Ceilidh

[jack]

Ooh, that was fun. It was exhausting, but a great ceilidh. There's just the right number of people I know, so I didn't need too much running round trying to dance with all of them, nor forced to make a new friend every dance. And I wasn't worrying about anything else, so just threw myself into the dancing.

It seemed to just click -- it wasn't absolutely perfect, but I did all of the dances well, didn't start daydreaming, and coped with a few advanced twiddles; and even polka'd Sonicdrift avoiding everyone and without tripping on anything.

I can never remember the names of the dances. There was one in lines of pairs of pairs where you turn opposite, turn person-of-the-same-gender, chain, spin partner, turn opposite, turn partner, circle, and pass through, but I was dancing with Rosy who *really* can spin, and the entire dance seemed to circle the same way, so by the end I looked shell shocked, and my middle ear was complaining.

And OXO, with a horseshoe line that's threaded through an arch on the end, that we tried to do about 3 times as often as their was time for. It's called OXO because six pairs form two circles and a rh star, but made me think "You must be able to play O's and X's like this..."

Atreic was a good caller. I'm slightly biased because I know more dances now that I used to, but she was pleasant to listen to, and I always knew how to dance after she explained it, which put her, together with a couple of others, as a favorite caller.

We resolve: we must do more dancing. I could maybe go to the round, but I maybe should investigate the other groups that build something. And try to get a group of people together to go back to the CDC balls -- I miss waltzing.

Comments

[satanicsocks.livejournal.com]

Favourite, surely ;)

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

No, most of them are American. OK, sorry. My bad.

How can people read all of that, and not have anything else to say?? :)

[satanicsocks.livejournal.com]

'Cos I have no idea about dancing; never been to a ceilidh, and don't have any real reason to want to :-) But I've only just woken up and have immediately spent that time correcting grammar and spelling elsewhere, hehe.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

'Cos I have no idea about dancing; never been to a ceilidh, and don't have any real reason to want to :-)

Because it's fun? Seriously, I could never dance, went along, and had a great time.

But I've only just woken up and have immediately spent that time correcting grammar and spelling elsewhere, hehe.

Truly satanic :)

[atreic.livejournal.com]

The contra dance I called (which I think is the one you're describing, although the chain was a reel and it was a right and left through instead of a turn) is the centrifugal hey. You've concatanated two dances, the witches reel, which is the mad needle threading horseshoe dance, and the OXO reel, which is the one where you spell OXO and was called by Helen (must have been, I can remember dancing it :-) )

I'm so glad you enjoyed it - I was dead nervous beforehand, but had a great time!

If you want to look up ceilidh dances, this page is good.

[atreic.livejournal.com]

We should go to GD. Friday?

[atreic.livejournal.com]

BTW, you are coming to IVFDF, arn't you?

[yrieithydd.livejournal.com]

[grins] Sounds fun. Are you going to write it up at some point? If I'd been in Cambridge I might have come, but it was rather a long way!

(and a quick prod about the email I sent you yesterday)

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

which I think is the one you're describing, although the chain was a reel and it was a right and left through instead of a turn

Yes.

(must have been, I can remember dancing it

Didn't you come and Gay with us? That muddled me, when you were suddenly behind me :)

If you want to look up ceilidh dances, this page is good.

Ooh.

I remember Pete struggling to notate ballroom; that did not lend itself to transcription at all easily.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Ah! I didn't see this, because gmail concatenates multiple replies.

For the benefit of everyone else: yes.