Erik and Alan make good points.
I also think it's worth the exercise to try to rank dances, and individual
figures, by difficulty as a way of thinking about what makes a dance hard
or easy.
For example:
Which is easier to teach (or to learn): chain, hey, right & left through?
That analysis is w
One of the lessons I learned in a Bruce Hamilton workshop was that the
caller's attitude is a tool and it must be kept sharp. He mentioned the
example of Bob Dalsemer always projecting a strong sense of well-being,
everything is going just fine.
I realized that while my stage presence often did th
I think Neal makes very good points about the wisdom of transferring
square-dance moves to contras. I think such transfers can be fun if done
well, but the teach must be very efficient or else will be likely to
frustrate dancers. The challenge grows steeper for a newish caller.
Consider whether suc
If you can find UNscented talc (and good luck with that!), try it in a
small area to see if it works on your floor.
Do NOT use scented baby power -- the cure would be worse than the disease.
--Jerome
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
"There's no point in being unhappy a
oblems, it's a problem for everyone. Please,
> do not talc the floor!
> Andrea
>
> Sent from my iOnlypretendtomultitask
>
> On Jul 20, 2015, at 3:05 PM, Jerome Grisanti via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> If you can find UNscented talc (
I was recently calling dances at a small gathering using recorded music,
and I altered the duple minor English dance "Easter Morn" just slightly to
dance it as a triplet. In the B2, instead of ones leading down and casting
back, I had the ones cross and cast down once place (to the bottom, threes
m
In addition to filtering, for those who use Gmail, there is a More button
above your mail, which contains the choice "Mute." When you mute a
conversation, new messages in the thread bypass your inbox unless your name
is added specifically as a recipient.
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/4778
Joseph,
One other thing you might encounter is different interpretations of
language and timing. So for example I've seen MWSD groups perform a
"do-si-do" as a four-count swing rather than an 8-count back-to-back. And
I've seen chains take six counts, with the other two counts spent wondering
why
If you look at Fiddleheads (a classic), you might also consider Cary
Ravitz's Fiddle Tales (Fiddletales?), which retains the signature diamond
petronella turns but also includes neighbor swings.
--Jerome
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
"Whatever you do, or dream you c
As Aahz points out, contra medleys are highly dependent upon enunciation
and the sound system. They are also highly dependent upon the crowd's
expectations and experience.
I recently called for a group that included a high percentage of
"experienced" dancers whose approach seemed to be, "every tim
Luke,
I don't recognize it, but it looks fun.
Just curious ... did you have a particular tune in mind that shaped your
desire for the balance at the top of the B sections?
--Jerome
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
"Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness
In 2015 I wrote (and called) a dance that may already exist; if it's unique
I'm sure it's only slightly so. Wondering if anyone knows of this sequence
(or very similar one) under a different title.
Thanks!
Jerome Grisanti
Another Equal Turn
By Jerome Grisanti (?)
Improper Contra June 2015
A1
(Ne
Kelsey,
Neither sequence rings a bell, but others on this list have more
encyclopedic collections and may answer more fully.
I do wonder about Delish. It appears the B2 swing happens on the gent's
side, and presumably so does the B1 swing. But B1 starts with partners
across the set from one anoth
Jacqui,
I have called proper longways dances (without diagonals or out-of-minor-set
interactions) for two couples, switching active couples with every other
iteration but maintaining the same orientation in the room. Works well with
many English dances -- for example Softly Good Tummas -- because
I agree with Chet that Louisville's default star is hands-across, although
weekend festivals in nearby cities tend toward the millstone star. I avoid
the terms wrist-lock or even wrist-grip star, as I prefer the fingers to
lay atop the adjoining wrist without using the thumb to "grip" in any way.
