[Callers] Spring Cleaning

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

How often do folks on here clean out (or not) their dance collections? I
went through mine this evening and found some that I never call and keep
meaning to, but it never happens -- even though some I recall really
enjoying when I danced them. When and how do you decide to take a dance out
of your collection?

In clutter,
Maia
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Re: [Callers] Saving myself after a crash

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Yeah, I agree with everything said here. If you DO decide to go the hash
calling route, definitely let the crowd know that you’re doing something
different and deviating on purpose: with a “listen up” or something like
that.

Often the dancers DO sort themselves out, and the dance can just go on. If
I screwed up a call, I like to make an extra big point of it the next time
through—either saying it louder/more deliberately, getting the hall to “say
it with me: long lines forward and back” or something—to acknowledge that
_I_ fucked up and it wasn’t the dancers’ fault.

On Sun, Sep 22, 2019 at 7:21 PM David Harding via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> I agree with Jim.  As a dancer, I've danced through a fair number of
> bouts of caller confusion.  My two cents:  What seems to me to work best
> is for the caller to know at least one point in each dance that we might
> call an anchor point.  "Oops, I slipped up there.  Find your partner and
> swing on the side."  Or something, preferably with their partners
> because if they are lost they probably don't know who their neighbors
> are at the moment.  From that point, tell them to wait for the music,
> then continue from there.  Waiting is easier than responding to hash
> calling, especially unexpected hash calling.
>
> Dave Harding
>
>
> On 9/21/2019 10:01 PM, jim saxe via Callers wrote:
> > Becky,
> >
> > I may be off-base about this, and I'd welcome differing opinions from
> other list members, especially if they're based on actual experience, but I
> expect you would find some dancers who seemed *amazingly* resistant to
> dancing a hash-called recovery routine of the sort that you describe.  It's
> just not the sort of thing contra dancers are trained to expect.
> >
> > Some of the dancers who can most easily remember how the dance was
> supposed to go (if you hadn't muffed a call and sent things of the rails)
> will want to continue doing what they "know" they're supposed to do and try
> to help their partners and neighbors to do the same.  Unless they think
> you're going into a contra medley, they may think the calls for your
> attempted recovery routine are just more mistakes.
> >
> > The least skilled dancers--the ones who are most dependent on the
> surrounding dancers to get them through the pattern of a dance--may just
> have their brains totally full of stuff like "Uh-oh! Something feels wrong!
> I'm confused! What's going on here? It's probably my fault! Oh, dear; oh,
> dear; oh dear!" and not have any attention left over for listening to your
> calls. And if they do try to listen, they might expect that you are
> attempting to tell them how to do the dance they've just been doing (as
> opposed to the improvised thing you're actually calling) and they may be
> surprised that what you say isn't putting them into a familiar place.  And
> if they do get to a place that seems familiar, they might next try to do
> the thing they have been habituated to do when they get to that familiar
> place, even if it's not what you call at that point, and even if doing that
> habitual thing won't help them recover because they're at the "familiar"
> place 8 or 12 bars later than they would have been there in the original
> dance.  Moreover, those less skilled dancers may also have "experienced"
> dancers nearby trying to "help" them do whatever those experienced dancers
> "know" should come next, which, as I said earlier may not be your recovery
> routine.
> >
> > If the dance is fairly straightforward, with no out-of-minor-set
> interactions (so that, for example, there are no interactions with
> "shadows" and you don't temporarily progress to new neighbors then revisit
> previous neighbors before progressing for good) a possible recovery method
> would be to admit that you goofed and then, as the end of the tune
> approaches say something like "OK.  Just look for your next neighbor
> somehow.  WAIT for the music. ... Ready ... set ... Balance and swing" (or
> some other appropriate thing if the dance begins a different way).
> >
> > Then you may still have to deal with couples that somehow get stranded
> between two foursomes.  The usual rule in this case is that the stranded
> couples should go to the bottom of their set.  If they don't know to do
> that on their own, you could tell them: "If you're left out, go to the
> bottom" or  "If you don't have another couple to dance with, go to the
> bottom" or "Left-over couples, just go the end of the line."  And they
> might do it.  Or they might react as if somebody had just turned off your
> microphone and erected an inch-thick plexiglas wall in front of the stage.
> >
> > There might also be some people who have found a new neighbor to start
> the next round of the dance but who are somehow in a different foursome
> from their partner.  If they can't sort that out on their own, I can't
> think of anything the caller can say over the mic that will help, short of
> bringing the dance to a stop 

Re: [Callers] Empowering people to say "Yes" while also empowering them to say "No"

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

This is a really interesting question! I've also certainly worried about
this tension, especially in re: people's right to decline any dance. A
friend of mine once described it in a nifty way: "you can always decline a
dance" is consent 101. It's the basic lesson, and you really want folks
(esp. the folks with societal conditioning against saying "no") to
internalize it. After that is solid, though, you get to consent 201: "you
can always say 'no', but there are all sorts of reasons you might say 'no',
and it's worth thinking about where those feelings come from. Is it a
matter of personal safety, or does this person not look like the people you
usually socialize with, or...?"

I think my biggest follow-up question to you is: when you talk about
wanting to empower people to say "yes", is this a need you've seen, or just
think theoretically could exist? Even with the degree to which the dance
community has started empowering people to say "no", the vast, vst
majority of people still do the twirls and still make eye contact, and I
don't see people shrugging off those options just for the hell of it. So I
guess I'm asking: what behavior are you seeing in these arenas that
concerns you?

I will grant that declining dances is a thornier subject, because there ARE
a bunch of folks in our community who people are less excited to dance with
for some really unfair reasons (e.g. fat folks, disabled folks, etc.) This
is definitely something we as a community need to talk about and address to
make contra a welcoming space to all.

I know that my friend group tries very consciously to set examples of
asking everyone to dance, and I've heard a good line (on SharedWeight?):
"you never know who might give you your best dance of the evening." My
personal check on myself (esp. at dance weekends, where I'm likely to be
really excited about dancing with all my friends that I rarely see) is that
I need to have at least one "mediocre" (quote unquote) dance per < day /
session / etc. > -- which means I need to dance with someone who's less
skilled, or with an unknown quantity/someone I might not otherwise dance
with. (And then if they turn out to be a splendid dance partner, well, yay!
I had better go ask someone *else* outside of my usual circle to dance.)

I also want to remind everyone that the burden of inclusivity lies not just
on the ask-ees, but also -- maybe moreso? -- on the ask-ERs. Our concern
should not JUST be "if we tell people (often women*) that when asked, they
may say no, what if they say no to EVERYONE?" 1. Ask-ees (women) are not
the gatekeepers of the contradance experience, but more importantly, 2. If
we want to create an inclusive dance community, we also have to foster one
where ask-ERs (often men, though decreasingly so) will ask everyone,
regardless of age, size, gender, ability, etc.

* I imagine that the "empowerment to say no" disproportionately comes into
play for women being asked to dance, so if we're worried about "being able
to say 'no'" going "too far", that has some implicit gender behind it in my
mind.

Final thought: we talk so much about how it's okay to say "no" because many
of us -- especially women -- are so conditioned AGAINST saying "no". It
would be a pretty cool problem to have, I think, if people felt comfortable
enough advocating for their boundaries and physical limitations that we had
to focus hard on empowering people to say "yes" again.

There are a bunch of (not necessarily organized) thoughts. Thanks for
broaching this topic!

- Maia

On Fri, Sep 13, 2019 at 6:32 PM jim saxe via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> In discussions among dance callers and organizers, online and off, a
> variety of topics come up from time to time that might be grouped under the
> heading of empowering people (especially new dancers) to say "No".  Some
> examples:
>
>  * Assuring new dancers that it's ok to decline an invitation
>to dance as someone's partner, and that doing so doesn't
>oblige them to give a reason nor to sit out the dance.
>
>  * Telling people that if they're not comfortable making eye
>contact, they can look at, for example, the forehead or
>ear of the person with whom they're swinging as a way to
>avoid getting dizzy from looking at the walls.
>
>  * Teaching how to decline a partner's or neighbor's attempt
>to lead a twirl or other embellishment.
>
> Without downplaying the importance of empowering people to say "No", I'd
> like to know if anyone has ideas about empowering people to say "Yes"
> (while still empowering them to say "No").  For example:
>
>  * While I agree that nobody should feel compelled to dance
>with any particular partner, I think it's nice to be in a
>community where most dancers are comfortable dancing with
>a variety of partners and where a single person arriving
>with no regular partner of group of friends doesn't face
>the 

Re: [Callers] Riffing on "The Nice Combination"

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Ooh, neat stuff!

As long as we're messing with classic dances:

*I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! *(improper)
A1: LLFB
new LARKS right-hand chain (to P)
A2: full hey (larks by R)
B1: P b
B2: larks allemande L 1.5
N swing

On Sat, Aug 3, 2019 at 9:11 AM Gregory Frock via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> For title, might I suggest "The Dixie Combination"? The couple trading
> figure is often called a Dixie Twirl, and there already exist "A New
> Combination" and "The Nice Combination".
>
> On Fri, Aug 2, 2019 at 2:28 PM Luke Donforth via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> I was programming for tonight, and looked at Gene Hubert's classic "The
>> Nice Combination" (N B, Dwn 4, turn as cpls, C L 3/4, P S, Ld/robin
>> chain, LHS); and wondered what the simplest variant that would flow well
>> with a gents/larks chain instead of a ladies/robins chain.
>>
>> What I've come up with is below. Anyone got a prior on it? Anyone got a
>> variant with a gents/larks chain they like more?
>>
>> The New Combination
>>
>> A1 ---
>> (4,12) Neighbors balance and swing
>> A2 ---
>> (6) Down the hall four line
>> (4) Pair on the right make an arch, gent/lark on the left lead through,
>> lady/robin on the right walks to far side, inverting the line
>> (8) Come back up the hall and bend the ends
>> B1 ---
>> (6) Circle left 3/4
>> (10) Partners swing
>> B2 ---
>> (8) Gents/Larks chain (pull by left, courtesy turn with neighbor)
>> (8) Right-hand star 1x
>>
>> I'm planning on using Gene's original tonight in Belfast (and probably
>> the vast majority of the time, it's a great dance); but I thought an
>> accessible gents/larks chain would be nice.
>>
>> I appreciate hearing your thoughts.
>>
>> --
>> Luke Donforth
>> luke.donfo...@gmail.com 
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Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Ah, whoops, wrong link:
http://contra.maiamccormick.com/blog/2019/04/07/techno-reflections/

On Sun, Apr 7, 2019 at 12:26 PM Maia McCormick  wrote:

> (And if anyone wants to refer back to this, it's up on my blog
> !)
>
> On Sun, Mar 31, 2019 at 4:27 PM Maia McCormick  wrote:
>
>> Thanks for the advice, all! While it's fresh in my mind, wanted to report
>> back and call out a few pieces of advice from this thread that were
>> particularly helpful (or that I ignored to my own detriment). Just my
>> observations--hope this is helpful to someone!
>>
>> *1. Demos are indeed hard*
>> I agree with everyone who warned me away from demos at a techno -- it's
>> dark and hard to see, and dancers just want to groove. "If you need a demo
>> for it, the dance is probably too hard" was a great yardstick for my
>> programming, thanks Chuck!
>>
>> *2. Keep calling*
>> Jonathan nailed it -- if the phrasing is at all hard to follow, dancers
>> will tend to swing too long. I definitely found myself calling more than I
>> would in a non-techno contra (by the end of the dances, my calls were all
>> one beat, but I was often still calling at least some moves). Knowing to
>> look out for over-long swings in particular was super helpful, thanks!
>>
>> *3. Choose easy dances*
>> I got cocky in the second half and programmed some stuff that was above
>> the level of the crowd, and had to fall back to Hey in the Barn when a
>> weird box circulate dance fell apart. The advice that many people gave is
>> super sound -- it's harder to see and harder to focus, dancers probably
>> just want to groove etc., and so easier dances are the way to go.
>>
>> I want to add one more thing I noticed, which is that *I as a caller
>> couldn't get a read on the hall because it was so dark*. If I'd been
>> better able to see how ropy the previous dance had been, or that a lot of
>> the experienced people had left at the break, I would have been better able
>> to adjust my program. So there's another point in favor of calling easier
>> dances -- not so much that they dancers can't handle it, as a rule, but
>> rather that you as a caller can't tell as easily whether the dancers can
>> handle it.
>>
>> *4. If you can, listen to the tracks in advance!*
>> I worked with Mark Moore (DJ Flourish) from Philly--he's great! Among
>> other things, he sent me his tracks in advance, which meant that I could
>> get extra precise with the dance/track pairing--super helpful because it's
>> much harder to request specific track features to go with a dance when
>> working with a DJ than with a band. Also, I knew how many potatoes to
>> expect for each track, if they were at all fake-out-y, etc.
>>
>> On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 5:17 PM Maia McCormick  wrote:
>>
>>> Ah, more specific questions!
>>>
>>> - have you found on-the-floor demos doable at techno, or should I not
>>> even try?
>>> - techno no-walk-through's: do they work?
>>>
>>> On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 5:13 PM Maia McCormick 
>>> wrote:
>>>
 Hey folks,

 I haven't called all that many techno contras, and I'm slated to do so
 this weekend. Any tips or things to keep in mind about how techno differs
 from your standard contra evening? (Particularly curious about anything
 relating to dance choice and dance length.)

 Cheers,
 Maia

>>>
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Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

(And if anyone wants to refer back to this, it's up on my blog
!)

On Sun, Mar 31, 2019 at 4:27 PM Maia McCormick  wrote:

> Thanks for the advice, all! While it's fresh in my mind, wanted to report
> back and call out a few pieces of advice from this thread that were
> particularly helpful (or that I ignored to my own detriment). Just my
> observations--hope this is helpful to someone!
>
> *1. Demos are indeed hard*
> I agree with everyone who warned me away from demos at a techno -- it's
> dark and hard to see, and dancers just want to groove. "If you need a demo
> for it, the dance is probably too hard" was a great yardstick for my
> programming, thanks Chuck!
>
> *2. Keep calling*
> Jonathan nailed it -- if the phrasing is at all hard to follow, dancers
> will tend to swing too long. I definitely found myself calling more than I
> would in a non-techno contra (by the end of the dances, my calls were all
> one beat, but I was often still calling at least some moves). Knowing to
> look out for over-long swings in particular was super helpful, thanks!
>
> *3. Choose easy dances*
> I got cocky in the second half and programmed some stuff that was above
> the level of the crowd, and had to fall back to Hey in the Barn when a
> weird box circulate dance fell apart. The advice that many people gave is
> super sound -- it's harder to see and harder to focus, dancers probably
> just want to groove etc., and so easier dances are the way to go.
>
> I want to add one more thing I noticed, which is that *I as a caller
> couldn't get a read on the hall because it was so dark*. If I'd been
> better able to see how ropy the previous dance had been, or that a lot of
> the experienced people had left at the break, I would have been better able
> to adjust my program. So there's another point in favor of calling easier
> dances -- not so much that they dancers can't handle it, as a rule, but
> rather that you as a caller can't tell as easily whether the dancers can
> handle it.
>
> *4. If you can, listen to the tracks in advance!*
> I worked with Mark Moore (DJ Flourish) from Philly--he's great! Among
> other things, he sent me his tracks in advance, which meant that I could
> get extra precise with the dance/track pairing--super helpful because it's
> much harder to request specific track features to go with a dance when
> working with a DJ than with a band. Also, I knew how many potatoes to
> expect for each track, if they were at all fake-out-y, etc.
>
> On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 5:17 PM Maia McCormick  wrote:
>
>> Ah, more specific questions!
>>
>> - have you found on-the-floor demos doable at techno, or should I not
>> even try?
>> - techno no-walk-through's: do they work?
>>
>> On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 5:13 PM Maia McCormick  wrote:
>>
>>> Hey folks,
>>>
>>> I haven't called all that many techno contras, and I'm slated to do so
>>> this weekend. Any tips or things to keep in mind about how techno differs
>>> from your standard contra evening? (Particularly curious about anything
>>> relating to dance choice and dance length.)
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>> Maia
>>>
>>
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[Callers] Another maybe-extant dance

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Tossed this together last night to go with one of my techno DJ's tracks,
because I wanted petronellas in the B, but NOT Tica Tica Timing/Old Time
Elixir. Does this exist?

*Hold You In My Arms*, improper
A1: (new) larks alle. L 1 1/4 (ish)
partner swing
A2: long lines forward and back
ravens chain (to N)
B1: bal. the ring and spin R (2x)
B2: neighbor balance and swing
(look on slight L. diagonal for new larks)
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Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Thanks for the advice, all! While it's fresh in my mind, wanted to report
back and call out a few pieces of advice from this thread that were
particularly helpful (or that I ignored to my own detriment). Just my
observations--hope this is helpful to someone!

*1. Demos are indeed hard*
I agree with everyone who warned me away from demos at a techno -- it's
dark and hard to see, and dancers just want to groove. "If you need a demo
for it, the dance is probably too hard" was a great yardstick for my
programming, thanks Chuck!

*2. Keep calling*
Jonathan nailed it -- if the phrasing is at all hard to follow, dancers
will tend to swing too long. I definitely found myself calling more than I
would in a non-techno contra (by the end of the dances, my calls were all
one beat, but I was often still calling at least some moves). Knowing to
look out for over-long swings in particular was super helpful, thanks!

*3. Choose easy dances*
I got cocky in the second half and programmed some stuff that was above the
level of the crowd, and had to fall back to Hey in the Barn when a weird
box circulate dance fell apart. The advice that many people gave is super
sound -- it's harder to see and harder to focus, dancers probably just want
to groove etc., and so easier dances are the way to go.

I want to add one more thing I noticed, which is that *I as a caller
couldn't get a read on the hall because it was so dark*. If I'd been better
able to see how ropy the previous dance had been, or that a lot of the
experienced people had left at the break, I would have been better able to
adjust my program. So there's another point in favor of calling easier
dances -- not so much that they dancers can't handle it, as a rule, but
rather that you as a caller can't tell as easily whether the dancers can
handle it.

*4. If you can, listen to the tracks in advance!*
I worked with Mark Moore (DJ Flourish) from Philly--he's great! Among other
things, he sent me his tracks in advance, which meant that I could get
extra precise with the dance/track pairing--super helpful because it's much
harder to request specific track features to go with a dance when working
with a DJ than with a band. Also, I knew how many potatoes to expect for
each track, if they were at all fake-out-y, etc.

On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 5:17 PM Maia McCormick  wrote:

> Ah, more specific questions!
>
> - have you found on-the-floor demos doable at techno, or should I not even
> try?
> - techno no-walk-through's: do they work?
>
> On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 5:13 PM Maia McCormick  wrote:
>
>> Hey folks,
>>
>> I haven't called all that many techno contras, and I'm slated to do so
>> this weekend. Any tips or things to keep in mind about how techno differs
>> from your standard contra evening? (Particularly curious about anything
>> relating to dance choice and dance length.)
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Maia
>>
>
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Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

I don't think you would ever play a random non-vetted techno track for
contra, though. The DJs who get booked for these events are specifically
techno contra DJs.

