Dance Rhapsody Calling
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Playshops
Sessions appropriate for a dance weekend
Contra Learning Playshops |
Contra PlayA session that plays with contra. Careful and safe trading with your partner, your shadow, your neighbors. Taking care of the others in the dance. Tapping in, playing 'Tag' and much more. Controlled chaos. |
Contra with a flourishA session that talks about flourishes in contra dancing, the twirls, pushbacks, using swing moves, and other fun additions. In reality this is a session on timing, taking care of neighbors/partners/rest of your set, safe dancing, and weight, disguised as a flourishes session. Lots of dancing, lots of practice of right and wrong way to do flourishes. But always through dance (not lecture). |
Releasing your inner klutzAn all dance session using experiential learning to challenge the dancers to think about the dance in new ways. Surprising, silly, illuminating. But always through dance (not lecture). |
Fhün Sway: energy flow in contra dance |
| The many gwas of contra dancing A playshop in contra styling - how to make your dancing smoother, more flowing, and more enjoyable for yourself as well as the rest of the line. We will play with (within the context of a dance) better allemandes, courtesy turns, swings, hey, timing, weight, and more. |
Magic Moments |
| A playshop celebrating those moments in a dance where you go "ahhhh!" Magic moments - flowing from one swing into the next; going from a circle into a circle. focusing on those moments in the dance where it all comes together. |
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Whimsical Playshops |
Oh Partner, Where Art Thou? |
| Searching for your partner among a morass of other dancers. Or, how far can you go from your partner and still find them in 32 bars? |
Color Outside the Lines |
| Modern Contra dances focus on the duple minor improper formation, with occasional forays into 4-4 or sicillian formations. But there is a whole world of other whimsical formations to play in. Break out of the box and color outside of the lines in hexagons, triangles, double beckets, triple minors, and more. Plus: cross breed a square with a contra to get a Weston-Mountain Zia formation. |
Blurring the Lines |
| Dancers get very attached to a set role in a dance. This playshop challenges normal assumptions about a dance. We mix up the gender role, we change places in line, we cross between the lines. This not only gives dancers permission to break the rules, it gives them an opportunities to learning about dancing from outside their usual modes. |
Shadow Dancing |
| Dancing with two people at the same time A playground of dances with a partner and a shadow. |
Challenging Contras |
| Exciting, whirling, and challenging contra dances that leave you breathless with delight. New twists on familiar standards, and new standards on familiar twists! Dances that push you to think a little harder (adjusted for each group of dancers). |
An examination of contra corners |
| Contra corners, from it's humble beginnings to modern expressions. The holy grail of dance gypsies has many more variations than most ever see. Contra corners in a square, with hey in the middle, along the sides, with half progression and more. |
Glorious, mind-blowing Squares |
| Squares in all their variety - visiting couple squares, partner changing, singing squares, easy breaks, challenging breaks, wacky and weird stuff. |
No walk-thru contras and squares |
| A session of dances of all no walk-thru's, brief or bare walk-thru's, medleys and hash calling. |
Crossover contras |
| The folk process enables contra dancing to take from many different styles of dance. We will play with unusual moves taken from club square dancing, including: grand square, flutterwheel, do pa so, 2 leaf clover, and more. |
Dutch Crossing |
| This session teaches that fiendishly challenging yet ultimately satisfying dance "Dutch Crossing" by Ernst van Brakel. The dance for 16 that has dancers hey-ing across and down, and on the diagonal while others are doing a grand right and left around. This can be done in the original English Country version ("Dutch Crossing") or the new 'contra-fied' version ("Yankee Crossing," by Joseph Pimentel (with minor changes by me)). |
Family Dance |
| A session of dances in many different formations for children, parents, grandparents and those not yet born. Suitable for those who have never danced before. |
Children's Games and Dances |
| A session of dances, play party songs, and games for children of all ages. Suitable for those who have never danced before. |
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Calling Playshops |
Calling 101: the basic mechanics |
| What does it take to call a contra dance? The magic behind the scenes revealed. Suitable for the brave, the nervous, the mischievous, and the curious. |
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Calling 102: The New Dancers Introduction (pre-dance lesson) |
| What do new dancers really need to learn? How you can turn 15 minutes into a confidence builder and useful introduction to the calm and chaos of contra. |
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Calling 103: Calling for non-dancers |
| How to call for that wedding, business conference, kids party, wake, or presidential election. A presentation of fun, playful dances suitable for one night stand gigs and the techniques to make them work. Basically, why calling for non dancers is more fun than you might think - but the pitfalls to watch out for. But wait - that's not all you get! If you act now, you'll learn about working with CDs instead of a band. Operators standing by! |
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Calling 104: Calling / Leading dances and singing games for children |
| A number of resources and dances for kids. Expereince doing dances without any music at all, besides your voice. Basically, a bunch of songs and dances to put in your toolbox. |
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Calling 201: Thinking about the whole picture |
| So, now you know how to call a contra - or maybe even a square. Being a dance caller means much more than just competence with the mechanics of a dance. By getting on stage, you are now an example to the community. What does this mean? This session touches on walk-throughs, programming, and community building. |
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Calling 202: Programming an evening |
| Thinking about your goals for the evening, putting a cohesive program together that makes sense. What goes on before the evening and after the evening. |
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Calling 203: Efficient Walk throughs |
| Anyone can call, all it takes is the ability to count to eight. The craft is in the teaching. How can you guide your dancers through the dance with minimal effort on their part - and yours? Includes bonus material: recovery after meltdown! |