I've been to techno contra evenings where the medleys are done well; I've also been to dances where the medleys have crashed and burned and may have qualified for Federal disaster relief. I have my opinions on this, but I'm interested in yours: particularly in a techno contra, is a format change something that enhances the experience, detracts from it, or has no effect?
Over the course of the Contra Sonic series and others, there have been some interesting choices as to formatting. Some series have stuck to the traditional contra dance format, with dances lasting something like 10 minutes apiece and there being distinct breaks between them. Others have attempted to do extra-long medleys, where people are encouraged to drop out at the ends as they get tired (which may or may not actually happen in practice). Still others have attempted a hybrid of the two, having regular contras until the last 30-60 minutes, at which point they switch to a medley format.
I've been to techno contra evenings where the medleys are done well; I've also been to dances where the medleys have crashed and burned and may have qualified for Federal disaster relief. I have my opinions on this, but I'm interested in yours: particularly in a techno contra, is a format change something that enhances the experience, detracts from it, or has no effect?
Eman
4/28/2012 08:27:21 pm
I say no to medleys! 4/29/2012 12:06:15 am
Out of curiosity, how come? I know people who love them and people who really don't (and others who love them in moderation as a once-in-a-while thing), so I'm curious as to why.
Eman
4/30/2012 08:53:49 am
I need to be forced to take breaks. I hate to miss dancing to a cool song because I had to take a break. During a medley that is guaranteed to happen. There should never be main music during breaks.
Perry
4/30/2012 03:49:13 am
I am a gigantic fan of medleys. As a matter of fact one of the things that really attracted me to the techno contra format was the notion that there would be more long medleys - 20 minutes up to 1 full hour. NOTHING is more exhilarating than an hour long medley. Shorter medleys are good too. The problem is that some of the earlier medleys were poorly-chosen dances - you can't really throw in a dance that requires an explanation in the middle of a medley - you're just screaming for it to crash and burn. I truly miss medleys at the Contra Sonic.
Peter
5/3/2012 10:07:10 am
I much prefer an evening with standard-duration sets that are 8-10 minutes long. That format feels the most social and mingly to me and generally allows for enough partner changes to partner with maybe half of the people I would really like to in a given evening. The lines get shuffled often enough to where it's possible to get a chance to dance with everyone in the hall, too. Shorter durations also allow for higher energy.
Perry
5/3/2012 09:15:54 pm
That David Millstone article is quite interesting. That and what Ryan is trying to achieve with this website seems to highlight the clash between dance styles. Contra dancing should always be about community, and a lot of what David says is correct - don't talk during walkthroughs, allow the caller to do the walkthrough without interrupting with your own mini-lesson (a few of my pet peeves). The question is - a whole different topic - what about the dips, twirls, etc, that have become so popular? David says - NO! He'd probably be aghast if he found this site with so many Friday Flourishes when he'd prefer just the basics.
Peter
5/4/2012 09:09:02 am
Perry,
dest/jess(ie)/etc.
5/4/2012 01:09:23 pm
Getting back to previous topic: Comments are closed.
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The 100+ Friday Flourish videos can still be found on YouTube. AuthorI 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
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