Sorry for the late reply - I had problems sending to the list.
I agree absolutely with your comments - and especially that you need simple proper dances.
I do a lot of weddings and have devised a few(!) rules / tricks to make them go well:
* Never call a contra, and rarely a proper longways - they find the "1s work their way down, 2s work their way up" too complicated.
* Start with a dance that allows you to test their ability, not just to dance but to listen to the caller and do what they're told! A good mixer will do for this - Lucky 7 or Scatter Promenade
* Keep the moves simple, and don't introduce too many new ones at once. I rarely do Ladies Chains, for example.
* Start with simple dances and progress from there - so a grand chain starts as a special move but later becomes just something they do.
* Don't feel the need to include too many clever moves - you can get a lot out of stars and circles!
* Have a collection of 20 or so simple dances at your disposal
* Be ready for not many people on the dance floor - plenty of three and four couple dances, just in case.
* Equally have some "space saving" dances, in case everyone wants to get up.
* Use dances that can take variable numbers of couples. At a wedding, if 7 couples get up to dance you need to get all 7 dancing.
* Don't be afraid to write your own simple dances (about half of mine I wrote myself).
* Have a supply of "sexless" dances - where you don't have to call "men" or "women". This is especially important if you have a number of children.
* On the subject of children, if you have very young ones avoid dances which change partner, or allow them to keep their partner while everyone else changes.
* Use dances that are easy to recover from when they go wrong - and tell them how ("if you don't have anyone to swing come and stand in the middle")
* Use dances where one person / couple going wrong doesn't mess it up for everyone else
* Use dances with leeway in them - one set will always end up well behind and need recovery time
* Once you get going in a dance, Be prepared to call it "unphrased" if they're just not getting through it in time - and warn the band beforehand if you can!
* Calling from the floor with a radio mike helps a lot, as you have:
* The ability to correct a particular person / set having difficulties during the walkthrough
* The ability to correct a person / set during the actual dance
* Much better engagement with the audience than standing on the stage
Regards
Jeremy
www.barndancecaller.net<http://www.barndancecaller.net>
In the last few years, I find myself dancing a lot more dances that end with
Circle left 3 places and pass through
What I find is that about 3/4 of the dancers take 8 counts to do the circle 3 places, then a brief but indeterminate amount of time to do the pass through, and then arrive late to the next couple & next figure. (The other 1/4 take 6 counts to circle, 2 to pass through, and are then on the music's phrasing for the next figure.)
It seems to me likely that this is frustrating to almost everyone. The "eight and late" dancers think "what a stupid dance, I can't get where I'm supposed to be in time," and the "6 + 2" dancers think "why are 3/4 of the people not here when I get here?"
I haven't done a careful study, but I did just go to an experienced dance, and my impression is that the 3/4 - 1/4 ratio doesn't change with level of experience (though the experienced dancers, whatever their timing is, do it with more confidence). And I don't think there's anything all that surprising about that: we hardly do anything in contras to a count of 6 or 2. (If I've noticed any pattern, it's that contra dancers who also do English are more likely to dance it 6+2.) I do it 6+2, since it's the only way I can see to both dance to the phrasing and not be late to the next figure.
It seems like a caller could point it out which might help some (though dancers' experience that everything is in a count of 8 or 4 is pretty ingrained), but the avoidance of teaching seems to prevent that--I don't recall any caller ever saying anything about it.
Have others noticed it as an issue? (And am I right that it's a relatively recent issue?) Thoughts on what to do about it, if anything?
--Read Weaver
Jamaica Plain, MA
http://lcfd.org
Hi,
I'm a fairly new caller as well and here are some thing that have helped me. I
1 - Have a master list of dances in rough order of difficulty so I can quickly go to the beginning, middle, or end for ideas on what to call depending on my dancers. I gave up on a formal "program" after the first couple of dances.
2 - Code the dances for type and mix them in the list (circle, contra, mixer, starting or main figure...) to help keep variety.
3 - Have different lists for3cpl, 4 cpl, 5-6, 7+ groupings (this probably won't pertain to you but where I am a hall full of dancers isn't likely!)
4 - Print out eight dances per side on paper (colored paper helps organize) in more or less the same order, easily folded and stuck in my belt pouch so I can quickly glance at a dance to jogg my memory. My dances are small and I'm on the floor and often dancing so quick and easy is important. The dances are also marked with 3, 4, etc cples tomake it easier to grab a right one.
To have a "large" group of any kind would be a delight! Congratulations! But I've learned to enjoy 3 and 4 couple nights. Again this probably doesn't pertain to your situation but I've found it easier on me to rewrite the dances to suit different number of couples and have each one printed that way (unless it's a very simple change). I'm getting better at being able to do this on my feet, and have had to do so more than I like, but I like the security of having it written out, especially if I have a lot of new dancers to pay attention to. The same for changes that make a dance easier or harder. I really like dances that are easily adapted and can be used in a variety of situations.
As others have noted, new dancers continually surprise me with what they can do (and can't) do. It depends on your dancers of course and the dance atmosphere, but I've found as long as we laugh and have a good time even the meltdowns can add to the evening. It's the fun that counts, not the dance.
Cheers from the snowy U.P. (of Michigan)
Sue Robishaw
Good morning,
My name is Danielle, and I am a new caller in New Mexico. I just called my
first full evening last night. We ended up having a rather large group of
beginners, so much so that I could use neither my planned program nor even
my backup program that I thought would be appropriate for a mixed crowd. I
ended up programming on the fly, which didn't go as smoothly as I would
have liked.
I'd love to hear what other callers do in this situation, or how they are
able to avoid it with prep work beforehand.
Thanks!
