Good party last night. Several of us tried new dances, so we had a lot of figuring out to do. Chrystal and Kay and David and Wade and Joe and Bob and Mac and I were there.
I tried one English dance, "Turning by Threes". What I learned is that, in those beautiful slow waltz dances, you can't use two measures to call the next move. You have to use just one. That's three counts. You have to jettison most of the directions, or let the "extra" directions come after the move is started. Instead of saying, six counts early, "Two changes of Rights and Lefts", you say, three counts early, "Rights and Lefts" and add "two changes" once the move is started.
My sure-fire dance (hah!) was the contra, "Rant and Roar". Funny, it looked so logical and easy to do for such good dancers. What could go wrong? Apparently lots. My source for the dance left out one little instruction, which, if we had had it, would have made all the difference. For those of you who were there, here it is: When the hey ends, and the men are facing out, ladies in, the man's left shoulder is next to his (current) neighbor. The Rory O'More move is done with the new neighbor, as is the allemande which starts the dance over. Whew! (And that thing where the ladies go across the set to balance their partners? It's a pass by the left, just as you thought. Pass by the right worked, but the original has pass by the left.)
We talked a bit about planning an evening, and Wade suggested we all plan a whole evening and then compare notes. And here I was hoping to get out of just that...
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4 comments:
Love the attendance list. Do we get tardies if we come late? ;)
I dont think I want to see a hey for about...at least the next three days.
I wonder if alcohol was a factor in our struggling with Rant and Roar? Perhaps if we always down a couple drinks before we get into the dancing, we can more effectively emulate a hall full of novice dancers.
Alcohol? What alcohol? I didn't see any. Joe and I didn't see any. And we wouldn't have HAD any, anyhow....
I'm thinking that since I forgot to put out about half the snacks I meant to put out, next time (next week!) I'll put out the snacks and the water and the juice first, instead of the alcohol. Not that there was any alcohol. Maybe some saltpeter and valium, too.
Alas, of course, I think the problem with Rant and Roar was the incomplete understanding of the caller. But that's okay. We get another chance in a few days.
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