presenting classic contras (was something else)
David Smukler
at an event this fall and would appreciate thoughts any of you have
about presenting this repertoire in a winning way.
Keeping the sets short enough seems essential. While Dan's technique at
NEFFA for doing this was very clever, it was just hard enough to
communicate that it caused a fair bit of confusion on the floor. Any
other techniques people have used out there?
I'd appreciate thoughts on how to choose which classic dances might
appeal to certain groups, teaching ideas, etc.
With great anticipation,
David Smukler
Mike Prager wrote:
> During Dan Pearl's chestnuts session at NEFFA (THANKS, DAN!),
> I was reminded how relaxing many classic dances can be. While
> the amount of mental challenge may be more, "Sackett's Harbor"
> is positively sedentary compared to most modern contras. Even
> "Rory O'More" seemed soothing! I frankly enjoyed the time to
> rest my bones, to *dance* rather than rush through figures,
> and also to interact more with my neighbors. And yes, it was
> fun -- for the first time in years -- to have to remember
> whether I was a 2 or a 3 each time.
>
> BTW, the Main Hall at the festival was quite full for that
> session (any estimates of how many that is?), and everyone I
> danced with seemed to be having a grand time for an HOUR of
> old dances. To me at least, that suggests those dances are
> not be quite such crowd-displeasers as they've been made out
> to be.
>
> A challenge to those callers who aren't in the habit of
> calling the classics: How about mixing in one or two a night
> to give your crowds a change of pace? Even this lover of
> fast-paced squares enjoys the classics.
>
> Mike Prager
> Beaufort, NC
Dan Pearl
David Smukler <dsmu...@dreamscape.com> wrote:
>Keeping the sets short enough seems essential. While Dan's technique at
>NEFFA for doing this was very clever, it was just hard enough to
>communicate that it caused a fair bit of confusion on the floor. Any
>other techniques people have used out there?
For those not there, I did:
1. Hands four
2. About halfway down, create a bigger gap between foursomes (establishing
a "top" set and "bottom" set in each line.)
3. From the very bottom of the hall, move that couple to be the bottom idle
couple of the "top" set.
The idea is to have a sentinel couple that will prevent the sets from
merging.
Like anything, I think that people get the idea after repeating things
over and over again. I remember when the first modern hey dances were coming
out, any dance with a hey in it took a long time to teach, as it was not
part of the dancer vocabulary. Now, you just call for it, and the dancers
do it.
I figured that my strategy (not original with me, by the way) would be
start to be old hat by the end of the session after some initial confusion.
The usual strategems for dealing with the desire for shorter sets are:
* Form the sets across the hall (for narrow halls)
* Split the sets in two, but make a really obvious gap (fine if you have
space)
* Split the sets in two, and tell the dancers to keep in their own half
(usually fails after 2 or 3 rounds).
Just off the top of my head, I can think of:
* Have everyone in the bottom set cross over, and retake the hands four
from the bottom and work up (upside down bottom set). Probably more
confusing than it is worth.
* Have the top half and bottom half shift sideways so that the temptation
to join the sets is reduced. Probably won't work. The sets will drift
and someone will join the sets.
* Put a "divider" indicator on the floor.
* Do as I did, except ask for hands four half way down the hall, then
take hands four again for the bottom half (with the bottoms taking a #2
from the top half as their first #1).
Other ideas:
* Run the dances a very long time. Absolutely unacceptable in my book.
* Don't call unequal dances. This, alas, is the answer that most callers
for big dances in big halls gravitate towards.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dan Pearl ** Stratus Computer, Inc.
I represent the views of my employer. [*WHAP!*] NO HE DOESN'T
David Smukler
a hard place to transfer unfamiliar information from a caller's brain to that of
the dancers. It may work better in the smaller situation I'll be dealing with.
Who did you learn it from?
Another question in my mind is which dances to use. In one hour you called:
Hull's Victory
Sackett's Harbor
Petronella
Rory O'More
Good choices all! I'll have 90 minutes. Other possibilities that occur to me are:
Chorus Jig
French Four
Lady of the Lake
Lady Walpole's
Queen Victoria
Lamplighter's
British Sorrow
Money Musk
That makes an even dozen. Which six or so do you think I should consider using,
and why? What order? Did I leave out something really good? (Others chime in too!
I'm not just asking Dan.)
The group will include my local dancers and dance gypsies, and there will
probably be a larger percentage of relatively new dancers than at NEFFA. I can
probably do some "priming the pump" by some judicious inclusion of classic dances
during local dances between now and then. My goals (besides all the usual ones of
teaching clearly and efficiently, calling musically, etc.) include presenting
these dances in a way that will overcome resistance from people who have not yet
learned what fun they are. I'm trying to think about how to get across what it is
I like so much about the classics: a focus on phrasing, the wonderful patterns,
and a kind of celebration of inequality - the idea that if you take a turn to
support others you get supported in turn.
David Smukler
Dan Pearl
David Smukler <dsmu...@dreamscape.com> wrote:
>...
>Who did you learn it from?
discussion at a dance camp, and it stuck.
>Another question in my mind is which dances to use. In one hour you called:
>Hull's Victory
>Sackett's Harbor
>Petronella
>Rory O'More
>
>Good choices all! I'll have 90 minutes. Other possibilities that occur to me are:
>
>Chorus Jig
>French Four
>Lady of the Lake
>Lady Walpole's
>Queen Victoria
>Lamplighter's
>British Sorrow
>Money Musk
>
>That makes an even dozen. Which six or so do you think I should consider using,
>and why? What order? Did I leave out something really good?
