being
bounced around will only cause confusion (and some eye-rolling).
You've already made a solid argument for the Luddite position, so I won't
say anything moreexcept this: Please, let's not start an argument over
whether it's pejorative to use the term Luddite!
Barbara Groh
cess teaching a real contra dance. I just don't think an hour
would be enough time. There are contra dance classes for elementary and
high school kids these days, but in general they are a series, not just one
event. If you had 90 mins. or 2 hours, maybe you could pull it off.
Good luck...this sounds like a real learning opportunity for you!
~Barbara Groh
Our Monday night dance in Asheville goes from 8-10:30, but we keep the break
very short5 or 6 minutes. The Thurs. dance runs 8-11 with a 15 min.
break.
When I have to be up early the next day, I really appreciate calling a dance
that ends at 10:30 !
~Barbara
- Original Message -
Rather than sending everyone home and doing two more walkthroughs, you
might
have fixed that one group-- identifying who were the ones and who were the
twos
and where they should now be-- and doing one more walkthrough from that
spot,
then starting the dance from that next progressed place
I prefer to catch the eye of the other lady in a "girl-power, isn't this
fun" way, since we usually start the move by passing by each other, then
quickly shift to my partner and smile - so much more community-friendly,
even flirtatious, IMHO, than the "I can't take my eyes off you" stare with
a
I use the term "Sashay round" which, by definition, is easier for most
people to understand -
I like thatit does define the move much better than Mad Robin! I've
also seen the term "sliding doors" used to describe that figure.
Sashay: move sideways, and Around (do I have to explain th
It's been my experience that dancers have a lot of difficulty ending a swing
mid-phrase. It just doesn't feel right. And some people don't hear or feel
the phrasing well enough to be on time. Often those dances need to be
prompted at that point, all the way through to the end.
Barbara
-
I agree, Grega theme should never carry more importance than the actual
programming. However, if a caller has a large enough collection of dances
to choose from, and enough experience to know what will work and what won't,
then a theme can add a little fun to the evening. In other words,
I have never seen this sequence before...in 21 years of callingand it
looks to me like a great dance. I don't agree with Jeff about the Pet.
twirl into the circle left being weird; I think it would work fine. I will
call this dance at my next gig and let you know how it goes!
~Barbara
---
#2 I wonder if we are looking at a seperation between
traditional and a new style of dancing, not unlike
what happened 40 years ago +/-
If there is going to be (if it hasn't already begun)
a divergance in dance styles and preferances.
In our area (Asheville, NC) the twenty-somethings are con
nd or Old
Time to be pretty boring at times.
Mark, I'm glad to hear that your band keeps the focus on the dance. Some
bands try TOO hard to be different, and the dance quality can really suffer.
~Barbara Groh
- Original Message -
From: "Mark Hillegonds"
To: "
I don't know how they dance it up in MA, but here in NC the gents almd to a
wave of 4. I think that's how the dance was written, and I also feel that
it makes for a better dance!
Have fun...
Barbara Groh
- Original Message -
From: "Rickey"
To:
Sent: Wednesday,
Hey, fellow callers,
I had lots of great suggestions from many of you re: putting together a
gender-swapping w.s., and a couple of people asked me to report on how it
went. So here goes:
The workshop took place at the Moondance weekend in S.C., and we had a good
turnouta couple of longw
in the
position that fits the figure.
?
Limp noodles are a good point when they reverse.
?
Positioning - considerations with height and girth.
?
Some of these things are incidental to the gender workshop, but it all
counts.
?
Laurie Pietravalle
MI
--- On Tue, 9/8/09, Barbara Groh
Hey, y'all,
I'm going to be facilitating a "gender-swap" w.s. at Moondance in a few
days. I've never been to a workshop on this topic, and I thought I would
solicit ideas from the group. Has anybody been to (or perhaps led) a
gender-swap session? Any gems you can share with me on what wor
I'd like to add one piece to the Almd. R 1/2 and do a hop: the dancers are
encouraged to grunt like a bear as they hop. ("Uh!") This is how I saw
Becky teach it, and how I've taught it since. Most folks seem to enjoy the
humor of it, as well as the chance to make some noise.
~Barbara
---
I hold my microphone and pen with the right, I play ping pong and bat at
cricket left handed, and I use a screwdriver both left and right handed.
I
guess that just makes me 'confused'.
Michael Barraclough
No, that makes you ambidextrousor, as an athlete (really!) once said in
an interv
I'm right-handed, but I didn't speak up because...well, I was starting to
feel "ordinary" in the midst of so many lefties.
~Barbara
- Original Message -
From: "Tepfer, Seth"
To: "Caller's discussion list"
Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 8:41 AM
Subject: Re: [Callers] Waiting for Le
I occasionally call dances with a shadow swing, but I would NEVER call a
dance with no partner swing. Many times in my 35 years of dancing, I have
had an evening where I FINALLY got to dance with some special partner, only
to have the disappointment of doing a dance with no partner swing. What
Oops, my bad. I was having another middle-aged moment there.
Barbara
- Original Message -
From: "Jack Mitchell"
To: "Caller's discussion list"
Sent: Monday, February 05, 2007 7:06 PM
Subject: Re: [Callers] Any Good Contra Videos on the Internet?
Except for the fact that it's actual
There's a brief clip of a contradance in Chapel Hill, NC, on the Dancing
Bears' website:
http://main.nc.us/drumdance/bears/tunes.htm
The music is kind of "swingy" and you can't really hear the calling, so it
may not be exactly what you're looking for. But it does give some of the
flavor of wh
I appreciate your sharing, Cynthia---this gave me a good laugh. With many
dances attracting a large percentage of high school and college kids these
days, I see more and more youthful antics while I'm callingthe young men
holding onto their oversized baggy pants with one hand while they dan
22 matches
Mail list logo
