Triple Minor Contras
2010:
from a letter to a caller seeking advice on how to introduce her dancers to triple minor contras
There
are several parts of Cracking Chestnuts, the book about older dances authored by David Smukler and me, that
will help you in introducing them to your dancers. David S. has an
excellent piece on “How To Call a Chestnut” and another on
“Triple Minor Mathematics,” both of which offer useful
tips. In addition to these general remarks, we talk about particular
difficult moments or special moments in each of the dances we
present, and you may find that those comments help you. The book is
available from the CDSS store.
The
biggest challenge is, of course, the progression, getting the 2s and
3s used to the notion of switching roles each time through the dance.
On some occasions when I’m working with dancers who are unfamiliar
with triple minors, I sometimes just walk people through the
progression, have them take hands again in new groups of six, walk
the progression, take hands in new groups, etc. , over and over,
until people see how that part works, and only then actually teach
the figures of the dance.
Other
challenges: most contemporary contra dancers are used to a steady
diet of duple improper and Becket formation dances, so the basic
orientation of proper lines isn’t one they’ll fall into
automatically. This can be difficult if, for example, they’re
swinging and need to finish on the proper side.
As
for figures: a same sex right and left thru, a very common figure for
B2 in these dances, will take some careful walking through. In
northern New England we tend to do the pivoting with same sex
neighbor without arms around, but having folks do an arm around turn
with their neighbor once they’ve crossed the set can be helpful. And
like a courtesy turn, the person on the left backs up and the person
on the right moves forward.
Of
course they don’t all have partner and neighbor swings.
Finally,
some of the triple minor dances are more stately, and that again
conflicts with much of contemporary dancers’ experience. Finding ways
to get folks to move with “a wee bit of elegance,” to use
Ralph Page’s phrase, can be a challenge.
All
that said, go for it! You might pick one that moves at a gentle pace,
such as British Sorrow, as a good first choice. Even simpler is
Doubtful Shepherd. Sackett’s Harbor is another good one and its
distinctive choreography will make it stand out. It’s also a good one
to introduce dancers to contra corners, since the two corners are
clearly visible in the minor set.
To
gain confidence yourself in calling these dances, you might want to
invite a small group of friends together for a practice session. The New England Chestnuts CD by Rodney and Randy Miller et.
al.
stands as an excellent collection of tunes for these dances, andLissa Schneckenburger has released a similar collection on CD. (Note: Lissa’s album has some cuts with long introductions, so you may want to do a little audio editing if you’re planning on using these with dancers rather than just for practicing.) One
bonus of doing a practice session ahead of time is that you’ll have a
core of dancers who are familiar with the ins and outs of triple
minors and they can assist others in your dance community when you go
public with them.