• Home
  • Blog
  • Forum
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Resources
  • Workshops
  • Street Team
  • Code of Ethics
  • Friday Flourishes
  • Contact
  Contra Syncretist
Connect with Contra Syncretist!

Friday Flourish: Mid-Twirl Reverse

12/30/2011

 
This week's flourish comes to us from a viewer out in the Inland Northwest by the name of Peggy Hamilton. It's a neat flourish if you time it right, but if you manage to miss the lead you're most likely not going to cause major damage as long as you don't then try to force it using the upper hand (still, be aware of sore shoulders, but if you lead the push from the follow's upper arm it shouldn't be an issue).
Thank you  to Betty and Keith Holman for letting us use their home's entryway as our set!

You, too can have your flourishes featured in 2012! Send them our way via this site's Contact page or end us a video on YouTube to user contrasyncretist!

This wraps up Contra Syncretist's new content for 2011, but we'll be back on Monday with more syncretistic goodies! Steve and I wish you a safe New Year's Eve and a wonderful 2012 in advance, complete with dancing and fun, traditional or otherwise.

Among the highlights coming up for us in the Glen Echo community are the Friday Night Dance tonight with Perpetual e-Motion and Bob Isaacs's calling; the FSGW New Year's Contra with Nor'easter and Gaye Fifer calling, and Double Apex playing the FSGW Sunday Dance with Janine Smith; next weekend, we're following John, Ed, Julie, and Brendan down to Tennessee, where their respective duos play for Chattaboogie with the Christie Burns Trio. Seth Tepfer and Vicki Herndon are calling Chattaboogie and it should be fabulous; hope to see and dance with several of you there!

Happy Friday,

CS

Blogger's Soapbox: Why?

12/28/2011

 
_"There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open up a vein." -- Walter Smith

Many people take this time of year to not only be a festive period with tinsel and lit candles and gifts, but also a time to reflect on the waning of the year and its happenings.

When I was writing up Terra Price's interview the other week, I was reminded of a question I was asked in the beginning of this little project (that has since taken on a life of its own): the question of why I would want to observe -- and perhaps even celebrate -- the encroachment of electronic music and other traditions on our beloved contra dance. Oddly enough, what makes me love this hybrid form is in fact that encroachment.

Read More

Friday Flourish: Allemande Flourishes

12/22/2011

 
_This week's flourishes (which are now fully uploaded after an unfortunate false start! Sorry about that! -CS 12/24/11) are a few simple variants on an allemande. It may seem like a fairly simple move, but there is room for some embellishments if you want.
_You, too, could have your flourishes featured! Contact me!

Happy Friday,

CS

Things to Percolate Next to Your Beverage of Choice

12/20/2011

 
_Pause

For many people, 'tis the season for parties and celebrating. Frequently, it is also a time of year where you're hurry-up-and-waiting for baked goods to bake, or there's down time while you're visiting family, or there's no work getting done at your desk job since people took time off. Or you've just finished your holiday shopping and you're kicking back with a congratulatory cup of a winter beverage and your technology fix of choice. Your local community's contra organizers are likely to be taking a well-deserved break before New Year's, so what's a 'Net-savvy contra dancer to do?
_Look
  • Doug Plummer takes really beautiful contra dance photos and he's even got a 2012 calendar featuring his photos for sale (about which Max Newman interviewed him for the Country Dance and Song Society blog)!
  • Jeff Kaufman's blog has been cited around here a few times; while it's not 100% contra-related all the time, he regularly updates and frequently has some interesting thoughts on contra community and the like from the POV of a dancer, a caller, and a musician (and a few times he's posted some interesting commentary -- on stuff I've posted here and otherwise -- that has made me think).
  • I stumbled on to Miriam and Clark Baker's pages back when someone posted a term I wasn't familiar with to the Glossary project a few weeks back. From what I gather, Clark was also one of the people who was in on Lisa Greenleaf's experiments with alternative music contra dancing in the 2000's. It focuses a lot on square dance, but in my Internet wanderings I'm seeing people finding interesting similarities between MWSD (especially patter calling) and alternative contras.
Listen
  • Club Contras DJ Nu B has a recording of his November set up. (Note to self: find my way down to Greenwood, VA when he's spinning in 2012.)
  • Contra Sonic's dJ improper also has a Mixcrate site, for those who haven't danced to his spinning yet (and those who have danced to his mixes in DC or elsewhere...).
  • For those seeking a contra-ish Pandora fix -- as has been pointed out by several people, the only thing on Pandora that's contra is Wild Asparagus. While I love Wild Asparagus, there is a wealth of other contra stuff out there that isn't reflected in Pandora. Until this is remedied, Eileen Thorsos mentioned that she finds some of her electrotrad source music for her Electric Camel Contra mixes on Pandora, by searching for artists like Shooglenifty and Martyn Bennett (Perpetual e-Motion cites the latter as one of their inspirations).
_If you've found something cool and contra-related while web surfing, please share with the rest of us! Happy Holidays to all!

