user: Allison Jonjak
Excellent. Changed language from bal & pull by half square through to "square through for two"
walked through but did not dance, opposing gyres didn't feel right
by: Martha Wild
Excellent. Changed language from bal & pull by half square through to "square through for two"
introduces moves: chain, do si do, allemande, allemande orbit, swing, square through
formation: improper
ensure space along lines
| A1 | 8 | along the set ladles chain +
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| 8 | partners do si do once
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| A2 | 8 | partners allemande right 1½
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| 8 | gentlespoons allemande left 1½ around while the ladles orbit clockwise ½ around
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| B1 | 16 | partners balance & swing
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| B2 | 8 | ladles chain
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| 8 | square through two - partners balance & pull by right, then neighbors pull by left ⁋
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/+ along the set is still within the minor set. After the chain you're on the same side of the set as your partner.
Martha Wild notes: I usually call the whole A2 sequence “orbit”. This dance requires space along the lines for the chain up and down. I like the half square through into ladles chain up and down transition - bit of a surprise at first.
This dance was written in honor of the late great physicist Richard Feynman, who taught at Cal Tech. There were only two questions on his Quantum Mechanics final exam - the first was “Consider hydrogen.” Of course, if you really look at this dance, perhaps it should be called “Consider Helium” or at least consider helium without the neutrons.... But that is hard on helium, so after a brief attempt at fusion (after building up spin energy in the do-si-do and allemande right), the combined orbits undergo fission and we’re back to hydrogen atoms in balance and swing your partner. By the way, the second question was “Do something elegant.”
by: Martha Wild
introduces moves: custom, down the hall, up the hall, balance the ring, pass through, star, balance
formation: improper
ones split the twos to handy hand allemande, so twos are progressed and above ones for the swing.
| A1 | 8 | handy hand allemande neighbor 1 1/2
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| 8 | twos swing and form gentlespoon gentlespoon ladle ladle line
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| A2 | 8 | down the hall, gentlespoons wheel, ladles turn alone
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| 8 | up the hall and bend into a ring
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| B1 | 4 | balance the ring
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| 4 | pass through across the set
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| 8 | star right - hands across - 3 places (7/8ths places) ones hands below, twos hands above
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| B2 | 4 | balance the star
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| 4 | twos arch, gentlespoon one pull ladle one under arch
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| 8 | ones swing and split the twos ⁋
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Allison notes:
-'gentlespoons wheel' avoids tussles
-after walkthrough, just say 'face down', no need for 'gentlespoon gentlespoon ladle ladle'.
-do continue to call 'ones below'
Martha Wild notes:
-at 'gentlespoons turn as couple' the left hand gentlespoon should lead the couple turn to avoid confusion
-After the pass through, people turn individually to their right as they put their right hands in for the star.
-The star right is simpler than it sounds - if it is turned 7/8, the #2 couples are back on the sides they started, across the set from each other, while the #1 gentlespoon and ladle are in the center of the set, the gentlespoon below the #2s, the ladle above them.
-When couples take hands, the #1 hands should be underneath.
This is my absolute favorite dance of those I’ve written, and it is MUCH easier to dance it than to explain - but really not that hard to teach - the notes are mostly for your benefit. This is a fun, satisfying, but unusual dance and I’ve had lots of positive feedback from dancers and callers, and have had the chance to enjoy dancing it myself.
This was written after attending a reunion conference for my thesis advisor, Dr. Joseph Gall. I studied the intricacies of Tetrahymena ribosomal DNA in his lab, and on the plane back wrote a bunch of dances as a tribute to him. This is the one I like best. Tetrahymena are ciliated protozoans, similar to Paramecia. Few people know that the moves in this dance symbolize the sexual reproduction of Tetrahymena, which are diploid, and fuse with each other (not unlike the couples in the star), popping a micronucleus through (the arch and under) to start a new generation with hybrid vigor.
by: Isaac Banner
introduces moves: right left through, circle, California twirl, long lines, mad robin, pass by, meltdown swing
formation: Becket
Written for a dancer who lived too far away.
| A1 | 8 | right left through
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| 6 | circle left 3 places
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| 2 | partners California twirl ⁋
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| A2 | 8 | circle left 2 places
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| 8 | neighbors swing
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| B1 | 8 | long lines forward & back
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| 8 | mad robin, gentlespoons in front
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| B2 | 2 | gentlespoons pass by left shoulders
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| 14 | partners meltdown swing
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by: Paul Wilde
walked through but did not dance, opposing gyres didn't feel right
by: Erik Weberg
introduces moves: gyre, poussette, hey
formation: improper
| A1 | 8 | neighbors gyre once
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| 8 | mad robin, ladles in front
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| A2 | 8 | half poussette - gentlespoons pull partners back then left
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| 8 | gentlespoons start a half hey - lefts in center, rights on ends
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| B1 | 2 | gentlespoons pass by left shoulders
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| 14 | partners swing
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| B2 | 8 | ladles chain
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| 8 | star left 4 places to next neighbor ⁋
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This is one of the most flowing dances I’ve written (2007…?) and dancers have expressed appreciation for the connectedness and satisfying feel. After the half pousette with partner, the ladles should let go and take a step back and to the left in order to leave room in the middle for the gentlespoons to begin the hey. The timing of this dance has been described as “squishy”, which is ok. Encourage dancers to stretch out the Mad Robin, the Pousette and the Hey and use all the music provided.
*I’ve recently been teaching this dance the way I initially intended it; with the fifth change of the hey and then the swing in the B1 part of the dance. I’ve found that as I get better at teaching it, it has become easier to convince dancers to suspend their hurry in getting to the next figure during the A parts. As dancers relax into the flow they seem to enjoy it more, and saving that last crossing by the gentlespoons until the B1 seems to enhance the joy.
Ryan Smith notes in a facebook thread: One of my favorite dances of all time is Joyride. It starts with a face-to-face, transitions into a mad robin, then to a half pousette, then to a hey (or at least 7/8ths of one) and then into a swing. Then the ladles chain across and you star to the next neighbor. With the right hall and the right partner, you can lock eyes halfway through A1 and not look away until the end of B1. Because the vast majority of the moves are not moves where you are connected to the other dancers physically, it requires extra effort for the caller. Because the first move needs to take up 8 counts of music, but that most dancers will try to do it in 6 means that there's some more extra work for the caller.
Original at http://www.erikweberg.com/joyride/
by: Susan Kevra
introduces moves: form an ocean wave, promenade, custom
formation: Becket
| A1 | 8 | circle left 3 places
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| 8 | neighbors do si do once to
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| A2 | 4 | form an ocean wave & balance - ladles by left hands and neighbors by right hands
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| 4 | ladles allemande left once
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| 8 | neighbors swing
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| B1 | 8 | neighbors promenade
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| 4 | gentlespoons allemande right ¾ to a fleeting long line ⁋
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| 4 | gentlespoons allemande left ½ immediately with the next
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| B2 | 0 | meanwhile ladles slide left to meet partner for a
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| 16 | partners balance & swing
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Susan notes "at the end, wait out on side in Becket formation, so the gentlespoons can join in on the "zig-zag chain"* in B1. Next round of the dance starts with the couple containing the gents from the allemande Left.
*a la Mary Cay's Reel by David Kaynor