On 12/11/08, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hay folks, > Typically, how many Becket dances will you call in an > evening? > I seem to be on a Becket "kick" as of late, and don't wish to > over do it.
Looking at my programs, it looks like in the last year of 15 contra dances, I've only called 18 Becket dances. (Last week I realized I hadn't introduced Becket when I got to the triple minor, and needed to use that term...) But this isn't intentional. For me, Becket vs. Improper is just a different way of starting the same dance. I don't see any deep difference between them. Still, there are a couple of factors that tilt me improper-wards: -When programming I seek dances that don't always end and start the same. Most Becket dances end with a partner swing. -Improper dances tend to be simpler than Becket dances, hence more of them get done. (This is because an improper choreography must reach three choreographic mileposts during the dance -- progressed, neighbor swung, and partner swung. Becket must reach two mileposts -- neighbor swung and partner swung; so there's more time in the dance to wander far, far away from these mileposts/stations.) (Drop the neighbor swing requirement and the above still holds.) -My use of other dance formations -- squares, four-face-fours, circle mixer, triplets, and so forth -- automatically decreases both the number of improper and Becket dances. -I think there's more good improper sequences out there than Becket ones, quite possibly because that's what more people have intentionally been trying to write. I have no data to support this, however. -Chris Page San Diego
