[Callers] Re: Bridgerton wedding dance/experience with using non-contra or non-ECD music to modified ECD/ceilidh dances
I tried timing the tempos in those youtube videos of Bridgerton music. My results are mostly close to Erik Hoffman's estimates, except for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un4SsyvnKH4 which Erik describes as "around 140". In the parts where I can hear the beat most clearly, I time that one as around 125 or 126 BPM. Here's what I got for the rest of them: > On May 19, 2022, at 11:20 AM, Erik Hoffman via Contra Callers > wrote: > > ... > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCIG6nbyiUM > This is about 120 BPM. ... I get about 117. > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qi1ApgkdCo > This one is very close to 120. ... I get about 116. > ... > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMU1RZVX5mQ Erik doesn't give a tempo. I measure it as about 118 BPM. > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZhzFE2C-_w Erik doesn't give a tempo. I measure it as about 95 or 96 NPM. > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un4SsyvnKH4 > This one is more fiddlistic, too. Around 128 BPM, could be played slower. Solidly 128. I think they could be playing to a metronome or a click track. In the message that started this thread, Alexandra Deis-Lauby wrote: > The event is normal wedding fare- not experienced dancers. Which will either > mean everything falls apart or they won’t mind the dance being sloppy because > they’re just so excited by dancing and the cool music. > ... > So if you have related experience: Have people been into the music so much > they don’t mind that they’re finding it hard to dance with the phrase and > remember the dance? Are you able to keep them together just by your calling? > Do they kind of figure it out? Other ideas? The very few wedding dances I've called were many years ago and not to this sort of music, so if anyone with more relevant experience wants to contradict me, please feel free. That said, I'd recommend going in with the expectation that most of the wedding guests will not lock on to the phrasing (such as it is) in the music, that many likely won't reliably memorize the dance sequences, and that they won't mind if you keep calling all the way through and if the timing on the floor isn't crisp. If the bride and groom themselves are skilled contra/English/Regency dancers and they seem to expect the kind of dancing they'd find at events they've attended with other hobbyist dancers--or if they're not skilled dancers but have been to an event with a mostly-experienced dance crowd, and they're expecting the dancing at their wedding to be like that--then you might try to temper their expectations in advance. --Jim ___ Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net
[Callers] Re: Bridgerton wedding dance/experience with using non-contra or non-ECD music to modified ECD/ceilidh dances
In my experience wedding dancers can learn four, maybe five dances. You do one seriously easy circle mixer dance IMMEDIATELY after the toasts while everyone is standing right there. Then you do a flight of three dances that all use the same basic moves but are in different configurations: one longways, one random mixer, another circle but this time it's Sicilian. Somewhere in there you break for the cake. NEVER EVER let them serve the cake before the dancing starts, once people eat cake they are DONE with trying things just because the couple wants them to. At the very end you do one more "hard" dance for the hardcores. I'd pick the five best of all of these and then simply Make Stuff Up. Adapt Galopede. Adapt Lucky Seven. Just torque all the best wedding dances out of shape a little until they fit what you have. Take your favorite moves and quilt them together. And charge them extra for the research! A On 5/19/22, Erik Hoffman via Contra Callers wrote: > > > From: Alexandra Deis-Lauby via Contra Callers > > Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2022 10:30 PM > To: contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net > Subject: [Callers] Bridgerton wedding dance/experience with using non-contra > or non-ECD music to modified ECD/ceilidh dances > > Hi all, > > I’ve been asked to call a Bridgerton-themed wedding dance. Part of what > makes the Bridgerton theme is the music… So I’m wondering if anyone has > experience (of either the successful or unsuccessful variety) of calling > dances to music that isn’t our normal dance tempo (these sound a little > faster than normal contra tempo) and aren’t in our standard AABB pattern. > Some of the music examples I'm trying to work with are below (I’ll be using > recorded music) > > The event is normal wedding fare- not experienced dancers. Which will either > mean everything falls apart or they won’t mind the dance being sloppy > because they’re just so excited by dancing and the cool music. > > The dances I’m planning to use are very basic (Galopede, LaBastringue, a > scatter mixer, some version of duke of Kents waltz etc.) > > So if you have related experience: Have people been into the music so much > they don’t mind that they’re finding it hard to dance with the phrase and > remember the dance? Are you able to keep them together just by your > calling? Do they kind of figure it out? Other ideas? > > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCIG6nbyiUM > This is about 120 BPM. It has 16 beat parts that might be able to go A A’ B > B’ or some way to make it work > > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKTnO9fOcE8 > This one is around 140. Could be played slower. Take some orchestration… > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qi1ApgkdCo > This one is very close to 120. Interesting how the bass starts on melody. > > So far I would find all of these tunes interesting to dance to. They are > constructed so differently than fiddle tunes by their primarily > rhythmic—long note melodies. It is the rhythmic section—which does include > fiddles—that make these dunes infective. > > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMU1RZVX5mQ > This one is a bit more fiddlistic, a nice melody. > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZhzFE2C-_w > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un4SsyvnKH4 > This one is more fiddlistic, too. Around 128 BPM, could be played slower. > > Cheers, > ~EriK > > > ___ Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net
[Callers] Re: Bridgerton wedding dance/experience with using non-contra or non-ECD music to modified ECD/ceilidh dances
From: Alexandra Deis-Lauby via Contra Callers Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2022 10:30 PM To: contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net Subject: [Callers] Bridgerton wedding dance/experience with using non-contra or non-ECD music to modified ECD/ceilidh dances Hi all, I’ve been asked to call a Bridgerton-themed wedding dance. Part of what makes the Bridgerton theme is the music… So I’m wondering if anyone has experience (of either the successful or unsuccessful variety) of calling dances to music that isn’t our normal dance tempo (these sound a little faster than normal contra tempo) and aren’t in our standard AABB pattern. Some of the music examples I'm trying to work with are below (I’ll be using recorded music) The event is normal wedding fare- not experienced dancers. Which will either mean everything falls apart or they won’t mind the dance being sloppy because they’re just so excited by dancing and the cool music. The dances I’m planning to use are very basic (Galopede, LaBastringue, a scatter mixer, some version of duke of Kents waltz etc.) So if you have related experience: Have people been into the music so much they don’t mind that they’re finding it hard to dance with the phrase and remember the dance? Are you able to keep them together just by your calling? Do they kind of figure it out? Other ideas? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCIG6nbyiUM This is about 120 BPM. It has 16 beat parts that might be able to go A A’ B B’ or some way to make it work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKTnO9fOcE8 This one is around 140. Could be played slower. Take some orchestration… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qi1ApgkdCo This one is very close to 120. Interesting how the bass starts on melody. So far I would find all of these tunes interesting to dance to. They are constructed so differently than fiddle tunes by their primarily rhythmic—long note melodies. It is the rhythmic section—which does include fiddles—that make these dunes infective. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMU1RZVX5mQ This one is a bit more fiddlistic, a nice melody. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZhzFE2C-_w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un4SsyvnKH4 This one is more fiddlistic, too. Around 128 BPM, could be played slower. Cheers, ~EriK ___ Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net