Genre Mixing Deca-dance & the Health of the Arts: Terra Price

12/19/2011

 
_Spokane (WA) Folklore Society (SFS) board member Terra Price took one look at the now-famous "My Cool" video and said, "I want that!"

"Not only did crossover contra look fun, but nothing like that had been done in this area. I wanted to have the dance, not jut for entertainment but for honor. For once I wanted the Inland Northwest not to be a decade behind the times. Also, I believe that genre mixing is essential to the health of the arts. One only need look back at any number of royal families to see what too much tradition and exclusion lead to."

Read More

Friday Flourish: Reverse Courtesy Turn

12/16/2011

 
This week's flourish comes to us through Baltimore dancer Steve Gester, and comes in response to a reader request for some less twirly flourishes, or flourishes for when you're twirled out. It's really neat because it uses the momentum of the follow but doesn't channel it into a twirl and still keeps the flow of the dance.
You, too, could have your flourishes featured! Send them our way!

Next week, Contra Syncretist catches up with Spokane Folklore Society board member Terra Price, who was the mastermind behind Spokane, WA's Deca-dance masquerade techno contra.

Happy Friday,

CS

Erratum, 7:30 A.M.: Corrected the spelling of Steve Gester's name.

Album Review: Brendan Carey Block, The Matt Blackfield Project

12/13/2011

 
Picture
_Back in September when I talked to Julie Vallimont (of Nor'easter and Double Apex), I learned that the other half of Double Apex, Brendan Carey Block, had been performing his own experiments with techno music. Like any curious person of the digital age, I consulted Google to learn more. What I found was not only that Brendan, the 2000-2001 U.S. National Junior Scottish Fiddle Champion, had recently parted ways with contra bands Annalivia and Matching Orange to pursue other projects, but that one of those other projects was DJing under the moniker Matt Blackfield. Further, earlier this year, The Matt Blackfield
Project
was released for digital download.

The Matt Blackfield Project is a rather eclectic blend of folk flavoring and evocative electronic techno. All of the tracks create lush soundscapes, and if I was more inclined as a visual artist, I might have been reaching for some paint and a canvas (and created very different pieces to suit each track's mood).

To wit: the collection opens with a watery, echoey rendition of "Fingal's Cave," which the liner notes tell us is an ancient Scottish march with some modern treatment. The addition of the enigmatic, echoey spoken-word passage from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland made my inner literature geek smile and adds another dimension to the piece.

The sixth track, "Short Road, Long Journey," opens with a keyboard loop before introducing more mechanical effects and bells that sound a bit like a rushing crowd. It then shifts to a lower variant of the melody and then weaves a bunch of layers together before it fades out and leaves the distinct impression that the listener has just glimpsed a scene that will continue even
after it becomes inaudible.

