On the question of paying attention:
A while back, in one of these e-groups, someone pointed out that we
contra dancers keep talking about "community." This post pointed out
that we contra dancers go to a dance, and, often forsaking applause (yet
another topic...), run off to find our next partner and line up for a
dance. This posting compared that to country-western dance, or swing
dance, where they would sit around a table and talk, get to know others
through chatting, and not dance every dance, but have other social
things happen. It got me to thinking:
Often, after people have lined up, they talk with each other, their
partner, their minor set, or other people around them. Often callers
strive to get everyone to shut-up so they can start the dance. I've come
to believe this time of conversation is the main time we get to know a
little about each other and is thus a "community building time."
My practice now is to say into the mic in a regular talking voice, "Are
you ready?" If the general banter keeps going on, I wait a couple beats,
and say, again, "Are you ready?" After two to four times of asking the
question, someone will say, "Yes!" Then another might do a loud,
"Shhhh!" When people finally quiet down, I teach the dance.
~erik hoffman
oakland, ca
On 8/4/2014 10:26 AM, barb kirchner via Callers wrote:
> sometimes when dancers aren't paying attention, it's because there are
> too many other things going on in the hall.
>
> sometimes it's the band warming up or sound checking, but i've seen
> all kinds of things going on - bake sales, people on their mobile
> devices, a group of beginners coming in who don't yet know dance
> etiquette, or maybe the dancers are having trouble hearing you.
> sometimes musicians talk loudly behind the caller (i'm a musician and
> a caller) and it's hard to understand the caller because the chatter
> can be heard through mics or pick-ups.
>
> you can't fix some of those things, but you can address retail events
> in the hall, cell phones, sound system, etc
>
> are your experienced dancers modelling good dance etiquette? are you
> teaching efficiently, or are you spending so much time talking that
> people lose interest?
>
> sometimes, i just start the walkthru anyway. as soon as people
> realize that most people are starting to swing, they get a little more
> interested :-)
>
> cheers,
> barb
>
>
> > Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2014 13:05:57 -0400
> > To: maia.mcc(a)gmail.com
> > CC: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> > Subject: Re: [Callers] When the dancers aren't paying attention
> > From: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> >
> > It depends why the dancers aren't paying attention. Are there lots of
> > experienced dancers, such that the walkthrough isn't really necessary?
> > Are they ignoring walkthroughs the first time through because they
> > know there will be a second one? Are they just having a lot of fun
> > with their friends and prioritizing that above listening to the
> > caller? How does the dance go once it starts?
> >
> > A few strategies I might try:
> >
> > * Not bother with the walkthroughs entirely. If the crowd is ignoring
> > the walkthroughs because as a whole they don't need them, then just
> > call the dance. This means only picking dances that can be called
> > no-walkthrough, but there are still a lot to choose from.
> >
> > * Give the dancers a bit longer between dances before starting the
> > walkthrough. If they're chatting with neighbors and catching up, let
> > them do that for a bit. Then once you start the walkthrough go
> > quickly.
> >
> > * Ask the band for rolling starts, where they play music under the
> > walkthrough. This makes it harder for people to talk and feels more
> > like dancing. You don't have time to explain complex things, so you
> > have to give that up, but it's much more forgiving than straight-up
> > no-walkthrough.
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Aug 4, 2014 at 11:08 AM, Maia McCormick via Callers
> > <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> > > At Falcon Ridge this weekend, I saw a couple of different styles
> of dealing
> > > with that frustrating state of affairs when 50%+ of the hall just
> isn't
> > > paying attention to the walk-through. I'm curious if you all have any
> > > particular strategies you employ here, thoughts on how to deal
> with this,
> > > how to get the attention of the hall, etc.
> > >
> > > In dance,
> > > Maia
> > >
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> > >
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>
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Does anyone have "Fannie's Alarm Clock" to share?
Thanks -
Laurie PWest MI ~
When I dance, I cannot judge, I cannot hate, I cannot separate myself from life. I can only be joyful and whole, that is why I dance. ~Hans Bos~
~
One of the lessons I learned in a Bruce Hamilton workshop was that the
caller's attitude is a tool and it must be kept sharp. He mentioned the
example of Bob Dalsemer always projecting a strong sense of well-being,
everything is going just fine.
I realized that while my stage presence often did this, too often I also
projected the tension of my worries about the dance -- whether I would be
able to teach something, whether the dancers would "get" it, whether I
could fix a problem if it developed.
So I became more intentional, identifying callers who projected well-being
and trying to copy some of those things they did. I realized it is about
awareness, and about decision-making, and about preparation (knowing the
dances, knowing the music, the band, the crowd...).
Fast forward to yesterday. I was calling an English dance, the music was
going, the room was quiet except for the band (glorious!) and the movement
of the dancers, when a baby -- the several-months-old grandchild of one of
our dancers, began babbling. Not crying, just making noises over the music.
And the part of me that saw it as an interruption was itself interrupted by
the part of me that said, "hey, he's in the right key." So I said that. And
maybe it was only for me, but it made everything OK.
Thank you Bruce and the many others who teach this lesson.
--Jerome
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
“Dance like no one is watching...
Because they are not...
They are checking their phone.
Erik and Alan make good points.
