Contradance 2010

Pictured at left is the Old Log Cabin at O'Leno State Park, where we used to have a monthly contra dance.

Having called an individual dance now and again, I was given the opportunity to call the After the Break half of the Old Time Dance at O'Leno on Sunday, May 16, 2010. The band was The Flying Turtles: Tom & Elle Hogan with Eleta Sucsy and Dan Peterson.

Congenial caller Eric Harris kindly let me call the 2^nd half. I called:

(Author/Composer/steps info, videos, and links to steps.)

Theory of Mind by David Smukler.

[IMPROPER: Face nbr, step diag.-L to form wavy lines across-the-set.]
Rory O'More(8+8) [Wavy-bal R-L(2+2), slide right catch L-hands(4); bal L-R, slide left, snag R-hands(8)].
Bal&Swing nbr(4+12).
Circle-left 3-places(8). Swing partner(8).
chain(8). Lefthand star into a wavy line-of-4 with next nbrs [all take RHs with nbr and take LHs with each other](8).
This dance is similar to United We Dance, which was taught at a FL Snow Ball

Sweet Music by Amy Kahn.

[IMPROPER: Scoop the ]
left allemand(8) once around, and keep going. Scoop your partner [to cross the set] and Butterfly Whirl(8).
start a full hey(16).
[As come back to their partner] Partner bal&swing(4+12).
Rights&Lefts across the set [courtesy turn](8), roll-away the , R-hand star(8). [“ look left allemand.”]
Jonathan King | Barnstorm.
Caveman by Jim Hemphill, is similar.

My Uncle Fred's Contra by Dean Snipes.

[BECKET: slightly altered in B2.]
[Your previous nbr is your “flame”.]
Circle left 3-places(8). [On side of set] Dosido nbr 1x and a bit more, into short wavy lines across-the-set(8).
Balance-the-wave R-L, slide right catch L-hands(8). [With nbr] Allemand-L 3/4 (4), walk to next short-wavy-line to allemand-R your “flame”(4).
With [current] nbr, Bal&Swing(4+12).
Star-right orig. dance has circle-L, here 3-places(6), melt in to a partner-swing(8), and slide-left to face a new couple(2).
Music should be a bit slower than standard contra tempo.

Roll over Johannes by Becky Hill.

[IMPROPER: Down the River and Around the Bend]

Weave the Line by Kathy Anderson.

[IMPROPER: Double-progression. 3 sets of nbrs]
Lefthand star(8) [sugg.: wrist-grip star]. [Reverse] Circle-left(8).
[Hang on to your partner] Veer left around NBRs#1, veer right around NBRs#2 (4+4). [As individuals] DoSiDo your nbr#3 (8).
[Look behind you] Bal&Swing(4+12) nbr#2.
Long lines(8). Actives swing(8) [“One's swing, Two's frame”.]
[Is this caller Tony Parkes?].

Jefferson and Lincoln by Seth Tepfer.

[IMPROPER: 1's arch, then backing up]
Circle left(8). Circle right(8).
Star-R(8). Star-L(8).
Long-lines(8). ONEs&swing(8), in the middle.
Line4 DTHall, ONEs in the center(4). ONEs arch(4) [still facing down]. TWOs pop through(4) [facing up the hall]. All go up 2 by 2 [ONEs bkwards](4); ONEs are facing their new NBRs.

2010 Oct.16, Sat., 8PM–11PM: JoLaine Jones-Pokorney and I called the GODS Boltin Center dance in Gainesville, with the Flying Turtles: Tom & Elle Hogan, and David “Will” Willkomm.

This nice photo, by Dave Pokorney (JoLaine's husband), is linked to a larger photo of JoLaine and me discussing multi-level quasi-reflective non-orientable technical ContraCalling minutia…

JoLaine's dances:

Whiskey before Breakfast    &    Red-haired boy  | (v2)

Broken Sixpence by Don Armstrong.

[IMPROPER: 3 dosido's]
[New] Nbr dosido(8).  dosido(8).
dosido(8). ONEs swing, face down the hall(8), step between TWOs.
Line4-DTHall, turn alone(6+2). Line4-UTHall, bend the line(6+2).
Circle left(8) [or Right-hand Star]. [Reverse] Left-hand Star(8).
Inisheer Irish Dance | Contra from 15:58 till 21:22, Jonathan King calling | Waltz. Band: Flying Turtles. At 21:30, Joe tries to steal my waltz partner. Unsuccessfully.

*  NBR balance&swing(4+12) [on the side].
*  Long-lines, roll-away while backing up(8).
ONEs swing, face down the hall(8), step between TWOs.

Road To Lisdoonvarna  | (v2)  | (v3)    &    Swallowtail Jig

The Baby Rose by David Kaynor.

[IMPROPER:]
Nbr Bal&Swing(4+12).
Circle-left 3-places(8). Partner DoSiDo(8).
Partner Bal&Swing(4+12).
chain(8). Left-hand star(8).
Jack Mitchell | Big Medicine.

Father Kelly's Reel  | (stepdance)  | (slow) Ben's spin-off #3 by Gene Hubert.

(The Old) Jawbone [breakdown/reel]  | (v2)

Number 11 by Mike Richardson.

[IMPROPER: ]




Jean Gorrindo | Michael's Mixed Nuts.

On The Danforth by Keith Murphy CJ's Delight by Amy Kahn.

Home with the Girls in the Morning [breakdown/reel]  | (lyrics)   &   Devil in the Strawstack [breakdown/reel] by Tommy Jarrell  | (v2)   &   Speed the plow

The Bus Stop by Bill Olson.

