Category: Links

Crowd Sourcing & Contra

5/14/2013

One of the great things about the community aspect of the folk community is how it translates to the Internet now that it has become so pervasive:

Kickstarter: unsurprisingly, this crowdfunding resource is being used toward funding folkie projects as well such as Doug Plummer's 2014 Contra Dance Calendar.

Dance Video Archive: This site, which seems to be run by Bob Green, crowdsources videos of CDSS member organizations' dances.

Various entries to Wikis (such as this one on Wikia) and crowdsourced attempts to identify dancers/band members in photos help to chronicle the ongoing contra dance movement and keep the community aspect of this even in the digital age. I find it very interesting that while the times have changed, the values and community norms do not seem to have changed very much at all.

Other Dancer Voices

4/16/2013

Like a lot of you, I go surfing around on the web for other folks' opinions. While some of the things I've stumbled across have inspired posts, others are interesting to me, even if the subject matter goes a bit beyond this blog's focus. Sometimes especially when it does. To wit:

The F Yeah Contra Dance Tumblr: There is some NSFW language on this one, but this Tumblr has become a recent addition to my regular reading. I am unsurprisingly quite fond of this post about "qualifications" for dance partners.

Sexism in the Dance Hall: Idzie (sorry, couldn't find her last name on there)'s reminder to all of us not to be jerky when people sit out (heads up, some NSFW language).

Homophobia and Contra: Jeff Kaufman ponders the difference between two women dancing together and two men dancing together, and what moves are thought to end up being uncomfortable for the latter, but not the former.

RebeccaBrightly.com: Rebecca is in the swing/Lindy community in Seattle, WA, but I'm finding that a lot of what she writes has applications to social dance in general, including contra.

The Ambidancetrous Tumblr: Again, the focus seems to be on swing dancing, but some of it can be translated to other social dance, like contra.... I know we sometimes get chatting about gender-free dancing and dancing switch or dancing roles that traditionally would not be danced by people of our genders, and this explores it a little more in-depth.

Links to Music & the Mainstream

10/3/2012

Over the course of every month or two I find relevant things online; today's installation includes Celtic music fusing with electronica and some contra dance links to the mainstream -- be it through newspapers, new dancer outreach, or making sure our community stays a safe and fun place.

Music

An interview with Dave Martin about fusing together Celtic and electronica (hmm, sound like anyone we know about?); his Big Fat Electric Ceilidh sounds like a really neat project. (Also, I was particularly tickled by this video of ceilidh dancing in a club-scene-like setting.)

Mainstream

"Dance the Night Away" article in the Syracuse [NY] New Times -- article about contra dancing from the angle of the Van Norstrand clan and the Phylla Mae Fall Fest

Others Doing (Beginners') Contra Dance Lessons Via Online Videos -- From the Atlanta, GA community; one of the many series out there that encompasses the basics of contra dancing for new dancers, before one gets hooked and goes to find flourishes. I happened across it and find it to be particularly thorough. Video #8 has useful reminders for more advanced dancers as well.

...And if any of you haven't seen Penelope Weinberger's post on the "Stuff Contra Dancers Say..." community yet, go now. With both traditional and techno contra, it's really important that we keep the safe, fun atmosphere that helps to keep the community aspect strong. Unwelcome advances on the dance floor are profoundly NOT okay and we shouldn't have to put up with people not understanding the meaning of the word "no" (and while fortunately, it seems to be less common than in other spaces, unfortunately it still happens). Her post is a very succinct way of clarifying that point. Transcript is under the cut, since apparently you have to be logged into Facebook in order to see it (but it was apparently handed out on flyers at last Sunday's FSGW dance):

Elsewhere on the Internet

8/15/2012

When I'm surfing around the Internet, I sometimes stumble across fun things and things that are thought-provoking. It's particularly fun when those fun and thought-provoking things happen to revolve around DJ culture or social dance or music or just fun folkie things. Here are a few I've found lately, in no particular order:

Wolf's Head and Vixen: This is a border morris side in the U.K. that's decided to embrace its collective inner Goth.
Etiquette Hell's Feel Good Friday: It's always good to see Perpetual e-Motion get mentioned in places that aren't strictly devoted to contra.
The Dubstep Blog: Just what it says; expanding one's musical horizons is fun!
A Young Person's Thoughts on the Americana Movement: A lot of what Alex Hatch writes here resonates with some of what I've heard in the contra community as we talk about where we go from here.
Do You Really Listen?: A reflection on the people behind the music; this is from the Celtic music scene, but I think some of it applies to the contra scene too.
Why We Contra Dance Video: Recently featured on the CDSS blog; it seems like a neat way to market the dance form we all know and love.
On Social Dancing and the Creeps that Spoil It for Everyone: This is slightly older than the other links (from this past spring) and I thought this was an interesting post; the blogger dances swing and hip-hop out in California, but I think some of the attitudes do inform the contra dance movement as well. I feel fortunate that so far I haven't had the displeasure of having this particular unfortunate (and unwanted) bit of the club experience come over to the alt-contra scene, and I really hope I can still say that down the line.

What have you all been looking at lately? Share in the comments!

"More Syncretistic Goodness"

4/9/2012

There will be interview goodness forthcoming on Wednesday. Meanwhile, here's some neat contra- and EDM-related stuff I've found in my perusals of the Web that I think you might find cool, too:

_Contra-related:

Crossover Corner: (Scroll down a little.) After the Halloween Deca-dance techno contra event in Washington state in October 2011, Terra Price developed a regular "Crossover Corner" column in the Spokane Folklore Society's monthly newsletter. I think the idea is really neat and I'm also happy to see this happening out West.
KLMabon's YouTube Channel: This is our friend Kevin Mabon's channel; he films a sampling of most of the Glen Echo, MD dances that he attends (and helps Steve and me scout for flourishes!). Thanks Kevin!
Facebook Group: Stuff Contra Dancers Say...: A bunch of you might already know about this one since that may be how you got here (thank you to those who have linked to Contra Syncretist and spread the word!), but this is a Facebook group that is aimed at creating a "Stuff Contra Dancers Say..." video, but also has developed into something like what I had originally envisioned the Forum would become -- a bunch of contra dancers talking about the nuts and bolts and tics of the community.

_EDM-related:

_Breaking away for lunch: Hundreds flock to Sweden’s popular midday dance parties: This was in the Washington Post the other week. I think this idea is awesome -- they've got a regular free outdoor contra going up in Boston; I wonder if a lunch-hour-sized contra (techno or otherwise) could spread?
Among masked musicians, maintaining anonymity is the new fame: This was also in the Washington Post recently. This for me highlights some of the tension between the EDM scene and the contra dance scene; the latter is generally pretty attached to the identities of the musicians (moreso than other scenes, I think)...there may be more to say on this subject sometime in a future post once I wrap my thoughts around it more, but I will throw this out there so you can percolate on this as well.

See anything cool related to contra or EDM around the Web? Send it my way, or share with the class in the comments!

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!