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Tips for beginners

TakeMoreChancesHi, I’m Mary Bennett and I’ve been circle dancing for about 15 years. I was really drawn to it but not very good at it. I wasn’t “a dancer”. If you’re new to circle dance and you’ve done other kinds of dancing, whether ballet as a kid or social dancing, you’ll likely catch on really quickly. If you’re a bit inhibited and better at math than movement (like me), these tips are for you.

Here’s what I wish I’d done differently:

  1. Listen to the music between sessions or only dance when the music is either familiar or at least appealing
  2. Pick your spots. ALL circle dance facilitators will encourage you to take care of yourself. You don’t have to dance every dance. You could even dance only one or two if you wanted to do that.
  3. Talk to your facilitator.  Make sure they understand where you’re coming from so they don’t worry about maybe they’ve offended you or you’re not having a good time. Let them know this *is* the way you’re going to have a good time.
  4. “Dance” to the music at home – just free dance, such as swaying when you’re washing dishes.
  5. Ask the facilitator to give you the steps to one of the dances you particularly like and try out the steps at home on your own.
  6. Know that some people *really* get into this. They travel the world (pre-covid at least) and know personally international teachers and regular “dance camps”. You may never want to do this. I don’t. You don’t even have to learn the names of the various teachers if you don’t want to.  Just let that information float over you.
  7. What else? I’m meeting some folks tonight for the first time, and I might add to this list after that.

My approach

  1. What I plan to do tonight and for new groups if it works:
  2. Select 5 dances I like and have few steps and a regular beat
  3. Adapt some of them so we’ll do twice: once to get the rhythm and some of the steps, and then a second time to do all the steps.

Zoom and Facebook dance opportunities

  1.  I also often dance on zoom (and used to travel to Ladner to dance with Darlene and Frances). Contact circledanceladner (at) gmail.com to find out about upcoming dances.
  2. There are other ways to participate, usually on facebook, from Tennessee to Findhorn, Scotland.

Continue reading “Tips for beginners”

May the Circle be Open

We often dance this at the end, we sometimes, especially if we are focusing a theme on one of the eight wiccan sabbats (solstices, equinoxes, etc.) end with “May the Circle Be Open”

Barbara Herring in Ontario choreographed this dance and when I sent her a note with some questions, she encouraged me to adapt it to the ideas I had. So as pagan groups often open the circle (something like returning sacred space to regular space) by going counterclockwise or “widdershins”, I facilitate this dance going counterclockwise. It makes me happy to close a circle dance session this way. Only partly because after “merry meet, and merry part and merry meet again” which is sufficiently cheerful on its own, I sometimes spontaneously add: “It’s all About Mary!”

Steps:

  1. Make a quarter turn to Left (widdershins) and bow or curtsey. Repeat for a total of 4 to get to centre again.
  2. Step in two steps starting with Left and out starting with Left. Repeat
  3. Near end they repeat “merry meet and merry part several times, so keep going in and out.

We are a circle within a circle

We sometimes start a circle dance gathering by playing “We are a circle within a circle” – and having people join in as they’re ready.  I really enjoy “casting the circle” this way – by setting sacred space for our circle dance.

We dance to a version that’s quite a bit slower than this version by Kate West

Steps:

  1. in your own little circle – 4 steps over right shoulder (we are a circle)
  2. two steps in and out (within a circle)
  3. grapevine to left  x 2  Right over left; Left side; Right behind; left side 
  4. All steps are clockwise and starting with Right foot.

Go in Beauty

Go In Beauty ~ Light in the dark

Choreographer: Barbara Herring (Canada)

Artist: Robert Gass & On Wings of Song (USA)

Album:  Songs of Healing

Listen:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=f11FYXh99Xs

Lyrics:  Oh, go in beauty, Peace be with you, Til we meet again in the light.

STEPS:  Facing centre, V-Hold

A. Grapevine moving to the R (R side, L cross front, R side, L cross back)

B. R side, L point front, L replace, R point front

Note: The first R side starts of BEAUty and then MEET.

