Re: [Callers] Waltz-Time Contra Choreography

Ric, that looks more like a normal contra than a waltz contra to me. Can you share your experience of swinging, or teaching a swing, to waltz music? Thanks… Tony Tony Parkes Billerica, Mass. www.hands4.com New book! Square Dance Calling: An Old Art for a New Century (to

Re: [Callers] Waltz-Time Contra Choreography

Dugan Murphy wrote: > Do you have a favorite contra dance written to fit a waltz tune? The one popular waltz contra of the 1945–1960 square dance revival was Hills of Habersham, written in I think 1955: http://www.lloydshaw.org/uploads/3/4/2/3/3423313/hills_of_habersham.pdf The Lloyd Shaw

Re: [Callers] Super easy dances - do they exist?

John Sweeney wrote (back in June): Hi Linda, Re your Box ‘n’ Swat: I have a somewhat similar dance in my files: Circle Mixers Are Fun (by Tony Parkes) A1) Into the Middle & Back x 2 A2) Partner Right Hand: Balance & Box the Gnat; Partner Dosido B1) Partner Left Hand:

Re: [Callers] Genderless calling

Amy Wimmer wrote: << I recently had the opportunity to call a contra to a group of rank beginners in a difficult situation: outdoors, on sloping concrete, without amplification for either myself or the band, to people not expecting a dance, with a band mostly unfamiliar with either contra or

Re: [Callers] Swing Like Thunder

Deborah Hyland wrote: > The next question I had was whether the circles got progressively bigger or > whether it was always circles of 4. Thanks so much! I grew up dancing Swing Like Thunder at the Farm and Wilderness Camps in Vermont (back when the program was all squares, mixers, and couple

[Callers] Docey-Doe (Was: Swing Like Thunder)

Erik Barry Erhardt wrote: > This is Lloyd Shaw's index of dances. > http://www.lloydshaw.org/dance-figures.html Jonathan Sivier wrote: > I'm assuming that the Docey Doe in this dance isn't just a dos-a-do, > but is a more complex set of movements. I know I've done some > similar figures in

Re: [Callers] Two New Dances

John, two suggestions: 1. I'd find a term other than "double gypsy." As I understand it, a "double gyp" in ECD involves two pairs of corners who each do a gypsy, the pairs taking it in turns to approach the middle. 2. If the ones stay together, I wouldn't call it a "pass through," which has an

Re: [Callers] Tax Day Dances

Mary Collins wrote: > I am calling on April 15thwould love some ideas for "tax" related dances. > Any out there? Don’t know if you’re open to including squares, but whenever a series dance falls on April 15 I trot out the ever-popular Taxes Star. Tony Parkes Billerica, Mass.

Re: [Callers] Rotation shifts (was: Another dance-check zig-zag R dance)

Ron Blechner wrote (after giving examples of transitions that some might call awkward): > And maybe the answer someone might give is “these are all bad flow”. Yet > people seem to like many dances with them in it. I would be interested to > find out why. The idea that every transition must be

Re: [Callers] Name and author for circle mixer?

Esmeralda's Revenge by Beth Parkes (in Larry Jennings' Give and Take), adapted from Esperanza by Eric Zorn (in Larry's Zesty Contras). Tony Parkes Billerica, Mass. www.hands4.com New book! Square Dance Calling: An Old Art for a New Century (to be published Spring 2017)

Re: [Callers] Does this dance already exist?

Seth Tepfer wrote: [Does this dance already exist?] > A1: N B > A2: LLFB; Gents Allemande L 1.5 > B1: P B > B2: P promenade across; Circle Left 3/4, N pull by > It seems so obvious that someone must have written it before. It's similar to two of mine. I could have tweaked one or the other

Re: [Callers] Local styles vs. consensus (Was: Another vote for "jets" and "rubies")

Ron Blechner wrote: > With regards to Tony's question about the number of terms increasing in > contra, a question: > I understand that squares used to be more commonly interspersed with contras > at dances, correct? Yes, up until around 1975–1980, most New England series of my acquaintance

Re: [Callers] Another vote for "jets" and "rubies"

Jeff Kaufman wrote: > The gender free dances are split into explicitly LGBTQ ones and ones that are > gender free but not explicitly LGBTQ. I trust that the series in the second category are careful to mention their gender-free policy when (if) they invite new-to-the-series callers to come. No

Re: [Callers] Another vote for "jets" and "rubies"

I second Donna’s request for hard data, particularly on rising/falling/static attendance. Let’s remember, too, that there are many factors involved in attendance, and also that a series can buck the general trend. The church I attend, part of a national body that has seen steep declines in my

