Periodic Table of Contra
I’ve heard many a comment on the overlapping interests of dance and math/science, but usually folks aren’t talking about chemistry. Enter “The Periodic Table of Contra”:
This table (click on it for a larger version) was designed by April Blum, one of the organizers of the FootFall dance group. I asked April what had how she came about giving physical science twist to contra dance moves. Here’s the entertaining story she shared:
I had seen other Periodic Tables — there’s one of desserts, for instance, and one of fruits and vegetables, and I think I’ve even seen one of fishing lures. But for some reason I pulled up a “real” one and found myself wondering if I could use the actual abbreviations — no cheating — for terms that callers use.
I was absolutely OBSESSED with it for the better part of three weeks. Most of it was easy, but there were a few entries that were surprisingly difficult, since the collection of abbreviations is a VERY mixed bag. I made lists and lists and lists.
My personal “Eureka!” moment involved xenon (Xe). That was a tough one, and I’d been stuck on it for a week. Then, one morning as I was driving to work, I pulled up behind a car that had an “I love LAX.” bumper sticker. I was staring idly at it, waiting for the light to change, when I suddenly made the connection — Xe was “Cross Trails” of course! The driver behind me must have thought I’d lost it — I was pounding on the steering wheel and laughing like an idiot.
We’ve sold enough to cover our original printing costs and any additional posters that we sell go directly to FootFall. We hope to sell enough to provide some additional scholarships for young dancers (we already give a substantial discount, but we’d like to do more to make the weekend affordable, especially for students).
I’m sure this would make Mendeleev proud.
— Max
If you’d like to order a Periodic Table of Contra (while supporting youth scholarships at FootFall) contact April at aprilgblum@gmail.com.
Posters are 18 x 24 (they fit a standard size frame) and printed in color on poster-quality glossy paper.
$10 each, and $2.75 for postage per order of 1-5 posters.
Great for dance halls, dorm rooms, or perhaps your lab.
Bugs Bunny and the Power of Calling
A few observations on a less-than-serious topic for everyone across North America who is covered by snow.
Bugs anticipates the men-in-skirts movement.
Some may be familiar with the 1950 Warner Brothers short Hillbilly Hare, wherein Bugs Bunny lifts up the fiddle and calls a complicated square dance.
Watch it on YouTube. (Sorry there’s no embeddable version.)
At first glance, this sequence might cause us to ponder the representation of rural Southern culture in mainstream media or examine the ways that (and extent to which) violence is used as a tool for comedy. But after close examination we are, most of all, forced to ask, “Is Bugs Bunny the greatest square dance caller ever?”
In this sequence, his patter calls are impressive to say the least. I’ll admit, most of these moves fall outside what I’ve seen documented in traditional calls, let alone Modern Western lists. Not only do they contain great variety but they are adaptive to their environment, be that brook, pig pen, or hay baler. It’s not clear how experienced our dancers (Curt and Pumpkinhead Martin, I am told) are, but certainly Bugs has their trust. They follow his calls remarkably. Lest they get discouraged, Bugs incorporates gentle encouragement into his calls, “Step right up, you’re doin’ fine, / I’ll pull your beard, you pull mine.”
We can see Bugs has a traditional musical sense, unplugging the band and giving an acoustic solo fiddle performance — albeit with full orchestra providing the boom-chucks. Somewhat less traditionally, Bugs deserves credit for anticipating the men-in-skirts movement at dances way ahead of his time.
Luckily for us, at sixty years old, this classic is not merely archival but part of a living tradition. And will continue to be into the next generation.
— Max
Morris Dancing Is Cool
The holidays deserve a bit of fun, so here’s a video from across the pond. It’s a selection from the BBC show Argumental where teams comedically debate a proposition, in this case: Morris dancing is cool. Special guests are London’s Greensleeves Morris Men. Please note the content is slightly PG-13 rated, and not just because of the morris dancing.
The proposition doesn’t quite win out, but it’s clearly close. Compelling arguments are made on both sides; I’ll admit it’s hard to argue with the point that morris dancing is indeed “the least stealthy of the martial arts”.
More reflectively, it’s revealing to see something folky through the vantage point of mainstream coverage, particularly when that coverage is neither entirely reverent nor mocking. This clip gives us that unusual vantage, with good fun being poked against the background of a fair amount of respect, from both sides, for morris and morris dancers. And after all, who can disagree with the ultimate conclusion that if morris dancers are not cool, they certainly are hot?
Are there other interesting examples of mainstream media attention to traditional dance/music/song that come to mind? What do see in the relationship between the traditional and mainstream? Is morris the least stealthy of the martial arts? Your comments welcome.
– Max
Caroline, Promotion & Periodicals
Max, Youth Intern '09-'10
Pat, Education/Publications
Robin, Development Director
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