hi All,
Whilst on a walk with my dogs recently enjoying the remarkably good 
weather we have in the UK at the moment, I ended up writing a dance in 
my head that I thought might be quite nice. Well after a bit of 
refinement, it seems to work nicely (although I haven’t tried it out 
with a big group of dancers yet). At the moment It is called ’St 
George’s Day Contra’ for the simple reason that it is St Georges day on 
Tuesday and I couldn’t think of a better name for it, but I am hoping 
that one will pop into my head soon.

Please let me know what you think.

Longways: 1s Improper

A1:



(16) Neighbour balance & swing

A2:



(8) Lines forward & back; (8) Ladies allemande RH _WHILST_ gents orbit 
CW and loop wide ^*1 to flow into…


B1:



(16) Partner balance & swing

B2:



(8) Promenade across {ladies passing R} ^*2 ; (6) Circle L ¾; (2) Pass 
through.


NB



*1 Gents cross the set and turn R wide so that it uses up all the music 
and it will flow into the balance & swing. *2 Ladies need to pass R 
shoulder so that you turning R as a unit and it should flow nicely into 
the circle L ¾.


P.S Here is a link to the music I have used, It’s on Spotify so whether 
everyone will be able to get it, I don’t know 
https://open.spotify.com/track/40dgK9bzB6NiR3tRUmNTdL?si=lGmyeXhlRO-fNkDrNP4EOQ


Many Thanks,
Liam Binley.

liam.bin...@me.com 


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Re: [Callers] Eastbourne International Folk Festival

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 9/30/2018 2:08 AM, Colin Hume via Callers wrote:

It's on!  Same venues as last time; same prices as advertised on the flyer.

Book your Early Bird tickets at http://eiff.org.uk/tickets.html


Such a great event!  The California contingent had a super time there 
this year.


Kalia from Sebastopol
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Re: [Callers] New contra dance database

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 8/21/2018 8:37 PM, Chris Page via Callers wrote:

Michael Dyck and I have done a thing:

http://www.ibiblio.org/contradance/thecallersbox/


I've just started seriously poking around in this site today and it's 
fabulous.  I can't thank the two of you enough for making this available 
to all of us!


Kalia in Sebastopol
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Re: [Callers] New contra dance database

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 8/21/2018 8:37 PM, Chris Page via Callers wrote:

Michael Dyck and I have done a thing:

http://www.ibiblio.org/contradance/thecallersbox/

This (mostly) contra dance database 12,000 dances:
5,000 dances with viewable instructions
4,000 more dances with links to instructions

Current search options include author, title, formation, and figures.
You can search the figures of dances even when we don't have
permission to show the figures.


Wow!  Thank you for all the time and know-how you two have put into 
this!  I look forward to browsing the site and getting comfy with the 
search function.  This sounds like an incredible resource.


Kalia
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Re: [Callers] Fwd: Glossary dances with promenade, no chain/RL through?

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 8/13/2018 8:53 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers wrote:

Old Time Elixir #2 by Linda Leslie and Wrinkled Riccon by Melanie Axel 
Lute are two great dances.

Rich


In Wrinkled Ribbon, have you found it awkward to switch from promenade 
hold to the handhold for the circles?


Kalia in Sebastopol

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Re: [Callers] Glossary dances with promenade, no chain/RL through?

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 8/13/2018 8:48 AM, Richard Fischer via Callers wrote:

Here's one of mine:

Power Promenade   Becket     Richard Allen Fischer

A1  "Power Promenade:" Promenade across with your partner and make a big 
loop left so you face your next neighbors; ladies chain.


A2  Petronella x2

B1  Balance & Swing your Neighbor

B2  Give and Take to the Gent's side.


Richard Fischer


I've been using this dance a lot lately and really like it.  It flows 
well and is easy to teach and remember, and the signature move makes it 
a bit unusual.


Kalia in Sebastopol

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Re: [Callers] Folk Festival - Easy Contra dances to teach Beginners

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 7/24/2018 7:48 AM, Lorraine Sutton via Callers wrote:

Hello All,

I am calling a 2 hour Intro to Contra dance at an Ontario Canada
Festival. ( more a music focus than a dance focus, at this festival)

I would appreciate hearing from you as to contra dances ( lws proper
& Improper) that you have found successful with very novice dancers
and why you think those dances work for beginners.(I love Larry Jennings
definition of easy vs complicated )

I do plan on doing some non progressive lws as well as a both a circle
and a Sicilian  circle in the program mix , to get the concept of
progression.


Lots of really good advice in the replies here.

One contra that has worked well for me with very beginning dancers is 
this version of the Washington Quickstep.  The big bonus in this one is 
that the progression doesn't depend on the propriety of the 1s, so even 
if a couple gets confused about which side they should be on, the dance 
still works.  It does use a R through, which can be a challenging move 
for the very new.


Washington Quickstep
duple improper (or proper, depending on how you've taught the R through)
Star R/L
1s down/back/cast off
R thru over/bk
LLFB, 1s sw

Jefferson and Liberty, in its infinite variations, is another good 
starter contra.  Here's the version I tend to use:

Jefferson and Liberty   
duple improper or proper
Star R/L
Circ L/R
Lines of 4 (1s ctr) dn, 1s arch 2s thru, 2s up, 1s follow
1s swing

This one does rely on the dancers being able to remember which role 
they're dancing, but it's nice and basic.

Unruly Reunion (Robert Cromartie)
duple improper
Lines of 4 (1s in middle) dn, turn alone, bk, bend
circle L/R
N dos/sw
LLFB, 1s sw

My new favorite mixer, which I learned here on Shared Weight, is The 
Wheel by Gene Hubert.  Needs a big crowd and a roomy dance space, but 
it's loads of fun.
A1 Promenade (CCW)(16), and at the end of A1 gents move the ladies to 
the middle, so ladies are facing out and gents facing in (note: this is 
a variation from someone here, was it Mac?  Somebody on this list.  But 
it's a really good change).
A2  Join 2 hands with partner and walk 8 steps IN (ladies backing up), 
then 8 slightly smaller steps out (gents backing up), and join hands in 
2 concentric circles.  (Here's where that modification makes the dance 
work better.  Since men tend to have the longer arms, they're now in the 
larger, outer circle.)

B1 All circle LEFT (opposite directions obviously)
B2 *SWING* (nearest person)
There are ALWAYS people who don't find a partner at the start of B2, and 
part of the fun is to then dive into the "odd-sock pile" in the center 
to find a partner, and rejoin the ring either in the swing or the next 
promenade.  This dance can relieve a lot of the tension about "doing it 
right," since it's a big silly scramble.  Also good swing practice.


Kalia in Sebastopol
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Re: [Callers] New dance

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 7/18/2018 6:54 AM, Charles via Callers wrote:
I'm posting a new dance of mine - the hook is a half hey into a long 
wavy line of gents in the center. Haven't seen it before, and I'm 
wondering if anyone knows of other dances with this figure. Also, I 
looked for other dances called the Portland Reel and couldn't find any, 
but if that name has been used let me know.


Other feedback welcome:

*Dugan**’s Duck Dynasty***(Becket)Chuck Abell 7/18
(/aka/The Portland Reel)
*A1Half hey, gents pass left to start (8)*
*Same gents take left hands in center to make long wavy line of 
gents(4)**

*Gents bal left/right (4)*
*A2**Gents alle left 1 1/4x (4)*
*N swing**(12)*
**
*B1**On right diagonal ladies chain to shadow***(if someone is 
there)***(8)*

**(w/ current N)***LHS 1x (8)*
*B2**P dosido and swing (16)*
/w/ these N…/
/
/
/*Gents be sure to take four full steps/beats to get into the middle/


This looks good on paper.  Have you road-tested it?  That note at the 
bottom does look like the place where the pattern could be vulnerable, 
since getting folks to take their time and not arrive early can be tricky.


Kalia in Sebastopol

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Re: [Callers] Circles, Crazy Circles

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

John's comment reminds me that a while back, somebody posted (a link
to?) a list of equivalent moves, things you could substitute for each
other.  I've hunted for it recently but apparently haven't come up with
the right combination of search terms, and haven't been able to find it 
in the Shared Weight Archives either.  Very handy for those times when 
you've just got way too many allemande L 1-1/2s in the program.


Anybody know where that list might be?
Kalia in Sebastopol

On 7/11/2018 2:17 AM, John Sweeney via Callers wrote:

Hi Rich, If you have a great dance that you want to call but it has
a circle, and you have called too many circles, then why not just
rechoreograph it to remove the circle?

For example you can replace Neighbour Swing; Circle Left 3/4;
Partner Swing with Neighbour Swing; Balance the Ring; Ladies Cross
Over (by the right shoulder); Partner Swing or with Neighbour Swing;
Ladies Balance F/B with Right Hand; Ladies Pull by; Partner Swing
with no effect on the rest of the dance.

Both versions send the lady smoothly across the set, flowing into
her partner's arms with the right momentum. The second version can
be especially satisfying if the ladies use just enough tension to
catapult each other into their partner's arms.

Happy dancing, John

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Re: [Callers] What is a contra?

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 6/27/2018 3:43 PM, Tom Hinds via Callers wrote:

Since you need an answer quickly i’d say it’s a term in the folk dance world 
and it’s possible that different folks will define it differently.

Personally I can see how a 4 X 4 could be a contra since it progresses in the 
same way but not other formations like squares and circles.


There's also tempest formation, Sicilian circles, zias, mixers...  But 
it does get blurry.  One local group's definition of "contra" might mean 
_only_ longways and _always_ 2 swings, whereas another's definition 
could encompass chestnut contras, triplets, scatter mixers and other such.


Kalia
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Re: [Callers] Need help teleporting to other side of set - new dance

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Thanks for posting this link, Dave!  I was just trying to remember where 
I'd seen that, and rummaging through my assorted contra links hadn't 
turned it up.  Somehow you read my mind :>)

Kalia in Sebastopol

On 4/8/2018 9:31 PM, David Harding via Callers wrote:

If you haven't done so, take a look at Cary Ravitz's web site on contra
dance choreography.  His discussion of black boxes might help in
situations like this where you need a combination to get from one place
to another.  http://www.dance.ravitz.us/chor.php#m

Dave

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Re: [Callers] Baridhara

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 4/1/2018 10:32 AM, Alexandra Deis-Lauby via Callers wrote:

Does anyone call Chris Weiler’s baridhara?
What kind of music do you ask for? And tempo?

Here’s the dance. Thanks!

Baridhara Improper Chris Weiler

A1 Star Right; Neighbor Gypsy

A2 Circle Single File Left Half (still looking at Neighbor Women lead) 
(4) Neighbor Gypsy (some more) (4); Neighbor Swing


B1 Give & Take: Women pull Partner back

B2 Women Chain; Star Left


I looked up the dance online, and on Chris's website 
(http://caller.chrisweiler.ws/dances.htm#baridhara) he links to the tune 
by Ian Morrison that the dance was written to go with.  So that one 
seems like a good starting place :>)  I like those flowy contras a lot 
and this one looks nice.  Those who've called or danced it, how does 
this one feel on the floor?  Seems like you'd want to keep the tempo 
moderate.


Kalia
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[Callers] More substitute terms for the g-word

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

I appreciate the point that several have made that a term that sounds 
just like gypsy isn't a reasonable substitute.  Fair enough.  The search 
continues...


Kalia in Sebastopol
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Re: [Callers] More substitute terms for the g-word

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 3/13/2018 11:02 AM, Martha Wild via Callers wrote:
Interesting discussion on the Portland Country Dance Community Facebook 
page. Lots of great suggestions. A lot of people really don’t like 
“right shoulder round” (I’m one of them). I tried one of their 
suggestions last night - Kipsey - and it worked amazingly well. 


