By the way - I'd love to hear from any of you who DID make it to Ralph Page
this year what you highlight was, anything you learned that you'd like to
pass along to me (and anyone else) who wasn't able to be there.
I will also report that, as a still relatively new and inexperienced caller,
I had my first meltdown this past weekend that I DIDN'T have to stop the
music but was able to simply give the dancers a heads' up and start calling
a much easier dance that most of them knew and even those who didn't could
easily pick up without a walk-through (Lady of the Lake - Haymaker's Jig to
those of you not from Maine). The result was that at the end, the dancers
felt like we'd accomplished a miracle rather than had a failure. Whew! We
learn, we grow. It was fun.
love,
-cynthia
The Medway Contra Dance series, at Christ Episcopal Church on School
Street in Medway, Massachusetts, will sponsor an Open Mike evening on
Saturday, March 4, 2006, 7:30 - 10:30 pm. This is the third of Medway's
open mike evenings that I have MC'd. These events have introduced several
people to their very first experiences in calling contras for dancers. Now
it's your turn!
Please contact me, by phone or e-mail below, if you'd like to
participate. We'll discuss the dances you'd like to call, and I'll help
answer any questions you may have so that you can feel confident about
enjoying the experience.
Medway is a true community dance where anybody and everybody may show up
to dance - young and old, brand-new and experienced dancers. It is a
relatively small dance venue, although last month over sixty dancers were on
the floor. Your dance choices should be at an easy to moderate dancing skill
level. The band will be White Squall, consisting of Andrew Grover, Ned
Quist, and Alice Pace. Unlike the white squall currently howling outside my
window, they are warm and friendly and looking forward to backing you up
with great music!
The Medway dance organizers are eager to encourage new callers to get on
stage. As Rick Veneski wrote to me: "You can say, "Watch, Rick is going to
call a dance, and he has no idea what he is doing. So, if he can do it,
anyone can." :-)
For more information about the Medway dance, including the full
2005-2006 schedule and directions to the hall, go to:
http://www.contradancelinks.com/medway.html
----------------------------------------------------
Robert Jon Golder
164 Maxfield Street robertgolder(a)comcast.net
New Bedford, MA 02740 (508) 999-2486 voice
Update on Gene Hubert, from Beth Molaro.
*****************
Dear Friends,
More news about Gene Hubert that I wanted to pass on to you all. Some
of you know Gene but all of you have danced his wonderful contra and
square dances. Gene and Jenny were married 5 years ago and have a
little boy who is 4 or so... about 6 months younger than my Rebecca.
Gene and Jenny live in Durham, NC and have not been out and about in
the dance world as much since becoming parents... life is like that...
anyway, Gene has been ill and the Huberts got Gene's diagnosis this
past Tuesday morning. Gene has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. This is a
most difficult time for them and they need our prayers, thinking of you
cards, etc.
Later on, when times are even more accute, Jenny has requested some
help with just doing some of the ordinary things. Your help will be so
needed, as will your presence. Jenny expressed that what she will need
the most will be someone to work right along beside her and be present
to her.
We all wish we knew what to say...send love, send prayers, send
whatever healing energy you can muster, dance Gene's dances with joy
and good thoughts.
Gene and Jenny's address is: 1001 Goodwin Road, Durham, NC 27712
I'll keep you posted as things develop.
Beth Molaro
<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>
Karen Fontana
www.karenscontracorner.com
karen_fontana(a)yahoo.com
(H) 650-691-9663
<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>
Hi callers
I had the opportunity to call in Dover NH at the 1st Thursday night dance
with interesting results. (guest callers are welcome!)
The dance that I chose was Dan Pearls 'The Rendezvous' (see below)
The band had just changed tunes, I turned away from the crowed for the briefest
of moments to acknowledge the band,(by this time I had called the dance 6 times through
and thought it would be safe to cut the dancers loose) when I turned back the dancers were completing the F&B
and I watched as the dance began to break down. New dancers were looking bewildered as to what to do next,
meanwhile several beats of music had elapsed.
