When Tony Parkes re-issues his 1992 book _Contra Dance Calling: A Basic
Text_, we'll once again have access to well-thought-out ideas for
teaching the hey and many other figures. Until then, search out a used
copy of this very useful book.
A couple of points that Tony makes about teaching the
My first time teaching a hey this weekend went smoothly - they learned the
hey beautifully. But the progression required a little hook outside the set
for the women after the hey, and they could not learn that. They coped.
Since my mentor, Sarah Smith, really thought they would, we ran it and
Hi Mavis,
I think Beatrice is a fantastic three-part French Canadian tune, so
I would guess Erik wrote the dance for that tune.
I wrote a three part dance once, to go with a three part tune
that some musicians wanted to play, that I thought would be great,
but which flopped when I tried it.
I
D'oh!
I didn't see that there was a dance here - sorry. I didn't look far
enough down the page.
Jo Mortland
Hi, Peter,
I'm a caller from Chicago, looking for a good 3-part contra dance.
Did anyone answer you when you put out that request? Did you get
anything you liked? If so, would you be willing to share it with me?
I'm going to take a look at my favorite dances, too, and see if I
Hi
I saw a 48 bar dance called Beatrice by Erik
Hoffmann - intrigued me.
I am planning to use it in December --- spoke with the
band about a 48 Bar tune set.
Never called a 48 Bar dance before
anything tricky about it - aside from the length
issue - staying focused for
Walter,
I would add just a bit to Cynthia's description, which is that the
middle two turn back to back (or butt to butt) on their way to facing
back up. I've heard this called "come back cozy." Positionally, it's
the same as turning alone (i.e. nobody trades places with anyone
else). As a
The other request is for suggestions on how to teach a hey. (I am a little bit
terrified.)
I suggest teaching via analogy or via demonstration rather than via
description. Experienced dancers are your greatest ally in the
demonstration. The essential teaching piece is: everyone will end up
I think that this is a great way to split up the different parts of
teaching a hey, but don't forget about the second part.
(1st -- weaving, 2nd -- getting turned around and coming back in)
The main thing that people seem to have trouble with on the hey is
the loop out on the end and coming
I'd like to put in a vote for using a half hey instead of a full hey
when teaching new dancers. I think the dancers get the sense of the
move, and it's so short that they don't have time to get scared. It
also means that we as callers don't have to say so many words, which
most new dancers
Here are a few thoughts on teaching the hey - and other calls.
1. Spend as little time as possible "teaching". People learn best by
doing. The fewer words the better.
2. If many of the dancers already know how to do it, depend on the
experienced dancers to help during the dance (but not
teaching a hey - don't worry about it. seriously.
make sure that the dance you're using has a full hey, not half. it's much
easier if they know for sure where they're going. i just tell them it's ok
if they wander around and don't hurt each other, and then go back to where
they started and
I have First Hey:
First Hey - Paul Balliet
Improper
A1: Neighbor Allemande Left 1 1/2
Ladies Chain
A2: Hey For Four
B1: Partner Balance & Swing
B2: Circle Left 3/4
Balance the Ring, Pass Thru to Next Neighbor
There are many ways to teach a hey. The best is a demo. For a full hey
Thanks to everyone who so generously sent me suggestions for easy dances to use
in the fourth slot that I, as a new caller will call at our Toronto Country
Dancer's dance that Bev Bernbaum will be calling next Saturday.
I have attached a Word document that has all the dances, some of which
14 matches
Mail list logo