Re: [Callers] Local styles vs. consensus (Was: Another vote for "jets" and "rubies")

Rich Hart wrote: << I'd also add to your two requirements (enjoyable and in a safe space), a third one. that is that our dances should also be welcoming to all, regardless of their position in life, and dance skills. As callers, we all try to chose dances and calls that are appropriate, and

[Callers] Local styles vs. consensus (Was: Another vote for "jets" and "rubies")

Chet Gray wrote: <> Amen! One of the things I’ve long lamented about the modern square dance movement is the disappearance of regional variations. If square dancing is viewed as a hobby, it makes sense (given the mobility of people in industrialized countries) to standardize the meaning of

Re: [Callers] Totals for taxes

Luke Donforth wrote: <> Luke, does your “net” figure represent what you have left

Re: [Callers] Catapult 2017 looking for callers

Rob Harper wrote: > Each caller or musician selected gets a travel allowance that will get them > to Atlanta and back. Let me unstintingly applaud this aspect of Catapult. Too many showcases ask performers to pay for the privilege of appearing, whether or not there’s a credible vetting

Re: [Callers] Reverse prog/becket R dances?

Maia McCormick wrote: > Anyone have some favorites to share? Especially interested in dances that are > simple enough to be part of a medley… MY FIRST BECKET (Tony Parkes, 1993) Becket CCW A.1 LL F / Swing partner A.2 Half prom across / Circle 3/4, pass thru B.1 Dosido (or g***y) & swing

Re: [Callers] suggestions for dances

Barbara G wrote: > Wanted to know if anyone has dances with days of the week in the title. Don’t know if you can use a dance without a partner swing, but there’s: Saturday Night Reel (by Herbie Gaudreau) LLFB, swing N (or start with B N) 2WCh, 1/2 prom across Repeat 2WCh, 1/2 prom Star R, star

Re: [Callers] Calling a Halloween dance tonight? Try this circle mixer...

I actually said “Escape.” They were acting crazed enough as it was. Tony From: Amy Cann [mailto:ac...@putneyschool.org] Sent: Sunday, October 30, 2016 2:06 AM To: Tony Parkes Cc: Caller's discussion list ; pourpar...@yahoogroups.com; Lisa Sieverts

Re: [Callers] Calling a Halloween dance tonight? Try this circle mixer...

Thank you, Amy! I used it tonight at a wild church party, calling it Zombie Escape. This was a record dance, so I used the track of Brisk Young Lads that the Canterbury made for CDSS in the 1970s. It’s a jig in A minor like Coleraine, so it worked perfectly. Tony From: Callers

Re: [Callers] Square dance calling book - What would you like to see?

Ron Blechner wrote: > Can the book have a digital version with embedded hyperlinks to relevant > videos? It sounds like a great idea, but I’m not sure it’s practical. We’ve been trying to create a digital version of the contra book, but the call charts keep blowing up. If anyone can suggest

Re: [Callers] Square dance calling book - What would you like to see?

Richard Hart wrote: > How about an answer to the question, Can contra callers who don't sing call > squares, if so, how? The answer seems obvious to me, but that’s because I grew up with an eclectic assortment of squares in various styles, some of which involve no singing at all. Some square

Re: [Callers] Square dance calling book - What would you like to see?

Luke Donforth wrote: I often wonder about pairing breaks with figures… there's some meta-level stuff I'd like to hear unpacked. Another meta-level thing; which squares do you want to stay square to phrasing (besides singing), and when does it not matter? A break-out of expected teaching and

Re: [Callers] A Question Re: Contra friendly squares

Jim Saxe wrote: *** My question is, have any of you ever seen something like this happen? The caller (whether you or someone else, and using whatever words) instructs, say, the head dancers to swing their opposites, face the nearest side couple, and circle with that side

[Callers] Square dance calling book - What would you like to see?

[Posted to Shared Weight callers' list and trad-dance-callers list, simultaneously but separately so replies won't go to both lists] This message is for those of you who call squares, or have thought you might like to call squares. The rest of you may allow your attention to wander. I'm

[Callers] Contra Friendly Squares

Tom Hinds wrote: > There are many reasons some contra dancers don't like squares. One > is that they take a long time to teach. _Some_ squares take a long time to teach with any group, because they're complex even by square dance standards. Other squares take longer to teach to contra dancers

[Callers] Wrist Lock Stars - Summary

Tom Hinds wrote: > I thought it was saddle-pack not that it really matters. Someone (sorry, can't remember who or where) once insisted to me that it was "paddlestack," because it looked like "a stack of paddles." I doubt this very much, as I don't get any Google hits for "paddlestack" in a