You're list is pretty complete. There are other dances, of course, but some
are obscure: Boston Fancy, Morning Star, Green Mountain Volunteers, Washington
Quickstep, Megunticook Reel, Doubtful Shephard, Tempest.
Of all these, some are kind of dull. Others feel more like beginner-level
modern dances than a classic dance with a special feel. I'd emphasize the
latter, and avoid, say, Lady of the Lake.
Certainly some of the dances have a special feel indeed. Try and mix up the
moods and demands to illustrate a breadth of what classic dances could offer.
Nancy Mamlin
"Dan Pearl" <pe...@alta.sw.stratus.com> wrote in message
news:9crvk8$9ro$1...@transfer.stratus.com...
>
> Other ideas:
> * Run the dances a very long time. Absolutely unacceptable in my book.
> * Don't call unequal dances. This, alas, is the answer that most callers
> for big dances in big halls gravitate towards.
I don't do either one of those things. I'm not afraid to call unequal dances
(though since I rarely call with NE music, I don't tend to do the classics).
When I start a contra dance, I look at my watch. Five to six minutes later,
I cue the band to go two-three more times. It doesn't matter how many
dancers are on the floor and whether or not everyone has swung every
possible person there is to swing. They can swing them the next dance. I was
"empowered" to do this by Phil Jamison, by the way. The advantage to doing
this is that I don't get bored (calling contras is not the most exciting
part of my dance evening), and I can fit more dances in. This strategy, and
the generally quick walk-throughs I do let me fit in a lot of dancing. So, I
don't get complaints about the uneven-ness of a couple of dances...
There ya' go.
Nancy Mamlin
vvel...@imap3.asu.edu
: In article <3AF1ADC9...@dreamscape.com>,
: David Smukler <dsmu...@dreamscape.com> wrote:
[...]
: >That makes an even dozen. Which six or so do you think I should consider using,
: >and why? What order? Did I leave out something really good?
: You're list is pretty complete. There are other dances, of course, but some
: are obscure: Boston Fancy, Morning Star, Green Mountain Volunteers, Washington
: Quickstep, Megunticook Reel, Doubtful Shephard, Tempest.
: Of all these, some are kind of dull. Others feel more like beginner-level
: modern dances than a classic dance with a special feel. I'd emphasize the
: latter, and avoid, say, Lady of the Lake.
: Certainly some of the dances have a special feel indeed. Try and mix up the
: moods and demands to illustrate a breadth of what classic dances could offer.
I remember that I liked the sideways split in Green Mountain Volunteers
when I read it for the first time. It was one of the few "other
classics" that I found somewhat appealing and not "dull" (I agree with
what Dan says in general even though different people might actually
disagree which are the dull ones and which are "special feel beginner
level dances").
I thought the dance might be great for a small group in a long
hall or a special occasion, like a workshop, where you have select group
in an oversized for th eoccasion hall - it would allow for a good
enjoyable walk down the hall and back for the couples.
Greetings,
Vess
The Martins
<vvel...@imap3.asu.edu> wrote in message news:9cvi2r$h9q$1...@news.asu.edu...
> I remember that I liked the sideways split in Green Mountain Volunteers
>
> I thought the dance might be great for a small group in a long
> hall or a special occasion, like a workshop, where you have select group
> in an oversized for th eoccasion hall - it would allow for a good
> enjoyable walk down the hall and back for the couples.
'Tis a grand old dance. A beginner-heavy crowd has an awfully hard time
getting into position for the start of the dance each time through. Its a
neat old dance, though; looks like a rack and pinion operating.
Bill Martin
David Smukler
Country Dance Book, where it's called Green Mountain Jig ("...Volunteers" is
given as the alternate title). There, it looks like:
duple improper
A1- 1st gent bal & sw 2nd lady WHILE other 2 sashay down the hall and back
A2- 1st lady bal & sw 2nd gent WHILE other 2 sashay down the hall and back
B1- Actives down center, turn alone; return and cast off
B2- R&L 4
Is that right? So, when Bill writes that "getting into position for the start
of the dance each time through" can be a challenge, what is that position? It
sounds like after the rights and lefts the actives would want to move (i.e.,
leap) into the center, back to back with one another, taking 2 hands with the
person we usually call neighbor these days -- like the beginning of Belles of
Auburn by Roger Knox. Is that what you do?
To me this feels like it might be a good one night stand dance for teenagers.
I'm not sure the adjective "grand" is the first one that would occur to me.
(No flames, please. I love teenagers! :-)
David Smukler
The Martins
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Smukler" <dsmu...@dreamscape.com>
Newsgroups: rec.folk-dancing
Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2001 6:02 AM
Subject: Re: presenting classic contras (was something else)
> Is that right? So, when Bill writes that "getting into position for the
start
> of the dance each time through" can be a challenge, what is that position?
David, I got it from the Tolman-Page book, too!
Actives have to get a-movin' directly out of the courtesy turn, gent to
balance on the beat with the next woman and lady to start that sashay
without creating a roadblock. For new people it takes a number of
repetitions to successfully change over from inactive to active, which
causes traffic backups in the sashay line and a lot of rushing to catch up.
> To me this feels like it might be a good one night stand dance for
teenagers.
> I'm not sure the adjective "grand" is the first one that would occur to
me.
It looks grand from the stage! And it can be a grand mess, yes indeed.
GreenM is a very energetic dance but it has mostly 16 beat figures, which
makes it a fine candidate for teenage dances. There is not much to remember,
and it whirls and flies along.
Bill Martin