Oh geez, I had no idea Mo's was the original. Honestly I wasn't sure there even *was* an original - I kinda figured it was any number of dances where you do a few things with your partner and then the head couple sashays down.
When I was taught the dance originally by my mentor here in Halifax there was no crossing over and back. I actually "made that up" myself, as an alternative for the various elbow turns and other turns in my mentor's version - I felt it was too many different intense things to do with one's partner and I was trying to think of things to fill time that were more group-oriented. :D KK Oct 11, 2023 10:19:55 AM Tony Parkes via Contra Callers <[email protected]>: > Katherine, by “variant” did you mean telling two or more couples to gallop > down? Because Mo’s version, as I understand things, is the original Galopede. > My version, and others’, are the variants. > > I generally use the arches to slow people down and get them dancing more or > less on phrase. With kids/families/people of wildly differing heights, > instead of arches, I say “Forward and high five, back up, now shake hands as > you cross over.” Without one or the other of these additions, I find they > rush through the F&B and crossover. > > I agree that arch/duck figures can be problematic. I use Boston Tea Party a > lot less than the other longways on my short list. And I do tell people they > don’t have to keep hands joined in the arch if I think it’s going to be an > issue. (In Over the Top or any dance where a couple arches over a line, I > often see people simply raise their hands without joining them, especially if > it’s an adult with a kid. One father with a very young partner simply held > the kid in the air with both hands over people’s heads, to the amusement of > all.) > > Tony Parkes > Billerica, Mass. > www.hands4.com[http://www.hands4.com/] > New book! Square Dance Calling: An Old Art for a New Century > (available now) > > > *From:* Katherine Kitching via Contra Callers > <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Wednesday, October 11, 2023 7:50 AM > *To:* [email protected] > *Cc:* Shared Weight Contra Callers <[email protected]> > *Subject:* [Callers] Re: Favorite One Night Stand Dances > > I like this variant of Mo's. > I think i've sent this suggestion out to the list in a different context, but > I'll repeat it here- > > To add a bit more interest to these simple repetitive ONS dances, I do a > Gallopede very similar to Mo's, but with a mixer element. > > I designate one line as the Larks and one as the Robins (or one as the > Belugas and one as the Reindeer - anything silly and fun, perhaps relevant to > the context of the event). > > I emphasize that if you're an X you must always stay in the X line, and if > you're a Y you must always stay in the Y line. > Then I demo the progression with a small group to make sure they've got it. > > When it's time for the sashaying/galloping down the middle, I say "make way > for the top Reindeer and the bottom Beluga!" > > The top reindeer walks, skips, or does a silly dance down to the bottom of > *their* line, while the bottom beluga comes up from the bottom of their line > doing the same - sometimes they high five when they pass in the middle. > > Once they reach the ends (of their own respective lines - no switching > lines!), everyone adjusts the line till everyone is facing a new partner. > > If you have a long line you can send the two tops and bottoms (walking in > single file) together. > > this obviously adds a dimension of potential confusion, and some people do > forget it's their turn, or try to join the opposite line - but it's a very > forgiving dance and we never stay on the music to begin with - I find the > mistakes produce tons of laughter and the dancers themselves are always able > to sort the confused people out without any intervention from me. > I've done this dance at a whole range of weddings and community events with > great success. > > Sometimes i'll also add a "peel the banana" part between the partner > interactions and the top-bottom switch - with the top couple splitting at the > top, going down the outside, with everyone in their line following single > file, and all joining inside hands to come up the middle and exactly back to > where they started. > > I favour this type of thing over arching/ducking figures because it flows > nicely for everyone - I find the arching/ducking > a) brings ppl quite close - maybe uncomfortably so > b) makes arms tired > c) can be awkward instead of fun and flowy, trying to squeeze people through > d) gets tricky with ppl of varying heights. > > This is not to say I think arching dances are bad/shouldn't be used - but I > am always trying in my ONS dances to produce the same joyous, amusement-ride > feel of a true contra dance, so I personally like to favour figures that keep > people flowing always. My personal preference :) > > KK > > Oct 11, 2023 5:49:30 AM Mo via Contra Callers > <[email protected]>: > > I usually stat with Galopde as a whole set dance (or 2 long sets side by > side). I dislike asking ONS, wedding guests to make sets of a particular > number (and needing 1 more/less couple) > When I walk it through it’s > A1 F&B cross over > A2 F&B cross back > B1 swing partner > B2 1s gallop to bottom, rest move up > But I warn them that I might tell 2, or more couples to gallop down, then > they need to move up more. > Thanks for reminding me of the tunnel figure, I used to use that in a big > circle as part of the snake dance > *From: *frannie via Contra Callers[[email protected]] > *Sent: *10 October 2023 19:38 > *To: *Erik Hoffman[[email protected]] > *Cc: *Shared Weight - Contra Callers[[email protected]] > *Subject: *[Callers] Re: Favorite One Night Stand Dances > > Notes: If lines are really long do a double toaster with top two couples each > going over one of the lines trading at the bottom and coming back up. > > and > > Double Peel the banana with a 4 person arch at the bottom. > > On Mon, Oct 9, 2023 at 2:39 PM Erik Hoffman via Contra Callers > <[email protected]> wrote: > I’d love to collect a few more whole set dances for one night stands. > >
_______________________________________________ Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]
