The first hurdle in introducing contra corners to dancers these days is to get
them to know which side of the dance is their proper side. I've been trying to
do a few proper dances when I call and many dancers don't know how to handle it.
Here is a contra corners dance that I like. There are
I don't agree with your list. Yes, swings on the first half of a phrase are
challenging and I might try to avoid them. There are dances with this that
generally work fine, especially if the caller is aware of the potential issue
and teaches and calls accordingly. The do-si-do across can be a
I have a couple of gigs next month. I'll give it a try.
Jonathan
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Jonathan Sivier
Caller of Contra, Square, English and Early American Dances
Dance Page: http://www.sivier.me/dance_leader.html
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Q: How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
A: It depends on what dance you call!
O
Allemande 1 1/2 in 8 beats is certainly possible, though doing half with one
person and once around with a different person probably makes the timing a bit
trickier than 1 1/2 with the same person. However, I think the timing of the
orbits halfway in 4 beats is also tricky, assuming 4 beats fo
This past weekend I attended a dance called by Martha Tyner, who was
celebrating 40 years of calling.
Jonathan
-Jonathan Sivier
Caller of Contra, Square, English and Early American Dances
Dance Page: http://www.sivier.me/dance_leader.html
-
Q: How many angels can dance on the head of a p
I won't be calling at our local contra dance until early June, but I intend to
include some of Tony's dances then.
Jonathan
P.S. - How are you doing Andrew? I see your mom regularly at our English and
Scottish dances. JES
On 5/8/2024 8:21 AM, Joseph Erhard-Hudson via Contra Callers wrote:
Here is a medley I have used with some success. I don't think any of the
figures are especially difficult. I wrote this down several years ago and
haven't yet updated the terminology, so translate it to whatever terms you are
currently using.
Jonathan
Contra Medley
Arranged by Jonathan Sivi
"The Tease" by Tom Hinds is also good. 1's shoulder round, each other, then
swing their neighbors.
Jonathan
On 3/29/2024 3:58 PM, Richard Fischer via Contra Callers wrote:
I like "The Art of Negotiation" by Al Olson in general. I think it might be a
good fit for your April 1st program.
http
I would also be interested in your Popcorn Dance. I call an annual event
called the Fairy Tale Ball at a local library. It is mostly very small kids
dressed up in various costumes, It seems like I'm standing in a room full of
knee-high princesses. A jumping dance sounds like just the thing
It depends on the dance event. For typical contra dances I usually put
together a set of dances a few days in advance and run through them the day
before. I practice both the walk through and calling to recorded music.
Unless there is something special that usually is sufficient. When I fir
And the messages on it, formerly known as "Tweets", will be called "Xcreets".
;-)
Jonathan
On 10/13/2023 3:00 PM, Donald Perley via Contra Callers wrote:
I think folks and media will settle on calling it the X social platform.
Perfectly descriptive.
On Fri, Oct 13, 2023, 3:36 PM Michael Fue
That one is very similar to Saturday Night Stroll by Mavis McGaugh.
Saturday Night Stroll
Mavis McGaugh
duple improper; beginner
1 - Circle left
2 - Circle right
3 - Gents do-si-do
4 - Ladies do-si-do
5-6 1's balance and swing
7 - Down the hall 4 in line, 1's in the center
8 - All back up, 1'
This is something that was always mentioned in calling workshops I attended
at dance weekends, etc. However, that has been quite a few years, so maybe it
isn't taught these days.
I don't write down every tune, but I try to pay attention when I'm calling
and if the tune and dance seem to
econd place,
and twos two-hand turn at top in preparation for cast.
There's no balance and swing, of course, and only right-hand turns, but the
structure is clearly the same.
Jerome Grisanti
On Mon, Aug 21, 2023, 6:47 PM Jonathan Sivier via Contra Callers
mailto:contracallers@lists.shared
There are a bunch of English country dances that have corner/partner figures similar
to the contra corners in contra dance (i.e. Fandango, Prince William, etc.) I don't know
what the earliest one is, but I suspect the figure was well known when the early American
dances were being devised.
Lisa is correct. If your main goal is to recruit new dancers to your local
group, you will be sadly disappointed. That doesn't mean that you won't ever
get someone who enjoys it at the wedding and then follows up by going to the
local dance, but that is going to be very rare. As it happen
Sackett's Harbor is a fun triple minor. No swings, but there are contra
corners.