[IMPROPER:]
Nbr bal by R-hand, Box the Gnat(4+4). Star-R 3-places, into wavy-line across(8), in center. To form the wave, each gives R-hand to behind her, while reaching L-hand across the star to other .
Bal-wave(4). allemand-L(4) into half-hey, partners pass R-shoulders to start(8).
Partner , then swing(8+8).
Promenade across and courtesy turn(8). Roll away with a half sashay [ roll left](2) Left-hand star 3-places(6).
Jolaine Jones-Pokorney | Full Circle.

Six Feet Under [ECD excellent] by Becky Tracy  | (v2)

Cranky Ingenuity by Bill Olson.

[IMPROPER: Dosido as couples]
Circle-left(8). As couples, dosido nbr-couple(8).
Individually, nbr dosido(8). Swing nbr(8).
allemand-L 1.5 (8). Partner Swing(8).
Circle-left 3/4 (8). Ring-balance(4). California Twirl(4), to face new nbrs.
Myra Hirschberg | Mike Ayles & David Boulanger.
Alice Morris.

Jonathan's dances:

(The) Coral Riff [reel] by Pete Sutherland  | (v2)

Sweet Music by Amy Kahn.

[IMPROPER: Scoop the ]
left allemand(8) once around, and keep going. Scoop your partner [to cross the set] and Butterfly Whirl(8).
start a full hey(16).
[As come back to their partner] Partner bal&swing(4+12).
Rights&Lefts across the set [courtesy turn](8), roll-away the , R-hand star(8). [“ look left allemand.”]
Jonathan King | Barnstorm.
Caveman by Jim Hemphill, is similar.

Bad Hair [reel] by Rodney Miller  | (Jazzy)   &   Blue Jig by Joel Mabus  | (fabulous)  | (v3)  | (Jazzy)

Ross's Request by Mark Widmer.

[IMPROPER: Cozy line; Cloverleaf; Double-PROG]
Nbr bal&swing(4+12).
Long-lines(8). ONEs swing(8), step between new TWOs.
Down the hall four-in-line [ONEs between TWOs](4). Everyone keeping hands joined, ONEs turn away from partner, and TWOs wrap behind, to make a cozy line(4). Come back up the hall(4). TWOs pass over ONEs, to form a cloverleaf.
Circle-left in cloverleaf formation(8). Star-L [and progress to new nbrs](8).

The UF football team was losing, as our dance took place, leading to a Slightly Weird Calling Experience, with a Fred Astaire contra line, and a Jerry Lewis contra line.

Later, I heard that some college students had texted each other and left the game at half-time, caming to the dance in a wild&crazy mood. I decided to ditch the teaching and simply started the music very slowly. [The band was great, doing just what I asked. The music speeds up around 4:45.] While the dance started rocky, it ended quite well.

Spootiskerry by Samuel Ian Burns  | (v2)

Theory of Mind by David Smukler.

[IMPROPER: Face nbr, step diag.-L to form wavy lines across-the-set.]
Rory O'More(8+8) [Wavy-bal R-L(2+2), slide right catch L-hands(4); bal L-R, slide left, snag R-hands(8)].
Bal&Swing nbr(4+12).
Circle-left 3-places(8). Swing partner(8).
chain(8). Lefthand star into a wavy line-of-4 with next nbrs [all take RHs with nbr and take LHs with each other](8).
This dance is similar to United We Dance, which was taught at a FL Snow Ball

Cold Frosty Morning  | (v2)   &   Old Joe Clark  | (v2)  | (sung, lyrics)

Chainsaw Reel by Don Lennartson.

[BECKET: ID-dir-prog, THEN Becketize! Huge oval circle.]
[Same two] chain(8). Long lines(8); keep hands, and connect at the ends to make a huge oval.
Oval right(8) [“Ovaltine”]. Oval left(8) [“OvalTang”].
[Original foursomes] Circle-left(8). [C'mon back with a] Left-hand star(8) all the way around [ in front of his partner].
[ look right and] Allemand-R the new nbr- coming toward you(8). Partner-swing(8), on the side.
Jonathan King, Footloose. Called as no-walk-through. Caller? | Band?.

Shoes & Stockings by Henry Reed  | (v2)   &   Cotton Baggin' [breakdown/reel]

Weave the Line by Kathy Anderson.

[IMPROPER: Double-progression. 3 sets of nbrs]
Lefthand star(8) [sugg.: wrist-grip star]. [Reverse] Circle-left(8).
[Hang on to your partner] Veer left around NBRs#1, veer right around NBRs#2 (4+4). [As individuals] DoSiDo your nbr#3 (8).
[Look behind you] Bal&Swing(4+12) nbr#2.
Long lines(8). Actives swing(8) [“One's swing, Two's frame”.]
[Is this caller Tony Parkes?].

Soldier's Joy  | (v2)   &   Duck River [breakdown/reel] by John Salyer  | (slow)

Small Potatoes by Jim Kitch.

[IMPROPER:]
With nbr, Bal&Swing(4+12).
R-hands-across--Star 1x (8). chain [to partner](8).
dosido(8). Partner swing(8).
Circle-left 3-places and pass thru(6+2), next nbr dosido(8).

This is Dave's photograph of Isaac filming JoLaine and me. [Click on the photo for a full-size image.]

The dance was pretty well attended, considering that there was a Gator football game. However, as the Gators were losing, we got dancers who preferred to dance than watch a loss.

So Their loss was our gain….