I've been using "R/L shoulders around" since it has, at least so far, 
been preferable to the alternatives.  The big advantage of the word 
"gypsy" is that it's both a noun and a verb, so you can say "gypsy your 
neighbor" or "dance a mirror gypsy with your partner."  RSA is more 
cumbersome and less flexible.


Gotta say, I really like "kipsey."  A lot.  It's the first alternative 
I've heard that scratches the same itch as "gypsy" without being 
excessively twee or hard to say or hard to hear.


Other CA Bay Area callers on the list, what do you think about this 
possibility?


Kalia
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Re: [Callers] Dance logs and record-keeping

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 3/6/2018 7:28 PM, Mac Mckeever via Callers wrote:
This seems to me to be a lot of effort with very little benefit.  There 
are thousands of dances and each caller has their own approach to 
programming.  It is rare for a dance to be called two nights in a row.  
When I do see that happening I often ask other dancers around me if they 
remember it - and no one ever has.


How would the next caller get access to this info? The logistics would 
seem difficult and unnecessary.


The way our local English dances do this is that the series programmer 
sends the current log to the next caller on deck, who can then consider 
the log or not, as they choose.  It's not a big deal.  I run the 
Sebastopol dance, and I either write down the programs myself if I'm at 
the dance or contact the caller afterward to get their list.  Simple 
Excel spreadsheet to keep track.  Easy.


If I'm coming to call for a community I've never worked with before, 
seeing a list of the dances they've done gives me a good idea of the 
general level of the group.  It's a useful tool.


Kalia in Sebastopol CA
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[Callers] Dance logs and record-keeping

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Dance logs, a cumulative record for a series of which dances have been 
called on any given evening, are very common in the English dance 
community but vanishingly rare in the contra community.  Why is that? 
They're really helpful for incoming callers, and it's probably nice for 
the dancers not to keep getting the same dances week after week.


I've only ever known of one contra series that kept a log, and it's 
probably because I suggested it when they started out (the Queer Contra 
series in Oakland, CA).  Are there any contra organizers out there who 
maintain a dance log?  Those of you who do, how do you get the dance 
lists from the callers?  The Oakland series had a little book on the 
stage and the callers would write their programs down as they went or at 
the end of the night.


Part of it comes down to record-keeping on the part of the callers.  I 
keep a personal log of all the dances I've called so I can avoid 
repeating myself when I return to a given venue.  That makes it easy for 
me to produce a set list after the fact if an organizer wants to fill in 
a gap in the log.  Fellow contra callers, do you all keep records of 
what you call, and if you don't, how do you avoid repeating yourself or 
remember what worked well (or not) the last time you called at a 
particular place?


If you work with something like Caller's Companion, do you update the 
program list with what you actually danced as opposed to what you 
programmed?


Just curious about other people's process on this.

Kalia in Sebastopol, CA
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[Callers] Mystery dance

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Hi all,

Just found a dance card with no name, and I'm sure somebody out there 
can plug it into the dance-o-matic* and tell me what it is.


A1 N b
A2 M alle L 1-1/2; P sw
B1 Lines of 4 down the hall, turn as cpls, return and bend.
B2 Balance ring, circle L 1/2; Ladies chain

Kalia Kliban
*and wouldn't that be a good name for a dance?
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Re: [Callers] ONS contract

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 2/23/2018 3:10 PM, Mary Collins via Callers wrote:
Anyone have a general contract for one night stands that they would care 
to share? Thanks!

Mary Collins


In Erik Hoffman's book "Old-time Dance Calling for Weddings, Parties and 
One-Night Stands" he shows a good sample contract.  It's an excellent 
reference book for anyone who does party gigs and one-off events.  Erik, 
are you on this list?  Would you be willing to share that contract?


Kalia Kliban
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Re: [Callers] The loss of one of our own

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 2/13/2018 10:50 AM, Seth Seeger via Callers wrote:

Dear callers,

It is with great sadness that I pass on the message below.  Her support 
of this community and to many of us as individuals cannot be overstated. 
  She will be missed.


Seth


It seems characteristic that she was calling right up to the end.  She 
was always so welcoming and kind, a real inspiration.


Kalia
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[Callers] The Wheel

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

I can no longer find the original post about The Wheel circle mixer, but 
I'd like to thank the person who recommended it.  I used it, with Mac 
MacKeever's modification of rolling the women to the inside before going 
into the middle, at a contra last night with a large percentage of 
energetic teenagers.  It was excellent!  Just the right amount of silly 
as the odd socks scrambled to find each other in the middle, and plenty 
of time for them to get back into the promenade.  It's playful, pretty 
hard to break, and very quick to teach.  It's a keeper!


Kalia
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Re: [Callers] Looking for "fun" dances

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 1/30/2018 10:23 AM, Sue via Callers wrote:
Sure they're all fun (we hope). I'm looking for a few dances that are 
particularly playful, quirky, sillysomething that typically gets the 
dancers laughing.
Some examples would be "Over the Hill and Still Chased" with the lady 
round two/gent cut through figure, or Beneficial Tradition when the 
dancers throw their free arm up and shout "Wooo!"

You get the idea. What are your favorites?
Sue Gola
Princeton, NJ


"Pirates Across The Atlantic" by Andrea Nettleton has a figure-8 chase 
move at the start that's based on the English dance "Dancing Across The 
Atlantic."  The floor always gets really goofy when I call that one.  It 
has the double advantage of being a nice solid contra dance as well as 
having a silly bit.  It's not just a gimmick with a couple of swings 
stuck to it.


Kalia Kliban
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[Callers] Beneficial Tradition

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Hi all,

I recently called Beneficial Tradition for the first time and noticed a 
consistent hitch in the dance at the top of the set.  It was probably 
happening at the bottom too.


I was doing the variant with no wave balance in the A1, just Women 
allemande L 1x and P swing.  Though the transition from the pull-bys in 
the B2 to that L allemande worked well inside the line, it was always 
funky at the ends.  I'm speculating that that's because folks coming out 
of the pull-by pattern into empty space at the end were tending to head 
in a consistent incorrect direction.


Those of you who have called this dance a lot, have you noticed the same 
issue?  How do you teach the B2-A1 transition to minimize the confusion 
and end effects?


Kalia

ps Happy New Year, everyone!
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Re: [Callers] Etiquette of refusing an offer to dance

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 12/17/2017 10:55 PM, Claire Takemori via Callers wrote:

Kalia,

At South Bay Contra ( SF Bay Area) we have a sign posted around the hall 
(edited from a sign that I got from Pasadena Contra that edited the sign 
from Lake City Contra).  It says:

When looking for your next dance partner, please know:

  *
Anyone can ask anyone.  Don’t wait to be asked.
  *
If someone asks you to dance, it’s fine to say no.
  *
You don’t have to sit out a dance because you declined an offer.
  *
If you want to dance, ask someone right after the last dance ends.
Sitting down means you are not going to dance.


We also ask that the caller reiterate this during the lesson and during 
the dance.


Claire Takemori


This is the first series I've heard from that addresses this specific 
issue in their social code.  Thank you.


Kalia
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Re: [Callers] Etiquette of refusing an offer to dance

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

 > Although I have occasionally heard of the "rule" that started this
thread, I don't feel that people should ever be penalized for declining 
an offer to dance.


Dale


Unfortunately, although the rule in question was well-intended, it did 
lead to folks sometimes getting cornered by those they didn't want to 
dance with, and they were then stuck sitting out.


What I'm hearing from the responses is that this rule is still lingering 
in a vague, not-quite-stated-but-sort-of-assumed way in a lot of 
dancers' heads.  The fact that it's persisting in some places but not 
others, or in certain dancer demographics but not others _within the 
same dance community_, means that we've got some conflicts brewing.  One 
incident was mentioned already here by a dancer who was hurt to see 
someone who had refused her offer then dancing with someone else.


The culture has shifted hugely, both in and out of the dance community, 
since this rule was initially stated.  Might be time to address it 
head-on rather than letting it lump and bump its way out.


Kalia
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Re: [Callers] Etiquette of refusing an offer to dance

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 12/16/2017 2:10 PM, Alan Winston via Callers wrote:

BACDS Code of Conduct says:
http://bacds.org/conduct/CodeOfConduct.pdf
"Ask a partner kindly.  Accept their answer cheerfully.  If you are 
repeatedly declined by a prospective partner, it is best to give them 
space.


Feel free to decline a dance with someone with whom you feel 
uncomfortable. If you would prefer not to dance with them, a simple "no 
thanks" is appropriate.  We encourage you to dance with a variety of 
people both new and familiar, but your safety and comfort come first.

---

So it doesn't explicitly address this, but I think it doesn't address it 
because the norm is now understood to be that there's no obligations on 
the person being asked.


But the issue is those dancers who came into the scene when the norm was 
different, and who still carry the old assumption.  I truly hadn't even 
considered this problem until my recent conversation, but it pointed up 
that even though those older conventions have changed, if nobody 
explicitly points out that they've changed, we're leaving a lot of 
dancers working with old information.


It's an extremely specific point of etiquette, and the number of dancers 
affected by it may be small (or may be huge, I truly don't know).  But 
it exists and I'm looking for clarity on the issue within my own dance 
community, and also looking for ways to address it as I teach.


Alan's points about declining an offer to dance with grace and brevity 
are excellent.


I think I got some of that by looking at the George Marshal beginner 
session that's on youtube.


I'll check that out in a bit.  He's generally a good one to look to for 
inviting and graceful teaching.


Incidentally, some brand new dancers come in with the "must sit out if 
declining a dance" idea already installed; it turns out that it's there 
in Jane Austen.  


Ah.  Interesting.

Looking forward to hearing from more of you.
Kalia
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Re: [Callers] Etiquette of refusing an offer to dance

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 12/16/2017 12:01 PM, Alexandra Deis-Lauby wrote:
This is Cdny’s etiquette page. It addresses saying no but not in great 
detail in terms of historical practice.


http://cdny.org/what-is-contra/contra-etiquette/


And I hadn't realized until this conversation with my dance friend just 
how problematic that earlier etiquette practice was for folks who really 
wanted to be considerate of the other dancers on the floor.  If they 
were, for whatever reason, concerned that someone might not want to 
dance with them, the mere act of asking that person to dance put the 
askee in a bind.  So those who started dancing in the time period when 
that rule was the norm have carried that dilemma with them through the 
years.


Those of you who are organizers and who deal with setting standards of 
conduct for your communities, what are your thoughts about this?  Has 
that rule completely fallen by the wayside?  If so, have any of you 
specifically addressed its demise?


Kalia
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[Callers] Etiquette of refusing an offer to dance

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Hi all,

Those of us who started dancing 2 or 3 decades back probably remember 
the rule about sitting out the dance if you turn down a partner offer. 
A very competent male dancer I know who started around the same time I 
did (late 80s) recently confessed to me that he never asks anyone to 
dance because he doesn't want to put folks in the position of thinking 
"If I don't dance with this guy then I have to sit one out.  Oh crap, 
guess I'll have to dance with him."  For the record, he's a totally 
solid and delightful dancer.


To what extent has that earlier etiquette norm either survived or been 
replaced, and what has it been replaced with?  In your dance community, 
do you have a written statement of the etiquette around this?  Our 
community's statement doesn't directly address this issue.


Kalia
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Re: [Callers] Looking for a particular sort of becket dance

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 6/29/2017 4:54 PM, Linda Leslie wrote:

I guess I misunderstood your rules!  I thought you wished to avoid circle left 
3/4, N swing, not all circles in the A1.  Hope you find enough!
Linda


You had a couple of really good ones in the list that did fit my 
criteria, and the ones that weren't appropriate for my callers' class 
handout are still excellent additions to my own files.