My favorite track, however, is "Dark Field," which frankly to me sounds like a group of pixies decided to crash into the titular field and hold a rave; it opens with cricket-like noises and night sounds, then adds some sparse but reverberating keyboard and then a thumping beat and some steadier, higher-toned drums.

Interestingly, it isn't until relatively late in The Matt Blackfield Project's eleven tracks that we hear a lot of the fiddle playing for which Brendan has up until now been known. Both "Soda Springs" and "Leaving Lake Morey" are square (or nearly so) tunes that feature the fiddle heavily and remind me a bit of Perpetual e-Motion's work. For "Leaving Lake Morey," Brendan notes in the liner notes that it was composed "for [his] departure from the fantastic community at the lakeside Hulbert Outdoor Center" and the sense of farewell and longing in this piece is rather clear. "Soda Springs," on the other hand,
features some hot fiddle action with some equally hot guitar sounds and framed very well by a backing drum loop.  

While this is very much an electronic album, The Matt Blackfield Project still shows off Brendan's folkie roots (I was a bit surprised to figure out that about half the tunes are square, or exceedingly close to it) and provides for a foray into the full spectrum of the multidimensional, if somewhat disjointed, world this Project has created.

The Matt Blackfield Project is available for digital download at Brendan Carey Block's web site and is also streamable from his Facebook page and his Myspace.

Friday Flourish: Skaters' Hold Swing

12/9/2011

 
Before I get to the Friday Flourish for today, I wanted to draw your attention to a post on caller and musician Jeff Kaufman's blog from earlier this week talking about a musician's POV when playing for a dance and how it differs from playing a concert, which I thought was especially interesting in light of my post from Wednesday about music's relationship to dancers from a dancer's POV. (For those of you who DJ crossover events, you might want to read that too, as I think there are some applicable tidbits to think about when planning set lists for a contra gig and it echoes some points  DJ Gaga made in Monday's article.)

Anyway, onward! This week's flourish takes the skaters' hold variant on a promenade that we discussed last week and pulls it into a swing variant. As one might expect, you can generate a lot of centrifugal force, so be prudent about doing this with people who have sore shoulders and the like.
You, too, could have your flourishes featured! Send them to me!

Also, as at least a couple of people have already found, Contra Syncretist is now feeding the blog posts to a Twitter account (@csyncretist) as well as the Facebook page.

Happy Friday!

Carry on Dancing,

CS

Flourishes and Techno Contra: Correlation, or Causation?

12/7/2011

 
_A couple of weeks ago, Contra Syncretist talked to caller Ray Polhemus, who among other observations connected more "swingy," more flourishy dancing with the techno contra trend. Despite the inclusion of our Friday Flourishes, I'm not sure I see the same causal link between the two.

Read More

From Craigslist to Techno Contra: Dennis "DJ Gaga" Gagaoin

12/5/2011

 
_Dennis Gagaoin (pronounced "GA-ga-win") was looking though Spokane, WA's Craigslist when he came across an ad looking for an event DJ. "What caught my attention was the emphasis on electronica music, which is what I am particularly fond of spinning," he explains. In fact, DJ Gaga used to host "Spintronica" on radio station KYRS. "Little did I know that it was for a contra dance until Terra Price contacted me about the details." The event in question was Spokane's Deca-dance, held on October 29 and called by Ray Polhemus. I had never even heard of a techno contra but the idea intrigued me, and when I researched it online and saw videos of techno contra events in other parts of the country, I was extremely excited to DJ the event. I thought it was a great concept and I knew I had to be a part of it."

Read More
<<Previous
    This project has concluded as of mid-2013 (with an epilogue posted mid-2016) but we hope to see you soon on a contra dance floor! Meanwhile, head over to our Facebook page for upcoming techno contra events and other items of interest.

    The 100+ Friday Flourish videos can still be found on YouTube.