On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 11:59 AM jim saxe via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> On Mar 28, 2019, at 2:39 PM, Bob via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> > ...
> > Live or mixed recordings? If live then it should be perfectly square
> AABB. If mixed, the only thing you can count on is 8-beat phrases. ...
>
> Can you even count on 8-beat phrases if someone, such as a caller or a
> knowledgeable DJ, hasn't vetted the tracks?
>
> I know practically nothing about techno music, but recordings in other
> genres that aren't made for phrased dancing will not necessarily follow
> strict 8-beat phrasing.  For instance ...
>
> It's pretty common for a folk singers accompanying themselves to play a
> few bars of guitar strums--and not always the same number--while trying to
> remember the first line of the next verse.  While I haven't gone looking
> for examples, I'd be surprised if such variable inter-verse vamping didn't
> sometimes appear even on studio recordings.
>
> In some fiddle traditions, such as southern and Quebecois, besides
> straight tunes and wildly crooked tunes, there are also tunes that are
> mostly straight but have an occasional odd phrase.  Even medleys of
> straight tunes can sometimes have some extra beats at the transitions
> between tunes, as heard around 0:59 in this video:
>
>  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLUyg173n_M
>  Yo-Yo Ma - Fiddle Medley ft. Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile
>
> Line dances are mostly choreographed to music that's in multiples of 8
> beats, but exceptions are hardly unusual.  Also, in order to fit recordings
> that were made for listening and not specifically for dance routines,
> line-dance step sheets may prescribe various irregularities in the
> routines.  Here are just a few of the examples a little searching turned up:
>
>
> https://www.learn2dance4fun.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Boot-Scootin-Boogie.pdf
>  Boot Scootin’ Boogie
>  38 count, 4 wall, beginner line dance
>
>
> https://www.copperknob.co.uk/stepsheets/every-little-honky-tonk-ID132260.aspx
>  Every Little Honky Tonk
>  32-count, 4 wall line dance with 12-count tag after wall 2
>
>  http://tinalinedancers.com/data/documents/Came-Here-To-Forget.pdf
>  Came Here To Forget
>  Description: Line Dance - 2 Wall (24ct.) - Intermediate 1 Restart, 2
> Tags
>  Sequence: 24, 24, Tag 1, 14cts- Restart, 24, 24, Tag 2 (6cts.), 24,
> 24...
>
> For some other examples of music that's largely, *but not entirely*, in
> chunks of 8 beats (or eight bars of triple meter), try listening to any of
> these while tapping your foot or fingers and counting along:
>
>  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg0kfd7kow4
>  Paul McCartney - When I'm 64
>
>  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33o32C0ogVM
>  Julie Andrews - My Favorite Things
>
>  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbyAZQ45uww
>  Nancy Sinatra - These Boots Are Made for Walkin'
>
> So here's my question, for those of you who are more familiar with techno
> music than I am:  If you play a random track not already "vetted" for
> phrasing, if you find a place where there's sufficiently discernible
> phrasing to establish a starting point for your "mental metronome of 8
> counts" (to quote Donna Hunt), if you use that mental metronome to carry
> you through a part where phrasing is less evident, and if you then get to
> another part with findable phrasing, how reliably (or not) can you expect
> that the phrases will still line up with your mental eight-counts?
>
> --Jim
>
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[Callers] Does this exist? (Rory O'Moore > Partner Balance and Swing)

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

I wanted a closer with a Rory O'Moore and a partner balance and swing. This
is what I came up with. Does this (or a variant thereof) already exist?

*Wave Goodbye* (becket L)
A1: (on the L diagonal) give and take N (to lark's side)
N swing
A2: ravens chain (to P)
ravens alle. R 1 1/2 to short waves (LH to N, ravens by R)
B1: bal. L and R, slide L (short waves, RH to N, larks by L)
bal. R and L, slide R, ravens sliding extra to pass each other
B2: P b
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Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Ah, more specific questions!

- have you found on-the-floor demos doable at techno, or should I not even
try?
- techno no-walk-through's: do they work?

On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 5:13 PM Maia McCormick  wrote:

> Hey folks,
>
> I haven't called all that many techno contras, and I'm slated to do so
> this weekend. Any tips or things to keep in mind about how techno differs
> from your standard contra evening? (Particularly curious about anything
> relating to dance choice and dance length.)
>
> Cheers,
> Maia
>
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[Callers] Calling techno?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Hey folks,

I haven't called all that many techno contras, and I'm slated to do so this
weekend. Any tips or things to keep in mind about how techno differs from
your standard contra evening? (Particularly curious about anything relating
to dance choice and dance length.)

Cheers,
Maia
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[Callers] New left-hand chain dance (riffing on Star Trek)

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

I danced Mike Richardson's Star Trek

recently and was super into the "star and single file promenade to the next
star" progression (and also the right-shoulder hey straight into a swing
niggled me just a bit). So, I re-jiggered it. I welcome thoughts, and if it
strikes your fancy, definitely call it and let me know how it goes!

Star Trek: the Next Generation
 (becket
R)
A1: hands-across left-hand star 1x
larks LH chain (to N)
A2: full hey (larks pass L) and ravens ri­co­chet
B1: P walk-around and swing
B2: prom­en­ade across
left-hand star 1x and walk along the set (ravens in the lead) to pro­gress

Be­fore the B2 star, note dir­ec­tion of pro­gres­sion (i.e. to the RIGHT);
dan­cers walk along the set single file in this dir­ec­tion, with larks
following their partner.
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Re: [Callers] New Dance

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Neat dance! Would you consider swapping the order of the B2, so it was long
lines and then gents chain? Reasons being:
- lines, chain is more idiomatic than chain, lines
- long lines give dancers a sec to thing before the gents chain
- you get lovely momentum from the chain into the circle L

Good stuff!

Cheers,
Maia

On Wed, Mar 6, 2019 at 10:09 PM Jack Mitchell via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Looks like a nice flow, but it sure does have a lot of clockwise
> motion.
> On Mon, Mar 4, 2019 at 3:17 PM Donna Hunt via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>> Hi All:
>> I wrote a dance to honor my BFF and his long time service to the Swingin'
>> Tern Dance in NJ, writing the puns for their fliers for 35 years and doing
>> publicity (and to honor his upcoming birthday). Many of you know him, Doug
>> Heacock (pronounced Heycock).  If you don't know him as a dance organizer,
>> perhaps you've seen one of his many dance videos on his youtube channel?
>>
>> Feel free to call the dance and let me know how it works for you.  The
>> dancers at Swingin' Tern this past Saturday enjoyed it.
>>
>> Proud as a Heacock  IMP  by Donna Hunt
>> A1  Circle Left 1x
>> 1/2 Pousette with Partner CW
>>
>> A2 Balance ring (with original neighbors)
>> with Partner: Ladies roll away and Gents sashay
>> Swing Neighbor
>>
>> B1Star Right 3/4,   Swing Partner
>>
>> B2  Gents Chain (left hand pull by)
>> Long Lines forward and back
>>
>>
>> Donna
>> Web Site:  donnahuntcaller.com
>> Email: dhuntdan...@aol.com
>> Cell:  215-565-6050
>>
>>
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> --
> Jack Mitchell
> Durham, NC
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[Callers] Name that Dance, part 3312

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Trying to track down name + author for two deliiightful dances I had at
Dance Flurry, can anyone help?

Dance the first, improper:
A1: circle L 1x
N two-hand turn 1.5
A2: larks alle. L 1.5
half hey (P by R)
B1: P balance and swing
B2: long lines, lark roll partner away
circle R 3/4

Dance the second, improper, starts in short waves:
A1: bal. wave, spin R
N pull by L, ravens chain
A2: full hey (ravens by R)
B1: P balance and swing
B2 ...? (circle L 3, pass thru and dosido I think?)

Thanks all!
- Maia
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Re: [Callers] Feeling old and creaky. Recommend some "youth"?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Oh gosh, this is an interesting question because as a young dancer/caller,
I suppose I'm sort of like the fish who asks "what's water?" but for what
it's worth, a few moves that I can think of as particularly popular with me
and my cohort are box circulates, mad robins, and pousettes, as well as a
good circle right. Maybe square through and Rory O'Moore make this list as
well.

A few dances I'd recommend: Folklike Frolic
 by Lindsey Dono, Playground Stomp
 by Ron
Blechner, A Thing of Trust  by Chris Page,
or my own Barack Me Obamadeus
, Neighbor
Neighbor On the Wall
,
or Violet
Ice  (the latter is
a set up in difficulty but also was quiet literally written to be a
cool-hip-young-people dance, so do with that what you will).

You can of course get more where these came from by looking at stuff from
the younger choreographer crowd -- in addition to the folks who wrote the
above dances, Yoyo Zhou  comes
to mind as one of that demographic. I'm sure there are others that I'm
blanking on at the moment. I've also  yet to dance a boring Rick Mohr
 dance.

Let me know if you want any more specific recommendations!

Best of luck,
Maia

On Fri, Nov 2, 2018 at 4:26 PM Amy Cann via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hi all. I'm heading in to Boston this weekend to call a double bill for
> BIDA -- family dance for an hour, then potluck, then the regular Sunday
> evening.
>
> It's intergenerational, leans young/collegiate, uses "Larks/Ravens" (just
> found this out) and is in general all things hip.
>
> I am staring at my cards and feeling... Ralph Page-y. Out of date.
> Wa too many proper dances. Not enough "cool moves".
>
> Old fashioned.
>
> Help me?
>
> What's your current dance that adapts well to gender-role-free, has an
> interesting "hook", isn't too hard, keeps everyone moving, and in general
> comes across as "cool"?
>
> Low mental piece count, but interesting pieces?
>
> Contras, sicilians, circles all welcome. Also links to any past threads on
> here w/ a similar focus.
>
> I'm going to go drink my Postum.
>
> Amy
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Re: [Callers] Teaching a Mad Robin

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Oh man, I'm excited to hear others' response to this question, because I've
also struggled with this. For a while I used "dosido; now walk that same
path while looking at your partner" and found it to be... less effective
with the beginners than I wanted it to be.

Honestly, sometimes I demo it, especially if there's something interesting
that comes after--while it definitely CAN be taught from the mic, sometimes
a demo is just clearer.

When teaching it from the mic, I've taken to doing it like this:
1. "This is another of those fancy moves that gets you right back where you
started. *At the end of this move, you'll be right back here*."
2. "So it's important to *stay on the side of your set*. Lots of people
feel like they should cross. Don't."
3. "Lock eyes with your [partner]. You're going to walk a little circle
around your [neighbor], while looking at your partner.
4. "[Ravens] take a small step forward, [larks] take a small step back."
5. "Keep your eyes on your partner. Ravens, step to your left and larks
step to your right, sliding past your neighbor."
6. "Now larks step forward and ravens step back; larks step right and
ravens step left, sliding past your neighbor again."
7. "You're back where you started, hooray! Now let's try that up to
speed..." etc.

On Mon, Sep 24, 2018 at 12:39 PM Don Veino via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> As may be obvious, I love Mad Robins. I'm still working on what is the
> best way to teach them.
>
> I know about the "Dosido/now face your Partner/on the same path as the
> Dosido, do a Mad Robin" approach and have used it.
>
> I've heard other callers I admire admonish to not use the "wrong" move as
> a teaching tool for the "right" move - as it's that much harder to
> "unlearn" the original bit.
>
> What I've observed is that newer dancers may end up focused on the wrong
> person, facing the wrong direction, and possibly doing the "Dosido Twirl"
> when using the Dosido teach. But they *do* follow the correct path (so
> long as the caller remembers to say SeeSaw vs. Dosido as the correct
> analogue) on the floor. Some can make the facing adjustment and some
> persist in facing the wrong way. If the dance tolerates the facing
> differences, all is OK.
>
> As a practice, I actively solicit feedback on my calling at each gig. Out
> of a recent one I got into an extended discussion about the Mad Robin teach
> with a dancer whom had struggled with their beginner partner in a sequence
> that evening. I had read that crowd as highly experienced so did only a
> basic teaching of the move, which they reported having not got through to
> this beginner. They freely offered that all was well around them, it was
> just a frustration in their own experience. We touched on the merits and
> drawbacks of the Dosido teach (which I chose not to use in that situation
> as it appears to annoy experienced dancers, plus because of the above
> points).
>
> I'm trying to evolve to something that teaches both the correct motion and
> the facing direction at the same time - *without* taxing experienced
> folks' patience. I have my own ideas on this but welcome others'.
>
> So, how do *you* teach a Mad Robin most effectively and efficiently? Do
> you vary it by context, crowd composition, other factors?
>
> Thanks,
> Don
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[Callers] Interesting dances without role-specific calls?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Hi folks,

I’m introducing a dance series to larks/ravens next weekend, and to ease
everyone into it (/in case of emergency), I want some dances handy that are
non-trivial and interesting (so, not glossary dances, but one an
intermediate-to-advanced crowd would enjoy) WITHOUT role-specific
calls—i.e. nothing where you tell the gents to X or the ladies to Y. What
are your favorites?!

Cheers,
Maia
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Re: [Callers] dances for Halloween

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

The ones that come to mind are:
- Wizard's Walk
- The Zombies of Sugar Hill

Happy calling!

On Fri, Aug 17, 2018 at 11:12 AM barbara153--- via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hi everyone!
>
> I will be calling a dance on Halloween and would like to know if anyone
> can share some Halloween themed dances with choreography if possible.
>
> I do have :
> Halloween Twist
> Chainsaw
>
> Thanks and keep on calling...
> Barbara G
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Re: [Callers] Glossary dances with promenade, no chain/RL through?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Yep, Alex, I totally agree on the point of promenade (or RL thru, or
ladies' chain) > circle L not flowing great! So I'm amending my original
criteria: *dances with a promenade, no chain or RL thru, and promenade is
NOT followed by a circle L*.

Thanks for the suggestions, folks :D

On Mon, Aug 13, 2018 at 1:00 PM Yoyo Zhou  wrote:

> On Sun, Aug 12, 2018 at 6:08 PM, Maia McCormick via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>>
>> Had a busload of beginners at my dance last night and realized I have a
>> hole in my program -- I don't have any good glossary/beginner-friendly
>> dances with a promenade but no chain or RL through. Any suggestions?
>>
>>>
> A nice one is Promenade Right by Luke Donforth (note: it has a circle
> right):
> http://www.madrobincallers.org/2013/06/25/three-tries-at-simple-dances/
>
> Also, some of the dances below can be adapted by changing a right and left
> thru to a promenade across.
>
>
> On Mon, Aug 13, 2018 at 11:42 AM, Alexandra Deis-Lauby <
> adeisla...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I find that there aren’t many dances with a Promenade or RL that are NOT
>> followed by a circle left. When Dancing promenades to circle lefts, I don’t
>> like them as an experienced dancer because they don’t feel good and as a
>> caller I watch new dancers struggle with them because they don’t flow
>> logically unless the dancers correct for it (which one won’t know how to do
>> unless they’ve been dancing a very long time and are attuned to momentum.)
>>
>
> I agree with your assessment about promenade/right and left thru to circle
> left.
> I find right and left thru or promenade can also often be followed by one
> of these, which flows better:
>
> - ladies chain (very common)
>
> - left hand star (example: True Grit by Chris Page:
> http://chrispagecontra.awardspace.us/dances/#true-grit)
>
> - circle right (see above)
>
> - hey, ladies pass right (example: Zoey and Me by Sue Rosen:
> http://dance.suerosencaller.com/dancedb/view/?title=Zoey+and+Me)
>
> - ladies allemande right (example: A-1 Reel by Chris Weiler:
> http://caller.chrisweiler.ws/dances.htm#a1reel)
>
> Yoyo Zhou
>
>
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[Callers] Glossary dances with promenade, no chain/RL through?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

>
> Hi folks,

Had a busload of beginners at my dance last night and realized I have a
hole in my program -- I don't have any good glossary/beginner-friendly
dances with a promenade but no chain or RL through. Any suggestions?

>
Thanks!
Maia
>
>
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Re: [Callers] Dance ID and question

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Yep, Chart Guthrie!

Two that come to mind for me:
Princeton Petronellas by Bob Isaacs
Square Route by Bob Isaacs & Chris Page

On Sat, Jul 28, 2018 at 10:27 AM, Mac Mckeever via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> That looks like 'Will You Marry Me' by Seth Tepfer
>
> Other ones that come to mind
>
> Hey in the barn by Chart(?) Gutherie
> Tinkie Winkie by Ron Buchannon
>
> I am sure there are several others
>
> Mac McKeever
>
> On Saturday, July 28, 2018, 9:16:26 AM CDT, Richard Hart via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>
> Two questions. First I collected the following dance long ago. Does anyone
> know the author and title?
>
> Becket formation.
>
> A1: Circle L 3/4
>   Flatten circle to wavy line or 4, woman in middle.
>   Balance wave. W alla main L 1 x.
>
> A2: N Bal & Swing.
>
> B1: Circle L 3/4
> Flatten circle to wavy line of 4, women in middle.
> Balance wave. W alla main L 1 x.
>
> B2: P Bal & Swing.
> Slide L to progress.
>
> In this dance, the A and B parts are essentially mirror image repetitions
> of each other. Do you know of any other dances where the A and B parts
> repeat in a similar way? The only other dance that I know of that does this
> is Chart Guthrie’s Hey in the Barn.
>
> Thanks, Rich Hart.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
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Re: [Callers] Circles, Crazy Circles

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Re: g -- that's totally fair, and an experience I've had on the floor as
well, but oh man when it's done right it's lovely! Maybe worth spending
some time teaching the right way to do it from the mic? (This is something
I might do myself the next time I call one, come to think of it.) Another
option: select for dances with a g *with partner* (rather than with
neighbor) so couples can adjust to each other refine their resistance,
playfulness, etc. rather than starting from square zero with a new N every
time. Might make for a more satisfying experience. Just a thought.