I've said it before and I'll say it again -- This list is one of the 
best possible resources for callers.  Thank you all for being here and 
thanks to the folks who set it up and keep it running!


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Looking for a particular sort of becket dance

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 6/29/2017 3:33 PM, Linda Leslie wrote:
Here are few for you to consider, Kalia. Hope you and the new callers 
have a lot of fun!

warmly, Linda

*A1 Reel*
by Chris Weiler
Contra/Becket-CCW/Easy


This is my go-to ending dance, and I love it.  It does, however, start 
with the dread circle left 3/4, which I'm trying to avoid in this case.



*Boys from Urbana*
by John Coffman
Contra/Becket-CW/Easy


Another truly excellent dance.  I considered this one, but thought the 
timing subtleties of the zig-zag to allemande might get away from a 
hesitant new caller.  As a fairly new trainer-of-callers, I'm uncertain 
about how much complexity they can handle.  I know I was a total mess on 
my first few camper-night attempts.  Anything that needed teaching 
beyond the very basics would have been out of my league.  But there are 
often callers in classes who've got the basics down and are looking for 
a bit more of a challenge.



*Classical Contra*
by Peter Campbell & Lisa Greenleaf
Contra/Becket-CW/Easy

A1 ---
Circle left three-quarters, pass through


Again, the circle L 3/4 start...


*Equal Turn, The*
by Tom Hinds
Contra/Becket-CW/Easy-Int

A1 ---
Gents Allemande left once and a half
Neighbor swing
A2 ---
R & L through
Ladies chain
B1 ---
Circle Left three-quarters,
pass through up and down
New ladies allemande left once and a half**
B2 ---
Partner Balance and Swing


Aha!  We may have a winner!  A glossary-figure Becket that doesn't start 
with circle L 3/4!



*Midwest Folklore*
by Orace Johnson
Contra/Becket-CW/Easy

A1 ---
Circle left three-quarters



*Trip to Falmouth*
by Linda Leslie
Contra/Becket-CW/Easy

A1 ---
Circle left three-quarters


Ubiquitous, aren't they :>)


*Serenity & Grace*
by Linda Leslie
Contra/Becket-CW/Easy

A1 ---
Long lines forward and back
Circle Left three-quarters


It's not _quite_ the first move...


*Wingnut Whirl*
by Allan Brozek
Contra/Becket-CW/Easy
A1 ---
(8) Down the hall, four in line (turn as couples)
(8) Return and Bend the line
A2 ---
(8) Circle Left 3/4 and pass through along the set
(8) Next Neighbor swing
B1 ---
(8) Men allemande Left 1-1/2
Scoop up partner and star promenade half-way
B2 ---
(8) Women Do-si-do
(8) Partner swing


Hooray, another good candidate!  The star promenade is an excellent 
bonus move, since none of my other easy dances have it, and I like the 
Women's dosido into the swing.


Thank you Linda!

[Callers] Looking for a particular sort of becket dance

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Hi all,

I'm re-vamping my list of simple contra dances for new callers, and am 
in search of a very particular sort of becket dance.  The list is one of 
my hand-outs for callers' classes at camps, so the folks who'll be using 
it are likely to be nervous, brand-new callers.  To that end, I'm 
looking for sturdy, hard-to-break, low-piece-count dances.  In a perfect 
world they'd be composed of simpler glossary figures.


I already have a fair collection of simple dances to choose from, but 
would like to include one more becket dance (I have Tica Tica Timing 
already on the list).  This perfect becket that I'm looking for should 
_not_ start with circle L 3/4, and should not contain petronella twirls. 
 Bonus points if it doesn't have a whole hey, since I've already got a 
couple of whole hey dances in the list.


I look forward to hearing what you can recommend.
Many thanks,
Kalia Kliban

Re: [Callers] New Dance to Share

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 6/8/2017 6:35 PM, Mac Mckeever via Callers wrote:

I have a dance called The Weevil by Richard Mason

It is a 7 person set (3 face 4)

It looks like it would be fun - but I have never had the opportunity to 
try it out.  Anyone had any experience with this one?

The Weevil <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM1vr2-QK_Q>


It's more challenging than you might think, especially getting the 
tunnel to form up correctly.  I wouldn't do this one with brand-new 
dancers.  On the other hand, Le Brandy is _great_ with new dancers.


Le Brandy
trad. French Canadian
Longways set of 6-10 couples
A1 All R elbow turn, then L elbow.
A2 All dosido partner, then dosido by the other shoulder, ending 
standing back to back in the middle of the set.
B1 Everyone yell "Un, deux, trois, poussez!" on the first 4 beats, doing 
a gentle bootie bump with partner on "poussez," then swing partner.
B2 Top couple boogie down the middle with style as the rest move up one 
place.


Kalia Kliban

Re: [Callers] What to do?

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 5/30/2017 2:16 PM, Martha Wild via Callers wrote:

So, a while back I was working with a band and they played a tune that was sort 
of new for them, and the A part was fine, but the B part was unusual anyway, 
and hard to know where the count was, in particular because they were 
unfamiliar with it, and I tried to count and call so the dancers could keep 
going, and it kept coming back together in the A, but falling apart in the B, 
until things snowballed and the dance completely fell apart. What is the best 
thing to do or say in a situation like that so that the band doesn’t feel too 
much as if it is their fault, and the dancers don’t feel it’s their fault? And 
yes, it’s always the caller’s fault, since I couldn’t for the life of me figure 
out what the heck was going on with that tune, but the dancers couldn’t find 
their way in it either. Anyway, back to what to do to make everyone feel a 
little better after that.
Martha


Much depends on your band.  I was once able to rescue a situation like 
that by saying to the band "I need stronger phrasing," but not every 
band can respond to that mid-tune.  I've had some cases where the tunes 
were just weird or wrong in some way and unfixable, and the bands were 
unwilling or unable to change tunes.  Usually I've just gritted my 
teeth, kept calling and calling and ended the dance as quickly as I 
could.  I was able once, when the problem with the tune was evident 
right away, to stop the dance as we were heading into the second time 
through.  I said something on mic like "Sorry about that folks.  I need 
to pick a different tune," which kind of deflected it from the band to 
me.  The musicians were cool about it and since the dancers hadn't 
really gotten into the groove yet it worked ok.  But when you're well 
and truly into the dance and it's a dysfunctional slog, it's hard to 
pull the plug.


It helps to have a bulletproof fun dance that you can switch to after 
something like that, a quick teach with a strong tune, where you can 
shake off the ickies and get everyone back into a good mood.


Kalia

Re: [Callers] How do you organize your Dance Card Boxes ? Categories or Other Suggestions ?

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Those of you who organize your cards by categories, what do you do when 
a dance falls across 2 or more categories?  Do you have multiple cards? 
Seems like that would get bulky in a hurry (I'm remembering Becky Hill's 
suitcase full of cards).


Kalia

On 4/8/2017 8:36 AM, Joy Greenwolfe via Callers wrote:

I organize my box by how I think of the components of a program. So I
have dances arranged by distinctive feature or slot in the program, or
whatever features sticks out.

I have my categories color coded by type of move (in the box, not the
card, necessarily). For instance:
Orange for easy or basic components, dark green for distinctive (doesn’t
fit in other categories), yellow for smooth moves, light green for
balancy, puntuated dances, pink for moves that trade people around,
other formations, and ONS/family dance formations.I use those color
tabs that I can stick onto a card to make a divider.

You might notice that I also have a split between swirly moves and more
balancy moves.

First dances
Good basic
Fun ending dances
Allemandy and stars - basic, swirly
Gene Hubert (yes, he gets his own swirly category)
New (dances still early in my use)
Down the hall
First Heys
1/2 Hey and unusual
Other Heys
Gypsy
Stars
Swirling/wheeling
Smooth progression
UNique/unexpected progressions
Wavy lines
Petronellas
ROM (Rory O’More)
Box the gnat/star thru
Rollaways
Pull By hands/square thru
Swap & Circulate
1/2 Figure 8s/Contra corners
1s & 2s, equal/unequal
Trailbuddy Easy/diagonal
Trailbuddy complex
Unusual-Complex-Advanced
Squares
Other Formations - 4x4s, triplets
ONS/Family - longways
ONS/Family - circles, mixers, others


In use, I’ll think, "Oh, I’d like something with a rollaway next," so I
look there. Or if a crowd of newbees walk in, I can go to my easy basic,
or any of my first few categories.

You could look at your cards and see which ones clump up into categories
of similar dances, and where you need to bolster your collection.   See
what works for you!

Joy Greenwolfe
Durham, NC




On Apr 8, 2017, at 12:40 AM, Cheryl Joyal via Callers
> wrote:

Thanks Jack !  What a great list !

I like some of the ones I was stuck on where to put - e.g. basics.

Appreciate it !

Cheryl Joyal
clmjo...@gmail.com 
clmjo...@aol.com 
630-667-3284 (cell)




On Apr 7, 2017, at 11:31 PM, Jack Mitchell > wrote:

My current set (probably due for modification / update soon).  In
particular, I really need to improve the divisions in "smooth"
dances.  But it has served me reasonably well for a while now  You
are welcome to what of it is useful.  Hope it helps!

Basics
Smooth (with heys)
Smooth (without)
Orbits
Stars
Eyes/Gypsy
Ring Balance
Rory O'Moore
Long to Short Waves
Waves
Allemande (without waves of any sort)
Along the set (pull by's, zig zag, big oval promenade, etc)
Down the hall
Star Promenade
Square Thru
Tune Specific
Proper
4 face 4
Contra corners
Multiple progression
Squares
Breaks
Singing Squares
Mixers
One Night Stand / Party Dances

Re: [Callers] Difficult dancers as a caller

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 3/7/2017 1:51 PM, Ron Blechner via Callers wrote:

Mac, suggestions on how?

(Guessing this is more of an organizer, not caller, thing to do.)

Ron Blechner

On Mar 7, 2017 9:51 AM, "Mac Mckeever via Callers"
>
wrote:

It has been my experience that dancers with limited skills/ability
often do not realize they are different from anyone else.  They
assume that being lost and confused during a dance is normal.

Finding a gentle way to bring this to their attention might be a
good way to start

Mac McKeever
STLouis


Ron's comment about this being an organizer thing to do brings up a good 
point.  There are things that the caller can see but not do much about 
(what with being up on stage and responsible for keeping the whole room 
moving), and there are things the organizers can do stuff about but 
might not be able to see or properly address (like teaching issues for 
individual dancers).  Finding time during a dance to communicate about 
those things can be hard.  I don't have a solution to this, but am 
merely noticing yet one more thing that can make it difficult to solve 
problem dancers.


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Increased number of community dance requests?

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 2/22/2017 6:25 AM, Luke Donforth via Callers wrote:

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone else is experiencing a bump in requests for
community/family dances? I feel like the last month or so, there's been
an uptick in schools and community centers requesting them. Could be a
local fluctuation, or something bigger. Anyone else getting that impression?

Possibly I'm projecting based on my own desire to build community
through dance, but a couple years ago I was knocking on doors trying to
make these happen, and now they're knocking on our door.

Hope you're all having a similar experience!

--
Luke Donforth
luke.donfo...@gmail.com <mailto:luke.do...@gmail.com>


Here in the Sonoma County area (a bit north of SF), we've definitely had 
growing interest in family dancing over the last year.  There's a 
quarterly family dance forming up that precedes one of our regular 
contras, and we're looking at possibly adding another before one of our 
regular English dances.  Part of the interest is coming from the local 
home-schoolers.


