This week's flourish is a neat little back-lead that can be pulled out on a twirl-under. And one of the cool little things about it is that it can't be led -- only back-led. This comes from our friend Kevin Mabon and some of his friends at our home dance of Glen Echo. You, too, could have your flourishes featured! Drop us a line!You might notice that this week's flourish is up a little early -- Steve and I head for the Atlanta, GA area to dance to the Catapult! Showcase, which among other things will feature one of Julie Vallimont's other bands and a workshop for techno contra organizers, callers, and musicians led by none other than Jeremiah Seligman, a.k.a. dJ improper. There will be more syncretistic goodness next Wednesday -- watch this space! Carry on Dancing, CS
This week's flourish was submitted to us by Lindsey Dono and Mark Pigman out in Oregon. It's a neat swing flourish with a very neat twist; take a look!
This week's flourish is a little something you can do when going from a gypsy into a swing, and a way to add a little momentum to your partner before you sweep them into a swing. Take a look: You, too, can have your flourishes featured! Drop me a line!Happy Friday to all! CS
Also, it appears that there's a bit of debate over medleys from earlier -- go weigh in! Happy Friday! CS
This week's flourish is one that was pulled out on me by a dancer from Tampa, FL. (Thanks!) It's a relatively simple way to switch from one role to the other with your partner, although you need to be sure to grab your partner's correct hand (I didn't the first few times...oops). Fortunately we figured this out, and after a couple of tries my partner and I were able to use this switch back and forth as we progressed through the line.
This week's flourish is probably the easiest switch flourish on a swing that we know; it's not terribly inventive, but it certainly gets the job done. Be a bit careful of elbows on this one, but it's generally pretty safe -- and if the switch doesn't work, you'll just stay in the same lead/follow position you started in.
Dancers, as usual, at Ryan Holman and Steven Roth.
Also, I have had a special request from Steve to let him say a few words:
"For those of you not in the Washington, DC area, you might not know just how much everyone around here has LOST THEIR MINDS over the arrival of the space shuttle Discovery at its new home at the Smithsonian, where it is being switched out for the prototype shuttle Enterprise which has resided here for years. It is in honor of this switch that we present today's flourish."
So quoth the Steve.
Happy Friday,
CS
Happy birthday to Contra Syncretist! This is the one-year anniversary of the site's launch, and this is our 53rd flourish video! Yay! This week's flourish is a variant on one we've done before, but it's also a move that comes to us via our friend Kevin Mabon, who figured out how to adapt this to contra dance from swing. It's easiest if you count the beats to this 16-count move, at least until you build the muscle memory. You, too, can have your flourishes featured! Drop us a line here or on our YouTube channel! Coming up in the next while, we will have an interview with Atlanta, GA-based caller Seth Tepfer. Stay tuned! Happy Friday, CS
This week's flourish is one we caught in a video from when Nor'easter played the Scout House earlier this year. It's a neat one where instead of both of you turning over your right shoulder to do a Petronella twirl, the follow gets spun the other way, over their left. It can be a little disorienting at first, but it's a neat variant. This is also our 52nd video, which means we've been doing this once a week for a year -- thanks to all of you for tuning in! We plan to keep doing this for a bit longer, so please do send us your flourishes! There are techno contra events this weekend in Bethlehem, PA; I believe there may be one in the Asheville area of NC; a Richmond, VA edition of Club Contras with Brian Hamshar calling and DJ Nu B spinning; and a regular edition of Club Contras in Greenwood, VA on April 1, called by Will Martin with Brian Hamshar spinning the tunes -- go check them out!Happy Friday!Carry on Dancing,CS
This week's flourish was pulled out on me a couple of weeks ago when I danced with a new partner. At Glen Echo we favor the "both hands up" promenade position, and this lends itself to a few nifty flourishes. Most commonly, it's a twirl out under the follow's left arm. This flourish leads from the lead's and follow's right arms and turns the follow under that way. You, too, can have your flourishes featured! Drop us a line!
By the way, for those of you who are near Harrisburg, PA, it appears that there's a techno contra tonight (Friday) out your way with dJ improper spinning the tunes and Dave Colestock calling! Happy Friday, CS
This week's flourish is a take on one of the most basic moves in contra dance: the call of, "Long lines, forward and back!" If you have a particularly enthusastic crowd you can get four spondees (i.e., eight accented beats) in a row from their feet. However, if that's not your cup of tea, there are ways to play during this move, one which being to give your partner (or neighbor) a somewhat gratuitous twirl. Be careful not to wrench any shoulders, and be aware of the dancers around you, especially on the twirlee's other side -- this will break a connection there and some dancers place more importance on that connection than others. So, caveat emptor. If you're dancing with folks who enjoy a bit of unexpected variety (and a twirl or three), however, this can be a simple addition.
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