Cheers,
Maia

On Tue, Jul 10, 2018 at 9:58 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Thanks Luke,
> You made some great points, and offer some good choices.
> My experience as a dancer is the Give & Take is rarely satisfying.  Seldom
> is there any resistance, or playfulness, as intended by Jennings.
> I try not to call more than one G in an evening.
> Peace, Rich
>
> On Tue, Jul 10, 2018 at 8:00 AM, Luke Donforth 
> wrote:
>
>> Lots of great dances already suggested.
>>
>> Talking about the bigger picture programming thing, I hear wanting to
>> change the feel and not have circles in every dance. While Give and Take
>> might feel like a cheat to you, it will feel different for the dancers, and
>> it's probably not egregious.
>>
>> You can also add a fair bit of texture with just different results from
>> the circle. A swing ->circle & swing transition is going to feel different
>> than a circle into a chain, or a circle left to a circle right, etc. I
>> think two no-circle dances in a half is a good thing to shoot for, but also
>> showing the various ways the circle can be used.
>>
>> A lot of 4x4 dances don't use circles, so if your crowds are up for (and
>> large enough) for those, they can get you there and add other program
>> texture.
>>
>> As for specific dances that haven't been mentioned yet, here are some
>> with 10+ calls from my box:
>> Marion's Delight by Carol Kopp
>> A turn for the better by Bill Pope
>> Friday Night Fever by Tony Parks
>> Rocket City Romp by Cis Hinkle
>> iFlirt by Luke Donforth
>> 2nd Course by Luke Donforth
>> A Sure Thing by Chris Page (has Circle Right)
>> Treasure of the Sierra Madre by James Hutson (no N swing)
>> Amherst and Wooster by Chris Weiler (no N swing)
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Jul 9, 2018 at 8:16 PM, Rich Sbardella via Callers <
>> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Helo Folks,
>>>
>>> This group has been so quiet lately.  The group has been so important
>>> for me as I developed my Contra calling repertoire and skills, so I thought
>>> I'd initiate a conversation.
>>>
>>> As I sit here programming a dance I realize that I do not have many
>>> dances without circles.  Many that I do have, do not have a Neighbor Swing,
>>> or have a Give & Take to cheat it out.  Those factors limit where and when
>>> I can use them.
>>>
>>> I generally like to program two no circle dances in each half, and also
>>> a NO neighbor Swing dance in at least one half if not both halves of an
>>> evening.  Any thoughts on this?
>>>
>>> Does anyone want to share some modern contras that have no Circles and
>>> no Give & Takes, but include a partner and neighbor swing.
>>>
>>> Here are a few I have used.
>>>
>>> Just for NEFFA, Linda Leslie
>>> Rollin' and Tumblin'. Cis Hinkle
>>> Rocket City Romp, Cis Hinkle
>>> Travels with Rick and Kim, Shari Miller Johnson
>>> Friday Night Fever, Tony Parkes
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Rich Sbardella
>>> Stafford, CT
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Luke Donforth
>> luke.donfo...@gmail.com 
>>
>
>
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[Callers] Multiple partner swings?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Hey folks,

For REASONS, I'm in search of dances with more than one partner swing --
preferably one of which is a balance and swing. Thoughts?

Cheers,
Maia
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Re: [Callers] Politically Correct?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

(Ah, to clarify, by "offered a dance to split them from their partner" I'm
talking about the phenomenon that Louise mentioned, where a queer couple
(or heck, even same-gender friends!) are offered dances by people to slot
them into opposite-gender couples.)

On Wed, Mar 28, 2018 at 11:56 AM, Maia McCormick  wrote:

> While Jeffrey makes a compelling point, I want to chime in with another
> thought: *that not having these discussions is just as divisive (if not
> more so) than having them*, just in ways that are harder for some sides
> of the community to see. While people make (very valid) claims that long
> discussions about terminology, altering words to singing squares, etc. are
> alienating some more established members of the community, to *not* have
> these discussions is to alienate many other folks, particularly people our
> dance scene has done less well by in the past -- young people, people of
> color, queer people, trans people... the list goes on.
>
> And if it doesn't look to you like these people are being alienated, that
> might be because the alienation started so early that they just never came
> back to another contra dance, after they heard the caller using language
> that made them deeply uncomfortable, or were "offered" a dance to split
> them from their partner, or looked out on the crowd and didn't see anyone
> who looked like them.
>
> So yes, having these discussions may make some folks uncomfortable, and I
> want to strive to minimize this discomfort; at the same time, many are made
> deeply uncomfortable by the status quo, often it ways it's hard to see
> (because often the response to this kind of discomfort is to leave the
> community and not come back--so we have a pronounced sample bias). To
> dismiss these conversations because they're divisive or uncomfortable is to
> prioritize the unity and comfort of one group (the established contra
> scene) over another (all those who might have been contradancers, were the
> community more welcoming to them), and that doesn't sit right with me.
>
> Cheers,
> Maia
>
> On Wed, Mar 28, 2018 at 11:43 AM, Jeffrey Spero via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>>
>> He’s right… and she’s right.  How can they both be right?
>>
>> Well… they ARE both right.  There is no clear cut answer on this. People
>> who feel strongly on one side or the other may like to think there is a
>> clear cut answer, but if one thing seems clear to me by the amount of back
>> and forth on this subject it’s that there are differing valid opinions.
>>
>> In the meantime, while we argue endlessly about whether to gypsy,
>> walk-around, face-to-face, vis-a-vis, spiral, gyre, turn by the eyes,
>> whimsy, kipsy, tipsy, shmipsy - or just avoid the move altogether, we lose
>> why many came to contra dancing in the first place.  Contradances were a
>> place where people would come to actually get away from all of the
>> controversies of life. It was a place where people from differing stripes
>> with differing beliefs (OK, maybe I’m being idealistic here - let’s not kid
>> ourselves, it’s mostly liberal whites!) can come together and leave the
>> real world issues behind and just dance and be friendly.  And now? These
>> controversies have made their presence known on the dance floor.  And it’s
>> not just gypsies or no gypsies.  It’s also questions of role identification
>> (men/women, ladies/gents, larks/ravens, jets/rubies) and whether people
>> should boycott dance weekends that gender balance.
>>
>> Please don’t misunderstand me… I have very little fight in this game.
>> I’m moving to the point where I couldn’t care less about what we call moves
>> or people.  I’m just tired of the endless discussions that go nowhere
>> except to continue to divide people and make the dance community cohesive.
>> Maybe I’ve become an old fart who just wishes we could have the dance
>> community we had decades ago that wasn’t so fraught with divisiveness.  Or
>> maybe there’s something to what I have written here.  Maybe the decline in
>> attendance at dances across the country has less to do with terminology -
>> and more to do with people not wanting to be a part of yet another
>> community that is becoming polarized.  Do I have a solution?  Nope.  And
>> neither does anyone else, or else it would have been solved by now.  So
>> maybe we should just cool it for awhile and see if maybe tolerance for
>> personal preferences might help make the community less contentious. Can we
>> just get back to dancing for the pure joy of it?
>>
>> My two cents.
>> ___
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>>
>
>
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Re: [Callers] Politically Correct?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

While Jeffrey makes a compelling point, I want to chime in with another
thought: *that not having these discussions is just as divisive (if not
more so) than having them*, just in ways that are harder for some sides of
the community to see. While people make (very valid) claims that long
discussions about terminology, altering words to singing squares, etc. are
alienating some more established members of the community, to *not* have
these discussions is to alienate many other folks, particularly people our
dance scene has done less well by in the past -- young people, people of
color, queer people, trans people... the list goes on.

And if it doesn't look to you like these people are being alienated, that
might be because the alienation started so early that they just never came
back to another contra dance, after they heard the caller using language
that made them deeply uncomfortable, or were "offered" a dance to split
them from their partner, or looked out on the crowd and didn't see anyone
who looked like them.

So yes, having these discussions may make some folks uncomfortable, and I
want to strive to minimize this discomfort; at the same time, many are made
deeply uncomfortable by the status quo, often it ways it's hard to see
(because often the response to this kind of discomfort is to leave the
community and not come back--so we have a pronounced sample bias). To
dismiss these conversations because they're divisive or uncomfortable is to
prioritize the unity and comfort of one group (the established contra
scene) over another (all those who might have been contradancers, were the
community more welcoming to them), and that doesn't sit right with me.

Cheers,
Maia

On Wed, Mar 28, 2018 at 11:43 AM, Jeffrey Spero via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

>
> He’s right… and she’s right.  How can they both be right?
>
> Well… they ARE both right.  There is no clear cut answer on this. People
> who feel strongly on one side or the other may like to think there is a
> clear cut answer, but if one thing seems clear to me by the amount of back
> and forth on this subject it’s that there are differing valid opinions.
>
> In the meantime, while we argue endlessly about whether to gypsy,
> walk-around, face-to-face, vis-a-vis, spiral, gyre, turn by the eyes,
> whimsy, kipsy, tipsy, shmipsy - or just avoid the move altogether, we lose
> why many came to contra dancing in the first place.  Contradances were a
> place where people would come to actually get away from all of the
> controversies of life. It was a place where people from differing stripes
> with differing beliefs (OK, maybe I’m being idealistic here - let’s not kid
> ourselves, it’s mostly liberal whites!) can come together and leave the
> real world issues behind and just dance and be friendly.  And now? These
> controversies have made their presence known on the dance floor.  And it’s
> not just gypsies or no gypsies.  It’s also questions of role identification
> (men/women, ladies/gents, larks/ravens, jets/rubies) and whether people
> should boycott dance weekends that gender balance.
>
> Please don’t misunderstand me… I have very little fight in this game.  I’m
> moving to the point where I couldn’t care less about what we call moves or
> people.  I’m just tired of the endless discussions that go nowhere except
> to continue to divide people and make the dance community cohesive.  Maybe
> I’ve become an old fart who just wishes we could have the dance community
> we had decades ago that wasn’t so fraught with divisiveness.  Or maybe
> there’s something to what I have written here.  Maybe the decline in
> attendance at dances across the country has less to do with terminology -
> and more to do with people not wanting to be a part of yet another
> community that is becoming polarized.  Do I have a solution?  Nope.  And
> neither does anyone else, or else it would have been solved by now.  So
> maybe we should just cool it for awhile and see if maybe tolerance for
> personal preferences might help make the community less contentious. Can we
> just get back to dancing for the pure joy of it?
>
> My two cents.
> ___
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Re: [Callers] Leading, consent in embellishments

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Hi Jeanette,

Exciting workshop! I'm glad to see this discussed!

So if I'm understanding you correctly, you seem to be contrasting the idea
of a "leader" with the fact that moves must be "executed with mutual
consent", which I find interesting. For me, those ideas are not at all at
odds. I see the "leader" as the person who initiates, or *offers*, the
embellishment, and the "follower" as then deciding to execute it or not. To
put it another way: in my opinion, *all embellishments are composed of an
offer (the "lead") and either an acceptance or declination*. In this
framework, designating one person the "leader" is *not* at odds with
consensual twirling--the "follower" has agency every step of the way!--and
it can be helpful to establish "right of way" in twirling.*

I teach a workshop on dance floor communication, and I am happy to talk
more if you like! But my initial suggestion for a workshop activity/focus
is: *break down non-verbal communication of flourishes*. What does an offer
look/feel like? An acceptance? A declination? Have people practice
physically declining flourishes: when the lead lifts an arm to offer a
twirl, the follow gently tugs down, rather than following that upward
twirly momentum. (Note that the twirlee can also do the offering -- e.g. I
am a lady doing a chain, and I get to the gent and lift my arm up over my
head to indicate that I want to twirl. But the gent still gets to accept or
decline! Maybe they have a bad shoulder and can't lift their arm up that
far, etc. So that's an idea to put in people's heads as well.)

Many follows aren't aware that they're *allowed* to decline flourishes, and
many leads have no idea what a declination feels like! So this is a GREAT
thing to practice. Emphasize to folks that they can decline a twirl for any
reason; and that if someone declines your twirl, not to take it personally.
(Cuz boyyy I have seen some men get huffy when I don't want to twirl for
them.) And then PRACTICE so people get really aware of what signals to
physically "listen" for. (In my workshop I had the crowd do a dance** with
lots of flourish opportunities for both roles, and encouraged participants
to play with whether they offered flourishes or not, whether they accepted
or declined, and to really listen for their partner's signals.)

Hope some of that was helpful! Like I said, I have lots of ideas on this
topic and am happy to talk further. Thanks for teaching this, and best of
luck -- let us know how it goes!

Cheers,
Maia

* As John mentioned, twirls etc. can be initiated by either role, and I've
certainly danced those dances where both roles are twirling all over the
place! They're delightful, but I also find them super confusing because I
never know if I should be in "initiate" or "respond" mode -- I appreciate
designating one person the "leader", i.e. the person who initiates
flourishes (and then switching around the "leader" if need be).

** Apogee  by Chris
Page, though in retrospect I might have picked something easier... maybe
PB  by Bill Olson?
If you don't have a crowd that's up for a gent's chain, though, most any
dance with a lot of flourish opportunities (chains, balance and swing's,
lines down the hall, etc.) will do.

On Tue, Mar 6, 2018 at 12:21 AM, Jeanette Mill via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hello
>
> I am devising a workshop for a festival here in Australia, and have long
> been of the opinion that there are no "leaders" in contra dance couples.
> Moves should be executed with mutual consent, especially embellishments
> such as turning under out of a ladies' chain. Conventions such as waltz
> hold swings are really useful here. In Australia, other related dance forms
> use a variety of swing holds, which lead to confusion and interruption of
> flow. I plan to place some emphasis on conventions of holds, such as
> allemande and star holds.
>
> I would value people's opinions on this, as it may ruffle some long-held
> conventions. Any words of wisdom from the gender free dance community would
> be especially welcome.
>
> Also, I believe that if dancers are to enjoy embellishments, they must be
> by mutual consent. This is so difficult to establish in a microsecond. I
> would value any thoughts on how to advise reaching this consent in the
> context of a contra dance.
>
> Looking forward to your thoughts
>
> cheers
> Jeanette
>
> Jeanette Mill
>
> Contra dance caller, musician, workshop facilitator
>
> Canberra, Australia
>
> Phone: +61 (0)449 686 077 <+61%20449%20686%20077>
>
> Email: jeanette_m...@yahoo.com.au
>
> Skype: jeanette.mill
>
>
>
> "The piano - 88 little mistakes waiting to happen" Kate Barnes
>
>
>
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>

Re: [Callers] Dance logs and record-keeping

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

I keep a log for my own records of my programs and observations (about the
evening, sequence of dances, my teaching, etc.) -- sure, it helps me not
repeat myself when I call two local dances in the same month, but mreh,
only other callers or a very small handful of dancers would notice me
repeating a dance or two in a situation like that. Mostly I use this record
to force myself to reflect on my calling, which is super value for finding
both things that are working well and things that I could improve on.

On Wed, Mar 7, 2018 at 1:02 PM, Donald Perley via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Our dance format features multiple callers in an evening.  I recall
> one week we had 2 of the callers call the same dance (different names
> for the same
> dance) and very few of the dancers noticed.  As mentioned, different
> music (especially tempo and time signature) can make it feel like a
> different dance.
>
> On Tue, Mar 6, 2018 at 10:28 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.
> >
> > I do not even keep track of what dances I have called.  I start off fresh
> > when planning a program.  If I called somewhere and they ask me back next
> > year - no one will notice if a couple dances are the same. It probably
> means
> > they were really good ones.
> >
> > I agree that a different band, etc can make the same dance feel very
> > different and that a lot of dances are very similar.  It bothers me more
> > when a caller programs an evening with several dances that all feel the
> > same.
> >
> > Mac McKeever
> > St Louis
> >
> >
> > On Tuesday, March 6, 2018, 8:22:25 PM CST, Winston, Alan P. via Callers
> >  wrote:
> >
> >
> > Oddly enough, I was just in Seattle at the end of February and had a
> > conversation about this with Lindsey Dono, who told me to my surprise
> that
> > dancers at Lake City, at least, will complain about getting the same
> dance
> > two weeks in a row, and said that there *was* a log kept of dances called
> > locally.
> >
> > So, Amy, I suggest checking with Lindsey and see if the effort is already
> > under way.
> >
> > In the SF Bay Area, I think our dance populations kinda slop around, so
> that
> > while a core of people may go to the central Bay Area dances (SF,
> Berkeley,
> > Palo Alto), East Bay people may also go to North Bay dances (San Rafael,
> > Petaluma) and North Bay people may go to Berkeley or SF but not usually
> Palo
> > Alto, while Monterey Bay people (Monterey, Santa Cruz) go to those dances
> > and some come up to Palo Alto, and some South Bay people (Palo Alto, San
> > Jose, etc) go to Santa Cruz or Monterey.  The result is that every dancer
> > does the dances that are called at the dances they happen to go to, it
> would
> > be a huge coordinating effort to keep all the dances at different dance
> > series with somewhat-overlapping attendance separate, and nobody but
> callers
> > seems to care anyway.
> >
> > For me personally, different band, different tune set pretty much equals
> > different dance even with the same figures - but also dances that are 3/4
> > the same figures as other dances feel like the same dances anyway.
> >
> > -- Alan
> >
> > On 3/6/2018 6:07 PM, Amy Wimmer via Callers wrote:
> >
> > Huh! I never thought of that for the dance we run. I keep a file of each
> gig
> > and the dances I called at each. I also write on each dance card the date
> > and location of each time I've called it, so I don't repeat myself too
> > often.
> >
> > There's a record of contra dances called at Northwest Folklife Festival.
> I
> > don't know how far back it goes.
> >
> > I'll talk to my fellow organizers about starting this at Emerald City
> Contra
> > Dance.
> >
> > -Amy
> >
> > On Tue, Mar 6, 2018, 5:42 PM Kalia Kliban via Callers
> >  wrote:
> >
> > 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
> 

[Callers] May the Fourth be with you!

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

For those of us lucky enough to be calling on May the Fourth (or it’s
sister holiday, Revenge of the Fifth): Anyone have some Star Wars-themed
dances to recommend?

Cheers,
Maia
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Re: [Callers] Looking for "fun" dances

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

At the risk of being a wet blanket, I've found Carmen’s Contra (the dance
with the hip checks) to be pretty uncomfortable to dance -- that's some
pretty close contact mandated by the choreography. If anyone on this list
chooses to the call this dance, I'd encourage you to offer an alternative
move that fits with the music but is less close/pelvic-ly intimate so that
dancers can make that choice for themselves.