Kalia Kliban

Re: [Callers] Contras which feature a "Dublin Bay" figure

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

I can't figure out the transition from the Dublin Bay figure to the P 
bal/sw.  Can you elaborate?


K

On 1/19/2017 11:49 PM, Erik Hoffman via Callers wrote:

I find, when dancing the one or two dances I’ve danced that try to steal
the Dublin Bay figure, they have a line backing up bending into a
circle. I found this transition not to my taste. So I took a stab at a
different transition. I think it works, but it’s a bit tricky:

Happy Birthday, Susan
Erik Hoffman
Becket
A1  Wm “Chain the line” (Wm Al R ¾, then to next Wm,  Al L ¾ to meet
Nb on R diag –  across from Shadow);
Neighbor Swing
A2  LLF  Wm Chain to Shadow
B1  Dublin Bay DH4inL ends loop back, centers step forward to
B2  Pt B

Given to Susan Petrick on her birthday, while on tour with the
OpporTunists in 2010 (I think).
The Dublin Bay DH4inL: Down for 4, turn alone backing up for 4,
up for 4, turn alone, backing up for 4. From the ECD dance Dublin Bay.
Others have used the Dublin Bay  move, but ended it with a “fold into a
circle. That backing up, then circling has never felt good to me. This
is my attempt to come up with a segue I like.
Note, even though it’s a Becket dance, there is a difference in
roles in this dance between the “ones” and “twos”.

~Erik Hoffman
Oakland, CA

[Callers] Favorite NWT dances

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Hi all

There's often a long announcement segment toward the end of the first 
half at many of our local dances, and I've been figuring that after all 
that talk, folks just want to dance.  The first time I tried doing a NWT 
in that slot, it got a great response.  So for those of you who call 
no-walk-through dances, do you have any particular favorites?  I'd love 
to add a few more good candidates to my collection.


Kalia Kliban

Re: [Callers] Circle Shuffle- author?

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Luke, I picked this one up from you, probably here, and have used it 
with great success with kids, mixed groups of kids and adults, and also 
with happily drunk adults.  I usually call it "Middle Muddle."

Kalia

On 1/3/2017 9:03 AM, Luke Donforth via Callers wrote:

I have to apologize Claire; that is a dance I wrote... jeesh, I can't
even remember my own dances anymore.

I posted it to Shared Weight in February of 2014. :"/For 20 couples,
with many dancers still working on the walking thing, it went fine (1
1/2 phrases seemed to be the right amount of time to get through the
middle). Nobody had to leave their partner, and you got to see lots of
people.// /"

I call it circ-splosion in my box. I went back to look for it when
Claire asked me about it; and didn't find it. But it was something I
made up on the fly.

It was nagging at me, so I did some more digging, and found it.

Hope folks have fun with it.

On Thu, Dec 29, 2016 at 1:19 AM, Claire Takemori via Callers
>
wrote:

I have received this from 2 sources attributing it to Luke Donforth,
but Luke emailed me saying that he didn’t write it.  Anyone know the
author?

Circle Shuffle* *
**Circle of Partners *
A1 (8) Partner Do-si-do
  (8) Partner two hand turn
A2  (8) Circle left
 (8)  Circle right
B1 (8) Into middle/out
  (8) Into middle/out
B2 Promenade across the circle to a new spot*

Thanks!
Claire Takemori
(SF Bay Area)

Re: [Callers] Catapult 2017 looking for callers

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 12/14/2016 7:44 AM, Rob Harper via Callers wrote:

Following up on original post in case anyone is applying or knows of
others who are.  The caller (and band) applications deadline has been
extended to December 29, 2016.

Please spread the word to your caller, musician, dancer and organizer
friends.  Thanks.

Happy holidays all!

ciao,
rah


How many of you out there have participated in this?  What did you think 
of it?  I'm curious, but not sure whether I'm what they're looking for, 
or vice versa.  And it's a long way to travel for a short gig.


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Favorite relatively Modern ECD

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 12/9/2016 10:49 PM, Erik Hoffman via Callers wrote:

Hi All,

I’m going to lead an English dance in early February. I’ve led English
once or twice, and mostly stuck with The Playford Collection, and some
Pat Shaw dances. I wouldn’t mind collecting a few more modern dances.

Please feel free to either post them to the list, or send to me directly:
  _erik@erikhoffman.com_ 

And, of course, please include the music.


Erik, can you specify what the group is like that you'll be calling for? 
 Hardcore English dancers?  Mostly contra folks who are taking a walk 
on the wild side?  Brand-new dancers?  That will make a difference for 
the dances we can recommend.


Kalia

Re: [Callers] A Lot of "Don't Know" dances--Most Now Have Names

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 11/12/2016 11:31 AM, Erik Hoffman via Callers wrote:

Hi All,

Thanks to all who’ve supplied names! Below are the names of most of my
“Don’t Know” dances. A few, reposted at the bottom of this email, are
still mysteries.

~Erik Hoffman



*Greenfield Petronella*
Improper
Chris Ricciotti
A1  Ptnella BAL Twice
A2  BAL the Ring, CA Twril Pt;  Sw Nbr
B1  Mn Al Lft 1½;  Sw Pt
B2  Wm Chain;  Half Hey, Wm start, Rt shoulder
From a green piece of paper, the 2000 Echo Summit dance schedule.  I
should email Susan Kevra (the other caller) and see if she knows about
this dance.


This is one of my all-time favorite double-progression contras.
Kalia

Re: [Callers] Post election day dances?

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 11/7/2016 1:47 PM, April Blum via Callers wrote:

I calling the Baltimore contra on Wednesday.

Vote With Your Feet of course.
Others I am considering are:
Take All of the Credit and None of the Blame
The Eyes Have It
Illegal in Most States
Not a Figment of Your Imagination
Rocks and Dirt
In Cahoots
Chaos Pie
Blueshift
The Dancer's Duty
Long May It Wave
There Is No Way to Peace

Any other suggestions?


For the way it felt before it was over:
Mad, Mad World
For how it feels afterward:
A Good Feeling
Happy Ending (I hope)
Jubilation
Last Hurrah
Tranquility
United We Dance

Kalia

Re: [Callers] Dance Title

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 10/30/2016 1:55 PM, Tom Hinds via Callers wrote:

On Oct 27, 2016, at 3:25 PM, Rich Sbardella via Callers wrote:

I am looking for the title and author of the following dance.




I wrote a dance similar to this.  Perhaps it's been collected and a
variation has been called in other places.  Naming a dance is the
hardest part for me so it doesn't have a name yet.


I have a heck of a time writing dances but I've got titles by the 
bucketload :>)


Kalia

[Callers] Beneficial Tradition end effects

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Hi all

I haven't yet called Beneficial Tradition, but think it might be a good 
fit for an upcoming dance.  Does it get weird at the ends or does it 
flow reasonably well?  I danced it years ago and don't remember.  If you 
pull by RH to go out on the right diagonal, do you cross solo to the 
other side to make space for the next person to come out on the right 
diagonal?


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Ralph Page Style

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 10/13/2016 11:48 AM, Neal Schlein via Callers wrote:

I think of traditional and traditional-feeling dances as "smooth" not
because the choreography is technically more flowing but because they
somehow feel more lived in, as if any rough spots came naturally.  They
don't feel carefully engineered and crafted to be exemplars of "flow" so
much as discovered, worn into shape through luck and happy use.  Sort of
a Velveteen Rabbit effect, if that makes any sense.


Now I want to see a dance called "The Velveteen Rabbit Effect"!

Kalia Kliban

Re: [Callers] Good dances for beginners to safely leave/return to minor set.

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

I've had issues with the combination of box the gnat and pull by.  I'd 
be hesitant to use that combination for a group with a lot of beginners.


Kalia Kliban (who also posted about Another Nice Combination but forgot 
to sign it)


On 10/10/2016 10:30 AM, Meg Dedolph via Callers wrote:

I like this one a lot:

/Becky's Brouhaha - Rhiannon (Giddens) Laffan />//>/A1 N Bal and Box
the Gnat, Pull by R, (Previous N) Allemande L />/A2 (Current) N B
/>/B1 Circle L 3/4, P Sw />/B2 Ladies Chain, Left Hand Star/



On Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 11:36 AM K Panton via Callers
<callers@lists.sharedweight.net
<mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote:

3-33-33 is not a good choice for introducing beginners to extra-4some
expeditions. I've also found that a diagonal chain followed by a
straight-across figure causes confusion.

The Young Adult Rose,and others, have a pass-through to shadow
allemande which is doable.

Does anyone have some reliable key to unlock this mystery for new
dancers, thereby opening up a whole new world!

Thanks

Ken

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Re: [Callers] Fewer than 6 dancers - Ideas?

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 10/4/2016 9:58 PM, Michael Barraclough via Callers wrote:

I am sure that Kalia will kill me for this (as I know she knows) but
the dance is really Pride of the Pingle by the late Ken Alexander (UK).
Someone from the USA saw it in the UK, misheard the name, assumed it
was Irish and called it Pride of the Dingle when they called it in the
USA. Such is the folk process! BTW the 'Pingle' referred to is a local
housing estate (neighborhood) near where Ken lived.

Michael Barraclough
www.michaelbarraclough.com


I do know it, and I had a feeling someone would call me on the name :>) 
To do honor to the choreographer I should probably start using the 
correct name, but I can't help enjoying the word "dingle."


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Fewer than 6 dancers - Ideas?

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 10/4/2016 2:37 PM, Winston, Alan P. via Callers wrote:

Its really tempting to cancel a contra if you only have a few people,
but  you don't want to punish the people who showed up - they may
have foregone other options for their evenings.  And there's a sense
of triumph if you can show them a good time.  I think its important
to have options ready to go, so you can start on an energetic note
and keep things happening, and if any new person shows up they see
something going on rather than nothing and maybe stick around to get
in the next one.


This is reminding me of a dance I did last year.  I had hauled my way 
through 2 hours of grisly Bay Area traffic and got there just barely in 
time, completely frazzled, set list in hand, to find 3 dancers plus the 
dance manager.  (Bay Area folks will know about the Canyon Contra, which 
ran for many, many years in the 1-room schoolhouse in Canyon, CA.  Teeny 
but cool.)  Just as I was about to pull out a couple of 2-couple English 
dances one more person showed up, so I danced in and we did a couple of 
triplets, then a waltz-time 3-couple English and a bouncy 3-couple 
English.  I was mentally riffling through my triplet collection again 
when 3 more dancers showed up.  Hooray, I had a dance for 9 (Pride of 
Dingle)!  We took a little break after that, got 1 more dancer on the 
floor and did a few teeny contras, then another waltz-time dance for 3 
couples.  After the next break the manager had to go do manager things 
and we lost a couple of early-to-bed dancers so we did Domino 5 (I 
dearly love that dance), another triplet and ended with a goofy 
French-Canadian dance called Le Brandy.  The folks who were first-timers 
were impressed that there were dances in "so many different shapes," and 
the experienced dancers were impressed that I was able to find ways to 
keep us all dancing.  It ended up being a really, really enjoyable night.


A couple of years ago I took all of the dances I use for one night stand 
gigs and put them into a single document with ultra-compressed notation. 
 I've sorted them by numbers, style, level of difficulty and a few 
other ways.  That document has saved my butt a few times.  If you've got 
a handful of go-to dances for odd situations, it's worth putting them 
all onto one easy-to-grab page for those times of need.


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Fewer than 6 dancers - Ideas?

