Title: Dances on Trips
General Information about Item:
- Customary Folklore: Dances
- Language: English
- Country: United States
Informant #1 Data:
- The informant is a Dartmouth ’18 male. He went on a first-year trip in September 2014 and was a member of Lodj Croo in September 2017.
Informant #2 Data:
- The informant is a Dartmouth ’18 female. She went on a first-year trip in September 2014, was a member of Lodj Croo in September 2015, and served as one of the two Lodj Croo Captains in September 2017.
Contextual Data:
- Social Context
- Throughout trips, including at Dartmouth, the trip itself, and the day at the lodge, all trippees learn specific dances that they continue to practice throughout their trip. These dances include both individual and partner dances.
- Traditionally, the trippees learn the dance in Hanover, right in front of Robinson Hall. They then are expected to know the dances fully by the time they reach the Lodge.
- Cultural Context
- The trippees are nervous and awkward when they get to Dartmouth. Silly dances encourage them to not take themselves seriously while also facilitating connections between trippees through the partner dances.
- These dances stay popular throughout their time at Dartmouth. Freshmen at Dartmouth are often seen dancing these dances when specific songs play.
Item:
- These dances include choreographed dances to “Every Time We Touch” and “I’m On a Roll” as well as the Salty Dog Rag and Contra Dancing.
Transcript of Informant #1 Interview:
“Every year, there’s an additional dance that’s added. So we like to break the ice by having these wacky dances to “Every Time We Touch”, “I’m On a Roll”, and they just become a unifying force for the new students. Pretty much everyone on campus knows the “Every Time We Touch” dance, and it’s pretty fun during your first term here when the song comes on and you can just jump into dancing with people you don’t know.
We also have contra dancing at the Lodge. We bring in a facilitator to do contra dancing, which is New England’s square dancing. And the trippees line up and for about 40 minutes do contra dancing with one another.
We also dance the Salty Dog Rag, which is similar to square dancing, and it’s a lot of fun. It takes a while to learn, but once people feel like they’ve got it down, they’re really excited to do it over and over and over again.”
Informant #1’s Comments:
- Informant used these dances to get people to mingle with one another.
Collector’s Comments:
- Informant #1 was able to remember all of these dances still, showing the power of the trips memories.
Collector’s Name: Roshni Chandwani
Transcript of Informant #2 Interview:
“That’s a lot of tradition that’s passed on year to year, and there’s some dances that are much more memorable that I think most people at Dartmouth would know and remember, like the “Every Time We Touch” dance, whereas there’s also new additions every year, and some of those are kept and passed along from year to year, like I know I made one up 2 years ago that we tried to bring back again this year, but I think that might fail out after I graduate, whereas there are some that are made up, besides the “Every Time We Touch” dance, that are passed on from year to year that are stronger, with strong traditions.
There’s contra dancing, which happens at the Lodj after dinner as well. Usually, someone comes in and “calls Contra”. It’s a mix of square dancing and swing dancing, so we have someone come up and “call Contra” every night, who says what dance moves to do.
Informant #2’s Comments:
- Informant noted that dancing is one of her favorite parts of trips, arguing that dancing is important because it’s a way of being more funny and silly without having to be nervous and be awkward. She also said it’s a part of the Dartmouth traditions and makes you feel like you’re a part of something.
Collector’s Comments:
- Informant #2 is the creator of some of the dancing folklore that may be practiced years from now.
Collector’s Name: Roshni Chandwani
Tags/Keywords:
- Customary Folklore, Dances