Yours in wet blankets,
Maia

On Tue, Jan 30, 2018 at 8:15 PM, Delia Clark via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> *Here are a few dances I’ve found can enhance a silly atmosphere!*
>
> *Carmen’s Contra, which I think is by Lisa Greenleaf*
> *NOTE:  Men empty right pockets before dance!!*
>
>  *A*
>
> Circle left ¾, pass through – (8) *(progression)*
>
> Do-si-do next neighbor – (8)
>
> With same neighbor: clap, clap, bump, bump *(clap two hands, bump right
> hips)* – (4)
>
> With that neighbor swing – (12)
>
>  *B*
>
> Long lines forward and back – (8)
>
> Women allemande right, 1 1/2 – (8)
>
> Partners balance and swing – (12)
>
>
> *Aw Shucks! by Carol Copp*
> *NOTE: To teach the clapping, have everyone say together “Right, left,
> both, turn! Right, left both, swing!”*
>
> *A*
>
> Ones sashay down center – (8)
>
> Ones sashay back up stopping between the twos – (8)
>
> Ones face each other, clap one beat each: right, left, both and turn to
> face neighbors – (4)
>
> Neighbors facing each other clap: right, left  – (3)
>
> Neighbors swing – (9)  *End facing down the set in line of four*
>
> *B*
>
> Down the hall in lines of four holding hands *twos in the middle* – (8)
>
> Turn as a couple *(gents back up while ladies go forward)*, and come back
> up, ones in center – (8)
>
> Ones drop hands in middle of line, fall back into long lines
> *(progressed)* Ladies chain across – (8)
>
> Ladies chain back – (8)  *Ones are ready to sashay again, stopping
> between the NEXT twos.*
>
>
> *Casino Polka by Tony Parkes*
>
> *NOTE: It’s fun if neighbors take a dramatic cheek-to-cheek ballroom
> position*
>
> *A*
>
> Neighbors, heel, toe, sashay *(start with gent’s left foot, lady’s right
> foot)* (4) back in (4)
>
> *“Heel and toe and step together, step”*
>
> Repeat (8)
>
> Do-si-do neighbor (8)
>
> Swing neighbor (8) *(End facing across)*
>
> *B*
>
> Gents allemande left, 1 ½ times around (8)
>
> Partner swing on the side of the set (8)
>
> Circle left 1 ¼ times (8) *(end facing down or up)*
>
> Pass right shoulders through to next couple (8) *(progression)*
>
>
>
> <>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>
>
> Delia Clark
> PO Box 45
> Taftsville, VT 05073
> Office/mobile: +1-802-457-2075 <(802)%20457-2075>
> deliacla...@gmail.com
> www.deliaclarkconfluence.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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Re: [Callers] Looking for suggestions

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Two that come to mind:

Susie's Send-Off by Scott Higgs || becket L

A1: circle L 3⁄4 & pass thru

new N swing

A2: long lines

gents alle. L 11⁄2 → ocean waves (GL/PR)

B1: bal. wave, P alle. R 3⁄4 → long waves (ladies face out)

bal. wave & circ. (GX/♀loop)

B2: bal. wave & circ. (♀X/G loop)

P swing

---

Serendipity by Chris Page || becket R

A1: ladies alle. R 11⁄2 N swing

A2: circle L 3⁄4
P alle. R 11⁄2 to long waves (G in/L out)

B1: bal. & box circ. (GX L loop) & N alle R 1⁄4 to short waves*

bal. & walk fwd to wave, new N alle R 1⁄4 to long waves**

B2: bal. wave & box circulate (GX, L loop)

P swing

* ladies L in mid
** ladies out/gents in (facing P's back)



On Fri, Jan 26, 2018 at 8:30 AM, Jen Morgan via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> I think there's a version of Lamplighters that has both kinds of wave...
>
> Jen
>
> On 26 January 2018 at 13:23, Bill Olson via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>> *You Can't Get There From Here * by Carol Ormand (Improper, 10 June 1994)
>>
>> A1  Balance; allemande Right 3/4 (to long waves, Women facing in);
>> Balance; allemande Right 3/4 (to waves of four, Men in the middle)
>>
>> A2  Balance; Neighbors swing
>>
>> B1  Circle Left 3/4;  Partners swing
>>
>> B2  Circle Left 3/4;  Neighbors dos a dos 1.5 (to wave of four with the
>> next)
>>
>> Notes: It begins in a wave of four, with the women in the middle. Title
>> suggestion by John Kraniak.
>>
>>
>>
>> bill
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> *From:* Callers  on behalf of
>> Michael Barraclough via Callers 
>> *Sent:* Friday, January 26, 2018 6:43 AM
>> *To:* callers@lists.sharedweight.net
>> *Subject:* [Callers] Looking for suggestions
>>
>>
>> Anyone have a dance that they would like to share which has both short
>> wavy lines (across) and long wavy lines (along)?
>> --
>>
>> [image: Photo of Michael Barraclough]
>>
>> Michael Barraclough
>> http://michaelbarraclough.com
>> 
>>
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>>
>>
>
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[Callers] Balancing LEFT in a wave?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Recently called a dance with an allemande R into long waves, balance wave,
allemande L. Because of personal preference, I taught the balance as
"balance left, then right", but cuz I didn't teach it all that clearly, the
dancers defaulted back into balancing right first, and enough tricky stuff
was happening in the dance that I didn't wanna correct them in flight.

I'm just wondering: do others agree that a balance left makes more sense /
flows better in this context, or is this a weird personal preference? In
your opinion, does the flow of the balance left outweigh its potential
unidiomaticness?

Cheers,
Maia
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[Callers] Moving past self-flagellation

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

So after a gig, I find myself haunted by one or two missteps from an
evening — the rolling start that was a little muddy, the thing I didn’t
teach clearly enough so the dancers never quite got it — even though the
dancers adjusted and all had a good time, and I still had the hall’s trust
and goodwill at the end of the evening.

Is this a familiar experience for anyone? Assuming you’ve already learned
the lesson to be learned there, how do you move past it and stop
self-flagellating?Would love to hear some people’s thoughts!

Cheers,
Maia
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Re: [Callers] New Dance?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Your dance doesn't look familiar to me (for whatever that's worth)--though
I agree with Dugan's point that experienced dancers will take fewer that 8
counts to do that pousette and fewer than 8 counts to turn the star 3/4
(probably a lot fewer!), so it will potentially be a very, very long swing.
If you care, you could potentially get around that by doing a walk-around
and swing to eat up that extra time. Or just leave it and let the dancers
sort it out!

Agreeing with Dugan yet again, I've been calling that figure a "facing
star", which seems to work well and be descriptive.

And if you're itching for a dance with pousettes and facing stars, I
premiered this one of Ryan Carollo's at YDW this weekend and folks seemed
to dig it:

*Trip to Saratoga** by Ryan Carollo* || improper

*A1:* half pousette w/ P (gents pull)
facing star 1¼ (gents fwd)

*A2:* P walk-around & swing

*B1:* half hey (gents by L), ladies ricochet
N swing

*B2:* long lines & gents roll N
half pousette w/ P (ladies lead)

Ladies be proactive to catch P's hand in B2. B2 pousette should be
leisurely or ppl arrive at A1 early.

On Mon, Oct 2, 2017 at 5:09 PM, Bill Olson via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Mac, Well "Gypsy Star" and "Gypsy Waves" are two other Ravitz dances that
> have the interwoven long wavy lines and the "Gypsy Star", not sure if there
> are more. Probably.. But as long as you brought it up, the problem I found
> that most dancers had with the figures was NOT the Gypsy Star but rather
> the woven waves which, to many, were a little too "intimate" for comfort..
> Just my observation from admittedly a pretty small sample..
>
>
> bill
>
>
> --
> *From:* Callers  on behalf of Mac
> Mckeever via Callers 
> *Sent:* Monday, October 2, 2017 8:53 PM
> *To:* Dugan Murphy; callers
>
> *Subject:* Re: [Callers] New Dance?
>
> Cary's dance is Woven Waves.  I really liked it and called it several
> times - and I hav also danced it on several occasions
>
> I stopped calling it because I was not getting good feedback on the star
> figure from the dancers.
>
> Mac McKeever
>
> St Louis
>
>
> On Monday, October 2, 2017, 3:30:07 PM CDT, Bill Olson via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>
> Dugan and all, I don't know if Cary Ravitz actually "invented" the Gypsy
> Star but he wrote a dance entitled that and a lot of others that include
> it. Dugan, you're sort of Cary's protégé, right?, so you must know the
> dance. This is the same figure, correct??
>
>
> bill
>
>
> --
> *From:* Callers  on behalf of
> Dugan Murphy via Callers 
> *Sent:* Monday, October 2, 2017 8:16 PM
> *To:* callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> *Subject:* Re: [Callers] New Dance?
>
> Hi, Angela,
>
> I've been calling the figure a "facing star," when I bother naming it at
> all while teaching or prompting it.
>
> Also, nice dance, though I suspect that since experienced dancers tend to
> take fewer than eight beats to do half poussettes and 3/4 stars, I suspect
> that dancers may end up swinging for as many as 20 beats.
>
> Dugan Murphy
> Portland, Maine
> dugan at duganmurphy.com
>
> 
> DUGAN MURPHY 
> duganmurphy.com
> Dugan Murphy is a nationally known contra dance caller, co-organizer of
> Portland Intown Contra Dance, a Maine Storyteller, and a non-profit
> consultant. He's based in ...
>
>
> 
> DUGAN MURPHY 
> duganmurphy.com
> Dugan Murphy is a nationally known contra dance caller, co-organizer of
> Portland Intown Contra Dance, a Maine Storyteller, and a non-profit
> consultant. He's based in ...
>
>
>
> www.DuganMurphy.com
>
> 
> DUGAN MURPHY 
> www.duganmurphy.com
> Dugan Murphy is a nationally known contra dance caller, co-organizer of
> Portland Intown Contra Dance, a Maine Storyteller, and a non-profit
> consultant. He's based in ...
>
>
> www.PortlandIntownContraDance.com
>
> 
> Portland Intown Contra Dance 
> www.portlandintowncontradance.com
> Portland Intown Contra Dance is a weekly Thursday contra dance to live
> music in town Portland, Maine that is delightful, welcoming to all humans,
> and a heck of a lot ...
>
>
> www.NufSed.consulting
>
> 
> NUF SED 
> www.nufsed.consulting
> Nuf Sed is a Portland, Maine based communications & consulting boutique.
> We offer services like branding, marketing, public relations, online
> communications ...
>
>
>
>
> Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2017 14:03:37 -0400
> From: Angela DeCarlis 
> To: callers  >
> Subject: 

Re: [Callers] Multiple N swings / does this dance exist?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Thanks for all your contributions, folks!

To avoid a conflict, have officially renamed this dance to "Neighbor,
Neighbor On the Wall
<http://contra.maiamccormick.com/dances.html#neighbor,neighboronthewall>"
(it had a nice ring at the time, don't worry about it).

On Fri, Sep 22, 2017 at 1:05 PM, Bob Isaacs <isaacs...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Maia:
>
>
> If you're looking for something new, this was just written at the Labor
> Day Dance Away.  Jerry Tobin won the raffle, and asked for a swing-to-swing
> transition:
>
> Eight Years and Still Swinging
>
> Becket-R
>
>
> A1.  Long lines, ladies chain to N1
>
> A2.  Balance, Petronella, balance, Petronella
>
> B1.  N1 swing and roll off . . , N2 swing
>
> B2.  Gents allemande L 1 1/2, partner swing
>
>
> BTW, the title Good Fences was chosen for another auction dance this
> summer, this one for Margaret Pigman, Gregg Gorin, and Dan Vilter at Amweek
> 2017.
>
>
> Bob
>
>
> --------------
> *From:* Callers <callers-boun...@lists.sharedweight.net> on behalf of
> Maia McCormick via Callers <callers@lists.sharedweight.net>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, September 19, 2017 11:19 PM
> *To:* callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> *Subject:* [Callers] Multiple N swings / does this dance exist?
>
> Hey folks,
>
> Looking for a dance with multiple swings with the same N, and also
> preferably a P b, for a workshop I'm running on in-dance communication.
> Anyone have one to recommend?
>
> On a similar note, this is the dance I tossed off to fill this need: does
> it exist? If not, tentatively titling it "Good Fences".
>
> Improper
> A1: long lines forward and back
> (new) N swing
> A2: ladies chain to P
> half hey (ladies pass R)
> B1: P b
> B2: gents alle. L 1 1/2
> (same) N swing
>
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[Callers] Multiple N swings / does this dance exist?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Hey folks,

Looking for a dance with multiple swings with the same N, and also
preferably a P b, for a workshop I'm running on in-dance communication.
Anyone have one to recommend?

On a similar note, this is the dance I tossed off to fill this need: does
it exist? If not, tentatively titling it "Good Fences".

Improper
A1: long lines forward and back
(new) N swing
A2: ladies chain to P
half hey (ladies pass R)
B1: P b
B2: gents alle. L 1 1/2
(same) N swing
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Re: [Callers] Pirate Themed Dances!

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

A Pirate's Life for Me, by Nathaniel Jack (haaa Perry you were too quick on
the draw!)

Also, cheap trick, but the gimmick of Maggie Jo Saylor's dance is
petronella turn and instead of the claps, shouting "yo ho!" -- can be
applied to any petronella turn set to a jig.

On Sat, Sep 16, 2017 at 10:53 AM, Donald Perley via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Not exactly pirate, but Hull's Victory is nautical theme with waves
> and a horpipish
> dedicated tune.
>
> On Sat, Sep 16, 2017 at 10:29 AM, Don Veino via Callers
>  wrote:
> > Well, there's my The Love Pirate, which offers the softer side of the
> pirate
> > lifestyle: http://veino.com/blog/?p=1634
> >
> > On Sep 16, 2017 10:21 AM, "Angela DeCarlis via Callers"
> >  wrote:
> >
> > He- Ahem- AHOY, Shared Weight?
> >
> > Did you know that September 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day?
> >
> > Me neither, but the dance I'm calling tonight was sure to let me know! I
> > know there are a bunch of Pirate-themed dances out there (one that I
> heard
> > Maggie Jo Saylor called years ago springs to mind, with two consecutive
> wave
> > balances).  Send along some of your favorites, maybe others with gigs
> this
> > weekend will find they come in handy!
> >
> > Thanks!
> > Angela
> >
> > www.angeladecarlis.com
> >
> > ___
> > Callers mailing list
> > Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
> >
> >
> >
> > ___
> > Callers mailing list
> > Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
> >
> ___
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>
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[Callers] Does this dance exist?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Dear Weight-Sharers,

I came up with dance looking for flirty eye-contact dances, hey-like
figures up and down the set, and satisfying promenade -> circle R
transitions. Does it exist? (If it's original enough for me to claim as my
own... whelp, I don't have a title yet.)

???, improper
A1: neighbor gypsy (r sh.) and swing
A2: gents alle. L 1 1/2
half hey (pass partner by R sh.)
B1: partner gypsy (r sh.) and swing
B2: promenade across
circle R 3/4 and pass thru by L sh.
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Re: [Callers] Looking for a particular sort of becket dance

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

...Wow, this is embarrassing, I can't find any dances in my deck that fit
your criteria! Seems like 90% of my easier becket dances start with circle
L 3/4. Well, I hope you find what you're looking for!

Cheers,
Maia

On Thu, Jun 29, 2017 at 5:58 PM, Kalia Kliban via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> 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
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>

Re: [Callers] Full hey spanning two phrases?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Thanks for the dances, all!

I suppose I should restate my question a little: for you, what sort of
things make a hey-spanning-two-phrases feel like it WORKS? To quote Jerome,
what makes it seem like "a feature and not a bug"?

On Tue, Mar 28, 2017 at 10:19 PM, Vicki Morrison <tallygal...@yahoo.com>
wrote:

> Take All of the Credit, None of the Blame by Larry Elderman has a full hey
> with bonus balances that spans 24 beats, if this is similar to what you're
> looking for:
>
> A1 N dosido 1.25 to short wavy lines (8); bal R-L (4), N alle rt 1/2, men
> alle left 1/2
> A2 give P your right hand and bal (4), 1/2 (pass by right) to the other
> side (8), give P your right hand and balance
> B1 1/2 hey, P swing
> B2 prom; ladies chain
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Mar 28, 2017, at 10:10 PM, Rich Sbardella via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> Maia,
>
> I wrote a simple square "Hey Square, Let's Dance" that has the hey
> crossing phrases.
> It must be called Heads, Sides, Heads, Sides to have a complete mixer
> square.
>
> A1 Heads Lead Right & Circle to a Line, F
> A2 Ladies Chain, Start a Full Hey
> B1 Finish the Hey, Swing the one you meet
> B2 Promenade
>
> I have only shared this with one caller, and she remarked that the hey
> crosses phrases, and she would not use it.
> I must often use it wit singing calls, or square dance music that has
> strong 8 beat phrasing.
>
> Bob Isaacs "To Turn a Phrase" has the Oval crossing phrases.  I have
> danced it when it feels good, but also when it did not.  I think the music
> selection is more critical.
>
> Rich Sbardella
>
> On Tue, Mar 28, 2017 at 7:31 PM, Maia McCormick via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>> Hi folks,
>>
>> I'm running up against a wall in a dance I'm currently writing, and
>> it's making me wonder: what dances, if any, have a full hey that spans two
>> sections* and really WORKS?  I feel like in general, if I danced such a
>> dance, I would roll my eyes at the choreographer "breaking the rules", but
>> I can also imagine delightful dances a hey spanning two phrases that
>> justify their own existence and feel great to dance.
>>
>> Thoughts? Dances to point me to?
>>
>> As always, in dance,
>> Maia
>>
>> * e.g. hey occurs during the last eight counts of B1 and the first
>> eight of B2
>>
>> ___
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>> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>>
>>
> ___
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>
>

[Callers] Full hey spanning two phrases?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Hi folks,

I'm running up against a wall in a dance I'm currently writing, and
it's making me wonder: what dances, if any, have a full hey that spans two
sections* and really WORKS?  I feel like in general, if I danced such a
dance, I would roll my eyes at the choreographer "breaking the rules", but
I can also imagine delightful dances a hey spanning two phrases that
justify their own existence and feel great to dance.

Thoughts? Dances to point me to?

As always, in dance,
Maia

* e.g. hey occurs during the last eight counts of B1 and the first eight of
B2

[Callers] In search of un-premiered contras!

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Hi choreographer folks,

I'm leading a session at NEFFA called "Cutting-Edge Contras", consisting of
un-premiered (or very sparsely called) contras. If anyone has any dances
they'd like to throw my way for consideration, please do so!

Cheers,
Maia

Re: [Callers] Advanced Contras

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Gosh, if only I had time and place to call all the whacky advanced dances
in my deck! Look forward to seeing what comes up here!

Some of my dances that I'll take this opportunity to plug:
Happy Jew Queer 
(double shadow dance, includes a smooth promenade > circle R > rollaway
seq.)
Too Many Joshes 
(gents LH chain and gents RH chain)
Gimmie the Good Stuff
 (leave partner and
magically find your way back)

And some by others that I adore and wish I had more opportunities to call
(I'm restraining myself from posting too too many...):
Apogee  by Chris Page
(ladies chain > allemande/orbit, gents chain > allemande/orbit)
Du Quoin Races

by Orace Johnson (box circulate, smooth circle > rollaway figures)
(see below) *If I Was Dead and It Wouldn't Go to Waste* by Rachel Fifer
(star prom, leave your partner, ricochet hey... everything but the kitchen
sink)
(see below) *Scooter* by Tom Hinds (ladies chain while gents scoot R and
courtesy turn someone else)
(see below) *Wonderland* by Al Olson (#1 lady / #2 gent turn contracorners
so everyone gets a P b at the end)

---

*If I Was Dead and It Wouldn’t Go to Waste* by Rachel Fifer || becket right
(expert)
A1: (R diag.) gents alle. L 1/2 (and ladies scoot R), pick up N and star
prom acr. (NO WHIRL)
ladies chain (to P)
A2: turn away from P to bal. ring, gents roll shad. to other lady’s place
(gents don’t move -- rollaway WITHOUT SASHAY)
bal. ring & spin R
B1: P gypsy (4)
ladies to center & ricochet (4)
gents start half hey (GL, NR, LL)
B2: P b
Notes - in B1 ricochet, ladies enter from L and exit on R so gents can pass
L

*Scooter* by Tom Hinds || becket left (expert)
A1: long lines
ladies chain acr., gents scoot R and courtesy turn a new N*
A2: ladies gypsy R 1x (straight acr., NOT lady w/ your P)
N swing (from courtesy turn)
B1: w/ same couple acr., circle L 3/4 and pass thru. along set
P do-si-do
B2: P b
* on ends, gents scoot around to other side of set
** opp.-role person in this couple is your shadow, pass thru. by them

*Wonderland* by Al Olson || improper (expert)
A1: 1s 1/2 figure 8 thru 2s
long lines
A2: #1 lady + #2 gent turn contracorners
B1: P b
B2: R/L thru acr.
ladies chain (to N)
During figure 8, all shift a bt to L diag. so #1 lady/#2 gent ready for
contracorners. 2nd corner = shadow.