Kalia,
In Erik's dance, it appears partners are in adjacent lines of four (whether
women or men are in front depends on which side of the set you're on, also
which way the lines are turned. It also appears that the first 12 beats of
the Dublin Bay figure are as usual, but the last 4 beats are repl
Kalia,
In my mind's eye, lines in B1 are facing the stage at beat 12, outsides
turn to face down, insides walk forward to meet partners in beats 13-16.
That's what I picture. Erik, is that correct?
--Jerome
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
"Whatever you do, or dream
Recently, the university where my wife works got rid of their dance
department, and my wife brought home to me multiple copies of a bunch of
folk dance books, including:
Folk Dances of the British Isles (Anne Schley Duggan, Jeanette Schlottmann,
Abbie Rutledge -- at least three copies)
Folk Dance
Yoyo,
I don't know if such a sequence already exists, but your point about the
awkward transition had me wondering about replacing your B2 with:
Balance the ring, pass through, turn alone.
Star left 3/4 (three quarters).
Jerome
On Monday, March 6, 2017, Yoyo Zhou via Callers <
callers@lists.
Re: cow-related titles, I believe Carol Ormand wrote a dance called Heifers
in the Peonies.
--Jerome
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
"Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power
and magic in it." --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
On Wed, Mar
I tend to think of the zig as four beats and the zag as four more. Four
total would be zesty or rushed, depending on the crowd and music.
Jerome
On Friday, March 24, 2017, Tom Hinds via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> I believe that zig left, zag right normally takes 4 beats
Dear Maia,
I recently composed a contra that may fit your criteria. I've sent it out
to a few other callers, and posted it to a small Facebook group, but its
challenges make it unsuitable for most dances on my schedule. The
challenges are: multiple progressions/regressions and potential
disorienta
I could visualize giving a left hand to your partner to help the transition
from petronella spin to ladies chain. The ladies' orientation remains
facing into the set, while the gents would spin a bit more and face out,
with a left-hand pull-by helping ladies into the chain and the gents into
positi
Lovers of traditional dance,
>
>
It is with sadness I announce that Marie Cassady, a dancer and teacher of
dance in Louisville Kentucky for many many years, died on Sunday afternoon.
She was 104, just two months shy of 105.
Marie founded Louisville Country Dancers, which has since become a mostly
You can see videos that Art Hoffman made a few years ago taking with Marie
in her home:
https://youtu.be/0DE1yiMT2Yo
Jerome
On Wednesday, October 11, 2017, Jerome Grisanti
wrote:
> Lovers of traditional dance,
>>
>>
> It is with sadness I announce that Marie Cassady, a dancer and teacher of
Maia,
I agree with what others have said about attitude being the most important
tool, and to be gentle with yourself.
I will sometimes tell the beginners lesson that they shouldn't get caught
up on making mistakes, we all make mistakes, in fact tonight I will make a
mistake to increase their com
Angela,
Square dance callers do these substitutions as well.
One very basic exercise for Modern Western Square Dance callers is to
develop sequences (2, 3, 4 or more) moves that get dancers to the zero box,
which is most easily visualized by having head couples move forward one
step, then turning
Chuck,
I would encourage you to have plenty of easy to medium-easy dances
available, and avoid programming all complex dances.
Consider an easy dance done as a no-walk-through, or with minimal
walk-through, or with a focus on executing this one little timing thing
well so the whole crowd can hav
Some of you may have known Susan Moffett, who was a dancer and a caller and
a musician (and an artist and a mother and a wife and a friend and a
professor and a teacher in the truest sense). She danced and called dances
in Louisville and the surrounding region.
She was consistently positive and su
Jean,
At the end of the A2 Box the Gnat, the gents have their backs toward their
original neighbor and so must release the box-the-gnat hand with intention
in order to turn their body into the neighbor balance & swing. Not
necessarily a problem, just a heads-up. The ladies, it appears, will be
fac
Fellow Callers,
Deborah Denenfeld of Dancing Well confirms that this is indeed Bottoms Up.
