Contra Callers

contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net

4 participants
4417 discussions

by Maia McCormick

Hey all, Got an inquiry from someone who enjoyed contra dancing at Flurry, has a big barn (120 people) at which they've held barn dances in the past, and is curious about holding a contra. Would anyone be interested in calling an event or two for them? Let me know, and I can put you in touch. Cheers, Maia (Brooklyn, NY) -- Maia McCormick (she/her) 917.279.8194

9 months, 2 weeks

Classes for Callers

by Janine Smith

Hello Friends! Look what’s being offered at CDSS American Week at Pinewoods (July 19-26). Not one but 2 Callers Classes! Wheeeee! *Let’s Throw A Barn Dance! – Janine Smith* Ever been asked by a friend to call a dance at their wedding? Or are you in a community with a lot of 20- and 30-year-olds and you want to get them up and dancing *fast*? Want to dance some really fun, easy dances in the last period of the day? Well, come on down! Learn how to call simple but satisfying dances that build community and get everyone (including you) smiling and laughing and having a *big old time*. Dancers, callers, and musicians are welcome to attend this very happy workshop. On Thursday, we switch over to honky tonk line dancing to get ready for the big after-hours Roadhouse. This class is where the fifth period P-A-R-T-Y is! *Contra Caller’s Confab – Lisa Greenleaf* We love getting into the nitty gritty of calling and will explore a different theme each day. Participants can choose from such topics as: stellar walk throughs, working with musicians, programming secrets, gotta have stage presence, and practice-practice-practice! We will create a safe space to enjoy learning from each other, so get ready to boost your skill set and your confidence! All experience levels are welcome. ALSO, Pourparler is as magical as

9 months, 2 weeks

SURVEY: Looking for YOUR ideas for Puttin’ on the Dance 3!

by Puttin' on the Dance Team

Dear fellow dance organizers, We’re very excited to be gathering with many of you this spring at Puttin’ On The Dance 3 - Dancing Forward Together! We want your input to help develop the conference program. Can you share your thoughts by completing this short survey by March 12th <https://forms.gle/Zy7ce7Aij2dhBte38>? Reminder that conference registration opens March 1st at www.puttinonthedance.org! We have some great news. We’ve heard from five organizations that have pledged funds to support the conference and reduce the cost for participants. We’re grateful to Country Dance & Song Society (CDSS), New England Folk Festival Association (NEFFA), DownEast Friends of the Folk Arts (DEFFA), Montpelier Contra Dance, and Belfast Flying Shoes for stepping up early with sponsorship grants. Plus, some organizations are offering partial scholarships. We will post the details soon on the POTD website - how to fund your attendance page <https://www.puttinonthedance.org/register/fund-your-attendance/>. Thanks again for completing the survey <https://forms.gle/Zy7ce7Aij2dhBte38> . Dance organizers like you are so important in this world. You give people an opportunity to connect in a positive and real way: face-to-face, hands joined, Dancing Forward Together. Thank you all! POTD3 Planning team (Patty, Chrissy & Emily) -- puttinonthedance.org facebook.com/PuttinOnTheDance *You're on the POTD email list because we think you're interested in conferences for dance organizers. Let us know if you want your address removed. *

9 months, 2 weeks

working with inexperienced bands

by Joseph Erhard-Hudson

Hi all, I live in a relatively isolated community in the contra dance world. To the extent we have a house caller it's me. We are trying to foster and develop new callers, but you gotta have bands too. So, I'd welcome your thoughts on working with new bands. My motive for asking is, a couple of times in the last year we have had new bands come play for our monthly dance. One was a blue-grassey country band. Another was a family group playing predominantly Irish tunes. Their musical skills were fine and their repertoire was serviceable, and they did okay, but there were definitely some rough spots. New musical talent is a valuable commodity for us, and I want to set them up for success. So, how would you approach this? I'd especially love to hear from folks who have done this sort of thing before, but all thoughts are welcome. Joseph Erhard-Hudson Moscow, Idaho, USA

9 months, 2 weeks

Change my email address for this list

by Carrie Dayton-madsen

I need to change my email address to sleepysunstudios1969(a)gmail.com How do I do this? Thank you! Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the wind longs to play with your hair. -Kahlil Gibran On Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 10:00:15 PM MST, <contracallers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: Send Contra Callers mailing list submissions to contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to contracallers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net You can reach the person managing the list at contracallers-owner(a)lists.sharedweight.net When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Contra Callers digest..." Today's Topics: 1. working with inexperienced bands (Joseph Erhard-Hudson) 2. Re: working with inexperienced bands (sjapartments(a)gmail.com) 3. Re: [External] working with inexperienced bands (Tepfer, Seth) 4. Re: Classes for callers? (Emily Addison) 5. Re: working with inexperienced bands (Gregory) 6. Re: working with inexperienced bands (Robert Matson) 7. Re: working with inexperienced bands (Mac Mckeever) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:45:40 -0800 From: Joseph Erhard-Hudson <josephatthecoop(a)gmail.com> Subject: [Callers] working with inexperienced bands To: Shared Weight Contra Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> Message-ID: <CANVBvvNTmA3dpUVqtZpTZ5P9Nge4ch0ymurzcy7xOq0AvRiAAw(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="00000000000057db26062e79f201" Hi all, I live in a relatively isolated community in the contra dance world. To the extent we have a house caller it's me. We are trying to foster and develop new callers, but you gotta have bands too. So, I'd welcome your thoughts on working with new bands. My motive for asking is, a couple of times in the last year we have had new bands come play for our monthly dance. One was a blue-grassey country band. Another was a family group playing predominantly Irish tunes. Their musical skills were fine and their repertoire was serviceable, and they did okay, but there were definitely some rough spots. New musical talent is a valuable commodity for us, and I want to set them up for success. So, how would you approach this? I'd especially love to hear from folks who have done this sort of thing before, but all thoughts are welcome. Joseph Erhard-Hudson Moscow, Idaho, USA