On Wed, Mar 15, 2017 at 8:49 PM, Richard Green via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hello fellow callers!
>
>
>
> I am preparing a very short program of advanced or challenging contras
> which I will be leading at the Down East Festival next week.  This will be
> one of many festival offerings during the weekend of March 24-25.  I have
> done a challenging session at several past festivals and have a small
> collection of dances that I think are both moderately challenging and fun
> to dance.  (I also have a few that I will never call again!)  I have not
> added to my list for quite a while and would appreciate any suggestions
> that any of you would be kind enough to share.  I will not be doing any
> other formations than duple or becket dances, although I understand that
> there are many other fun formations.
>
>
>
> If you could include the complete choreography and any teaching or other
> tips that would be very helpful.  I always credit the dance authors, so
> please include that information as well.
>
>
>
> Thanks so much!  This list is a great resource to have.
>
>
>
> Richard Green
>
> Wayne, Maine
>
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>
>

Re: [Callers] Difficult dancers as a caller

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

That is a GREAT question. I try not to call to a single dancer--largely b/c
often, calls don't even help this sort of dancer all that much. (Sometimes
I call to them out of instinct, but I've been trying to check myself there.)

I don't reay have a good strategy here except to enlist dance angels.
If I've got experienced-dancer friends in the crowd (which I often do),
I'll point out the problem dancer and ask if my friend will partner with
them. (This isn't a favor I'd be comfortable asking of someone unless I a.
am friendly with them and b. know them to be actively interested in
partnering with less experienced folks and building up the skill level on
the dance floor.)

Interested to hear others' take on this issue!

Cheers,
Maia

On Mon, Mar 6, 2017 at 6:45 PM, Alexandra Deis-Lauby via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Inspired by Marie's other thread, I wonder what tools callers use when
> they encounter a dance floor with such a dancer, especially if there is
> only one who is having so much difficulty but who leaves confused dancers
> in their wake. Do you call to that dancer? Do you call earlier? Do you
> adjust your program accordingly? Something else?
>
> Thanks,
> Alex
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
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>

Re: [Callers] Does this dance exist?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Ah, Don is correct that I'm missing the B2. Full dance is:
becket L
A1: slice L
ladies chain to N
A2: ladies chain to P
ladies alle. R 1 1/2
B1: N b
B2: circle L 3/4
P swing

On Mon, Dec 26, 2016 at 1:11 PM, Maia McCormick  wrote:

> Whipped this one up looking for a double-chain dance to get beginners
> accustomed to the figure*. Has it been written before? (If not, tentatively
> titling this one "Chain of Fools".) (Uhh, unless there's another dance of
> that name already... which I can't imagine there isn't... in which case
> I'll come up with something else.)
>
> becket L
> A1: slice L
> ladies chain to N
> A2: ladies chain to P
> ladies alle. R 1 1/2
> B1: N b
> (Or perhaps the same dance, starting at B1, with "long lines forward and
> back" in place of the slice.)
>
> Cheers,
> Maia
>
> * currently my go-to dance for this purpose is currently Erik Hoffman's Made
> Up Tonight
> ,
> but I like to have options (and I like to have glossary dances that don't
> start with "N b").
>

[Callers] Does this dance exist?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Whipped this one up looking for a double-chain dance to get beginners
accustomed to the figure*. Has it been written before? (If not, tentatively
titling this one "Chain of Fools".) (Uhh, unless there's another dance of
that name already... which I can't imagine there isn't... in which case
I'll come up with something else.)

becket L
A1: slice L
ladies chain to N
A2: ladies chain to P
ladies alle. R 1 1/2
B1: N b
(Or perhaps the same dance, starting at B1, with "long lines forward and
back" in place of the slice.)

Cheers,
Maia

* currently my go-to dance for this purpose is currently Erik Hoffman's Made
Up Tonight
,
but I like to have options (and I like to have glossary dances that don't
start with "N b").

[Callers] In search of some dances

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Hi there hivemind,

I'm in search of the following dances and would be grateful to anyone who
can help me out:
1) Cupid's Clout (...Cupid's Cloud? Something like that? A lovely flowy
dance with pousettes)
2) Square Route (petronella spin --> 3 changes of a square thru)
3) Looking for name and author of:

A1: circle L 3/4
N swing
A2: long lines
square thru 2
B1: next N. bal & box the gnat
gents allemande L 1 1/2
B2: P b


Happy merry etc.,
Maia

Re: [Callers] Variations of 3-33 by Steve Zakon-Anderson

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Fwiw, if I were to write a variation of 3-33-33 (and wanted to avoid ladies
chain/star L), I'd do a figure like in Al Olson's 'Ann Arbor Four': long
lines (8), P alle. R 3/4 (4), ladies alle. L 1/2 (4). Agreed that ladies'
allemande L out of long lines, while there's no reason it doesn't flow, is
bizarrely counterintuitive!

On Fri, Dec 16, 2016 at 4:18 PM, Bill Olson via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hi Kalia, yep, I agree.. I guess I should have said more about why I
> preferred the original.. Anyway this is a great dance, a modern classic,
> and i call it often..
>
>
> bill
>
>
> --
> *From:* Callers  on behalf of
> Kalia Kliban via Callers 
> *Sent:* Friday, December 16, 2016 9:05 PM
> *To:* callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> *Subject:* Re: [Callers] Variations of 3-33 by Steve Zakon-Anderson
>
> On 12/16/2016 11:48 AM, Bill Olson via Callers wrote:
> > 3-33-33
> >
> > Steve Zakon (Duple improper)
> > A1 Balance N1, N1 pull by R, N2 pull by L , N3 Balance, box the gnat
> > A2 N3 pull by R, N2 pull by L,  N1 swing
> > B1 Circle L 3/4, Partner Swing
> > B2 Long Lines F, Ladies dosido 1.5
> >
> > I'm aware of a "fix" to 333 where the W DSD 1.5 at the end of B2 was
> > replaced by a W allem L 1.5.. I  think I remember talking to Steve about
> > this and he referred to this as an "approved alternative" HIMSELF..
>
> I've both danced and called this alternate ending, and that allemande L
> is pretty counterintuitive for the women.  It causes some glitches as
> folks fight with their natural instinct to allemande R.  It works, but
> you'll need to be really clear with the dancers that it's the
> non-obvious hand there.
>
> Kalia
>
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> 
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> This mailing list is for callers and people who want to be callers for
> Contra and Traditional Square Dance. This is a place where callers can
> support each other by ...
>
>
>
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>

[Callers] Reverse prog/becket R dances?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

 Anyone have some favorites to share?  Especially interested in dances that
are simple enough to be part of a medley (they don't need to be dead
simple, just not absurdly complex).

Cheers,
Maia

Re: [Callers] Post election day dances?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Perhaps "Communist Plot" by John Coffman

?

Communist Plot  by John Coffman   approx 10/10

Duple, Improper



A1   ½ Hey {men pass left shoulders to start}(8)

Neighbor Swing (8)



A2   Men Pull Across with Left Hands (2), Partner Allemande Right 1X
(6), Men Pull Across with Left Hands (1), Neighbor Allemande Right 1X (6),
Men Pull Across with Left Hands (1)



B1   Partner Balance and Swing (16)



B2   Ladies Chain (8)

With New Neighbors, Allemande Right 1 ½ (8)



Notes:  New dance; not sure of flow in B2; I recommend teaching this dance
by starting at the bottom of B2; that is, have dancers allemande their
neighbor right 1 ½ so men are in correct position to start the ½ hey.  I
would also be sure to tell dancers that you are actually starting {the
teaching} at the end so they will be in correct position to start the
dance.  After the walk through, dancers should be in correct position to
start the dance.  That is, dancers will have exchanged places with their
opposite gender neighbors after the new neighbor allemande right in B2 –
this will put the men in correct position to start the ½ hey by passing
left shoulders as they will when the dance/music begins.


On Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 4:47 PM, April Blum via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> 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?
>
> April Blum
> ___
> Callers mailing list
> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>

Re: [Callers] suggestions for dances

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Wednesdays at Amherst

by Ron Blechner?


*Wednesdays at Amherst *Ron T Blechner
Duple Imp.

A1. Gents RH Chain (8) (to P)
  Gents Gypsy R 1x (8)*
A2. P Gypsy + Swing (16)
B1. Circle L ¾ (6)
  NS (10)
B2. Pass Thru Across, N Cali Twirl (4,4) (to face back in towards Ps)
  LLFB (8)


On Tue, Nov 1, 2016 at 10:06 PM, Michael Dyck via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> On 16-11-01 06:39 PM, via Callers wrote:
>
>> Hi Everyone
>>
>> Wanted to know if anyone has dances with days of the week in the title.
>> Could you please share.  I could always use more dances with Monday,
>> Friday
>> and Saturday in their tiles.
>>
>> I have the following:
>> Monday - Monday Night in Ballard/Monday Night Fever
>> Friday -  Friday Night Fever
>> Sat. - Saturday Night Line
>>
>> Need:
>> Tuesday
>> Wednesday
>> Thursday
>> Sunday
>>
>
> http://www.ibiblio.org/contradance/index/search.php?ti=Tuesday
> finds about 8 dances with "Tuesday" in the title.
>
> Similarly, 3 for Wednesday, ~4 for Thursday, and 11 for Sunday.
>
> (And 10 for Monday, 14 for Friday, and ~6 for Saturday.)
>
> -Michael
>
> ___
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>

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

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Mary Cay's Reel (also by David Kaynor) and Poetry in Motion (Lisa
Greenleaf) have expeditions out of your hands-4 to your future neighbor,
and Little Green Heron (Joseph Pimentel) to the previous ones. Angel's
Flight (Sue Rosen) is a really lovely dance with a jaunt to your future
neighbor and back, but beginners may have trouble doing the gypsy the right
distance, it needs careful teaching. In Cahoots (Rick Mohr) and Train Delay
(one of mine) are some dances with brief shadow interaction that are pretty
hard to mess up--no weird diagonal action or similar. Choreography below.

Mary Cay's Reel by David Kaynor || becket left
A1: circle L 3/4; pass N to alle. L with next N
A2: orig. N b
B1: long lines; ladies alle. R 3/4 (4), new lady by L 3/4 (4)*
B2: P b
*gents slide a little L to meet partner. Also, ladies should locate 2nd
lady before starting (look across, and one lady to the right)

Poetry in Motion by Lisa Greenleaf || improper
A1: RH star; N alle. R 1 1/2
A2: gypsy next N L; swing N*
B1: g to gent's side; P swing
B2: ladies chain (to N); LH star 1x (to new Ns)
* CURRENT N: the one you alle'd, NOT the one you gypsied

Little Green Heron by Joseph Pimentel || improper
A1 with current neighbors star L; with former neighbors star R
A2 with current N b
B1 gents alle L 1.5; P swing
B2 circle L 1.25 (till the ones are looking down, twos looking up); with P
zig left past current neighbors, zag right to greet new neighbors

Angel's Flight by Sue Rosen || improper
A1: N gypsy R 1 1/2*; RH star (ladies follow N) 1x
A2: next N gypsy L 1x; orig. N swing
B1: circle L 3/4; P swing
B2: ladies chain (to N); LH star 1x
* identify next N before starting the star (look away from this N along
 the side)

In Cahoots by Rick Mohr || becket, CW
A1: (slide left to) circle L 3/4 w/ next N swing
A2: ladies alle. R 1 1/2 P alle. L 1 1/2 → short wave (gents R in middle)
B1: bal. wave, walk forward to new wave (gents R, shadows L) bal. wave,
shadow alle. L 3/4
B2: P b

Train Delay by Maia McCormick || becket right
A1: ladies alle. R 1 1/2*; N swing
A2: ladies chain (to P); LH star 1x
B1: w/ shadow, bal. & box the gnat; do-si-do shadow 1 1/2
B2: P b
* look R for a new lady (gents will scooch R here)
In the second half of B1, pull by R at the start of the do-si-do for some
extra momentum (depending on the crowd, may be useful to teach this)


On Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 12:36 PM, K Panton via Callers <
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
>
> ___
> Callers mailing list
> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>

Re: [Callers] What dance is this?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Awesome, thanks all!

While we're at it, does this one exist?

> becket L
> A1: slice L
> ladies chain (to N)
> A2: ladies chain (to P)
> ladies allemande R 1 1/2 (to N)
> B1: N b
> B2: circle L 3/4
> P swing


On Fri, Oct 7, 2016 at 12:14 PM, Dugan Murphy via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hi, Maia,
>
> I have that choreography as "Easy Peasy" by Diane Silver, as published in
> her choreography book "Barely Legal."
>
> Dugan Murphy
> Portland, Maine
> du...@duganmurphy.com
> www.PortlandIntownContraDance.com
> www.NufSed.consulting
>
>
>> Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2016 14:08:35 -0400
>> From: Maia McCormick via Callers <callers@lists.sharedweight.net>
>> To: "callers@lists.sharedweight.net" <callers@lists.sharedweight.net>
>> Subject: [Callers] What dance is this?
>> Message-ID:
>> 

[Callers] What dance is this?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Any insights?

A1: neighbor B
A2: long lines
gents alle. L 1 1/2
B1: PB
B2: circle L 3/4
Bal. the ring, CA twirl to face new neighbors

Cheers,
Maia

[Callers] Name that dance/dance that name!

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Was going through an old notebook and found the following scribblings. Can
anyone help identify them, or put choreography to the name?

Many thanks,
Maia

#1, becket
A1: circle L 3/4 and pass through
new ladies alle. L 1/2, partner alle. R 3/4 to long wave
A2: Rory O'Moore
B1: ladies start full hey by L shoulder
B2: partner b

#2, improper
A1: (w/ new Ns) star R
N spiral
A2: ladies cross, gents follow to swing N
B1: gents alle. L 1 1/2
swing P
B2: ladies chain
star L to new Ns

#3, Country Doctor's Reel, by Merilee Karr

Re: [Callers] Chains: the other side of the coin

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Andrea said:
> but address gender issues where they originate, in the expectation that
men dance left, women right.

I agree wholeheartedly that we should be unraveling "the expectation that
men dance left, women right"--but many of the callers on this list have
been trying to do just this for a very long time and are only seeing
limited success, because ultimately the choice of which role to dance comes
down to every individual dancer, informed as they are by their own
experience, opinions, context, etc.

To me, this seems the whole point of Tavi's proposal: that if we want
people to know how to flourish respectfully, then we might go about this by
putting everyone in a position to flourish (or decline flourishes--but
still, to at least be on the receiving end of flourish requests, so they
have a better sense of how flourishes that they themselves initiate will
feel to the person they're dancing with). You point out, and rightly so,
that the best solution to this problem, and the one that gets straight to
the heart of the issue, is to do away with gendered expectations of the
roles entirely, but there's only so much a caller can do to this end--we
can't force individual dancers' role choices, and there are some folks who
are not willing to dance a different role than the one they
learned/regularly dance. Tavi's suggestion is something that callers CAN do
to spread flourishing experience around without forcing the choices of
individual dancers, and that's why I'm so intrigued by it.

Though Tavi, I wonder, would your proposal here be equally as effective if
we called more gents' right-hand chains? Even as an experienced dancer I
find the left-hand chain counterintuitive, and yes it would be second
nature if we did it a lot, but as far as points about having too much to
teach beginners already, I would expect it to be easier for everyone to
learn the other part of a move and a flow they already know than a
different move entirely (i.e. I would rather endeavor to teach beginners a
gents' right-hand chain than a gents' left-hand chain).

Andrea said:
>  I'll look again at the left hand chain choreo, but as I remember it,
none of it is particularly exceptional and worthy outside of the left
chain, which right now seems novel, but if we did it all the time, would
not seem special at all.

By the same token, there's nothing particularly novel about right-hand
chains except the way in which they fit into the moves around them. Unless
you're suggesting that we NOT call left-hand chains in order to preserve
the novelty value when we DO call them, I don't understand how this is an
argument against Tavi's point.

My contributions to the gents' chain pile:
PB by Bill Olson , as close as
I've seen to a "glossary dance" for a gents' chain
Too Many Joshes ,
one of mine, which includes both a left-hand chain and a right-hand chain
for the gents.

On Tue, Sep 6, 2016 at 12:57 PM, Andrea Nettleton via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hi Tavi et al,
>  I have to challenge you on your history.  As a lover of chestnuts, in
> which the vast majority of courtesy turns are same gender as the dances are
> proper, and a one time historical dancer, I find your conception of the
> history of courtesy turn flawed.  In the 18th and 19th century, there was
> no right hand touching any part of the lady during the historical versions
> of these moves.  A Chaine Anglaise (English chain) is the precursor to a
> right and left through, and was done with a right hand half turn across or
> pull by, and then an open left hand turn, with the gent swiveling to face
> in at the last moment.  The courtesy being that the lady did not have to
> alter her body position.  Chaine des dames, ladies chain, entailed the
> gents casting out over their left shoulder to loop into a position to left
> hand turn the ladies who had turned half by the right.  No leading.  Just
> everyone attending to their place in the dance.  Eventually, gents began
> doing what looked more like an escorting of the lady, holding their right
> arm in a non touching curve behind the ladies backs.  I promise you, in the
> contredanses and quadrilles, there was no more active role for the gents
> than the ladies.  The dances were often complex and every dancers had to
> know all the details if the set were to succeed.
>
>  So this whole courtesy turn as we know it is a 20th century thing, and
> the hyper flourishing a phenomenon of the last decade or two, which seemed
> to me to have come in about the time swing had a renaissance in the late
> eighties.  Till then, if any flourish occurred, it was a single twirl to
> the right hand dancer.  And I have a theory for its existence.  In many old
> halls, space is at a premium, and lines were crowded.  Doing the twirl
> allows couples to slot through a narrow gap one at a time, no elbow
> jostling in the attempt to 

Re: [Callers] Favorite dance to teach a ladies chain?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Real interesting discussion! My two cents on the order of teaching: I've
been having good luck lately with teaching in the following order--
1) promenade the ring
2) turn around to promenade the opposite direction (lady walks forward and
gent walks back, i.e. CCW rotation--get everyone used to turning in the
right direction)
3) promenade across the set ("gents, identify your own left shoulder. Now
identify that other gent's left shoulder. That's how you're going to pass
each other")
4) R/L through *with a demo*
5) ladies chain

On Tue, Aug 23, 2016 at 12:58 PM, Aahz via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> On Tue, Aug 23, 2016, George Mercer via Callers wrote:
> >
> > Just a note: I always teach the right and left through. It is a
> > simple move in the grand scheme, but it doesn't make much sense
> > for beginners. Saying it is like a ladies chain only both dancers
> > are crossing doesn't really help. Right-hand pull by across with
> > the dancer directly across, then left-hands on the side and you
> > courteously help each other turn via a courtesy turn.
>
> Most of my teaching has been in a square dance context, but I teach Pass
> Thru, Courtesy Turn before I teach R Thru.  And I teach sashayed
> Courtesy Turn -- probably wouldn't bother with that in a contra context.
>
> There's a regular argument in the square dance community about whether
> it's better to teach the handed version or no-hands version of calls
> first (e.g. California Twirl vs Partner Trade).  I overall favor the
> handed calls first because it's better body flow and the guide makes it
> easier to learn the call.  However, I switch with R Thru because
> learning how to take and drop hands while passing is a bit of a tricky
> skill for many people (the biggest culprit usually being Square Thru).
> --
> Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6
> http://rule6.info/
>   <*>   <*>   <*>
> Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html
> ___
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> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>

Re: [Callers] Box circulate dances

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

I am in 85% agreement with John! But I like teaching box circ. balances in
particular as right+fwd and left+slightly back, so that EVERYONE (those
moving right and those moving forward) have momentum to carry them to where
they're going next. (I believe I got that one from Lisa Greenleaf...?)

