Announcements from yesterday's dance, and thank-you's

First a big thank you to everyone who turned out for last night's dance.
It was one of our best dances so far, and a big thank you goes to Romain
for helping us "show eels to young maidens (la la la la)" and to
Shimizu-san for helping us "get back home", and Marichan and "jitsu ni
honBanchan" for the wonderful music.
Last night, Romain announced he is giving a free class in French Folk
Dance at the French-Japanese Institute. His next class is on Saturday, the 30th of
January. The time is tentatively 10:00 am.
If you would like to learn more about square dancing, Shimizu-san's email
is: emerodo_sdc@k.vodafone.ne.jp
Upcoming Contras are:
Sat. 2/6/10 Fushimi (Tambabashi) 6-9 PM
at Kuretake Bunka Center * in Tambabashi *
Just west of Keihan Tambabashi Station
and a little further west of Kintetsu Tanbabshi Station
(use the gate next to the udon shop in the station, and it's across the
street)
Sat. 2/20/10 Takano 5:30-9 PM
at the Takano Church
http://holyring.jp/ir/takano/dmap.html
contrakyoto.byethost9.com
See you there!...david and yukie

Contra Dance this Saturday, New Format, CDSS

Happy 2010. I hope no one ate too much mochi during oshogatsu, but if you did, here is a chance to burn off some of those extra calories:

Contra Dance this Saturday
January 16, 2010
start 5:30 to 9:00
Snack break 7:00-7:15

The important thing about this dance is that, after getting some thoughtful feedback at the last dance, we have decided to try a new format that we hope will make this a better experience for everyone.

The first half of the dance we are going to spend more time working on individual figures and making them easier to understand. We recognize that they seem complicated at first. It can take some time for them to become second nature, and especially to fit them all together while the music is playing and people are moving and there are distractions and so on. So we are going to change our teaching style, move much more slowly in the first half, and take the time make everyone feel they have it. We hope especially that this will help beginners have an easy time fitting in.

Another suggestion was to make the break a little shorter, more like a tea time. We are going to try this. At the same time, we would like to encourage people to consider bringing nutritious snacks...less chips and candy. Finger foods like onigiri or sandwiches and homemade snacks are great, or whatever other delicious and creative ideas people have. Many people are health conscious, and we want to make contra a healthy experience. Also, we hope this will reduce trash at the end of the night, and mean that people don't have to bring as much utensils and cookware.
,
Anther piece of interesting news, (thanks to Maureen!) is that we were recently contacted by Jennifer Beer, the Vice-President of the Contry Dance and Song Society (CDSS http://www.cdss.org/) in the US. , which is one of the oldest and most famous dance (including contra) societies in the US. She told us that about 20 years ago she taught a bilingual contradance for about a year at the British Sports Club in Kobe. I guess she beat us to Japan! In fact, in November she was in Kansai teaching English Country Dance. In her email she said that, as VP of the CDSS she has "vowed to build more connections between CDSS and Japan." So our little group is getting noticed in the contra dance world! Great work everyone! If anyone has any ideas how we can connect with them, let's talk!

Lastly, in case people don't know, I have recently updated the website, including fixing the NHK video, adding early Takano videos, and many Youtube videos. Please give us any feedback or let us know of any problems with the site. If anyone would like to write a small blurb about who they are and why they like dance, we would like to add more to the Who We Are and What People Say pages.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday. David and Yukie

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contrakyoto.byethost9.com

ありがとうございました☆Thanks

クリスマスコントラにきてくださったみなさん、どうもありがとうございました。師走のあわただしい時期にもかかわらず、たくさんの人が来てくれました。

フランスのコントラダンスを教えてくれたロマン、いつもいつも楽しい音楽を奏でてくれるばんちゃん、まりちゃん、どうもありがとう。フランスのコントラダンスは、簡単だったし、ステップやプロムナードの仕方が違ったりして、おもしろかったですね～。

それと、フィードバックをしてくれたみなさんもありがとうございます。来年の高野ダンスは、今までとはいろいろやり方を変えながら、よりよい方法を常に探していきたいと思います。特に、今のままでは初めて来てくれた人たちがうまくスタートを切れないときがあるようなので、以前から声が出ていたようにひとつのダンスにもっと時間をかけたり、ゆっくりダンスを覚えたり、また持ち寄り夕ご飯をやめて、軽食＋ティータイムくらいのかんたんなものにすることも考えています。
これからも何か気がついた点などありましたら、ぜひぜひ教えてくださいね。

また、HP上のNHKの映像、見れるように直したと思います。確認してくださったらありがたいです。

それでは、メリークリスマス＆よいお年を～～～♪♪♪

ゆきえ、でいびっど

contrakyoto.byethost9.com

--------------------
Thanks to everyone who came out for the Christmas Contra at Takano. I especially want to thank Romain for teaching us a french circle dance, and Banchan and Marichan for their patience and wonderful music. The dance was a lot of fun, and everyone was laughing so much....

I also want to thank people who gave us feedback about what new things we could do in the new year. Some of the ideas we are thinking about include
spending more time explaining the dances and the figures, especially in the beginning, so that people can understand the dances better, and making the break shorter, like a tea and snack time. It seems that the current time is good for most people, though some people also suggested doing the dance at the Art Center downtown, as this might be more convenient, and we are going to look into that.

By the by, I have fixed the problem with the NHK video on the website. If anyone has a problem viewing it, please let me know.

If you have any thoughts about the above or any other ideas, please let us know. We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year.

Cheers...David and Yukie

contrakyoto.byethost9.com

Dance Tomorrow

Quick reminder that there is a dance tomorrow in Takano.
It is a Christmas dance, and our sources at the North Pole tell us that there may be a surprise visitor in red...If you are coming, we thought it would be fun if people could also wear red to suit the occasion.
In any event, we will do some dancing, have a Christmas feast, and Romain is going to teach us another folk dance from France, so it will be a lot of fun. See you there...david

Dances and Music from recent dances

September 9, 2009:Dances:
Ted's mixer
La Bastringue
Demon's rant
Scatter Dance
First Night Contra

Music:
1. Sporting Molloy/The Old Bustle
2. jigs: The Kilmovee/The Mist Covers the Mountain/The Rambling Pitchfork
3.reels:Man of the House/The Templehouse

NHK Dance/Fushimi Concert and Dance :
Dances:
Family Contra
NHK: The Uncertain MIddle
NHK: The Grand Finale

Music:
tunes by Armelle
Wake the Neighbors #2

November 19:
Dances: 
Retro Reel
Skating By
Avery One Dance
Blackbird Pie
Unruly Reunion
Salmonella Evening
The Whole Enchilada