    Author

    I dance with abandon. I play with glowsticks. I look for music that is conducive to one or both. I play behind cameras.  I write about all of the above. I'm based in Glen Echo's contra dance community outside of Washington, D.C., but I'm happy to go dance afield when I can. Lather, rinse, repeat. Always repeat.

    Archives

    June 2016
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011

    Categories

    All
    Aaron Marcus
    Advanced Dances
    Alan Foss
    Album Review
    Alex Krogh-Grabbe
    Allemande
    Allemande Swing
    Alternative Music Party
    Alternative Twirl Out From Promenade
    Andrew Marcus
    Andrew Vannorstrand
    Andrew Van Norstrand
    Andy Reiner
    Anna Kendrick
    Anna Rain
    Anne Midgette
    Ann Fallon
    Arlington Va
    Ascap. Bmi
    Asheville Nc
    Atlanta Ga
    Back Lead
    Backward Swing
    Backward Swing With Lasso
    Balance And Play
    Balance-&-swing Transition
    Balance Switch
    Bates College
    Beatles Contra
    Behind-the-Back Swing Variant
    Bennett Schatz
    Bev Bernbaum
    Binary Blackout
    Blaise Thompson
    Blogger
    Blogger's Soapbox
    Blogger's Soapbox
    Blogger’s Soapbox
    Blues
    Brendan Carey Block
    Brendan Taaffe
    Brian Hamshar
    Burning Man
    Cake
    California Twirl
    Caller
    Call For Submissions
    Cha-cha Slide
    Chaos Lines
    Chattaboogie
    Chelsea Co
    Choreography
    Chrissy Fowler
    Christopher Jacoby
    Christylez Bacon
    Claps
    Clark Baker
    Club Contras
    Community
    Connie's Whirl
    Consent
    Content
    Contra Evolution
    Contra Evolution.
    Contra Evolution. Greenfield Ma
    Contraforce
    Contra-phoria
    Contra Shenanigans
    Contrashock
    Contra Sonic
    Contrastock
    Cool Hip Dancer
    Copyright
    Costuming
    Courtesy Twirl
    Cover Bands
    Crabs
    Crowding
    Cuddle Swing
    Cuddle Swing Switch
    Cuddle-up California Twirl
    Culture Clash
    Cups
    Dana Parkinson
    Dance Experiment
    Dancers
    Dance Weekends
    Dancing In Small Spaces
    Dancing Switch
    Dan Kappus
    Dave Colestock
    Dave Eisenstadter
    Dead Cat Bounce
    Decadance
    Deca-dance
    Deca-dance Event
    Demon Barber Roadshow
    Diane Silver
    Dj
    Dj Fml
    Dj Gaga
    Dj Improper
    Dj Nu B
    Dj Shel D
    Dj Solar Sound
    Donna Hunt
    Do Si Do
    Double Allemande Swing
    Double Apex
    Double Twirl Under
    Doug Plummer
    Ecd
    Ed Howe
    Editorial
    Eileen Thorsos
    Elbow Swing
    Electric Camel Contra
    Electric Slide
    Electrotrad
    Elyse Marder
    Eric Harris
    Eric Johnson
    Fads
    Fiddlefoxx
    Firecloud
    Flash Mob
    Flourishes
    Flurry Festival
    Flying Swing Switch
    Follow
    Footfall
    Footworks
    Fox News
    Fremont Abbey
    Friday Flourish
    Gangnam Style
    Gate
    Gaye Fifer
    Gender Balance
    Gender Free Contra
    Gender-free Contra
    Gender Roles
    Gents Chain
    Gents Swing
    George Marshall
    Gerry Diver
    Giant Robot Dance
    Giant Swallow Motion
    Glen Loper
    Glossary
    Greenfield Ma
    Greenwood Va
    Gypsy Meltdown Twirl
    Hank Morris
    Hay For Four
    High Ceilidh Swing
    High Ceilidh Wing