On Wed, Jul 20, 2016 at 5:03 AM, John Sweeney via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> I would always include in the notation the fact that the balances for a Box
> Circulate are MUCH more satisfying if they are Forward & Back - that sets
> you up with the right momentum to cross the set.
>
> I really wish callers would specify the direction of every balance; for
> instance if the next move is Allemande Left, then balancing Left/Right is
> much better than Right/Left (which leaves you too close to the person you
> are Allemanding).
>
> Spinning as you cross the set in a Box Circulate is also fun, and much
> easier to do if you have balanced Forward & Back.
>
> :-)
>
> Happy dancing,
> John
>
> John Sweeney, Dancer, England j...@modernjive.com 01233 625 362
> http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
>
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> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>

Re: [Callers] Box circulate dances

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

My favorites:

1. To my mind, the classic box circulate dance--probably because it was the
first one I ever danced!

> Chinese New Year by Chris Page || improper (adv'd)
> Starts in long waves, gents face out, Ns by R
> A1: bal. wave & box circulate (2x) (LX G loop; GX L loop)
> A2: bal. wave & box circulate (LX G loop)
> P swing
> B1: circle L 3/4
> N swing
> B2: long lines
> R to P, bal. & pull by (4)
> N alle. L → long waves (4)

2. Can't for the life of me remember where I picked this one up, but it's
super fun!

> Susie's Send-Off by Scott Higgs || improper* (adv'd)
> A1: long lines
> gents alle. L 1 1/2 → short waves (RH to P)
> A2: bal. wave, P alle. R 3/4 → long waves (ladies face out)
> bal. wave & circulate (GX, L loop)
> B1: bal. wave & circulate (G loop, LX)
> P swing (gent's home side)
> B2: circle L 3/4 & pass thru
> new N swing
> * starts with 1s below the 2s (technically starts reverse-indecent), but
> can start teaching/calling from improper without any ill effects

3. One of my favorites--everyone gets that satisfying
cross-the-set-to-swing transition.

> Double Click by Bob Isaacs || becket left (adv'd)
> A1: circle L 3/4 and pass thru
> new ladies alle. L 1/2 (4)
> P alle. R 3/4 → long waves (ladies face in) (4)
> A2: bal. wave & box circulate (LX, GL)
> new N swing (on gent's home side)
> B1: long lines
> 1/2 hey → long waves*
> B2: bal. wave & box circulate (GX, LL)
> P swing
> * 1/2 hey = GL, PR, LL, as if to pass N2 by R but take RH instead. Wave =
> N2 in RH, N1 in LH, gents facing P's back


4. Bonus: not really a box circulate dance, but sorta like a box
circulate from long wavy lines in the middle? It sprung to mind when I read
this thread, so I figured I'd share!

> Ellie's Pumpkin Show by Bill Olson || becket left (adv'd)
> A1: (slide L to) circle L 3/4 and make long wave of ladies
> bal. wave, ladies walk fwd. (4) to spiral P 3/4 (4)
> A2: circle L 3/4 and make long wave of gents
> bal. wave, gents walk fwd. (4) to spiral P 3/4 (4)
> B1: full hey (gents by L)
> B2: P b


On Mon, Jul 18, 2016 at 5:05 PM, Vicki Morrison via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hello all. In addition to the lovely Du Quoin Races dance by Orace
> Johnson, are you familiar with any other box circulate dances that you
> could share? Thanks!
>
> Vicki Morrison
> Tallahassee, FL
>
> ___
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> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>

Re: [Callers] tips for teaching dancing the "other" role?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

I find that a lot of people who have danced mostly the gent's role, when
they start dancing the lady's role, think that when they swing, they're
supposed to go backwards or sorta sideways... I mean, hell, a lot of people
think that's how a lady swings when they first start dancing that role!
But, I emphasize that you're both walking (or buzz-stepping) *forward*,
roughly aiming at a point over your partner's shoulder. In fact, *the
footwork for a swing for both roles is exactly the same!!!* A good way to
emphasize this might be to have participants do a gender-neutral swing
(e.g. right hand on shoulder blade, left hand clasped with partner above
the heads) and then change the hand position into your classic ballroom
swing (perhaps even trying out ballroom position with person A leading,
then with person B leading) and noting how the footwork stays the same.

Ending the swing on the opposite side also takes some getting used to.
Instead of emphasizing which role ends where ("gent ends on the left... oh
god, am I the gent??"), I find it useful to talk about ending the swing
with the "pointy end" pointing in the direction you want to be facing, and
releasing from there--works for both roles, so no scrambling to remember
what role you're dancing and what side you're supposed to end up on.

You might lean towards selecting dances where tricky gendered stuff (e.g.
the courtesy turn, which many people will be learning for the first time in
their new role) happens with a neighbor. If it happens that you and your
partner are both confused about how to do a courtesy turn in your new role
and the only courtesy turns happen with your partner, you're not going to
get any help.

Lastly (and this is something that I urge all you folks on the listserv
to do, even if you're not calling specifically gender-neutral dances): use
gender-neutral language to describe the roles! I find this every effective
for breaking down role gender expectations, even if the role names
themselves are gendered. So rather than "gents, take that neighbor lady and
scoop her around in a courtesy turn", say, "scoop *them* around in a
courtesy turn".

Good luck! Let us know how it goes, and what did or didn't work well!

Cheers,
Maia

On Tue, Jul 5, 2016 at 4:29 PM, Chris Page via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> One subtle thing that's different is progression instincts -- typically
> men's
> role progress on the left, women's on the right. (Like with a final B2
> of circle left 3/4, pass through).
>
>
> The few times I've had everyone do a gender swap, I've gone with the
> dance "Bicoastal Contra" by Pete Campbell.
>
>
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/pipermail/callers-sharedweight.net/2008-April/009516.html
>
> Two swings, one courtesy turn, a men's allemande, fairly simple
> choreography -- and neither swing need end with the correct person on
> the right.
>
> -Chris Page
> San Diego, CA
>
>
> On Tue, Jul 5, 2016 at 11:32 AM, Susan Pleck via Callers
>  wrote:
> > Hi folks,
> >
> > I'm to lead a workshop/extended intro lesson at a local dance this
> Saturday
> > on gender-free dancing/dancing the "other" role/switching roles.  Not
> having
> > done this before, I'd appreciate any thoughts or advice about what this
> > should include.  For the gender-free aspect, I'm not sure there's much to
> > discuss, really; ir'd be more just giving dancers a chance to practice
> > responding to different terms.  For dancing the other role, though, what
> > points of emphasis do you think would be most useful?  Two that come to
> mind
> > are swing positioning/giving weight, and figures such as a chain where
> the
> > actions of the two roles are different.
> >
> > thank you!
> > Susan Pleck
> > Oakland, CA
> >
> > ___
> > Callers mailing list
> > Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
> >
> ___
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>

Re: [Callers] New (?) dance, B1 balance, B2 balance and partner swing

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Called Bob's "Return 2 Sender" this past Thursday at Mt. Airy, PA -- what a
good dance!!

On Mon, May 9, 2016 at 6:37 PM, Bob Isaacs via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hi All:
>
> As Luke noted, there are two dances with similar names.  The first is:
>
> Return to Sender
> Becket-L, double, 7/18/00
>
> A1.  L diagonal R and L through, ladies chain to neighbor
> A2.  Hey (LR, PL, GR, NL) - give R to N
> B1.  Balance, box the gnat and pull by R, gents allemande L 1 1/2
> B2.  Partner balance, swing
>
> On 5/19/03 I wrote Return 2 Sender, the same dance below that Luke
> re-discovered.  With a neighbor swing and a single progression, this is
> objectively better.
>
> For both I offer the following teaching tip: at the end of the hey take R
> with neighbor and have all face across, so for Return 2 Sender the ladies
> are back to back.  Then have all take a small step to their L as the ideal
> position to finish the hey (if facing across is 12 o'clock/6 o'clock, then
> slightly L of across is 1 o'clock/7 o'clock).  Then after the box the gnat
> and pull by, the ladies have a clearer path into the allemande L -
>
> Bob
>
>
> Becket
> A1
> Circle left 3/4
> Neighbor swing
> A2
> Gents start hey for 4 by left
> B1
> Right to neighbor (women back to back in middle), balance and box gnat
> Pull by right, women allemande left 1 1/2
> B2
> Partner balance and swing
> Slide left
>
> Happy dancing
>
> --
> Luke Donforth
> luke.donfo...@gmail.com 
>
>
>
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>
>

[Callers] Reverse R/L thru?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Have you all encountered or written dances for a "reverse R/L through"? To
my mind, this move might be any of the following:
a. cross the set with the lady on the left and gent on the right, lady
courtesy turns gent (with the traditional CCW courtesy turn
b. cross the set with the lady on the right and gent on the left (as
usual), lady courtesy turns gent (with a REVERSE courtesy turn, ie CW, as
would happen on a gent's chain)
c. ??!?!?

Cheers,
Maia

Re: [Callers] Gents doing "ladies" chain

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

While we're at it, I've got one as well:

Too Many Joshes 
 (improper)
*Starts with a wavy line of gents in the center*
*A1:* gents bal. L then R, allemande L 3/4
neighbor swing
*A2:* ladies allemande R 1 1/2
partner swing
*B1:* gents chain by L (to N)
circle L 3/4
*B2:* gents chain by R (to N)
gents allemande R 1 1/4 to a long wave (taking L with a new gent)
*Notes: Written late Feb. 2016 for Michal Richardson (in reference to the
state of our local dance), and workshopped at NEFFA ‘16. The parameters I
was given was that the dance have a lot of action for the gents, and be as
confusing and counter-intuitive as possible–I hope I’ve managed this while
achieving flow at the same time. The chain in B1 looks like a typical
gents’ chain (gents begin and end on the left), while in B2, the gents do a
typical “ladies’ chain”, beginning and ending on the RIGHT.*

*Starts with a wavy line of gents in the center*

*A1*: gents bal. L then R, allemande L 3/4

neighbor swing

*A2*: ladies allemande R 1 1/2

partner swing

*B1*: gents chain by L (to N)

circle L 3/4

*B2*: gents chain by R (to N)

gents allemande R 1 1/4 to a long wave (taking L with a new gent)

*Notes: Written late Feb. 2016 for Michal Richardson (in reference to the
state of our local dance), and workshopped at NEFFA ‘16. The parameters I
was given was that the dance have a lot of action for the gents, and be as
confusing and counter-intuitive as possible–I hope I’ve managed this while
achieving flow at the same time. The chain in B1 looks like a typical
gents’ chain (gents begin and end on the left), while in B2, the gents do a
typical “ladies’ chain”, beginning and ending on the RIGHT.*

*Starts with a wavy line of gents in the center*

*A1*: gents bal. L then R, allemande L 3/4

neighbor swing

*A2*: ladies allemande R 1 1/2

partner swing

*B1*: gents chain by L (to N)

circle L 3/4

*B2*: gents chain by R (to N)

gents allemande R 1 1/4 to a long wave (taking L with a new gent)

*Notes: Written late Feb. 2016 for Michal Richardson (in reference to the
state of our local dance), and workshopped at NEFFA ‘16. The parameters I
was given was that the dance have a lot of action for the gents, and be as
confusing and counter-intuitive as possible–I hope I’ve managed this while
achieving flow at the same time. The chain in B1 looks like a typical
gents’ chain (gents begin and end on the left), while in B2, the gents do a
typical “ladies’ chain”, beginning and ending on the RIGHT.**Starts with a
wavy line of gents in the center*

*A1*: gents bal. L then R, allemande L 3/4

neighbor swing

*A2*: ladies allemande R 1 1/2

partner swing

*B1*: gents chain by L (to N)

circle L 3/4

*B2*: gents chain by R (to N)

gents allemande R 1 1/4 to a long wave (taking L with a new gent)

*Notes: Written late Feb. 2016 for Michal Richardson (in reference to the
state of our local dance), and workshopped at NEFFA ‘16. The parameters I
was given was that the dance have a lot of action for the gents, and be as
confusing and counter-intuitive as possible–I hope I’ve managed this while
achieving flow at the same time. The chain in B1 looks like a typical
gents’ chain (gents begin and end on the left), while in B2, the gents do a
typical “ladies’ chain”, beginning and ending on the RIGHT.*

*Starts with a wavy line of gents in the center*

*A1*: gents bal. L then R, allemande L 3/4

neighbor swing

*A2*: ladies allemande R 1 1/2

partner swing

*B1*: gents chain by L (to N)

circle L 3/4

*B2*: gents chain by R (to N)

gents allemande R 1 1/4 to a long wave (taking L with a new gent)

*Notes: Written late Feb. 2016 for Michal Richardson (in reference to the
state of our local dance), and workshopped at NEFFA ‘16. The parameters I
was given was that the dance have a lot of action for the gents, and be as
confusing and counter-intuitive as possible–I hope I’ve managed this while
achieving flow at the same time. The chain in B1 looks like a typical
gents’ chain (gents begin and end on the left), while in B2, the gents do a
typical “ladies’ chain”, beginning and ending on the RIGHT.*

On Tue, Jun 7, 2016 at 11:57 AM, Ron Blechner via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> I was overdue actually publishing my Gents right-hand chain dances. I
> wrote a bunch, settled on 5 that I liked, have called 2 of them so far:
>
> http://contradances.tumblr.com/post/145541215310/gents-right-hand-chains
>
> ___
> Callers mailing list
> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>

[Callers] Dance ID?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Danced this Mary Cay's Reel look-alike recently--anyone know the title and
author?
(becket L)
A1: circle L 3/4
N swing
A2: llf
ladies alle R 3/4, next lady alle L 3/4
B1: pass P by R for full hey
B2: P B

Thanks!
Maia

Re: [Callers] caller suggestions for beginner handout

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Hi Emily,

I recently helped write a set of Contra Etiquette tips for CDNY that might
have some useful stuff: http://cdny.org/what-is-contra/contra-etiquette/ A
lot of it is geared towards more experienced dancers, but you could pick
and choose relevant points (and maybe de-technical-ify the language some)
that seem like they apply to beginning dancers.

For what it's worth, in my pow-wow with the beginners just after the lesson
ends and before the dancing starts, I say the following:
- anyone can dance with anyone (that goes for genders and for experience
levels). Anyone can ASK anyone to dance (so new folks ask experienced,
women ask men, men ask men, etc.). Anyone can decline an offer to dance.
- if you mess up, smile and laugh--it's really fine! (Usually I point out
that the experienced folks make 10x more mistakes, we're just better at
hiding it)
- contra is full of figures that are for the most part very simple--the
tricky bit is explaining the figures in words, and then matching the calls
with the figures, but I promise you can do all these figures. (And it gets
easier with practice!)
- the rule in contra is "better never than late"--if you mess up one
figure, shrug and smile and get in place for the next one, rather than
trying to catch up

You might consider saying something like, it takes a few dances to start
feeling really comfortable with this stuff, so we hope you come back again?

And of course, I recommend writing in big letters, "we love you, come dance
with us again!"

CDNY gives "your second dance free" passes to first-timers--is this
something your dance might consider?

There are a bunch of rather disorganized thoughts--I hope some of them are
helpful!

Cheers,
Maia

On Fri, Apr 22, 2016 at 10:15 PM, Emily Addison via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hi Claire, Donna, Andy, and Linda,
>
> Thanks for the feedback!
>
> Donna - your link is great... much much thanks for that lead. :)
>
> And Claire - I totally agree with you regarding about the role of the
> dance community.  I've heard that from others, and our committee would
> agree, that the welcoming/encouraging behaviour of regular dancers can
> make/break a beginner's experience!
>
> The idea of the handout is that it's just one more wee tool as we try to
> help retain a few more of our beginners.  Some folks don't like reading
> material but others are keen to dive in a bit deeper in print format and
> right now all they can take home is our schedule.
>
> Anyway - I've had some other feedback from the organizers list so will
> work away on the project for the next few months.
>
> Much thanks and if anyone else has ideas, I'd love to hear.
>
> Emily in Ottawa
>
> On Wed, Apr 20, 2016 at 3:04 PM, Donna Hunt  wrote:
>
>> http://www.thursdaycontra.com/welcome.html
>>
>> The Mt. Airy (in Philadelphia) Thursday Night Dance has this on our
>> website.  We are in the process of revamping it, but feel free to pick and
>> choose whatever might work for your group.
>>
>>
>> Donna
>> Web Site:  donnahuntcaller.com
>> Email: dhuntdan...@aol.com
>> Cell:  215-565-6050
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -Original Message-
>> From: Emily Addison via Callers 
>> To: Caller's discussion list 
>> Sent: Wed, Apr 20, 2016 3:31 pm
>> Subject: [Callers] caller suggestions for beginner handout
>>
>> Hello shared weight callers :)
>>
>> Knowing that callers do so much to support brand new contra dancers, as a
>> dance organizer, I have a question for you!
>>
>> Ottawa Contra is working on a 1-pg handout to give to first time
>> dancers.  The goal of the handout is to provide tidbits that will help
>> convince first timers  to come back, that contra's accessible/they can be
>> successful/climb that learning curve, and that contra's a great fit for
>> them.  Who knows if the handout will actually work but we want to try as
>> part of our focus on increasing the retention of all the beginners we get.
>>
>> I have a few examples of other handouts but they often focus on
>> explaining the specific moves.
>>
>> We're thinking more along things that speak to the spirit of contra/are
>> inspiring PLLLUS great technical tips (nuggets!) that can make a huge
>> different to their experience as beginners.
>>
>> If you have any ideas, please pass them along. They may be little
>> messages you feel every beginner should know, or even tips you provide in
>> the beginner/intro lesson before the actual dance.
>>
>> With much thanks!
>> Emily Addison in Ottawa ON
>> ___
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
>> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>>
>
>
> ___
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> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>

[Callers] Rates for private events (weddings etc)?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Hey folks,

I've just been asked to call a wedding, and I don't have a good idea for
what the going rate for these things is. What do you all charge for a
wedding (say, 30 mins-an hour of dancing)? (And how might you adjust this
rate for NYC?)