And if I might put in a plug here: Dancing Well does wonderful and worthy
work, and while gifts are always welcome, TODAY is a special fundraising
opportunity, as all gifts on Sept. 13, 2018 (before 11:59 E
In the English repertoire, in Freeford Gardens and really most any dance
that has people leading out to the side of the set there is the opportunity
to loop around folks in the next set. Similarly, in progressive squares
such as grapevine twist when I'm in the couple that's last in a figure,
I'll i
I wonder if this might be considered the second half of Tag the Line (Half
Tag is a common term, but it's the first half that square dancers use).
Modern western square dance callers may think differently.
--Jerome
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
"Whatever you do, or
Alexandra,
>From the subject line of your note I'm guessing you're familiar with Roger
Diggle's Two Whos in the Middle, but I'm sending it offline in case you're
not.
--Jerome
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
"Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has
I attempted to send Tom Hinds a private query today and got a message that
his mailbox is full. I don't have his phone number. Can someone in direct
contact with Tom let him know I'm trying to reach him? (Alternatively,
share his phone number directly to me -- i.e., off list).
Thanks in advance!
Helle,
I echo calls for connected dances, and to put aside the impulse to call
duple minor dances.
Consider as well that many experienced dancers, despite a desire to be
helpful, may not actually be particularly helpful. This is because the
skills involved in being helpful are both subtle and als
Hivemind:
I would like to have someone (or several someones) who know the Kathy
Anderson square check my transcription to see if I've got it right or wrong.
Please reply directly to me, since I can't find the dance published online
and I presume that is intentional.
--Jerome
Jerome Grisanti
66
Thanks to all of you who replied with the directions for this dance.
Cheers,
Jerome
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
"Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power
and magic in it." --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
On Mon, Apr 22, 2019 at 10
Lenore,
I taught a workshop on this exact topic. I'll send you my notes when next
I'm at my computer. (Saturday, perhaps).
Jerome
On Friday, April 26, 2019, Lenore Frigo via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> I would like to teach some of my more advanced dancers some flourish
One of the selling points of Sasha (besides the fact that it's REALLY fun)
is this:
In Russian, Sasha can be either a boy's name or a girl's name, so it
doesn't matter who you face or who you are. (Some kids of a certain age are
reluctant to interact with all their classmates, but I find this give
I find the real challenge sometimes is getting other dancers to adjust
speed, stride length, etc. in order to support fellow dancers who may be
limited by age or something not visible.
I encourage people to be mindful of their fellow dancers and may mention
that adjusting to others in various ways
Yoyo,
What's the starting formation -- four couple longways proper? I'm having
trouble picturing all turn contra corners but perhaps I'm missing something.
--Jerome
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
"Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and p
;
> — Chet Gray
> dance caller
> Louisville, KY
> (502) 419-7008 <+1-502-419-7008>
>
> On Sun, Jul 16, 2017 at 10:51 PM, Jerome Grisanti via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>> Yoyo,
>>
>> What's the starting formation --
>
>
>>
I wonder if this sequence has already been written (and titled):
Trip to Kentucky
Improper contra
Jerome Grisanti (unless prior claim exists)
A1: Long lines go forward, roll away as you go back (women moving from left
to right in front of their neighbors).
Men allemande left 1.5.
A2: Part
you have tried this dance with people and up to speed, what sort of
> feedback did you get on that transition?
>
> Mark
>
> On Tue, Jul 18, 2017 at 9:55 AM, Jerome Grisanti via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> > wrote:
>
>>
>>>>
>> I
of a circle R into a swing. But I don't recognize the
> sequence.
> Cheers,
> Andrea
>
> Sent from my external brain
>
> On Jul 18, 2017, at 9:55 AM, Jerome Grisanti via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>
>>>
> I wonder if
Amy,
Nice work. This sort of occasion is why I have some dances in my repertoire
that don't have roles of any type, but the cows/chickens approach is clever
and creative.
Jerome
On Monday, July 31, 2017, Cara Sawyer via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> This is THE BEST email
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