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 10/4/2016 12:09 PM, QuiAnn2 via Callers wrote:

I recently called at a contra dance where we had exactly 6 dancers for almost 
the entire evening (one joined us later but only occasionally danced). This was 
unexpected as they usually have attendance in the 12-20 range. I was able to 
piece together a night of mixers, triplets, and oddball dances to make it work 
and the dancers were game for anything so it ended up being a fun night. But it 
got me thinking about what to do if only 4 dancers came to a dance (meaning 
even if I jumped in, we would only have 5 total dancers). In order to be better 
prepared for next time, I have a couple of questions.

1) Do you have any dances you can share that would work for 4 or 5 dancers? Or 
also dances for 6 dancers that are not triplets (have plenty of triplets). I 
have already collected Do-Si-3 and Haste to the Divorce, both of which I 
modified so that they would not progress.
2) Could a whole evening (3 hours) of dance be put together for just 4-5 
dancers?
3) What preparation can be done by me in advance to help with this situation? 
It’s possible to talk with the organizer in advance about canceling the dance 
if only 4 or 5 dancers show up, however, this particular dance is a 75 minute 
drive one-way and I’d prefer to avoid the round trip if there won’t be enough 
dancers. For various reasons, any dance promoting that I do myself would be 
largely ineffective for this particular dance.

Would love to hear about any ideas you can share. Thanks!


Domino 5 by Derek Haynes
5-person set, 4 in a square and one in the middle, thusly:
Top of hall
#2  #1
#5
#3  #4

A1 1-4 #5 dances RH star with the dancers on the right (1,4)
   5-8 #5 dances LH star with the dancers on the left (2, 3)
A2 1-8 #5 passes #1 by R to start whole hey for 3 (5, 1, 3). 
Skip-change step is fun in the heys.

B1 1-8 #5 passes #2 by L to start whole hey for 3 (5, 2, 4).
B2 1-8 In 4 steps, 5 and 1 pass R shoulders to change places.  Then 1 
and 2, 2 and 3, 3 and 4.

[Callers] Headset mics, take two

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

I sent this last week but got a message from Dave Casserly telling me 
the message had been marked as spam, so I'm guessing it mostly 
disappeared into everyone's lint filter.  I've read the previous threads 
on headsets going back to 2014 and there aren't a lot of specifics. 
JoLaine, if you're reading this, I'd love to know what model you use. 
You mentioned that it was a Shure and that you loved it.  And Rich 
Sbardella mentioned last year that his Shure had been giving him 
trouble.  Rich, what model is yours, and are you happy with your 
replacement?


Here's the mail from last week, to get those of you who didn't see it on 
the same page with those who did:


Hi all

I was just working a wedding gig and my old Samson headset mic crapped 
out.  If the piano player hadn't had hers along, I would have been in 
serious trouble.  Time for a new and more reliable headset mic.  I use 
my hands a LOT when I'm doing ONS gigs, so a handheld cordless isn't an 
option for me.


I'd love recommendations from any of you about specific models to look 
at.  I'm planning to plow the funds from this wedding and some of my 
caller piggy bank into a new mic, so I want something that's really good 
quality.  It doesn't have to be tiny and invisible, but it does need to 
be reliable and sturdy. If it doesn't have a belt pack that's a plus, 
but it seems like most of the good-quality headset mics have belt packs. 
 I'll deal with it if that's the best bet.  So, recommendations?


For reference, the one I was working with was a Samson Airline 77, often 
referred to as the "aerobic instructor mic."  It had the transmitter on 
the headset, so there were no wires or belt pack, and it worked just 
fine for a long time until suddenly it didn't.  I would like to hear 
what folks are using who rely on a headset mic for their calling gigs.


Kalia Kliban in Sebastopol, CA

[Callers] Headset mics

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Hi all

I was just working a wedding gig and my old Samson headset mic crapped 
out.  If the piano player hadn't had hers along, I would have been in 
serious trouble.  Time for a new and more reliable headset mic.  I use 
my hands a LOT when I'm doing ONS gigs, so a handheld cordless isn't 
really an option for me.


I'd love recommendations from any of you about models to look at.  I'm 
planning to plow the funds from this wedding and some of my caller piggy 
bank into a new mic, so I want something that's really good quality.  It 
doesn't have to be tiny and invisible, but it does need to be reliable. 
If it doesn't have a belt pack that's a plus, but it seems like most of 
the good-quality headset mics have belt packs.  I'll deal with it if 
that's the best bet.  So, recommendations?


For reference, the one I was working with was a Samson Airline 77, often 
referred to as the "aerobic instructor mic."  It had the transmitter on 
the headset, so there were no wires or belt pack, and it worked just 
fine for a long time until suddenly it didn't.  I would like to hear 
what folks are using who rely on a headset mic for their calling gigs.


Kalia Kliban in Sebastopol, CA

[Callers] Looking for notes

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Anybody have Marty Fager's "Balance and Bounce" handy?

Many thanks,
Kalia Kliban

[Callers] Musical advice

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Hi all

I just got home late last night from the event (the Greenwood Fest), and 
can now report back.  I hugely appreciate all the tune suggestions. 
They were really helpful for both me and the band.  I sent them a list 
of tune names, along with video links, and they settled on Turkey in the 
Straw and St. Anne's Reel, which worked just fine for Margate Hoy and Le 
Brandy, respectively.  The 3rd dance was a big wind-up/spiral dance, to 
the Crawdad Song.  Traditional dance accompaniment is definitely not 
what this band usually does but they dove into it with great energy and 
attitude and we had a good time together.  The one thing that I didn't 
anticipate, though if I had given it some thought I should have, is that 
this crowd was about 90% male.  There were just a few who were willing 
to partner with other men, and I chose dances where partner interaction 
could be no more intimate than an elbow swing.  The folks who joined in 
had a good time and were asking for more (maybe we can do more at the 
next event).  The bulk of the crowd only joined in for the windup.  All 
in all, it went about as I'd expected for the dance part of it, and 
better than I feared for the musical part.


Thanks, all of you, for your help!
Kalia

[Callers] Music advice followup

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

The gig itself is not on Wednesday, thankfully.  That's just when I fly, 
and thus my deadline for getting things sorted with the band.  The gig 
is on Saturday night.  The structure is that we're tacking a half hour 
of community dances onto the front of a full evening that this band was 
already going to be playing.  So they'll get plenty of time to shine 
doing their own thing, and we'll only to work together for a short set.


There have been some excellent and very helpful tune suggestions.  Thank 
you all!  I've sent the band a list of tunes and links, and will try to 
connect by phone later today.  They claim to have some "folk and 
country" in their repertoire, and perhaps some of these tunes will be 
familiar to them.  The band's instrumentation is promising -- accordion, 
banjo, bass, drums, fiddle, washboard, harmonica and guitar.


Once again, I want to say how much I appreciate these email discussion 
lists.  It's wonderful to be able to connect with the larger community 
of callers, musicians and organizers.  I'll keep you all posted as 
things progress.


Thank you!
Kalia Kliban

Re: [Callers] [trad-dance-callers] Need musical advice

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 6/6/2016 5:41 PM, Michael Barraclough via Callers wrote:

Hokey Poky
Chicken Dance
Circassian Circle to anything 32 bars long


I'm not actually looking for dances.  I'm looking for tune suggestions 
that a musically literate band would find easy to learn quickly.  32-bar 
jigs and reels that can be used for community dances.


Kalia

[Callers] Need musical advice

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Hi all

I'm posting this to several different callers' lists (ECD, 
trad-dance-callers and shared weight) in hopes of some speedy advice. 
I'm heading off shortly (Weds. evening, 6/8) for an event that is not a 
dance event, but at which I've been asked to lead a short community 
dance session on "honky tonk night."  The band for this is _not_ a 
traditional dance band.  They're more of a garage band with bar-band 
aspirations.  I wrote to them several weeks ago to check in about music, 
and when I didn't hear back, wrote again about a week ago.  Then again, 
and finally heard back right as I was getting ready to leave for the 
airport for a weekend gig, from which I've just returned.


Their contact person tells me that sheet music would be useful, which 
puts me in the position of trying to figure out a very small assortment 
of tunes to send them.  We're doing about 1/2 hour of dancing, so at the 
most it'll be 3 dances.  With 2 jigs and 2 reels I can make this work. 
The question is "which ones?"  And that's where you all come in.  I'm 
looking for recommendations for a small assortment of simple, enjoyable 
tunes for community dancing.  As a non-musican, I have no idea which 
tunes are easy to pick up quickly and which aren't, so I'm hoping some 
of you can help me out.


Kalia Kliban

Re: [Callers] Young Adult Rose

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 3/27/2016 6:15 PM, David A Kaynor via Callers wrote:

Hi Everyone,

The “Young Adult Rose” which I made up goes thus:

Duple Improper
A1:  w/neighbor, balance and swing end progressed
A2:  Circle left 3/4 til gents are back home; w/partner, pass right
shoulder; w/shadow, left hand turn
B1:  With partner, balance and swing
B2:  Ladies chain across; star left


Thank you so much for chiming in on this!


I will just observe that, even if different from and perhaps somewhat
less satisfying than what I made up, having to turn with *right*
hands rather than left hands seems a bit inconsequential to me,
considering what’s going on in the world around us  these days.


As problems go, it's a delightful one to have.


One might well wonder if the revolting individuals chose to at least be
gracious.


They were having a good time but fighting mightily with their (as it 
turned out, correct) inclinations to allemande left.  There was a 
collective sigh of relief when I made the change from the mic.  This is 
a group with a lot of beginners, and I had just given them a 
no-walk-through medley for possibly their first time (it was certainly 
my first time).  We were all finding our way through it together, and it 
was a good ride.


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Young Adult Rose

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 3/27/2016 5:09 PM, JD Erskine via Callers wrote:

On 2016-03-27 1324, Kalia Kliban via Callers wrote:

I called Young Adult Rose last night and experienced a near-complete
dancer revolt about the shadow allemande.  The dance is written with a
circle left 3/4, pass P by R along the line then allemande shadow R 1x,
before coming back to P for a balance and swing.  The dancers all
_really_ wanted to do the allemande by the left.  I tried calling it a
few times with the R hand, then gave up and called it L and they were
all much happier.  Anyone else experienced this?

Kalia


I don't have the dance mentioned so I started to analyse what I'd be
able to respond to by reformatting the above to short lines of complete,
necessary words. I just couldn't picture it in the narrative style.

It looked like I was missing something for my understanding of the
dance. I didn't find it on-line, however looking in my personal archives
of this list I found a discussion about the dance from 2012.10.26-28

According to one poster Young Adult Rose _is_ danced with an allemande
left.

Young Adult Rose

Dup imp/L2i

A1 N Bal. & Sw
A2 Cir. L 3/4, pass through
   Shadow Al. L 1x
B1 P Bal. & Sw
B2 Ladies Chain
  LH Star 1x

"identical to "Baby" except for the A2."


Hmm, this is interesting.  I picked it up from JoLaine Jones-Pokorney's 
site, where it's written as allemande R.  I haven't been able to find 
the notes anywhere else, when I was looking to see whether I just had an 
odd version.  Anybody else have this in their files?  Is it left or 
right in your version?


Kalia

[Callers] Young Adult Rose

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

I called Young Adult Rose last night and experienced a near-complete 
dancer revolt about the shadow allemande.  The dance is written with a 
circle left 3/4, pass P by R along the line then allemande shadow R 1x, 
before coming back to P for a balance and swing.  The dancers all 
_really_ wanted to do the allemande by the left.  I tried calling it a 
few times with the R hand, then gave up and called it L and they were 
all much happier.  Anyone else experienced this?


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Dances with multiple swings- Trinity?