Thanks,
Maia

Re: [Callers] Novelty & Gimmick Contras

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Some that I like:

Jim's Whim var. by Rich McMath || improper
(Smooth and English-y)
A1: N gypsy; N swing
A2: long lines; LH star 1x (hands across)
B1: ladies drop out, gents alle. L to P and swing
B2: circle L 3/4; square thru 3 hands*
* pull by NR, PL, NR and look for new N on side. (At start of this move, 1s
below the 2s w/ lady on R—i.e. to progress, all must swap with P and face
other direction.)

Love at First Swing by Bob Isaacs || improper
(Lots of physical connection to other dancers, so the
unfamiliar-to-beginners move of right hand high/left hand low is pretty
easy to pick up)
A1: bal. ring and spin R (2x)
A2: bal. ring and CA twirl (w/ P); NEW N swing
B1: circle L 3/4; P swing (end facing down)
B2: down the hall, #2 gent turn ladies R hand high & L hand low (#1 gent on
L turn alone); up the hall & bend the line

Cranky Ingenuity by Bill Olson || improper
(I'm pretty sure everyone knows this one but I would be remiss in not
mentioning this one: a very easy dance, suitable for a hall full of
beginners, with an out-of-the-box move.)
A1: circle L 1x; do-si-do Ns as couple
A2: do-si-do N individually; N swing
B1: gents alle. L 1 1/2 ; P swing
B2: circle L 3/4; bal. ring & CA twirl

Maliza's Magical Mystery Motion by Cary Ravitz || becket, CCW
(Extra spin on petronella, still very accessible if you teach it right.)
A1: gents alle. L 1 1/2; N swing
A2: w/ N, prom. across; ladies chain to P
B1: bal. ring and spin right TO FACE NEW N's* with new N's, bal. ring and
spin right
B2: P b
* if out at the ends, come back in on wrong side (i.e. lady on L)

California Twirlin' by Janet Levatin || improper (opt. 2x prog)
(Very connected and rhythmic, so hard to get lost.)
A1: bal. ring, CA twirl w/ P, face back in bal. ring, CA twirl w/ N, face
back in
A2: bal. ring, CA twirl w/ P to face new Ns; this N swing
B1: circle L 3/4; P swing
B2: ladies chain; long lines, on way back gent roll N lady*
* omit the rollaway for a double progression. If rollaway, next A1 starts
in a ring w/ N you just rolled.

Melody's Madness by David Glick || improper
(Rory spin to a swing wheee!)
A1: N b
A2: ladies pull by R to alle. P L 3/4 ; alle. shadow R 1 1/2 → long waves
(ladies face out)
B1: bal. & spin R (as in Rory O'Moore); P swing
B2: circle L 3/4; N do-si-do 1 1/2 to next

Ron Blechner's Ants Marching
 is another
one I really like--a pretty damn unique use of "down the hall four in line"
but a highly connected one, and therefore pretty easy to pick up.

Rollin' on the River
 by Maia
McCormick || improper
(One of mine with some fun rollaway stuff that I don't see often--I
remember a similar figure in Du Quoin Races
, which is GREAT but not
"easy" by any stretch.)
A1: neighbor alle. L 1 1/2; ladies chain across
A2: in hands-4 AWAY from partner (with shadow), circle L 1/2 (4) and roll
shadow (gent roll lady) (4)
circle L 1/2 (4) and roll shadow (lady roll gent) (4)
B1: partner b
B2: ladies gypsy L 1 1/2
neighbor alle. R once and a bit to new neighbors

On Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 4:47 PM, John Sweeney via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Here's a few with a difference;
>
> Cumberland Contra is here:
> http://www.contrafusion.co.uk/Dances/CumberlandContra.html
>
> The Slithy Dance is at:
> http://www.contrafusion.co.uk/Dances/SlithyDance.html
>
> Note: You can change the Two Hand Turn in B1 into a Swing; you can teach B2
> as a Whole Set Petronella
>
> Still working on this one:
>
> DosiWhat? (by John Sweeney)
> Contra; Becket (CW)
>
> A1:   Men Dosido; Ladies Dosido 1 & 1/2 - Men turn to the Left and take
> Man's' Right Hand to Partner's Left Hand to face a New Couple
> A2:   Mountain Dosido ("DoSi the Ladies"): Lasso Partner CW around self
> and along to the other Man; Neighbour Swing
> B1:   Open Ladies' Chain: Ladies Pull by Right; Partner Allemande Left
> 1
> & 1/4 - continue into an Alabama Rang Tang: Men pass B-to-B; Neighbour
> Allemande Right; Men pass B-to-B, weave into a
> B2:   Partner Gypsy Meltdown
>
> Notes: Teach the Ladies' Dosido as "Dosido and Pass Thru", otherwise they
> will spin and face where they think they are going.
>
> The Alabama Rang Tang and the Mountain Dosido were both
> originally known in their communities as just "Dosido". The names were
> changed to avoid confusion as mass communication brought dance communities
> together.  So the dance is basically a series of Dosidos!
>
> "DoSi" is pronounced dose-eye.  I usually say "Lasso the Lady"
> though, to avoid confusion and remind them of what the move is.  The man
> raises his right hand and the lady walks forwards around him while he
> stands
> still.  Then "You Swing Mine and I'll Swing Yours".
>
> Please let me know if you try it.
>
> Happy dancing,
> John
>
> John Sweeney, Dancer, England j...@modernjive.com 01233 

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

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Some more for your list:
Moments of Transition by Chris Page


*Two-Way Street*
* by Lisa Greenleaf/Bob Isaacs* || becket left
*A1:* ladies alle. L 1 1/2; N1 swing, end facing DOWN
*A2:* down the hall, outsides (1s) keep going and insides (2s) turn back up
over R sh (8)
N2 swing, end facing up (8)
*B1:* up the hall and bend the line; circle L 3/4 and pass through
*B2:* shadow gypsy R; P swing


On Sat, Mar 12, 2016 at 2:01 PM, Jim Hemphill via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Here are a couple of mine with more than 2 swings.
>
> *Swingin and Slingin*  by Jim Hemphill
> A1 Neighbor balance and swing
> A2 Ladies allemande right 1 1/2
>  Partner swing
> B1 Circle left 3 places
>  1's swing in the center
> B2 Down the hall in lines of 4 (1's in center)
> Without turning around, put it in reverse back up the hall, 1's arch
> and sling the 2's thru
>
>
>
>
> *Steam Train   Indecent (2's cross over)A1 Gents dance in to a long wave
> in the center, balance right and leftGents allemande right 1/2, left 1/2 ,
> right 1/2, step to your new neighbor A2 New Neighbor balance and swingB1
> Circle left 3, pass thru up and downPartner swingB2 Ladies do si do 1
> 1/2Neighbor (original) swing  Note: In B1 you will be reaching across to
> your shadow to form the circle and they may be slightly left diagonal after
> the neighbor swing.   To ID your shadow, from indecent formation have
> dancers take hands in long lines and look at the couple on the Right
> diagonal. The person they would swing in that couple is your shadow.The end
> effects are fast paced and according to some fun,  so don’t relax at the
> end. *
>
>
> ___
> Callers mailing list
> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>

Re: [Callers] Simple Revolving door dances?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Hmm. Alex, correct me if I'm wrong, but I always thought that "revolving
doors" was the reverse of a half promenade and butterfly whirl...?

On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 11:53 AM, Luke Donforth via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> I interpreted that as a move that goes from one circle with neighbors to
> another circle with other neighbors, such as David Kaynor's "Open Doors"
>
> (Sourced from: http://www.davidkaynor.com/Compositions.html )
>
> *Open Doors*
>
> Duple Improper
> A1 Circle Left 3/4; Swing Partner
> A2 Down Hall 4 - in - line; Wheel around as couples; return; bend line
> into long line
> B1 Long lines forward; Ladies pull neighbors out; swing neighbors; end
> progressed
> B2 Long Lines forward & back; Circle Right; turn alone to face new
> neighbors
>
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 11:34 AM, Aahz Maruch via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>> On Sun, Feb 28, 2016, Alexandra Deis-Lauby via Callers wrote:
>> >
>> > Anyone have any beginner or intermediate revolving door dances?
>>
>> What's a revolving door dance?  (Yes, I did try searching.)
>> --
>> Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6
>> http://rule6.info/
>>   <*>   <*>   <*>
>> Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html
>> ___
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
>> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Luke Donforth
> luke.donfo...@gmail.com 
>
> ___
> Callers mailing list
> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>

Re: [Callers] Easy petronella with long lines

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

This one has a yearn, if that'll do:

Power Surge by Beth Brill & Bob Isaacs || becket, CW (easy)
A1: yearn L
ladies chain
A2: bal. the ring and spin to the right (2x)
B1: N b
B2: gents alle. L 1 ½
P swing


On Sun, Feb 7, 2016 at 9:53 PM, Alexandra Deis-Lauby via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> I've had a request for a dance for a flash mob that has petronellas, Long
> lines, and if possible, a do si do.  Most of the people learning it are
> folk dancers but not contra dancers.
> Does such dance exist?
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Alex
>
> ___
> Callers mailing list
> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>

Re: [Callers] Contras with a Hey

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Oh, also "Hey in the Barn" by Chart Guthrie is lovely and symmetrical and
has two half-heys. (Though it DOES have a progression-out-of-a-hey thing
that Kalia mentions, which can be tricky for beginners...)

On Tue, Dec 8, 2015 at 1:25 PM, Yoyo Zhou  wrote:

> Do you like half heys? My suggestions there for nice forgiving dances are
> Hocus Pocus by Lisa Greenleaf and The Social Butterfly by John Coffman.
>
> Star promenade into hey is also great. You might enjoy Heart of Glass by
> Cary Ravitz.
>
> Yoyo Zhou
>

Re: [Callers] Contras with a Hey

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

"Centrifugal Hey" by Gene Hubert

On Tue, Dec 8, 2015 at 1:08 PM, Bill Olson via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> "Roll in the Hey" by Roger Diggle
>
> > To: call...@sharedweight.net
> > Date: Tue, 8 Dec 2015 10:01:52 -0800
> > Subject: Re: [Callers] Contras with a Hey
> > From: callers@lists.sharedweight.net
>
> >
> > > *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 mailing list
> > Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
> ___
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> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>

Re: [Callers] Mystery dance from Contracopia

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Oh! I believe that the B2 was a do-si-do and swing, actually (misremembered
it because my partner and I changed it). Which makes the dance as I recall
it:
A1: pass the ocean and balance
partner R 1/2, gents L 1/2, balance
A2: neighbor R 3/4, new neighbor swing
B1: pass the ocean and balance
neighbor R 1/2, gents L 1/2, balance
B2: partner do-si-do
partner swing

And it DOES look similar to Mongatock (Manga Tak?), I agree, but I
definitely recall reforming and balancing waves after both of the
pass-the-ocean/allemande sequences.

On Mon, Dec 7, 2015 at 9:26 PM, Donna Hunt <dhuntdan...@aol.com> wrote:

>
>
> Mongatock*   Ron Buchannan   Improper
> A1Balance and Swing Neighbor
>
> A2Pass to ocean wave, *Balance*, Neighbor R, Gents Left,
>  Partner Right Allem ¾
>
> B1 Shadow Allem 1x
>  Partner Swing
>
> B2 Pass to ocean wave, *Balance*, Partner R, Gents Left,
>  Neighbor Right Allem ¾
>
> I know he called this one, Mongatock, could you have transcribed it
> wrong?
> Donna
> Web Site:  donnahuntcaller.com
> Email: dhuntdan...@aol.com
> Cell:  215-565-6050
>
>
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Maia McCormick via Callers <callers@lists.sharedweight.net>
> To: callers <callers@lists.sharedweight.net>
> Sent: Mon, Dec 7, 2015 9:10 pm
> Subject: [Callers] Mystery dance from Contracopia
>
> Ron Buchanan this one at Contracopia, and it was a lot of fun!
>
> ???, by ??? (becket)
> A1: pass the ocean and balance
> partner R 1/2, gents L 1/2, balance
> A2: neighbor R 3/4, new neighbor swing
> B1: pass the ocean and balance
> neighbor R 1/2, gents L 1/2, balance
> B2: partner swing
> ___
> Callers mailing list
> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>

[Callers] Mystery dance from Contracopia

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Ron Buchanan this one at Contracopia, and it was a lot of fun!

???, by ??? (becket)
A1: pass the ocean and balance
partner R 1/2, gents L 1/2, balance
A2: neighbor R 3/4, new neighbor swing
B1: pass the ocean and balance
neighbor R 1/2, gents L 1/2, balance
B2: partner swing

Re: [Callers] Dances with R & L Thru

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

*Easy:*
Centrifugal Hey by Gene Hubert
A1 Reel by Chris Weiler

*Intriguing:*
The Joy of Six by Myra Hirshberg (smooth and flowy mad robin dance)
Seven Sevens by Jim Kitch (also a smooth and flowy mad robin dance)
Bye Bye Baltimore by Bob Dalsemer (R/L through with a roll-away at the end)
Hot Point Special by Joseph Pimentel (includes the legendary "spank the
alligator"--this is a fun one!)

Any particular feel/level of difficulty you're looking for? Let me know if
you need the choreo for any of the above.

Cheers,
Maia

On Tue, Nov 24, 2015 at 8:47 AM, Mac Mckeever via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Couple of my favorites are:
>
> Sweet Music by Amy Kahn
> Good Friday by Kirsten Koths
>
> --
> *From:* Rich Sbardella via Callers 
> *To:* Caller's discussion list ;
> trad-dance-call...@yahoogroups.com
> *Sent:* Tuesday, November 24, 2015 7:22 AM
> *Subject:* [Callers] Dances with R & L Thru
>
> I am looking for a few good contras with a R & L Thru that do not contain
> a Ladies chain.  Any suggestions?
> Peace,
> Rich
>
> ___
> Callers mailing list
> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>
>
> ___
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> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>

[Callers] Does this dance exist? / Beginner dances with chain, without star-L prog

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Wanted a beginners' dance with a chain but without a star-L progression.
Jotted down this one. I find it quite likely that someone has written it
before:

[untitled], imp.
A1: N b
A2: long lines forward & back
ladies chain
B1: ladies alle. R 1x
P swing
B2: circle L 3/4
bal. ring and pass through

So a) has this been written? And b) can folks recommend already-written
dances that meet my criteria?

Cheers,
Maia

[Callers] Rollaway sans sashay?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Recently there was some discussion of the difference between a "rollaway
with a half-sashay" and a plain ol' rollaway. Jim Saxe presented the dance Roll
Away  as an
example of a contra with a rollaway without a half-sashay. Can anyone else
name/post choreography for any CONTRAS (or 4-face-4s, I suppose... not
looking for squares at the moment, though) that include a rollaway *without* a
half-sashay?

Cheers,
Maia

Re: [Callers] Ferry Boat Contra Ideas

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

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!")

If it's a gender-neutral dance, call with Ports and Starboards?

And my current favorite joke:
"What do octogenarian pirates say?"
"Aye, matey!"

Best of luck--sounds like fun!

On Wed, Jul 8, 2015 at 3:35 PM, Lindsey Dono via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hi Callers,
>
> In a couple of weeks, I'll be calling the annual Ferry Boat Contra for the
> second time. Last year I put a good deal of effort into coming up with
> nautical themes/jokes, so this year I'll really need to go "overboard."
>
> I'd love to hear your ideas regarding entertaining (but not distracting)
> maritime moves/terminology/jokes/trivia to add into my program. The
> majority of folks in my area have at least been on a boat other than a
> ferry, and a number sail regularly, but I'd rather keep the references from
> becoming too obscure.
>
> Looking forward to your suggestions!
>
> Lindsey
> (Tacoma, WA)
>
> ___
> Callers mailing list
> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>

[Callers] Do these dances exist?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Dance the First, improper

A1: (new) N alle L 1 1/2 ladies alle R 1x

A2: N b

B1 circle L 3/4 P sw

B2: circle L 3/4 N alle R 1 ½

Dance the Second, improper

A1: neighbor gypsy

half hey, women by L

A1: neighbor gypsy

neighbor swing

B1: circle L 3/4

partner swing

B2: R/L through across
circle left 3/4 and pass through

Re: [Callers] Buzz Step Swing

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Oh, one more thing: my local dance (CDNY) often holds a "swinging workshop"
at the break, to teach the finer points of swing, talk about the buzz step
explicitly and give pointers, reiterate the important stuff like giving
weight, etc. This often works pretty well, and might be a good model: a
beginners' lesson at the start of the evening that teaches a simple walking
swing and focuses on the hold, frame, giving weight, where to end the
swing, how to swing safely, etc., and a "swing workshop" at the break to
teach buzz step to those who want to learn it (and refine the buzz-step of
those who have picked it up not-all-that-well), as well as reiterate all of
the technique points about weight and safety.