    High Contrast
    Hip-hop
    Hiphop Contra33bdaf614f
    History
    Housekeeping
    Infographic
    Intergenerationality
    Jack Mitchell
    Jamie Oshima
    Jayjfresh02b2d7b2bf
    Jeff Kaufman
    Jesse Edgerton
    John Cote
    John Pranio
    Jordy Williams
    Julie Vallimont
    Ladies
    Ladies Chain
    Ladies Chained9d7891b2
    Lead
    Lewiston Me
    Licensing
    Lighting
    Lights
    Links
    Lisa Greenleaf
    Live At The Butterball
    London Bridge Hay
    Long Lines
    Louis Dow
    Low Ceilidh Swing
    Macarena
    Madonna
    Marketing
    Marlin Prowell
    Martin Hayes
    Martyn Bennett
    Medley
    Melissa Taggart
    Mel Novner
    Mens Chain
    Miami Fl
    Michael Ferguson
    Midswingc4f63a1de0
    Midswing Spinoutb14a07051c
    Midtwirl Reverse8b8dd124c4
    Mike Wilson-jones
    Miriam Baker
    Misdivine
    Money Musk
    Moral Issue
    Morris
    Mosh Pit
    Music
    New Dancers
    News Coverage
    New York Ny
    Nils Fredland
    Noah Van Norstrand
    North Carolina
    North Whitefield Me
    Organizer
    Other Syncretists
    Outreach
    Over The Head Slide
    Parallel Variant On Crabs
    Pattycake
    Paul Dalessio5fc83e8cd1
    Pawbat Twirl3677eefc75
    Penelope Weinberger
    Perpetual E Motion
    Perpetual Emotionab4aa3ee79
    Perry Shafran
    Petronella
    Phase X
    Portland
    Portland Or
    Pretzel Swing
    Principle
    Promenade
    Ray Polhemus
    Redux
    Resolutions
    Reverse Cape Position
    Reverse Courtesy Turn
    Reverse Ripcord Twirl Variant
    Rick Mohr
    Ripcord Twirl
    Road Stories
    Roanoke Wv
    Roll Away
    Rollover
    Ross Harriss
    Rss Feed
    Safety
    Sarah Dicegoldberg38fd311c67
    Scout House
    Sean Oshima
    Seattle Wa
    Sesac
    Seth Tepfer
    Seventeen
    Shiny Objects
    Simple Twirl Switch
    Singing Squares
    Skaters
    Sonny Newman
    Soulja Boy
    Sound Mixing
    Spark In The Dark
    Spider Vetter
    Spinout
    Spokane Wa
    Stanford Ca
    St Petersburg Fld35dde8e84
    Street Team
    Stretches
    Survey
    Swallowtail
    Swing
    Switch
    Technoberfest
    Techno Contra
    Technophoria
    Ted Hodapp
    Terpsichore
    Terra Price
    The Henry Road Bandits
    The Matt Blackfield Project
    The Speech Project
    The System
    The Turtle Duhks
    Things To Think About
    Tobacco Road
    Toki Oshima
    Tradeoff Twirl
    Transsiberian Orchestra6b3cf55bca
    Traveling Swing
    Tricky Swing
    Turn Under
    Twirl
    Twirl In Switch
    Twisted Swing
    Twisty Chain
    Twitter
    Two Handed Ladies Chain
    Ufo
    Uk
    Variety
    Vernals4785e4f52b
    Vicki Herndon
    Videos
    Vince Budnick
    Waltz Variant On Crab Swing
    Washington Dc
    Wendy Graham
    Whipperstomper Balance
    Whipperstompers
    Whitefield Me
    Will Mentor
    Willow Grove Pa
    World
    Xecd
    Youth Dance Weekend
    Yuja Wang

    Comments are welcome; spam-bots and disrespectful behaviors are not. Please do (nicely) point out errors if they are found.
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from edwin.bautista, Cupcake KITSCHen, Ivy Dawned, Martin Pettitt, quinn.anya, LimeTech, avlxyz, Sarah and Jason, Bill Ward's Brickpile