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

3-2-1 Dance by Devin Nordberg (double progression)
Catch 'Em on the Fly by Al Olson (4 swings, 2 pairs of swing-to-swing 
transitions, hence the name).  Definitely not for a beginning group :>)


Kalia

On 3/11/2016 12:56 PM, Lindsey Dono via Callers wrote:

Hi all,

I'm in the process of sorting through old dance notes, and found this:
"Trinity? triple swing, double progression, Al Olson." If this is an
existing dance, does anyone have the choreography?

I'm also interested in finding other dances with more than two swings,
especially swing-to-swing transitions.
I have:
Back from Vermont
String of Swings
CDS Reel
Meg's a Dancing Fool
Ten Strings Attached
Gang of Four
Naked in California
Alexander's Swingtime

Many thanks in advance!
Lindsey
(Tacoma, WA)


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Re: [Callers] Contras for One Nighters

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 3/5/2016 1:27 PM, Erik Hoffman via Callers wrote:

In looking at Kalia's suggestions, I've put the Itchinton dance in what
is more readable to me. Kalia, do I have it correct?


As written, it's proper (or, for a non-dancer crowd, "it doesn't matter 
which side you're on as long as you're across from your partner'), so 
I'd avoid using the gendered terms in the A2.  And as written, it was RH 
then LH star but I think it flows better the other way.



Itchington Long Dance
Hugh Rippon, 1990

(pretending it's) Improper
A1: Star L/R;

A2:Wm DSD; Mn DSD

B1: Ones down center, turn alone, return, cast

B2:1s swing and look down for new Nbrs

For beginning dancers, I'd change B2 to Long lines forward and back
(good for connection, reduces swing time, which is often better for
beginners)


Good suggestion!  I'm making a note on the card.

Kalia

Re: [Callers] Fw: Contras for One Nighters

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 3/5/2016 1:02 PM, Tepfer, Seth via Callers wrote:

Hard to beat Sherry Nevin's fabulous

Family Contra

A1: Bal ring 2x (8); Circle Left (8)

A2: Bal ring 2x (8); Circle Right (8)

B1: Neighbor DSD (8); Partner DSD (8)

B2: As couples, DSD 1.5 to progress (16)


I enjoyed watching a group of extremely mixed ages doing this in Berea 
this winter.  One of many great things about this dance is that an 
"individual dancer" can be a parent with a child or two attached, or a 
couple of kids dancing close together as a team, and it all still works 
really well.


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Contras for One Nighters

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 3/5/2016 1:01 PM, Rich Sbardella wrote:

Kalia,
You make a good point.  My most successful contra for such applications
has been Haste to the Wedding in a proper line.
I have had trouble with the cast at Party Dances.  Do you demonstrate
it?  How do you describe it?


A demonstration is the easiest, and I'll often demo it more than once to 
be really clear.  Do it with the music, too, so folks get an idea of 
when everything happens and when they need to be done.



I like your suggestion of Washington Quickstep.  I might try it with 1.s
DSD, then 2s DSD instead of R Thrus.


Super smart.  R through is a tough move for a ONS situation.  Anything 
you can do to simplify it is a good idea.


Kalia


On Sat, Mar 5, 2016 at 3:54 PM, Kalia Kliban via Callers
<callers@lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>>
wrote:

On 3/5/2016 10:44 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers wrote:

I rarely call a contra at a One Night Party Dance, but
occasionally I am
asked to.  I have a few in my cards, but can anyone make some
sure fire
recommendations.

Assume 95%-100% non dancers.


Just getting to the duple minor progression can be quite a process.
The simplest duple minor I've got is not technically a contra (it's
an English ceilidh dance), but works well as a mine-sweeper to see
whether more complex duples will work.  It's called the Itchington
Long Dance (Hugh Rippon, 1990).  Star L/R; cnrs dosido; 1s
down/bk/cast; 1s swing and look down for new Ns.  If your crowd is
up for it and you've got room, the B2 can be a general P swing, but
I like to do it just for the 1s to make the progression clearer.

Washington Quickstep (a contra chestnut) is good too, and if the 1s
lose track of who needs to be on the right after the swing, nothing
terrible happens.  Star R/L, 1s dn/bk/cast; R thru over/bk; LLFB,
1s sw.

Kalia
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Re: [Callers] Contras for One Nighters

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 3/5/2016 10:44 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers wrote:

I rarely call a contra at a One Night Party Dance, but occasionally I am
asked to.  I have a few in my cards, but can anyone make some sure fire
recommendations.

Assume 95%-100% non dancers.


Just getting to the duple minor progression can be quite a process.  The 
simplest duple minor I've got is not technically a contra (it's an 
English ceilidh dance), but works well as a mine-sweeper to see whether 
more complex duples will work.  It's called the Itchington Long Dance 
(Hugh Rippon, 1990).  Star L/R; cnrs dosido; 1s down/bk/cast; 1s swing 
and look down for new Ns.  If your crowd is up for it and you've got 
room, the B2 can be a general P swing, but I like to do it just for the 
1s to make the progression clearer.


Washington Quickstep (a contra chestnut) is good too, and if the 1s lose 
track of who needs to be on the right after the swing, nothing terrible 
happens.  Star R/L, 1s dn/bk/cast; R thru over/bk; LLFB, 1s sw.


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Calling to a square dance crowd

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 2/21/2016 12:19 AM, Chris Page via Callers wrote:

I'd really recommend talking to the organizers. And possibly watching
one of their normal events.

Here's some of my thoughts on potential biggies:

-Many people will likely keep the same partner throughout the evening.

-The expected flow of the evening is very different -- typically they're
used to doing two dances with the same partner of about 6-10 (?)
minutes, and then a rest break. Potentially involving snacks. Rinse and
repeat.

-Swings are neither expected nor required. Without further instruction,
they'll go just once around, twirl, and stop.

-Be very careful about too much consecutive clockwise motion.

-You may have to adjust for the age level of the group. In general, MWSD
groups tend to be older.

-They're really not used to hearing the phrase of the music.

-Dropping out the calls may be traumatic for some.

-Contra is much more aerobic than squares.


It sounds like asymmetrical dances where half the people can rest while 
the others are doing something could be handy additions to your 
repertoire.  That would address a lot of these issues.


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Proactive Management of “Problem Dancers” — Creating a Dance Environment Safe for All

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Thanks for sharing this, Will!  Organizers out there, how many of you 
have a coherent contingency plan in place for dealing with issues that 
occur at your dances?  How many of you have had to deal with issues on 
the fly, making it up as you go?  Those of you that do have a plan, how 
did you develop it?  Did it come as a response to a previous issue, or 
did you decide to be proactive in advance of anything happening?  Did 
your policy come from the top levels of the organization down, or was it 
organized by a non-administrative dancer or group of dancers?  Do you 
have any sort of script or manual for your door sitters?  Do you include 
information in your beginner sessions so your new dancers know who to 
talk to if there's a problem?


I'm curious about the varied ways these policies have been implemented. 
 Our itty bitty English dance series here in Sebastopol has been pretty 
free of drama, but the local contras have had occasional moments of 
unwelcome excitement over the years.  It seems like a good idea to get 
an organization-wide policy of consent and safety in place.


Does BACDS have such a policy?  How about NBCDS?  If there is one, how 
is it expressed, and where?


Kalia

[Callers] Whoops (Re: Contras with a Hey)

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Rich kindly pointed out that I was mistaken about Butter being the one 
with the hey leading into the progression.  Note to self: never post to 
lists before having coffee...


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Contras with a Hey

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

*From:* Rich Sbardella via Callers 
*To:* Caller's discussion list ;
trad-dance-call...@yahoogroups.com
*Sent:* Tuesday, December 8, 2015 12:48 PM
*Subject:* [Callers] Contras with a Hey

Hello Folks,

I am relatively new at calling contras and I am looking for some asy to
intermediate contras to introduce the hey to a group that includes many
beginners. and/or club square dancers.

"Butter" by Gene Hubert is my go to dance, but I am looking for a few
more.  I like Butter because the flow from ladies chain into a RH hey is
great, and because all the other calls are introduced earlier in most
evening.

I love simple, but different choreography, so I am open to most suggestions.

Rich Sbardella


My two favorites for teaching the whole hey to new dancers are 
Flirtation Reel (Tony Parkes) and Carousel (Tom Hinds).  In both cases, 
you start and end the hey in the same place, facing the same person 
(neighbor and partner, respectively), then go into a swing with them (by 
way of a gypsy or balance).  In Butter, you come out of the hey into the 
progression, which is slightly less easy.


Kalia

[Callers] The ongoing gypsy discussion

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Just out of curiosity, since I had a gig scheduled while this discussion 
was going on, I tried substituting the phrase "right/left shoulders 
around" for "gypsy."  I had not taught the move in the beginners 
session.  The first dance this came up in had a neighbors gypsy 1-1/2. 
I said "neighbors right shoulders around once and a half," the dancers 
all did it, easy peasy.  It's not too hard to remember to substitute the 
term, and will get easier as it goes along.


I called 2 dances today, the Sebastopol English dance and the Petaluma 
contra.  I had a few "gypsy halfway" moments at the English but no full 
gypsies.  Several at the contra and I found the different terminology to 
cause not the tiniest ripple on the floor.  It was seamless.


Kalia

Re: [Callers] dances in unusual formations

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 11/1/2015 5:12 AM, Donna Hunt via Callers wrote:

Thanks everyone for great ideas.
It was late when I posted my request and I should mention that this is
an English/Contra crossover weekend (Princeton Country Dancers Head for
the Hills).

I'm definitely looking for dances that don't fit a genre and appeal to
contra dancers (ie swings and not too much inactivity).  Am open to
"barn" dances if there's something unusual (but not too much sashaying).


Check out "Banjo In A Bear Suit" by Brooke Friendly and Chris Sackett. 
It's a square set ECD, set to a challenging rag tune (definitely give 
the tune to the band in advance).  Contra dancers would have plenty to 
chew on in that dance.  It's in Impropriety vol IV, available from 
CDSS,, and the companion CD has a great recording of the tune.


This video has the tune being used for a contra:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp_pKOpn0mA

Chris Weiler, if you're reading, or anyone else with a searchable 
database, what was the dance?

Becket
Balance ring and spin to the R
N allemande L 1-1/2
Whole hey (WR)
New N balance and swing
Circle L 3/4
P swing

Kalia

Re: [Callers] Gypsy Synopsis

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 10/31/2015 2:28 AM, Erik Hoffman via Callers wrote:

OK, Adding Gyre to the top of the list. Makes me wonder what the move
"gimble" will look like...

And a quick look at another minor fascination of mine: Gypsy Jazz. Don't
know if they're looking for a replacement word...

~erik hoffman
 oakland, ca


Just heard "right/left shoulders around" from an ECD source who's 
experimenting with substitute terms.  It's nicely descriptive...


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Gypsies

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 10/25/2015 6:32 PM, Don Veino via Callers wrote:

At the risk of offering one more straw dog, there's "loop".

"End that star [left] facing your next neighbor, loop right [around]
that neighbor and continue into a swing."

"Two ladies loop left once and a half, _insert_call_here_ your partner."

To my knowledge, it's free of call/cue homonyms, sounds short and
distinct and the other use in contra ("with your partner promenade
across and loop wide to the left to face a new couple..." is a similar
concept. No obvious negative meanings in common language (most are
positive, e.g.: "in the loop").


This is the best of the bunch so far, IMO.  And it's pleasantly short.

Kalia

Re: [Callers] Rolling Starts?

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Thanks Dave, Alan and Sue for catching me up!
Kalia

On 10/6/2015 10:27 AM, Dave Casserly wrote:

Done.