On Sun, Jun 21, 2015 at 1:52 PM, Maia McCormick  wrote:

> Tom, at a guess, Aahz is not talking about NOT spending time on the swing,
> nor about neglecting to teach dancers how to start/end one--just that the
> finer points of technique aren't a priority for the beginner's lesson. Of
> course any teacher worth their salt will teach that a swing always ends
> with the lady on the right. But I think all Aahz is saying is that, IF the
> dancers end the swing with the lady on the right, it doesn't really matter
> how they get there--fumbling through a swing happens, and it's easy to
> recover from, while moves that involve the rest of your hands-4 or the rest
> of the set have potential to cause way more disruption to the dance if
> botched.
>
> I agree that the buzz-step is not the be-all, end-all of contra swing!
> I've been dancing for going on 5 years and I pretty much exclusively
> walk-swing, because I find it more comfortable and easy to control, and
> don't actually like swinging extremely fast.
>
> John mentions the bad habits that even experienced dancers may have while
> swinging, such as:
>
> - grip, clamp, squeeze, hang, press
> - hold their partner in the wrong place so it is uncomfortable
> - use too much strength and try to do silly things like making their
> partners feet leave the floor
> - lean sideways or backwards
> - start twirls too late and when they are facing the wrong way so that they
> end up in the wrong place
>
> I find it pretty telling that this list of habits actually has nothing to
> do with footwork! In my opinion, the reason to teach walking swing instead
> of buzz-step to beginners is that there's SO MUCH ELSE to concentrate on.
> The more things we can abstract away, the easier a time beginners will have
> learning what's left. If you're focusing on strange new footwork (and I
> find that buzz-stepping beginners tend to think that the buzz-stepping is
> the most important part of the swing, and concentrate more on that than on
> their frame), it's harder to pick up things like giving weight, a proper
> hold, etc. But everyone already knows how to walk!
>
> I would also add that I would much rather dance with someone doing a
> funky/odd/strange/unpracticed walking swing than a
> funky/odd/strange/unpracticed buzz step. I find that there are fewer ways
> to mess up a walk, and that there's less potential for your partner to be
> uncomfortable or perhaps harmed than with one of those galloping,
> out-of-control excited-pony buzz step swings.
>
> Just my two cents!
>
> Cheers,
> Maia
>
> On Sun, Jun 21, 2015 at 1:38 PM, Amy Wimmer via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>> I love John's idea of teaching the buzz step as individuals first,
>> then as couples. The most frequent complaints I hear from men is that
>> women hang on them and don't hold up their own weight during a swing.
>> The most frequent complaint I hear from women is men pulling them off
>> their feet and going too fast. If they can learn to hold themselves
>> upright on their own first, then everyone will have a much more
>> enjoyable experience.
>>
>> -Amy
>>
>>
>>
>> > On Jun 21, 2015, at 3:44 AM, John Sweeney via Callers <
>> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>> >
>> > Yes, of course I always tell dancers that they can walk instead of
>> buzz, but
>> > the buzz-step is so much more fun that it seems crazy not to teach it
>> when
>> > every dance is going to have a swing and usually two.
>> >
>> >  Yes, I love swinging, and have been loving it for fifty
>> years
>> > now, but why does every new dance have to have two swings?  Oh no, not
>> > Neighbour Balance & Swing, Circle Left 3/4, Partner Swing again - that's
>> > half the dance gone with nothing new or interesting in it! (And
>> changing the
>> > Circle Left 3/4 to Men/Ladies Allemande 1 & 1/2 does not make it more
>> > interesting!)  I write lots of dances with one or zero swings - a
>> zero-swing
>> > dance can have so much good stuff in it that the dancers don't even
>> notice
>> > there is no swing; they are having too much fun. It always puzzles me
>> when
>> > people take a great one-swing dance and re-choreograph it to add a
>> second
>> > swing, losing part of what made it a great dance just for the sake 

Re: [Callers] Buzz Step Swing

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Tom, at a guess, Aahz is not talking about NOT spending time on the swing,
nor about neglecting to teach dancers how to start/end one--just that the
finer points of technique aren't a priority for the beginner's lesson. Of
course any teacher worth their salt will teach that a swing always ends
with the lady on the right. But I think all Aahz is saying is that, IF the
dancers end the swing with the lady on the right, it doesn't really matter
how they get there--fumbling through a swing happens, and it's easy to
recover from, while moves that involve the rest of your hands-4 or the rest
of the set have potential to cause way more disruption to the dance if
botched.

I agree that the buzz-step is not the be-all, end-all of contra swing! I've
been dancing for going on 5 years and I pretty much exclusively walk-swing,
because I find it more comfortable and easy to control, and don't actually
like swinging extremely fast.

John mentions the bad habits that even experienced dancers may have while
swinging, such as:

- grip, clamp, squeeze, hang, press
- hold their partner in the wrong place so it is uncomfortable
- use too much strength and try to do silly things like making their
partners feet leave the floor
- lean sideways or backwards
- start twirls too late and when they are facing the wrong way so that they
end up in the wrong place

I find it pretty telling that this list of habits actually has nothing to
do with footwork! In my opinion, the reason to teach walking swing instead
of buzz-step to beginners is that there's SO MUCH ELSE to concentrate on.
The more things we can abstract away, the easier a time beginners will have
learning what's left. If you're focusing on strange new footwork (and I
find that buzz-stepping beginners tend to think that the buzz-stepping is
the most important part of the swing, and concentrate more on that than on
their frame), it's harder to pick up things like giving weight, a proper
hold, etc. But everyone already knows how to walk!

I would also add that I would much rather dance with someone doing a
funky/odd/strange/unpracticed walking swing than a
funky/odd/strange/unpracticed buzz step. I find that there are fewer ways
to mess up a walk, and that there's less potential for your partner to be
uncomfortable or perhaps harmed than with one of those galloping,
out-of-control excited-pony buzz step swings.

Just my two cents!

Cheers,
Maia

On Sun, Jun 21, 2015 at 1:38 PM, Amy Wimmer via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> I love John's idea of teaching the buzz step as individuals first,
> then as couples. The most frequent complaints I hear from men is that
> women hang on them and don't hold up their own weight during a swing.
> The most frequent complaint I hear from women is men pulling them off
> their feet and going too fast. If they can learn to hold themselves
> upright on their own first, then everyone will have a much more
> enjoyable experience.
>
> -Amy
>
>
>
> > On Jun 21, 2015, at 3:44 AM, John Sweeney via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> >
> > Yes, of course I always tell dancers that they can walk instead of buzz,
> but
> > the buzz-step is so much more fun that it seems crazy not to teach it
> when
> > every dance is going to have a swing and usually two.
> >
> >  Yes, I love swinging, and have been loving it for fifty
> years
> > now, but why does every new dance have to have two swings?  Oh no, not
> > Neighbour Balance & Swing, Circle Left 3/4, Partner Swing again - that's
> > half the dance gone with nothing new or interesting in it! (And changing
> the
> > Circle Left 3/4 to Men/Ladies Allemande 1 & 1/2 does not make it more
> > interesting!)  I write lots of dances with one or zero swings - a
> zero-swing
> > dance can have so much good stuff in it that the dancers don't even
> notice
> > there is no swing; they are having too much fun. It always puzzles me
> when
> > people take a great one-swing dance and re-choreograph it to add a second
> > swing, losing part of what made it a great dance just for the sake of
> even
> > more swinging. 
> >
> > I found it interesting that Ron said, "the buzz-step swing gets axed if
> I'm
> > short on time".  If I only had time to teach one thing then the only
> thing I
> > would teach would be the buzz-step swing, and how to finish it so you
> end up
> > in the right place.  I can't think of anything else that newcomers can't
> > learn during the walk-throughs.
> >
> > Question: If you were calling for a group with a dozen newcomers in the
> hall
> > out of 100 people, and the organizers said you could have two minutes
> > teaching before you started the first walk-through, what would you teach?
> > For me the answer is obvious, every dance has a buzz-step swing; teach a
> > buzz-step swing.
> >
> > Another reason for teaching swinging is that there are a significant
> number
> > of "experienced" dancers who have bad swinging habits.  I dance all over
> the
> > USA and the UK 

Re: [Callers] Jets / rubies genderfree terms redux: gems?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

I would just like to point out to the group that this topic was originally
very specific in scope. Ron asked a very specific question, and one of
concrete use for those of us who call gender-free, to which several people
responded to before the thread devolved into a discussion of whether or not
we should use gender neutral terminology in contra at all.

So I would urge folks, for all emails on this listserv but perhaps
especially those about gender-free terminology, to *answer the question
that was asked*. If you disagree with the premise of the question, then do
not respond to the thread, or if you feel you really must say something,
put your comments in a separate thread with a different topic. But if I ask
whether people prefer seitan or tempeh, responding with your opinions about
why vegetarianism is silly doesn't get us any further towards answering the
original question, and only serves to derail the conversation.

I completely understand people's exhaustion with large-scale debates about
whether or not we need gender-free terminology, what those role names
should be, etc. I also think these discussions are silly and that this
listserv will simply never reach a consensus on the topic. But these
discussions should not be conflated asking specific, concrete, and helpful
questions about gender-free terminology and calling. If we avoid turning
the latter into the former, maybe we can reduce listserv fatigue around
this topic.

Thanks,
Maia

On Sat, May 30, 2015 at 3:37 PM, Michael Fuerst via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> If a our group of like minded people can't agree on terms to use when
> teaching relatively straightforward dances, can  we expect a nation to
> agree on such trivial issues like  use of force by police, national health
> insurance, income distribution, and money's influence in elections ??
>
> Michael Fuerst  802 N Broadway  Urbana IL 61801  217 239 5844
>
>
>
>   On Saturday, May 30, 2015 2:16 PM, Lewis Land via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>
> I agree with that most recent posting. There seem to be many sincere and
> earnest people out there who want to find the perfect solution for
> gender-free calling terms, but I doubt there will ever be consensus on this
> topic, and really, enough is enough. -Lewis Land
>
> On Sat, May 30, 2015 at 12:00 PM, susanelberger via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> I do wonder whether this horse has been beaten to death.  I doubt that
> there will be agreement, and that's fine.  The topic has been on the list
> several times, and yes, I know I can ignore the postings, but enough seems
> to be more than enough.
>
>
>
>   --
>  *From:* Ron Blechner 
> *To:* Amy Wimmer 
> *Cc:* susanelberger ; callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net>
> *Sent:* Friday, May 29, 2015 3:10 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [Callers] Jets / rubies genderfree terms redux: gems?
>
> Care to branch off non-jet/ruby terms to a new email please?
> On May 29, 2015 2:45 PM, "Amy Wimmer via Callers" <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>
>
> I kinda like suns and moons better than lots of the other alternatives,
> for the same reasons Susan lists. Also, there's Sun Dance and Moon Dance,
> by Robert Cromartie: gents swing in Sun Dance and ladies swing in Moon
> Dance. A precedence, perhaps?
>
> -Amy
>
>
>
> On May 29, 2015, at 8:00 AM, susanelberger via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> I have used suns and moons for years, and prefer them because they have
> one syllable each, sound completely different from each other, and are easy
> for the dancers to remember.  I have never had any issue arise about gender
> bias from them.  The conversation about which gems to use does seem a bit
> too overthought to me.
>
> Susan Elberger
> Lowell, Massachusetts
>
>   --
>  *From:* Delia Clark via Callers 
> *To:* "" 
> *Sent:* Friday, May 29, 2015 6:52 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [Callers] Jets / rubies genderfree terms redux: gems?
>
> Okay, this conversation, plus the lunch table at the Puttin’ On the Dance
> Conference in Ottawa are FINALLY getting me to give up clinging to moons
> and stars (the only non-gender term I’ve ever used, which I have liked with
> families and have found works well, but which I understand is too gender-y
> to be acceptable as the solution we’re looking for - dang!). I am herewith
> committing to trying out Jets and Rubies next weekend at a dance I’m
> calling for a wedding of two women. Will report back.
>
>
>
>
> On May 29, 2015, at 1:56 AM, P. Campbell via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> I like jets & rubies (and have used the terms) for a number of reasons.
> (Don't like gems for same reason about confusion).
>
> In a weird way, it's 

[Callers] Dance length/dances per evening

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Just polling the masses here--how long do you generally run your dances (in
times through the dance, time take, couples going up and back, etc.)? How
many dances do you generally manage to fit into a 3-hour contra evening?
I've heard different wisdom from different folks and am curious to add some
more data points!

Cheers,
Maia

Re: [Callers] When the dancers aren't paying attention

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

I also think it's worth mentioning that we can model as dancers the
behavior we'd like to see as callers. Socializing and catching up with
friends is excellent, but when I'm dancing, I make an effort to always
quiet down and listen to the caller whenever they start speaking, and
perhaps gently direct others' attention to the caller (not with a "shh",
but by excusing myself from conversation and looking at the caller). My
hands-4, and sometimes those around us, will generally take the hint. I
think this modeling is especially important around new dancers--we want to
send the message that the walkthrough is something to be listened to, not
something to be chatted through (which is just rude, and even if you're
experienced and don't need to be paying full attention to the walkthrough,
other dancers in the hall do need to pay attention, and you're making
things harder for them).

Another thing I try to do, and try to encourage my friends to do: if I do
need to teach from the floor as a dancer (say, some beginners are getting
hung up on a new move), *do it with as few words as possible, preferably
non-verbally. *Again, the more you talk in line--even if it's for a good
reason--the harder it is for the people who most need to pay attention to
the caller to do so. Teaching verbally from the floor also diverts
attention and authority from the caller in ways that nonverbal teaching
does not. So often as a caller I've seen a problem in the room (in a
walkthrough or a lesson) and tried to correct it, only to find multiple
different experienced dancers explaining the move to small groups, so that
I can no longer get the attention of the room, and it takes much longer to
solve the problem.

On Thu, Apr 23, 2015 at 12:47 PM, John W Gintell via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> I certainly agree that a "s" or similar utterance is not a good thing
> to do.
>
> One of the consequences of people talking during the walkthrough  is that
> it sometimes hard to hear the instructions - especially at the back of the
> hall. And of course it is at the back of the hall where there are more
> inexperienced dancers who need it more.
>
> Another problem is that if the musicians are noodling - and of course out
> of synch with the walkthrough -it also makes it harder to hear the caller.
>
> So, it is important for callers speak clearly and loudly during the
> walkthrough and make it clear that it has started;
> and sound people listen at the back of the hall to see what it is like.
>
>   John Gintell
>
> On Apr 23, 2015, at 12:24 PM, Donna Hunt via Callers wrote:
>
>  Erik wrote:
>
> Often, after people have lined up, they talk with each other, their
> partner, their minor set, or other people around them. Often callers strive
> to get everyone to shut-up so they can start the dance. I've come to
> believe this time of conversation is the main time we get to know a little
> about each other and is thus a "community building time."
>
>  I, personally, love hearing dancers talking amongst themselves.  To me
> it's a reflection that they are having fun and that they feel comfortable,
> relaxed and are "building community".  If they aren't talking enough (by my
> expectation) I'll prompt them early in the evening to say "hi" to their
> neighbors and introduce themselves and this gets them chatting a bit.
> Later in the evening I might begin a dance with a Right Allemande and I'll
> say "Give your right hand to your neighbor and introduce yourself (pause)
> and Allemande Right.
>
> On the other hand I find it rude and detestable for a caller to "s"
> the crowd.  If the caller tries to begin a walkthrough (ie, "Are you ready"
> as Erik suggests) for a time or two, the dancers will "shhh" themselves.
> This (extra time) allows folks to finish their conversations and be ready
> to listen.  The positive benefits to dancers politely socializing is
> tremendous, even if it means the caller needs to call one less dance in the
> evening.
>
>
>  Donna Hunt
>  
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> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>
>
> ___
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> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>

Re: [Callers] Applause or Not...

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

I often announce the band again, possibly with a "give a big hand to..."

On Wed, Apr 22, 2015 at 10:08 PM, Erik Hoffman via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> 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?
>
> ~erik hoffman
> oakland, ca
> ___
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> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>

Re: [Callers] dance request

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Hmm, I have it written as "Frannie's Alarm Clock"... Is this the dance
you're looking for?

*Frannie's Alarm Clock* by Luke Donforth (becket, counterclockwise; mod+)
*A1:* gents alle. L 1 1/2; N swing
*A2:* long lines, ladies roll next N; ladies chain
*B1:* half hey; single file circle R in hands-4 (ladies face across, gents
face partner)
*B2:* (ladies turn over R shoulder to) gypsy P, swing P

Cheers,
Maia

On Mon, Apr 20, 2015 at 9:27 PM, Laur via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Does anyone have "Fannie's Alarm Clock" to share?
>
> Thanks -
>
> Laurie P
> West MI
>
> ~
> When I dance, I cannot judge, I cannot hate, I cannot separate myself from
> life. I can only be joyful and whole, that is why I dance. ~Hans Bos~
> ~
>
> ___
> Callers mailing list
> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>

[Callers] Difficulty rankings?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

As I overhaul my contra deck and realize that my difficulty ranking system
is super incoherent, and most of my dance rankings are from way before I
had any idea what actually makes a dance easy or hard, I've been thinking
of scrapping this difficulty ranking system and just starting over. So I
was wondering: if you rank your dances by difficulty, what is your system,
what are your benchmarks for various difficulty levels, what sorts of
things do you consider when determining the difficulty of a dance? If you DON'T
rank your dances, why not?

Cheers,
Maia

[Callers] Mystery dance!

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Found an unlined 3x5 card in my deck with this dance written in pencil in
mysterious, shaky handwriting. The card has the title Late in the Evening,
though I have no idea if that's the actual title. Attributions, anyone?

A1: (new) N bal & box the gnat
mad robin (gents forward first... gents cross set to...)
A2: P gypsy
P swing
B1: gents alle L 1 1/2
N swing
B2: square through
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[Callers] Giant dance database?

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Hi all,

I'm currently in programming school casting about for programming projects,
and I had the idea of a giant searchable contradance database, where you
can filter by move combination, etc.

My question: is this something people would be interested in having? Or
does it run the risk of infringing on intellectual property, or
shortchanging dance writers on book sales, etc.? (Obviously no dances would
be included without the author's permission, but it may be that making a
huge ton of dances freely available and searchable in one place online
would be a death blow to published books of dances, or have some other
negative effect I'm not foreseeing right now...)

Anyway: does anyone have any thoughts on this project?

Cheers,
Maia
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[Callers] Yet more unknown dances!

[Maia McCormick via Callers]

Hi all,

Cleaning out my pile of notes on excellent and unknown dances again. If
anyone knows names/authors for these, shout it out! Thanks so much!

Cheers,
Maia

-

*#1: *?, imp. ("cool shadow dance")

A1: new neighbor balance and swing

A2: ladies bull by right to allemande partner L 3/4; shadow allemande 1 1/2

B1: in wavy lines w/ ladies facing out, balance, spin right to partner
(like a half Rory O'Moore); partner swing

B2: circle L 3; do-si-do neighbor 1 1/2 to the next



*#2: *Becket – Left prog.

Long lines F / Ladies chain (to Nbr)

(Petronella) balance ring, spin to Right / Balance ring, spin to Right

[Square thru two]: Right hand balance w/partner, Pull by partner to
face Nbr,

Along set pull by Nbr to face next neighbor

Swing new neighbor

Circle Left ¾ / Partners Swing



*#3: *Imp.

A1: long lines

Gents alle L 1 ½ to short waves (partner in R)

A2: balance, partner alle R ¾ to long waves

Balance and circulate

B1: balance and circulate

Balance and partner cross to swing

B2: circle L ¾

Pass thru and swing next

(Greenfield, Halloween Extravadance 2013)



*#4: *???, becket

A1: long lines

Circle L ¾

A2: N swing

Next N swing

B1: Prom across and face R

Ladies R 1 ½

B2: shadow swing

Partner swing

(NEFFA ’14)


*#5: *???, becket

A1: yearn L

Gents chain

A2: bal ring, roll P away

N swing

B1: R/L thru

Ladies chain

B2: bal ring, roll N away

P swing

(NEFFA ’14)



*#6: *???,  imp

A1: star R

star L

A2: P courtesy turn and ladies cross

Swing N

B1: gents by R(?)

P swing

B2: long lines (and gent roll lady)

Pass thru, turn R, prom single file to next

(NEFFA ’14)



*#7: *???, imp.

A1: N b

Pass ocean and balance

A2: N R ½, gents pull by L, P R ¾

B1: Shadow alle L 1x

P swing

B2: pass ocean, bal

P R ½, gents pull by, N R ¾ to next N

(NEFFA ’14)



*#8: *a frustrating fragment--loved this dance, but have no idea what the
rest of the choreography is!!

mad robin gents in front à gents cross for long waves

balance and circ.

Balance and circ

P swing

(NEFFA ’14, Saturday)
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