Ted Sannella
Callers Mary Devlin and Philippe
Callens encouraged dance communities to find a way of recognizing Ted
during a “Ted Sannella Memorial Week,” November 11 – 20, 2005, at
the time of the tenth anniversary of Ted’s death. This was my
response.
One way to celebrate his contributions
is simply by showcasing many of the different formations Ted utilized
in his choreography. In many ways, he was a staunch traditionalist,
avoiding using the term “half figure eight,” for example, since
it wasn’t part of the traditional contra lexicon. (He’d say
“cross through the couple above, then go down the outside.”) At
the same time, he was a wonderful innovator, drawing from Southern
squares (lady round two and the gent cut through) and from English
(his triplets were inspired by dancing Fandango at Pinewoods).
New Friendship Reel is lots of fun,
although I don’t like (warning: curmudgeon speaking now) the way
that some (many) people dance it. I don’t mind the silliness that
they do in the chasing—well, yes, actually, I do—but what really
bothers me is the silliness spilling over into being late or
collisions on the floor. Anyhow, it certainly is a lively dance. The
problem with it is that the ones have so much of the fun that you
really need to run it in short sets, and your crowd may not accede to
that request.
I would definitely include Fiddleheads,
which at one point Ted considered his finest piece of choreography
and which I think is a masterpiece. Nowadays, many folks are
incorporating Petronella turns into their dances, but that was the
first one that I knew with that figure placed in a more contemporary
setting. It’s in the category of disappearing partner dances (like
The Reunion) where you get separated and then, presto! there’s your
partner again. (Larry Jennings told me that Ted also was very proud
of King of the Keyboard—written for Bob McQuillen—which is a fine
example of Ted’s recycling traditional figures in new ways.)
Squares: Country Dance and Song Society
is in the final throes of publishing a manuscript Ted wrote oncalling
traditional New England squares. With an
accompanying CD of Ted calling, compiled from live recordings at
various venues, this should be available by summer. One I use a lot
is Quadrille Joyeux. With its overlapping figures at the start, it’s
more lively than some others, and the grand square is a figure that
many (most?) contra dancers don’t know or don’t get to do that
often.
Triplets: I call one or two every
couple of months at my home dance, and at other venues when the crowd
seems flexible. Whenever I plan to call triplets, I always include a
few easier ones in my cards for that night so that if the crowd turns
out to be having more trouble than I anticipated on other dances I
can substitute simpler triplets. I do follow his two customs
(introductions all around in the set and six times with calls, three
times without) and I want people to have the right level of
challenge.
Mixer: I use Scatter Threesome a lot,
with its basket swing:
Scatter Threesome (Ted Sannella) Mixer
Formation: Lines of 3, a man in center with two women or a woman in
center with two men; lines at start can be scattered around the hall,
facing any direction. It’s unusual but not too hard; figuring out
who the couples are in B1 is the challenge of the dance.
A1 Left-hand person in each line leads the line randomly to make
contact with another group; circle six to the left
(End in lines of three facing each other)
A2 Alemande right the opposite 1-1/2 and re-form lines on the other
side; forward and back
B1 Couples* from each line right and left over only; in these new
lines, forward and back into
B2 Basket swing, ending in lines with the lone sex individual in the
middle
* Couples: In each line, there will be a man with a woman on his
right (woman with man on her left); depending on how the lines happen
to be arranged, the right and left over may be on a diagonal or with
a couple directly across.
Mostly, I consider it a great
equalizer, since the call for COUPLES to right and left over leaves
beginning and many experienced dancers alike momentarily confused.
I’ve seen folks who have been dancing for decades get confused
about who is the couple in the line of three. It usually leaves
people having a great time and the experienced dancers lightening up
a little, no small feat. I’ve used Ted’s Solo Mixer (often with
no walkthrough) often, and I always program Love and Kisses as part
of our Valentine’s Day dance.
I use Ted’s Tempest a lot, usually
once each year in my regular series and often with an out of town gig
if I think the dancers can manage it. Completing the right and left
through all eight requires tight sets and fast turns to negotiate on
time, but it’s a most satisfying dance and introduces dancers to a
formation that they don’t know.
From time to time, usually near the
anniversary of his death, I do an all-Ted program. This was one such
program at my home dance:
One for the Money
Two for the Show
Atlantic Mixer
Lady of the Lake (because Ted also
loved older dances)
Yankee Reel
C.D.S. Reel
Ted’s Solo Mixer
Silver and Gold (square)
Quadrille Joyeux (square)
Salute to Larry Jennings
Fiddleheads
Ted’s Triplet #4
Ted’s Triplet #33
Two on the Aisle
The Reunion (because it was the one
modern composition that Ted wished he had written)
Keep in mind that this was for our
regular monthly dance, with a goodly number of beginners early in the
evening, so some of my early choices wouldn’t be appropriate if
you’re working with a more hard-core dance crowd.
A similar event at the Scout House in
Concord, MA, did attract a more experienced crowd. That evening’s
program contained these dances:
Ted’s Solo Mixer
Scouthouse Reel
CDS Reel
Love and Kisses (circle mixer)
New Friendship Reel
Quadrille Joyeux (square)
Ted’s Triplet #4
Ted’s Triplet #20
Fiddleheads
Ted’s Tempest
Ted’s Triplet #24
Semicentennial Reel
Virginia Reel Square (square)
The Merry-Go-Round (square)
Two on the Aisle
What to say about the man?
• He was not just a caller, but a
true dance leader. He understood all the many elements that have to
combine to make a good evening of dance. He was thoughtful about all
aspects of dancing. His introductions to the two books are a
mini-course in dance leadership, and beginning callers would do well
to read his comments in the Contra
Connection column in old CDSS newsletters.
(That whole series is now available as a reprint from CDSS.)
• He was an extraordinary, zesty
dancer himself. Going down a long line and encountering Ted meant
being ready for an extra twirl in passing on a hey for four, or
having your partner stolen (temporarily) from you and then returned
with a big smile, always on the beat.
• He was a skilled choreographer who
also celebrated and delighted in the choreography of others.
Every letter I received from him contained calls for one or usually
two dances that had come his way and that he believed deserved wider
attention.
• He was a perfectionist who believed
in preparation: Ted was the person who showed me how to plan a
program in advance. He’d spend hours planning for an event, looking
through the band’s repertoire, listening to their recordings to
find tunes that they played well that would fit the dances he planned
to call.
• He loved to demonstrate good
dancing, hopping off the stage onto the floor, where his deep red
shirt made him a visible subject as he showed how to dance something
with grace and good timing.
• He was one of the few callers I
know who could deliver a lengthy lecture (Tod Whittemore was another,
and Lisa Greenleaf currently is successful with this) on dance style
and still keep people’s attention, in part because he was both very
serious about what he was saying and because he said it with such
good humor.
• He loved taking a group of
complacent dancers and mixing up his calls (in a square, for example,
where there’s plenty of room for that) to leave them all over the
place, but laughing all the way. “Wake up, you guys!” is what he
seemed to be saying. “Have fun but pay attention!” (On the CD
of Ted calling squares, you’ll find many
examples of his playful spirit coming out in the improvised breaks.)
In the very first calling workshop of
Ted’s that I attended (three of us in a church basement) he spoke
about the K.I.S.S. principle (the first time I’d encountered it)
and he demonstrated it again and again, in his selection of dances,
in his instruction, and in his calling. For folks just a little older
than me, Ralph Page stands out as the exemplar of a caller. For me,
it is Ted who sets the example.