Complexity Swing by Roni Wiener, anyone? https://www.sundragonrising.com/contra.html#Complexity_Swing
--jh-- On Tue, Sep 26, 2023 at 3:51 PM Neal Schlein via Contra Callers < contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > Hi Tony, > I apologize for getting the attribution wrong – – I couldn’t remember > which of you wrote the dance and guessed. I memorized it years ago from a > callers manual written by Don Armstrong. > > Several notes about all that… > > The Folk Fellowship was reconstituted and went off-grid at the request of > the LSF to avoid being at odds with the Shaw Roundup. Which was a bit > silly, since it was many of the same people. It was on hiatus for some span > between the late 70s and the 80s, but was back by the 90s and ran until > imploding (permanently?) around 2005. > > It was good to see someone else mention Gib Gilbert. He started teaching > me to call shortly before his death, and I still consider him my > stylistic mentor; my favorite calling compliment ever was from someone in > Berea who said I sounded just like him. > > Also, Gib actually wrote the “mixer” I mentioned, which makes me realize > it had to be in 1998 or 1999 because I hadn’t met my wife yet. I’m > probably the only one who remembers dancing it. > > As for Inflation Reel…it has always had a special place in my heart, and > I use it often. The first time I tried to call anything was an utter > disaster: the singing call Riverboat, with Calico & Boots’ occasional > in-house band…except it turned out they didn’t really know the tune. The > second attempt (six months later, to recorded music) was Inflation Reel. It > started to go off the rails as well because I was staring at my notes until > Gib intervened. His annoyed face suddenly appeared in my vision, he plucked > the cue card from my hand, smacked it on the table, and growled, “Never > hold cards—5, 6 and…!” I pulled the dance back together, and still follow > that rule. > > The incident in Tucson was extra ridiculous, because > I had actually suggested Inflation Reel to the caller for those very > reasons. I was splitting an evening Intro to Contra hour with an > experienced MWSD caller who loves contras but (it turned out) fundamentally > did not understand teaching them or calling for beginners. He had never > presented them to the local dancers, so no one had any experience at all. > Unfortunately, as the “ranking” person he wanted to go first. I don’t > remember what I used for the second dance, but it was pure recovery. > > As for why it failed…yes it was taught and called poorly, but the MWSD > world itself has also changed; the notion of a lengthy (8 count) swing is > foreign to many dancers, as are fitting figures to the phrase, 8-count > timing, memorizing a sequence, or interpreting calls in the absence of > direct instructions. The dancers themselves have also slowed down. > Inflation Reel can break at numerous points on these fronts, depending on > what the caller does. > > Neal > > > > On Tue, Sep 26, 2023 at 9:12 AM Tony Parkes <t...@hands4.com> wrote: > >> >> >> Ah, Neal’s post stirred memories… >> >> >> >> True, context is everything, but I was a bit surprised to read that >> MWSDers had trouble with Inflation Reel. I (not Don Armstrong) wrote it and >> Shadrack’s Delight specifically to appeal and be accessible to both trad >> and MWSD groups. I’ve used both dances at Intro to Contra sessions at >> National SD Conventions, with no trouble. Perhaps the caller at the Tucson >> event was relatively new to contras and/or hadn’t worked out how to present >> Inflation. (Note: On occasion I’ve used Inflation as a first contra with >> MWSD peeps, and avoided the wait at the ends by calling Trade By after the >> Pass Thru. [Trade By = those facing a couple Pass Thru, those facing out >> Partner Trade… which takes care of the cross over.]) >> >> >> >> And I have fond memories of my two summers with the Lloyd Shaw >> Fellowship, an invitational group that was the predecessor of the Folk >> Fellowship. (I didn’t realize the FF lasted into the 21st century.) John >> Bradford was one of several respected callers in that world, which >> straddled the trad square and MWSD worlds. Others were Gib Gilbert and Bob >> Howell. >> >> >> >> It was Don Armstrong who got me an invitation to the Shaw Fellowship, and >> who made me a household name among MWSD-affiliated contra callers by >> publishing Inflation and Shadrack, first in Sets in Order magazine (of >> which he was Contra Editor) and shortly thereafter in the Contra Manual >> that he wrote for SIO. He recorded the calls for both dances on the Lloyd >> Shaw label (using music I wouldn’t have chosen, but you can’t have >> everything). >> >> >> >> Tony Parkes >> >> Billerica, Mass. >> >> www.hands4.com >> >> New book! Square Dance Calling: An Old Art for a New Century >> >> (available now) >> >> >> >> >> >> *From:* Neal Schlein via Contra Callers < >> contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> >> *Sent:* Tuesday, September 26, 2023 10:51 AM >> *To:* Jerome Grisanti <jerome.grisa...@gmail.com> >> *Cc:* Michael Fuerst <sjapartme...@gmail.com>; Shared Weight Contra >> Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> >> *Subject:* [Callers] Re: Most difficult contras >> >> >> >> I have a couple of answers that are not exactly on-topic, because the >> answer is contextual: >> >> >> >> Inflation Reel by Don Armstrong when attempted at a MWSD convention in >> Tucson. (I was dancing.) >> >> >> >> Anything called to the Eastern-European-style band that played in Bend, >> Oregon circa November of 2003. (I was calling, it was their first time >> playing for a dance.) >> >> >> >> A contra written for the caller’s son’s wedding and pre-tested at the >> Folk Fellowship dance camp, circa 2002; it was the first time most (any?) >> of us had encountered an Orbit. In the camp yearbook notes it said that >> John Bradford had deemed the dance, “the greatest mixer ever >> written…although there was some question whether it was supposed to be >> one.” (This was a closed group and an expert caller with 50+ years >> experience. In my entire life, I have never seen another dance devolve like >> it. Couples peeled from the end and individuals were staggering out of the >> middle of the line because they were so disoriented, yet somehow it >> continued to grind on. The dance went off phrase, out of rhythm, the >> caller himself got lost and couldn’t maintain the sequence…in the end he >> didn’t even cut the music off for us; the line just fatally disintegrated >> all at once. ) >> >> >> >> >> >> Neal >> > _______________________________________________ > Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net > To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net >
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