I also think it's worth the exercise to try to rank dances, and individual
figures, by difficulty as a way of thinking about what makes a dance hard
or easy.
For example:
Which is easier to teach (or to learn): chain, hey, right & left through?
That analysis is worthwhile, even if sorting your cards by such rankings is
problematic.
--Jerome
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
“Dance like no one is watching...
Because they are not...
They are checking their phone.
As I overhaul my contra deck and realize that my difficulty ranking system
is super incoherent, and most of my dance rankings are from way before I
had any idea what actually makes a dance easy or hard, I've been thinking
of scrapping this difficulty ranking system and just starting over. So I
was wondering: if you rank your dances by difficulty, what is your system,
what are your benchmarks for various difficulty levels, what sorts of
things do you consider when determining the difficulty of a dance? If you DON'T
rank your dances, why not?
Cheers,
Maia
Hi folks,
In the midst of a discussion with some dancers during the break at a recent
gig, this dance sequence came up. Has anyone seen its like?
Allemandery, My Dear Watson improper
A1 1-4 (New) Nbrs alle R 1-1/2
5-8 Gents alle L 1-1/2 (end in front of and facing
Ptnr)
A2 1-4 ½ hey (PR, WL, NR, GL)
5-8 Ptnr swing
B1 1-4 Women alle R 1-1/2
5-8 Nbrs swing
B2 1-4 Balance ring; pass by Nbr (pass thru backwards)
L-shoulder and turn back L to
5-8 (Old) Nbrs alle L 1-1/2 (to next cpl)
Thanx, Ric Goldman
Hi Kalia,
As written, at the beginning of B2, folks come out of the nbr swing - 1s
below, 2s above. The balance ring gives folks a chance to reorient (1s
facing up, 2s facing down). The pass-by L (and turn L around to face the
"normal" direction) flows into the subsequent allemande L 1-1/2. Another
possible alternative for the pass-by might be a L-shoulder gypsy, which
might flow into the nbr allemande L more easily (a "gypsy/allemande
meltdown"?)
However, going the other way with a normal pass-thru and turn to the R
brings the L hands around to connect (perhaps with a clap) for the
allemande:
B2 1-4 Balance the ring; pass thru (and turn back R into)
5-8 Nbrs allemande L 1-1/2 (to new cpl...)
This avoids the counter intuitive pass-by, and while not as smooth a flow,
might be an exciting contact point for the dancers. Definitely worth
considering :-)
Thanx, Ric Goldman
-----Original Message-----
From: Callers [mailto:callers-bounces@lists.sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of
Kalia Kliban via Callers
Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2015 3:52 PM
To: Caller's discussion list
Subject: Re: [Callers] Anyone seen this sequence?
I'm not entirely clear on what's happening in B2 1-4. One possible
stumbling point, though, is that pass-throughs are almost always by the
right shoulder, so you'll need to come up with a really strong way to teach
that it's left (LEFT, no, the _other_ left).
Kalia
On 4/16/2015 3:32 PM, Ric Goldman via Callers wrote:
> Hi folks,
>
> In the midst of a discussion with some dancers during the break at a
> recent gig, this dance sequence came up.Has anyone seen its like?
>
> Allemandery, My Dear Watson improper
>
> A11-4(New) Nbrs alle R 1-1/2
>
> 5-8Gents alle L 1-1/2 (end in front of and facing Ptnr)
>
> A21-4½ hey (PR, WL, NR, GL)
>
> 5-8Ptnr swing
>
> B11-4Women alle R 1-1/2
>
> 5-8Nbrs swing
>
> B21-4Balance ring; pass by Nbr (pass thru backwards) L-shoulder and
> turn back L to
>
> 5-8(Old) Nbrs alle L 1-1/2 (to next cpl)
>
> Thanx, Ric Goldman
>
>
>
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>
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OK, I've got a few dances here (actually more than a few but I'll start with a few) that I don't have attribution for. I'd appreciate any help, thanks!
Number 1
4 face 4
A1 Forward and back
Swing corner
A2 Heads right and left through
Sides right and left through
B1 Men star left
Do-si-do the one you swung once and a bit more to see partner
B2 Balance and swing partner
Number 2
Duple Improper
A1 Allemande right neighbor 1 1/2
With NEXT neighbor, left shoulder do-si-do once
A2 Swing original neighbor
Lines forward and back (note, this is how I took it down but in practice I would probably rather Balance and swing original here)
B1 Circle left 3/4
Swing partner
B2 Women chain
FULL and zesty square through
Number 3
Duple improper
A1 Wave balance with the MEN in the middle (left to partner, men right), men do Rory O'More move past each other to partner
Swing partner
A2 Women chain
Women pull by the right and allemande left neighbor 1X to form a wave with the women in the middle
B1 Wave balance, women Rory past each other to neighbor
Swing neighbor
B2 Pass through across the set to an ocean wave and balance (women in the middle)
Step forward and with new neighbor facing you, allemande left 1 1/2 to form a wave with the men in the middle
Number 4
Duple improper
A1 Lines forward and back
Swing neighbor
A2 4 in line down the set, turn as couples
come back up
B1 Circle left
Swing partner
B2 Men allemande left 1 1/2
Star promenade, butterfly whirl
That'll do for now. Thanks in advance!