Jonathan
On 4/5/2023 6:37 PM, Emily Addison via Contra Callers wrote:
Hey contra calling friends :)
I have an admission ... ... ... I have NO triple minors in my card box. I've
been doing certain kinds of gigs
There are some nice squares in Ted Sannella's books. Also, many of the
square dance books and magazines published in the 1950's are good resources.
Check out used book stores.
Here is my experience in getting started with calling squares. I decided to call the
dance "Texas Star". I
It appears that in that book the dance formation is given as a longways, duple,
improper set. Not the circle of couple facing couple that we typically connect to the
Sicilian circle formation. The dance just before it is the Spanish Dance and gives as
the formation, "The first couple at th
I have a Sicilian Circle dance in my collection called Dip for the Oyster
which designates 1's and 2's to determine who ducks or arches first. In my
notes I have 1's facing CCW and 2's facing CW. However, I imagine this is
totally arbitrary and you could do it whichever way you like. In m
Now all we need to do is come up with a figure for the call, "Open the pod bay doors."
Maybe some sort of variation of "dip and dive." ;-)
Jonathan
On 1/28/2023 3:56 PM, Isaac Banner via Contra Callers wrote:
Why wait, let’s hook this up to the text-to-speech engine from Moonbase Alpha
I've been trying to do some of the dances that were popular when I first
started contra dance in the late 1980's. Most evenings would include unequal
dances where the 1's were the active couple and the 2's were inactive. These
dances included figures that have been neglected of late. Like
I like use them when there are very long lines, but also at times just for a
change of pace.
Jonathan
On 10/24/2022 8:34 AM, Rich Sbardella via Contra Callers wrote:
When I began calling contras, I was advised to avoid double progression dances
in general because they had limited use.
When
On 10/22/2022 8:30 AM, Victor Gascon via Contra Callers wrote:
Is there a list of easy double-progression dances that the group can recommend?
Here's a great one that I use often.
Awesome Double Progression Dance
Donna Calhoun-McAllister
duple improper, double progression; beginner
1 - do
The dancers in the lines are going forward and back, so that seems OK to me.
Jonathan
On 10/20/2022 9:57 PM, Tepfer, Seth via Contra Callers wrote:
Tony
Thank you for your feedback. Instead of saying "long lines forward and back", I could have said
"lines of four go forward and back", thou
Dale, let us know how it works out. I may be calling a dance next month and
even when things start to get better I think we'll probably be wearing masks
for a while. Hopefully not forever. I also plan to get some foam mic covers
that I can put on the mic when I'm calling and then remove t
s the booster vaccines, the increased availability of rapid
testing, the vaccination of young children, and the new antiviral drugs will
make a big difference. I certainly hope so. Meanwhile, I prefer to wait.
Best,
Woody
Roseburg, Oregon
On 10/15/2021 5:27 PM, Jonathan Sivier via Contra Callers
Our local contra dance group has not started dancing again. In June and early July we were
discussing starting again in the fall and trying to figure out how that would work. It was likely
going to be for vaccinated only, but wearing masks seems less useful when you are in physical
contac
I've been asked to call a virtual contra dance next month and am looking for
some suggestions for good dances that people have used that work well for 1 or
2 dancers. I've participated in just a few virtual dances, but haven't called
one before. I've got a few ideas, but could use some mor
I recently realized I hadn't gotten any notice of needing to renew my
membership in the Lloyd Shaw Foundation for 2020, though perhaps I just
misplaced it. However, I have no record of having paid it. In the past this
has usually come in January or February.
I attempted to send a messa
I have that dance as "Witches Switches" by Al Olson. I think it may be in
Zesty Contras.
Jonathan
On 2/29/2020 1:56 PM, Liz Burkhart via Contra Callers wrote:
I collected this dance from Frederick Park but he didn't have an author listed.
It's a triple progression dance with no partner sw
While that looks like a fun dance I don't think it is really appropriate for
kids ages 4-10.
You should check out the books from the New England Dancing Masters. I have
Chimes of Dunkirk, Sashay the Donut and Listen to the Mockingbird. These have
several good dances for kids.
Here
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