On Tue, Oct 6, 2015 at 1:15 PM, Kalia Kliban via Callers
<callers@lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>>
wrote:


If Woody sent a message to the list on this subject, I seem to have
misplaced it.  I'd be grateful if someone could forward it to me
offline.  I've been wrestling with this subject myself.

Kalia

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Re: [Callers] Rolling Starts?

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 10/6/2015 1:07 AM, JD Erskine iDance via Callers wrote:

On 2015-10-02 0853, Maia McCormick via Callers wrote:

I think that rolling starts (seamless transition from walkthrough into
the dance, as the band just starts playing music during the walkthrough)
are super neat if done properly!


It was great to see Woody contribute his approach.


If Woody sent a message to the list on this subject, I seem to have 
misplaced it.  I'd be grateful if someone could forward it to me 
offline.  I've been wrestling with this subject myself.


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Shadow Swing Disclaimers?

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 9/9/2015 2:13 PM, Michael Fuerst via Callers wrote:

Richard:   Your suggestion is subterfuge to rationalize the caller's
doing something (calling a shadow swing dance) that should never be done.
Michael Fuerst  802 N Broadway  Urbana IL 61801  217 239 5844


Never, Michael?  That seems pretty dogmatic.

Kalia

Re: [Callers] few dancers dances

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 7/11/2015 8:53 PM, Keith Wood via Callers wrote:

Hi Rickey

I have a five person dance in a diamond:
http://www.dancekaleidoscope.org.au/dance.html#Crossroads.

Crossroads



And a five couple dance in Levi Jackson formation:
http://www.dancekaleidoscope.org.au/dance.html#Rubigold.

Rubigold


These both look really fun.  I look forward to trying them out!  Thanks 
for sharing them with the list.


Kalia

Re: [Callers] How to teach various steps to beginners?

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 7/8/2015 1:07 PM, Hulsether Sue via Callers wrote:


All great suggestions.
I would also like to add that when I first started calling,  I did many
of the things already listed, but I also practiced.
I practiced with imaginary people in my living room:  practicing (out
loud!) the walk-through, practicing the calling, dancing in each
position while I practiced the calling


If you have any random, non-dancer friends who are willing to be your 
guinea pigs, try explaining some basic moves to them and see if they get 
it.  It doesn't have to be a huge, full evening thing.  If you've got 4 
friends in a room, see if you can get them through a ladies chain and 
then go back to the Scrabble game...


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Ferry Boat Contra Ideas

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 7/8/2015 1:00 PM, Maia McCormick via Callers wrote:

If you can get the band on-board, any number of sea chanteys are
contra-tune-able--for instance, Drunken Sailor and South Australia, in
addition to the sea songs already in the repertoire like Sailor's
Hornpipe (which turns up in the Popeye theme!). Also, He's a Pirate from
Pirates of the Caribbean is loads of fun to dance to (I've got a version
that I engraved if you/the band wants).

As far as dances in the theme, A Pirate's Life for Me by Nathaniel Jack,
High Seas by Diane Silver, and Captain Shank's Revenge by Maggie Jo
Saylor all come to mind, and I'm sure there are loads more! (Though my
favorite part about Captain Shank can be applied to pretty much any
dance: in a Petronella, instead of clapping, shout "yo ho!")


Andrea Nettleton may have already responded offline, but she's written a 
really fun contra called Pirates Across The Atlantic, based on an 
English dance called Dancing Across The Atlantic (by Loretta Holz).  The 
distinctive opening figure has a chase move that can get really silly.


Did someone already mention Nathaniel Jack's "Walk the Plank"?

Kalia

Re: [Callers] Giving Weight

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 6/24/2015 11:29 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers wrote:


How do you descibe giving weight, and how do you teach it for circles,
allemandes, and, swings?
Rich
Stafford, CT


In my beginner sessions, I have them form a ring and then circle left 
and right a couple of times.  Then I ask them to bend their elbows and 
feel "that springy tension between you and the dancers next to you.  If 
you can keep that elasticity while you're connected to other dancers, 
then you're all supporting each other as you circle and turn, and it 
makes everything easier."  And then we circle again, with the extra bit 
of sproing, and then do the same with allemandes.  Just for fun, 
sometimes I'll have them go back to the floppy arms, just to feel the 
difference.  I also let them know that with a little bit of tension in 
the connection, it's easier for the person they're dancing with to give 
them physical cues.


And I know there's a better word than tension, and I'm pretty sure I've 
used it in the past, but right now I can't think of it.


Kalia
Sebastopol, CA

Re: [Callers] How to Describe a Ricochet Hey

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 6/19/2015 4:04 AM, Tom Hinds via Callers wrote:

I'm asking myself why not demo a ricochet?  In my mind there are some
advantages to demonstrating a move instead of describing it (or doing
both with a wireless mic).

My experience is most contra callers are highly educated and have
exceptional verbal skills.  Maybe some callers don't value a good
demonstration.  Or is a demonstration too beneath some of us?  One of my
calling students told me that I failed as a caller because I
demonstrated a move.


Why should you be limited to only one way of explaining a move? 
Demonstrations are incredibly powerful teaching tools.  I use demos a 
lot, mostly for moves that are a little out of the ordinary, or when 
there's a particular thing in the move that I want to stress.  And when 
the caller is demonstrating, say, a ricochet hey, they're also 
demonstrating a lot of other things in the process -- good eye contact, 
hand connections, tracking on the other dancers...


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Box - Swat - CA - Jersey/Nevada

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 6/14/2015 9:48 AM, Richard Hart via Callers wrote:

I've considered writing an entirely hands free dance, as an example,
along with a very similar dance that used hands for the corresponding
moves. The hands free dance would certainly need to used only at an
expert-only dance.


I'm a caller married to a dance musician.  As a result I almost never 
get to dance with my husband.  A few years back, he was the high bidder 
in a camp auction where Alan Winston was offering to write a dance to 
the winner's specs. Jon asked him for a dance with no hand contact so 
that he and I could dance together while he played the tune.  It's an 
English dance in waltz time, and it's quite lovely.  At a recent 
Pasadena ECD ball Jon and I took advantage of wireless mic technology to 
call and play it from the floor as we danced together.  It's called The 
Fiddler's Wife.  I wouldn't spring it on brand-new dancers, but it's 
fine for an intermediate crowd.


And at the other end of the spectrum, I wrote another 3/4 ECD for some 
longtime members of our local Sebastopol dance, one of whom was starting 
to need a little more help on the floor (she had some balance and 
mobility issues).  For them, I wrote a dance where you only let go of 
your partner for 2 bars during the whole sequence.  It's a great one for 
new dancers.


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Another approach to Gender Free calling

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 6/1/2015 10:23 AM, Dave Casserly via Callers wrote:

Also with regard to Ron's questions, numbers 2 and 3 (who-leads-whom and
who-walks-forward) can be handled by using the terms "clockwise" and
"counterclockwise."  As to 4 (who passes whom for a hey), I agree with
Bob that if the dance is good, it should be obvious, but even if not,
"pass left shoulders in the middle for a hey for four" can only be
interpreted one way, so that fixes the issue of referring to roles.


Mostly, yes, but with oddball dances like Earth and Sky (Rick Mohr) that 
have an unusual entry into the hey you do need to give some more 
specific instruction.

A1: Gypsy with neighbor (8)
Swing neighbor (8)
A2: Circle left 3/4 (8)
Allemande right with partner 1 1/2 (8)
B1: Allemande left with shadow (6)
Swing partner (10)
B2: 5/8 hey (men pass right shoulders to start) (8)
Gypsy (left shoulder) with neighbor (8)

Just as a brain exercise, how would you tackle this one with global 
terminology?  There's usually a way to make it work, but sometimes it 
can be pretty clunky to avoid the role terms.



I'm not saying that it's perfect, but it is actually quite doable to
call a dance without referring to roles at all, even without resorting
to first or second corners.

Perry asked for an example of a dance with global terminology used.
Here's one (just picking a common, typical dance):

Square Affair, by Becky Hill

A1 Long Lines, 1st corners chain (or just say "chain" if you're dealing
with experienced dancers and don't want to use the corners terminology)


That would need to be 2nd corners.


A2 Balance and pull by partner, pull by neighbor, balance and pull by
partner, pull by neighbor
B1 New neighbors balance and swing
B2 Circle 3/4, partner swing


Kalia Kliban
Sebastopol, CA

Re: [Callers] Itty-bitty dances, triplets, odd numbers

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

This is a wonderful addition to the files.  Thanks, Jill, for pointing 
it out!

Kalia

On 5/8/2015 11:41 AM, jill allen wrote:

Chris,

Thank you so much for the correct author and title.

Jill


On May 8, 2015, at 12:23 PM, Chris Page wrote:


Beneficial Triplet by Al Olson. A very nice one.

-Chris Page
San Diego

A1all pass ptr by RH
all who can, pass person on L diag by LH
all pass person straight across by RH
L diag by LH
A2 across by RH
L diag by LH
bal ptr, box the gnat
B1B & S ptr ending proper
B2  bottom cpl lead up the middle, turn alone and lead back down
the middle
cast with 2nd (now at bottom) cpl to end in 2nd place*

Re: [Callers] Itty-bitty dances, triplets, odd numbers

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 5/4/2015 7:14 AM, Bill Olson via Callers wrote:

Kalia, You said you already had a triplet with contra corners in it, BUT
I figured I'd offer this anyway. I often call Chorus Jig as a triplet,
(B2 being 1's (bal and) swing to bottom of set and others move up). I
found that in a triplet dancers can learn contra corners very easily
without the confusion that comes in a duple set. With Chorus Jig, in
addition to the distinctive choreography you mentioned, there's also the
historical significance of calling a dance 100's of years old I guess.

bill


My cunning plan, when I was envisioning a huge crowd of 7 or 8 couples*, 
was to teach Microchasmic early in the evening to get the contra corners 
concept across, and then do Chorus Jig later on.  The best laid plans 
oft gang agley...


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Itty-bitty dances, triplets, odd numbers

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 5/4/2015 6:57 AM, Martha Wild via Callers wrote:

Though it may seem like heresy to do it without the associated tune, Levi 
Jackson Rag can be done to other thirty-two bar tunes if the band doesn't know 
the required tune, and is good for 5 couples.


That was at the top of my mind for this dance, but the band vetoed it. 
"We play old-time tunes, that's it."  Okey dokey, then.  We work with 
what we've got.  And anyway, we topped out at 9 dancers with me on the 
floor, so LJR wouldn't have worked even if the band had been on board. 
Such is life :>)


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Itty-bitty dances, triplets, odd numbers

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 5/3/2015 9:02 PM, Paul Wilde wrote:

Kalia,

I love David's Triplet # 5 (David Smuckler).  It has a lovely hey for 6
w/ a P Gypsy Meltdown to finish.


I just revisited David's site yesterday and looked through his set of 
triplets and that one looked really nice so I added it to my collection. 
 Thanks for the recommendation.


Kalia

[Callers] Itty-bitty dances, triplets, odd numbers

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

I just called a tiny dance last night, and went through several of my 
triplets along with a big pile of English 3-couple dances that we did to 
old-time tunes (that was a little weird for me but the dancers enjoyed 
them, so what the heck).  I was grateful to have the few triplets I had, 
and I'd like to expand my collection.  The ones I used were 
Microchasmic, David's Triplet #7 and Ted's Triplet #24, which all have 
distinctive bits in them (contra corners, round two/drop through, and a 
cast to invert then 1s lead up, respectively).  I like triplets that 
have some choreographic substance to them, something for the dancers to 
chew on.