9 months, 2 weeks

Re: Classes for callers?

by Stacy Rose

9 months, 2 weeks

Silly (and deliberately ambiguous) dances

by Luke Donforth

Hello all, A comment someone made at a recent dance festival about not liking the current bird language in contra dancing got me thinking about the "Birds Aren't Real" movement, a fake conspiracy theory <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds_Aren%27t_Real>, with a founder who wants to address the desire for belonging <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VEkzweBJPM> (that I think relates to why we contra dance). Anyway, I decided I should write a dance called "Birds Aren't Real"; and that there should be deliberate ambiguity in the dance. Similar to Schrödinger crossword puzzles <https://blog.brightsprout.com/examples-schrodinger-puzzles/> with multiple solutions <https://www.xwordinfo.com/Quantum>. I'm not saying this is a good dance, or that it should even be danced, I'm saying it was a puzzle that I had fun with while processing, and wanted to share: Birds Aren’t Real by Luke Donforth Contra/Improper A1 ----------- (8) Circle 3/4 (8) Back to Back on the side 1x A2 ----------- (16) Partner balance and swing B1 ----------- (4) Balance the Ring (4) Roll neighbor away across the set (8) Catch and swing partner on the other side of the set B2 ----------- (8) Other Way Circle 3/4 (4) Balance the Ring (4) California Twirl with Partner A circle right in A1 sets up a see-saw, then a balance and swing with your partner in the A2, whereas a circle left in A1 would probably work better with a do-si-do before the balance and swing; hence the back-to-back language. It's a double partner swing, reflecting the unfortunate echo chamber of conspiracy theories. Because the swings are only with your partner, who ends on the left and right doesn't have much impact on the dance, and bird language is optional. But then I wanted a partner and a neighbor swing, and (building on the birbs meme <https://www.audubon.org/news/when-bird-birb-extremely-important-guide>) this fell out: Birbs Aren’t Real by Luke Donforth Contra/Improper A1 ----------- (8) Circle 3/4 (8) Back to Back on the side 1x A2 ----------- (16) Partner balance and swing B1 ----------- (4) Balance the Ring (12) Neighbor swing (middle of the set) B2 ----------- (8) Other Way Circle 3/4 (4) Balance the Ring (4) Turn alone to face new neighbors Again, not one I anticipate calling, but there it is. As Asher Elbein says for Audubon: "*regardless of birb-status—all birds are good."* And much like Peter McIndoe has to break character at the end of his TED talk, I feel I should be explicit about where I stand: I first and foremost want safe and inclusive dance spaces. I prefer the language of Larks and Robins while acknowledging it is not flawless; and am willing to use other terms at the request of the community. Happy Dancing!

9 months, 2 weeks

Classes for callers?

by Brian Roberts

Long time dancer, first time caller. Anyone know of any courses / workshops to improve my calling (in person or online)? I'm willing to travel for the right course. (E.g. Meet Me in St Louis had a calling workshop in 2024, but the schedule isn't out yet for 2025.) My wife and I were long-time Boston-area contra dancers who are now trying to bring the tradition to our adopted city in Austria. Almost all the dancers are new, I'm a new caller, and I believe it would help me to attend a class to learn more and get feedback on my technique. Thanks, Brian ---- Bringing contra dance to Graz, Austria https://contradance.at/

9 months, 3 weeks

Videos: Wheels Within Wheels and Sun Skip

by John Sweeney

HI all, We performed these as a cabaret at the ceilidh last Saturday, so I finally got some good videos. Wheels Within Wheels by Carmen Giunta A beautiful dance in waltz-time in an unusual formation https://youtu.be/I8qBKFqsDCU Sun Skip by John Sweeney A contra-style dance for three couples in a circle https://youtu.be/j_6K58i-cb4 Click "...more" below the videos for lots more information, including the instructions. Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent

9 months, 4 weeks

waltz circle mixer with trios

by d_kreiss-tomkins＠riseup.net

Hello callers, Apologies for the non-contra question: I'm looking for a dance that a musician remembers and would like called. He pictures trios facing around a circle like spokes, waltzing somehow and the middle dancer progressing to the next trio. Please let me know if you have a dance that matches this description! David Kreiss-Tomkins

10 months

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Contra Callers