Candle Dance Adaptation by Darlene (Canada): 

Place candle in left hand

Place right hand under dancer’s hand on the right

OR if dancing alone, cup hands together to hold candle

Hello, Vampires – See You in the light

We’ll dance to this song by Michael Franti at GLAD on the 3rd Thursday in October to get ready for Samhain/Hallowe’en. Mairy will teach the dance. I’m looking forward to it!

See You in the Light

I’ve been traveling down this river
So many rocks pop up in my sight
I got to make some quick decisions
Should I go left or should I go right?
I pray for guidance and protection
It keeps my boat water tight
And I know if I just keep on believing
Every little thing’s all gonna be alright
And when I wake up in the morning
I hope I see you in the light
And when I wake up in the morning
I hope I see you in the light
And loveliness and tenderness
And happiness and openness
And togetherness and loveliness
Yeah, yeah
The vampires gather around me
Angling to take a bite
They wanna drink my blood of courage
And try to take away my fight
But no, no, no, they can’t do that
No, for one truth I learned in life
You want to scare away the vampires
You simply guide them into the light
And when I wake up in the morning
I hope I see you in the light
And when I wake up in the morning
I hope I see you in the light, yeah
In the morn, in the morning
In the morn, in the morning
In the morn, in the morning
In the morning
And when my time is done
I did some right, I did some wrong
Call my name to kingdom come
Spread my wings in flight
I hope that when my day is over
My love I see you in the light, yeah
And when I wake up in the morning
I hope I see you in the light
And when I wake up in the morning
I hope, I hope, I hope I see you
In the morn, in the morning
In the morn, in the morning
In the morn, in the morning
In the morn, in the morning
Loveliness and tenderness
And happiness and openness
And togetherness and hopefulness
And happiness, yeah, yeah

Samhain (Hallowe’en/Day of the Dead) Dances

We dance to honour the ancestors and ponder the “thin veil” between life and death during October.

Samhain/Hallowe’en

Some of our local favorites are: (Click or scroll down for links)

Which of these is your favorite?

If you are interested in a particular song for us to dance to, please let me know and we’ll be sure to include it.

Do you have other songs or dances that you love that fit this theme? Send me a note and let me know!

Favorite October Dances

Which dance should we select for October’s dance? October is full of gratitude and ancestors!

Thanksgiving:

Thank You for This Day

Heartfelt Thanks and Gratitude

Samhain/Hallowe’en

Some of our local favorites are:

  • Swimming to the Other Side
  • Witches Song
  • Spirits in the Graveyard
  • Ancestors’ Breaths
  • Kali

This is a new idea to select a dance each month that will be danced at several lower mainland circles. If you’d like a dance added that’s not there, just let me know. circledanceucv@gmail.com

Here are more suggestions from the Bears’ list at circledancing

Samhain:
(Death, End Of Shedding, Without Illusion, Thinning of Veils, Rest)
Old Woman
All Soul’s Night
Between the Worlds
Breaths
By a Quiet Stream
Cleopatra
Crossing (The) (Osiyeza) – intense, pagan
Dance The Mystic Spiral
Dar Gorani
Dark Spiral
Deep Peace
Dreaming – Samhain to Spring equinox
Dudulas
Earth, Air, Fire, Water
Elm Dance
Embrace the Shadow
Eno Sagrado (Sacred Ground)
Enso – Japanese sign for emptiness (all possibilties)
Four Elements Dances (1)
Kali
Kangueleftos (The Gate)
Karev Yom (Giving and Receiving)
Namah Shivaya
Nightwalking
Old Woman
Samhain
Still Point
Swimming to the Other Side
Take Me to The River
The Crossing (Osiyeza)
The Shift
Weaver and the Web
Whisper, The
Who By Fire
Yianni Mou (Dark Miserlou)
You Have Loved Enough