After a brief panic, I simply asked the dancers to swing their partners until the music came to the proper phrase. The experienced dancers thought I had lost it, 'cause they swang for a long time! Through ½ A2 and all B1. (but this maneuver put all of us at the same place)
At the proper moment I had them C L into the B2 ... the rest of the dance went without a hitch.
It has taking a while but now I can distinguish the different music phrases and where they relate to the dance being called thus avoiding disaster on the floor.
Thanks
Gale
A1 Swing Below
A2 LL F&B
W DSD 1.5X face Part
B1 All B&S partner
B2 Cir L 1X
Slide L to new Couple Cir L ¾ (to A1)
Thanks Dan for a fun dance!
Dover City Hall
1st Thursday every month 8:00-11:00 PM
Lamprey Rive Band
Guest musicians and callers welcome!
Hi,
I thought you all might get a kick out of this email that my sister
received from her friend in Holland, who is planning to return to
Vermont this summer for a family vacation:
> Don't hesitate to point out the Vermont highlights seen through the
> eyes
> of a 13 and 14 year old. Girls. We have made a little list already of
> 'things to do'. Biking. Tour thru B&J headquarters. Swimming. Rodeling
> (?? coming down a mountain on a sledge, but then in summer) Shopping
> (Michel keeps saying clothes are so much cheaper). Peek into Harrison's
> school, and other schoolbuildings. I would love to go to a
> folk-dancing
> thing, the one with the band playing and a 'speaker' (?)who tells you
> what to dance - is that still going on? Climbing Mt Mansfield, because
> your newyears letter had a beautiful picture of it. And I might be
> interested in getting to know your midwives - not sure yet if i dare,
> but very interested....
So there you go. Some caller made quite an impression on a young Dutch
girl years ago!
Delia
Delia Clark
PO Box 45
Taftsville, VT 05073
802-457-2075
deliaclark(a)adelphia.net
Hi Callers
Just a suggestion; During this cold and flu season bring along a bottle
of hand sanitizer or suggest that the dance organizers keep some on hand
(ala RPDLW). The dancers will appreciate it!
I attended the Snow Ball in Peterborough and now have my second cold of
the season...
Dancers would be advised to keep sanitizers (baby wipes?) on hand
....but who (myself included) thinks of such things when you don't have
the bug.
Happy dancing!
Gale
A great resource provided by the RPDLW is the syllabus produced by Tony Sallatan
it contains transcripts of every dance called during the weekend... a true goldmine!
navigate to the Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend web site and you will have access to
syllabuses for years past
Happy calling!
Gale
Note that registrations are due SOON. This sounds like a great
workshop and I'm planning to be there.
Lisa
Calling All Callers
The Country Dance and Song Society (CDSS) will be offering a one-day
intensive workshop especially designed for up to 25 intermediate-
level contra dance callers -- anyone who has called a half or full
evening of contras up through decades of calling.
This event, CONTRA DANCE CALLING: Beyond the Basics, will be held on
Saturday, June 24, 2006 in Amherst, MA. Master callers Lisa Greenleaf
and Brad Foster will lead sessions on a variety of topics that are
pertinent to callers attending the event. Topics might include the
language of teaching figures, how to get to the next level as a
caller, communicating with the band, teaching and calling challenging
contras, etc. You may request other topics when you register.
There will also be time to meet other callers and discover ways you
can support each other in strengthening your calling abilities. One
session will offer tools for giving and receiving feedback. All
participants will have the opportunity to call a dance and receive
feedback, either during the day or at a public contra dance that
evening. Live music will be provided by fiddlers Amy Larkin and
Shirley White with Linda Henry on piano.
This will be a small, pilot program, with room for a maximum of 25
callers. CDSS expects that this workshop will be very popular and
that it will be oversubscribed. They will have a lottery of all
registrations received by February 20. So register ASAP!
To register, visit www.cdss.org/workshop.html or contact Linda Henry
at 413-268-7426 x 105 or linda(a)cdss.org.
Cost: $100 for CDSS members, $115 for non-members. Scholarships are
available.