Do you have favorites you enjoy dancing as well as calling?  I get the 
impression sometimes that triplets are "that thing you do to fill time 
until the real dancing starts," but 3-couple sets can be a whole lot of 
fun.  And sometimes they can save your butt as a caller.


We had lots of odd numbers last night, so in addition to the triplets 
and 3-couple English dances I used dances like Domino 5 (5 dancers) and 
Pride of Dingle (for 9).  For a short while we had 4 couples and did 
contras but most of the evening was "other."  Got any good dances for 
odd numbers?


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Dance length/dances per evening

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

I usually warn bands that I tend to run dances just a little shorter 
than other callers.  My habit is about 5-and-a-bit dances an hour, 12 
minutes (give or take) from the start of teaching one to the start of 
teaching the next, but that definitely varies.  Size, energy, chattiness 
and skill level of the crowd make a huge difference, symmetry (or not) 
of the dance, the music (does it fit the dance really well?  Is it just 
a smokin' tune that should run a little longer?  Is it really fast, so 
the dancers will poop out earlier?), even the floor condition can affect 
how long I'll run.  I have a really hard time estimating when I'm 
halfway through a dance, and much prefer to give bands 3-and-out, though 
I frequently flex on that if they've got another tune in the wings, as 
Ryan mentions below.


Reading the responses from other callers tells me that my 12-minute 
timing sense isn't far off from other folks, but it may be that here in 
the Bay Area I run a little shorter than average.  Seems like the bands 
are always changing tunes right when my spidey-sense tells me it's time 
for "last 3".


Kalia Kliban
Sebastopol, CA

On 4/27/2015 2:20 PM, Ryan Smith via Callers wrote:

There's a band I work with on a pretty regular basis that usually
follows my lead, but will occasionally ask "For this set, can we choose
when to go out?"  I trust them not to run it too long, and letting them
choose when they go out gives them a lot of control over the musical
experience, which ultimately seems to work well for the dancing
experience.  I'll sometimes signal a band when they're not ready to go
out yet, and I'm usually willing to be negotiated up from 3 more times
to 5.  More than that, and we're starting to wear out the dancers.

I think it's worth mentioning that if you know from the outset that you
are going to want to run a dance longer or shorter than your average,
for whatever reason, that if you communicate that to the band in advance
it will help make sure that you're not cutting them off just as they
wind up or leaving them sitting on a tune that they really didn't mean
to play that long.  I know some bands that like to be signaled when you
get to the middle of the dance, and will even ask to be signaled a
little early for certain sets of tunes.

Re: [Callers] Dance length/dances per evening

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

Yeesh.  This sounds like a recipe for a difficult evening, unless it's 
one of those very rare bands where the musicians are really watching 
what's happening on the floor.


Do you have the option of not working with this band in the future?

Kalia

On 4/27/2015 1:58 PM, Donald Perley via Callers wrote:

Just a guess.. they have arrangements for each set and feel miffed if
they get cut short without getting through each variation.

On Mon, Apr 27, 2015 at 4:52 PM, Amy Wimmer via Callers
 wrote:



I have an oddity coming up: a band for which I am calling has asked to
take the lead on when to end the dances. I figure one evening of that
can't hurt, if it keeps the band happy. I will take notes. The leader
of this band has control issues and knows what's best for everyone.

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[Callers] Applause or Not...

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 4/22/2015 7:08 PM, Erik Hoffman via Callers wrote:

Hi All,

There are several places where almost no applause occurs after a dance. In some communities, when 
I've been subjected to that experience, I've asked, "were we off tonight?" The reply 
usually is something like, "no, the dance was fine (or even great), we just head for our next 
partner..." I know sometimes it's just the night. Sometimes, though, it's the community's 
habit. I spoke with a renowned musician the other day, who will no longer play for a certain 
series. One of the reasons: lack of applause -- lack of that palpable sense of appreciation.

I think dancers don't often know that applause really makes the band and caller 
feel better. If they feel better they play better. And, as a dancer, applause 
usually makes me feel better, too. Any ideas on how to encourage applause? Or, 
if you're in one of those communities where applause is minimal, does it bother 
you?



I had that experience a while back at one of our local contras, when I 
was calling with a really hot band.  We'd finish a dance, get a few 
claps and then just crickets.  It was really depressing and upsetting. 
The dances were going ok, the music was smoking and then... nothing. 
I've just looked back into my dance log and the comment I wrote later 
that night was "I don’t know what was up, but it felt bad-weird from the 
stage."  Applause really does make a difference.


Kalia

Re: [Callers] Anyone seen this sequence?

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

I'm not entirely clear on what's happening in B2 1-4.  One possible 
stumbling point, though, is that pass-throughs are almost always by the 
right shoulder, so you'll need to come up with a really strong way to 
teach that it's left (LEFT, no, the _other_ left).


Kalia

On 4/16/2015 3:32 PM, Ric Goldman via Callers wrote:

Hi folks,

In the midst of a discussion with some dancers during the break at a
recent gig, this dance sequence came up.Has anyone seen its like?

Allemandery, My Dear Watson – improper

A11-4(New) Nbrs alle R 1-1/2

5-8Gents alle L 1-1/2 (end in front of and facing Ptnr)

A21-4½ hey (PR, WL, NR, GL)

5-8Ptnr swing

B11-4Women alle R 1-1/2

5-8Nbrs swing

B21-4Balance ring; pass by Nbr (pass thru backwards) L-shoulder and turn
back L to…

5-8(Old) Nbrs alle L 1-1/2 (to next cpl)

Thanx, Ric Goldman



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[Callers] Promo video (was Solo fiddler or recorded music)

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

On 3/27/2015 12:34 PM, Brooks Hart via Callers wrote:

Thanks, Ben!  I will hang in there.

Someone posted this video in our facebook group.  It's cute and well
done. It has inspired me to see this other small dance, and the
statement, "Making mistakes is part of the fun," has really stuck with me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj-nIMA_f5E=share

Brooks


This is an excellent promo video, and I'd send this to anyone interested 
in dipping their toes in as a new dancer.  It's friendly, relaxed, 
non-intimidating...  I especially liked "Don't have the proper attire? 
Neither do we!" line.  it's welcoming and a little silly.  Thanks for 
sharing this.


Kalia
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Re: [Callers] Name this Robert Cromertie dance!

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

So while the rest of the line is turning itself inside out, W1 is not 
involved at all?  I thought W1 was part of the inversion, thus ending up 
on the R end of the line once it was facing up. I was having the same 
confusion Keith was.  So to clarify, lines of 4 down the hall after the 
N swing.  W2 (2nd from the L) raises R hand to swap the gents, while W1 
simply turns to face up.  At the end of this maneuver all are next to 
their partners in the line o' 4, ready for to come back up the hall and 
swing.  Have I got that right?

Kalia

On 7/23/2014 10:34 AM, Dave Casserly via Callers wrote:

Ahh, I see: it's the A1/A2 where there's confusion.  It's the second
*lady* who does the right hand high, left hand low.  So, after that
move, she is facing up the set, with her neighbor in her left hand, and
her partner in her right hand.  The first lady is on the left end of the
set, facing up.  So the balance and swing is on the side of the set, not
in the middle.  The gents do NOT stay in the same place after the down
the hall; they switch places with each other when coming up.


On Wed, Jul 23, 2014 at 1:28 PM, Keith Tuxhorn > wrote:

A1/A2... I'm on the outside, holding my N's R hand... With the Dixie
twirl, I'm still in that spot. When we bend the line, my P and I are
above the 2s, in reversed position.
B1: All are swinging in the center of the set. When the swing
finishes, all are back to IMP position where they started.
B2: With one petronella, I move to the side with my P. When I CA
twirl, I'm turning with a N to progress.

In B1, if the M cross to their P and swing, then you progress the
wrong way. Is the instruction left out in B1 "W cross to P"... ?

Keith


On Wed, Jul 23, 2014 at 12:08 PM, Dave Casserly
> wrote:

Hi Keith,

The dance works fine-- I'm not sure where the confusion is.
  Partner swing is on the side of the set, so one petronella
means you're facing up and down the set, next to your partner.
  A CA twirl then makes you progress.  1s and 2s are indeed
across from each other when they swing, which is almost always
true when you swing your partner, and when 1s and 2s are across
from each other, you're on the same side of the set with your
partner.

In other words:
"1s and 2s are across from each other to swing, and when they
finish."  Yes.
"A petronella would put your partner on the same side . . ." No.

-Dave


On Wed, Jul 23, 2014 at 12:37 PM, Keith Tuxhorn via Callers
> wrote:

This dance doesn't work the way I read it. 1s and 2s are
across from each other to swing, and when they finish. A
petronella would put your partner on the same side; a CA
twirl would then send you and your P in opposite directions.

Keith Tuxhorn
Austin TX


--
David Casserly
(cell) 781 258-2761 





--
David Casserly
(cell) 781 258-2761


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[Callers] Good ender

[Kalia Kliban via Callers]

If Chris Weiler, who wrote A1 Reel, is reading this, I'd like to thank 
you for a really good ender dance.  It's a simple, low-piece count 
Becket that ends with a partner balance and swing.  It gets the caller 
out of the way in a hurry and lets the dancers and the band have a great 
time at the end of the program.


Here's a link to Chris's website, for those who'd like to find the notes:
http://caller.chrisweiler.ws/dances.htm

Kalia
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Re: [Callers] choreography

[Kalia Kliban]

Contra Quad by Seth Tepfer.
Flaherty Will Get You Everywhere by Bob Isaacs
Greenfield Petronella by Chris Ricciotti (dbl prog)
Joel's In The Kitchen by Sue Rosen (the petronella's in the A2)
Petronella Stomp by Tom Lehmann (A2 again)

And rhythmically similar are dances that start with box circulates, like 
Chris Page's Chinese New Year.


See you at Folklife!
Kalia

On 5/19/2014 1:50 PM, Joy Greenwolfe wrote:

Other dances with petronella balance and twirls in the A are The Gypsy Bride by 
Robert Cromartie and the String Beings (which goes with the tune of the same 
name), and Go To Moondance for Fun by Dean Snipes.

Joy
Durham, NC

On May 19, 2014, at 4:17 PM, Joe Micheals wrote:


Folklife is coming up in Seattle this weekend.  Looking for dances with Petronella's in the 
"A" part of the dance (besides the original).   I came up with Heart Beat Contra, 
Cure for the Claps & Barberella.  Any others top of mind?
-Joe Micheals
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[Callers] Differing styles of techno contra

[Kalia Kliban]

Hi all

I have a question about two different styles of techno contra.  The 
question is mostly directed at folks who have done both, since I'm 
curious about whether you have a preference and if so, why.  Some techno 
contras have continuous music -- the dancers just drop in or out at the 
bottom whenever they feel like it, and the caller treats the night like 
one long medley.  The other kind is more like a regular contra.  The 
caller teaches a dance, the music starts, the dance runs for however 
long it runs, and then it stops and folks re-partner for the next one.


As a dancer, which style do you prefer?  How about as a caller?

Kalia

[Callers] Good ending dances

[Kalia Kliban]

Time and again, I find myself wondering what makes a dance a good one 
for ending an evening.  Looking at lists like Seth Tepfer's "Groovin' 
Dances to End an Evening" 
(http://www.dancerhapsody.com/handouts/DanceEndEvening3.pdf), it's hard 
to see what the dances he singles out have in common with each other. 
Some are balancey, some oozy, some have lots of swings, some only one, 
levels of complexity vary widely, some end with a partner swing and some 
don't...  Is it just a total crapshoot, a conjunction of a good tune and 
happy dancers, or something actually inherent in the dance pattern?


Speak, o hive mind, upon this subject.

Kalia