Danielle
--
Danielle Boudreau
<dbou(a)unm.edu> elle.boudreau(a)gmail.com
cell: (505) 377-3071
Hi all,
I am planning some workshops, for festivals here in the UK, with the title
"Flow & Glide Contras: Dances with beautiful flow, connectivity and a
smooth, satisfying glide." (Thanks to Sarah VanNorstrand and no doubt many
others for the title!)
I have lots of ideas already, but am always interested in finding great
dances that I am not familiar with.
If you don't mind sharing, please let me know your favourite ONE or TWO
contras that fit this description.
Many thanks.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
Erik,
I have have called "There is No Way to Peace, Peace Is the Way" often and I
agree it is a wonderful, and very good flowing dance. I did not remember,
however, that the quote came from A. J. Muste. Thank you for naming a dance
for his quote, and for him, and for reminding us all about him.
Rickey (aka Eric) Holt,
Fremont, NH
-----Original Message-----
From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net
[mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Erik Hoffman
Sent: Saturday, February 08, 2014 4:44 AM
To: Caller's discussion list
Subject: Re: [Callers] Flow & Glide Contras
I think "There Is No Way to Peace; Peace Is the Way" has good flow:
There Is No Way to Peace; Peace Is the Way Becket Erik Hoffman
A1 Women Do Si Do; Partner Swing
A2 Men Allemande Left 1-1/2; Neighbor Swing
B1 Long Lines Forward & Back; Women Right Elbow Turn 1-1/2
B2 Women Pick up Partner to Star Promenade 3/4;
Men who meet link Left Elbow, (Women let go of Right Elbow)
Star Promenade with these New (and Next) Neighbors
End on Original Side with a Butterfly Twirl to face those
same "New (Next)" Neighbors.
The title is a quote from our nation's one time most famous pacifist, A.
J. Muste.
~erik hoffman
On 2/5/2014 9:02 AM, Joseph Erhard-Hudson wrote:
> I've always thought of Fan in the Doorway by Gene Hubert this way. It
> takes a little mind bending for everyone involved (band, caller, and
> dancers) because it's danced to a 3-part slip jig, but once it gets
> going it can flow like silk.
>
> Choreography and one caller's notes here:
> http://www.sharedweight.net/pipermail/callers/2010-March/002510.html
>
> To those notes, I would only add, work beforehand with the band on how
> to get going and how to stop. Your usual 4-beat potatoes aren't going to
work.
> Also, some bands will have slip jigs of more than three parts. which
> can work fine, you just can't count on ending the dance after a
> particular phrase in the music. In my experience bands with slip jigs
> in their repertoire are delighted to have a chance to play them for
dancers.
>
> Joseph
>
>
>
> On Wed, Feb 5, 2014 at 6:14 AM, John Sweeney
<info(a)contrafusion.co.uk>wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I am planning some workshops, for festivals here in the UK, with the
>> title "Flow & Glide Contras: Dances with beautiful flow, connectivity
>> and a smooth, satisfying glide." (Thanks to Sarah VanNorstrand and
>> no doubt many others for the title!)
>>
>> I have lots of ideas already, but am always interested in finding
>> great dances that I am not familiar with.
>>
>> If you don't mind sharing, please let me know your favourite ONE or
>> TWO contras that fit this description.
>>
>> Many thanks.
>>
>> Happy dancing,
>> John
>>
>> John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
>> http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
>
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
Thanks for all the great ideas :-)
Yes, Joyride was already in my short list - beautiful dance!
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
Aahz,
Nice dance. There are some great transitions and ideas in this dance
and I look forward to calling it soon.
With that said, I don't put your dance in the 'flowing' category.
The two right and left thrus aren't flowing for the men in particular
and especially if they are danced with a tradition courtesy (men move
forward and then back for the courtesy turns). Right and left
through for me, have sort of a stop and start feel when compared with
a hey.
I think the moves in the B1 are not flowing but are not bad flow either.
If flow is your bag, maybe substitute two half heys for the 2 right
and left thrus in the A1 although the flow into the circle left 3/4
may be interesting......
and consider this for the B1:
B1 Half hey (men left), men allemande left once and a half.
Tom
>>
>> Panix Dot Chat (aahz(a)pobox.com)
>>
>> Becket formation
>> Double-progression, better with odd number of couples
>>
>> A1 Right-and-left thru on left diagonal (8)
>> (Yes, start with progression)
>> (Warn ends about not moving)
>> Right-and-left thru new couple (8)
>> A2 Circle left 3/4 (8)
>> Swing neighbor (8)
>> B1 Pass through (4)
>> California twirl (4)
>> Men left-hand turn once-and-half (8)
>> B2 Balance and swing partner (16)
>> --
>> Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6
>> http://rule6.info/
>> <*> <*> <*>
>> Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
> End of Callers Digest, Vol 114, Issue 3
> ***************************************
At Contra Dancers Delight Holiday this year, Dean asked Robert Cromartie to
call Our House and my husband Dave to video tape it so Dean would have a
video of the dance being danced.
Robert had never called it before and in our callers workshop we
"practiced" with him for calling it later that night. Some people were
concerned about the flow of the star into a Gypsy meltdown. It "feels"
like it would be a left shoulder gypsy, which of course won't 'melt' into a
swing. So we also discussed changing it to Balance and swing. In the end,
we stuck with Dean's original and I think it went fine, but I just wanted
to toss it out that there are those who "prefer" the balance. Sort of like
Delphiniums and Daisies - most people call that one with a Partner B&S but
it was written without the balance. So the "folk process" may be tweeking
Dean's dance a bit.
--
JoLaine Jones-Pokorney
"We are as gods and might as well get good at it!"
- Stewart Brand
