Rich,
My impression, though I don't have solid data to back it up, is that in
communities where it is (or was) common to mix contra with New-England-style
phrased squares, the tempos for the squares tend(ed) to run pretty similar to
tempos for contras in the same community, or perhaps just a little faster.
When I danced in Pittsburgh, PA, in the early-to-mid 1980s, there was a
thriving "traditional" (maybe "revival" or "neo-traditional" would be a more
accurate term) square dance scene that focused more on southern and traditional
western squares, but some of the callers also included a few contra in their
programs. Again, I don't have solid data, but my vague impression of a memory
is that the square dance tempos ran around 128 BPM and that the contras tended
to be slower, maybe more in the 120 range. In 1994, I made a return visit to
the Pittsburgh area to attend what turned out to be one of the last years of
the Coal Country Convention, a (trad-)square-centric dance weekend. If memory
serves, there were just a few contras included in the program, the band for
that session played at similar tempos to what they'd been playing for the
squares, and those tempos stuck me as inappropriately fast for the contras.
For what's worth, here's a video from 1992 of "The Route" as danced at the
Concord Scourt House, with music by Yankee Ingenuity plus guest musician Steve
Hickman and calling by Tony Parkes:
https://squaredancehistory.org/items/show/267
By my reckoning, the average tempo is around 119 BPM at the start, but speeds
up to around 123, for an average of about 122.
By contrast, here's a 1986 video of an Appalachian-style visiting-couple square
dance called by visiting caller Dolores Heagy of Pittsburgh at Tod Whittemore's
Thursday evening dance series, then held at the VFW hall in Cambridge, MA:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q6mUypeRZA
The tempo is in the low 130s, which I'm sure is quite a bit faster than typical
for contras at that series. By the way, if you pay *careful* attention to the
timing of Dolores's calls, you may be surprised to discover how closely and
consistently they are matched to the musical phrasing.
--Jim
> On Sep 21, 2019, at 11:51 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I am asking about phrased squares as in the New England style.
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
>
> Folks,
> I am curious. Tempo for contra is often below 120 bpm. I learned to call
> squares at about 128 bpm.
> Is this significant difference the norm, and if so why?
> Rich Sbardella
> Stafford Springs, CT
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