St. Louis AOSA Thursday Dance notes
notes for the Thursday, November 15, 2013
Amidon Evening Community Dance
Mary Alice and I had such a wonderful time with all of you at this dance. Here are the dances we did, along with notes on the sources of the dances and the music you can use for them.
Comment ça va from New England Dancing Masters (NEDM) Sashay the Donut
We love doing this with, say, fifth graders with “hot reels” such as “Brotherly Love”. I love doing this to “Toast” from NEDM’s CD “Other Side of the Tracks”. Comment ça va is a great preparation dance for the square dance Simple Square (NEDM’s Chimes of Dunkirk) as the B1 figure in Comment is also in Simple Square.
Traffic Jam by John Krumm
You can use the Heel & Toe Polka music (NEDM’s CD Chimes of Dunkirk) for this great dance.
Here are instructions:
Traffic Jam – Level One
Formation: dancers scattered across floor
Music: ABAB tune (or AABB, but dance sequence will go twice through an AABB tune)
A: (All just walking single in random directions) Step, step, step, step, clap clap clap, stamp stamp stamp
Walk in different direction, Step, step, step, step
clap clap clap, stamp stamp stamp
(Clapping is clapping own hands together. Stamping is with one foot.)
B: 8 sashays (alone) sideways in one direction
Then 8 sashays back in the other direction.
Traffic Jam – Level Two
Formation: couples scattered across floor
A: Partners standing side by side holding partner’s handy hand, walk four steps in one direction. Then partners face each other and clap (both hands) each other’s hands:
clap clap clap, stamp stamp stamp.
Repeat, walking in opposite direction
B: Partners take two hands with each other, and sashay 8 beats in one direction, and 8 beats in the opposite direction.
Traffic Jam – Level Three
Formation: couples scattered across floor
A: Partners standing side by side holding partner’s handy hand, walk four steps in one direction. Then partners face each other and clap (both hands) each other’s hands: clap clap clap, then stamp stamp stamp.
Repeat, walking in opposite direction
B: Partners take two hands with each other, and sashay 8 beats in one direction, then LEAVE PARTNER AND QUICKLY FIND A NEW PARTNER and sashay in another direction with new partner.
Repeat, starting with this new partner
Zip It Up from New England Dancing Masters’ Sashay the Donut
This wants a three-part tune (AABBCC), like Quadrille Joe Bouchard from the Sashay the Donut CD if you want the dance to go to the phrasing of the music. We have another three part tune: Reel De Rimouski on the NEDM CD Other Side of the Tracks. Alternatively you can do it to any standard two-part (AABB) jig or reel and not worry about how the figures go with the phrasing. Do this with sets of from 6-8 couples.
Auretti’s Dutch Skipper a traditional historic English County Dance from the 17th cent. John Playford Collection
I like doing this to elegant jigs, like Cheris or Coming Dawn from NEDM’s Other Side of the Tracks CD. I would do this dance only with older students who have already done Haste to the Wedding (NEDM’s Chimes of Dunkirk). Here is how the dance goes:
A1: 1st couple lead down the center, separate and dance around 2s back to place; 2-hand turn
A2: 2nd lead up the center, separate around 1s, back to place; 2-hand turn
B1 1st corners 2-hand turn; 2nd corners 2-hand turn
B2 “Foot it” to partner (set twice); half poussette (progression)
Set twice means set to the right, to the left, and then to the right and to the left again.
Half poussette is where partners take two hands with each other and, with the #1 gent pushing at first and the #2 gent pulling at first, the two couples trade places.
Swing Party by Peter Amidon
Music: any jig or reel.
A1: All walk around randomly
A2: Grab someone’s muscles and swing.
B1: All walk around randomly
B2: Grab someone else’s muscles and swing.
Repeat until everyone is too dizzy to continue.
Here are some examples of the buzz step swing that this dance was created to teach:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfB_nX8l3Uo
I like doing this dance as a preparation of a dance with a buzz step swing like:
Carol Copp Mixer a circle mixer by Carol Copp
Music: Any jig or reel
A1: Forward and back
Forward and (ladies turn to face out) Back (Now all gents are facing in, all ladies are facing out, All take hands in allemand grip.
A2: Balance (lean or step towards & away from partner),
slide R (passing partner belly to belly and trading sides with partner.)
Balance (lean or step towards & away from partner), slide L
(belly to belly) right past current partner to new partner
B1: Balance & swing new partner
B2: Promenade new partner
Galopede in NEDM’s Chimes of Dunkirk
I end most of my community dances with this classic. In our revision of NEDM’s Chimes of Dunkirk the CD has two versions of Galopede: one with a longer ending so that you can do the “egg beater” which is where, after the top couple starts sashaying down the middle, the 2nd couple moves up to the top, joins hands, and follows the first couple sashaying down the middle. Everyone keeps moving up the sides and, upon reaching the top of the set, sashaying down the middle, resulting in a cascade of sashaying couples until the music ends.
Sicilian Vowel Dance in NEDM’s Sashay the Donut
You can do this to any jig or reel. We love using Golden Keyboard from NEDM’s Any Jig or Reel CD, which is what we used with you last Thursday in St. Louis. You should have at least twenty or twenty-four dancers (5-6 groups of four) for this dance to work. It is a great dance for a large number of dancers if the hall is big enough. It is a perfect dance to do if you are combining your music and physed classes in the gym.
Circle Waltz Mixer in NEDM’s Sashay the Donut
Use In Continental Mood from the Sashay the Donut CD for the music. A great dance for upper elementary students, I have also done it successfully (with careful teaching) with 2nd and 3rd graders. Having gents be the “posts” and ladies be the “twirlers” helps to keep the roles straight.
Your homework
Go dancing! You can find contra dances, English country dances and more at this site:
Best,
Peter and Mary Alice Amidon
amidonpeter@gmail.com